Taylor Swift performs 2 diss tracks the day after Scooter Braun retires from music management
You might say she forgot that he existed.
Look what you made her do.
Taylor Swift was feeling her big Reputation during her Eras Tour show in Cardiff, Wales, on Tuesday, when she performed not one but two diss tracks from her oeuvre: "I Forgot That You Existed" and "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things." Eagle-eyed fans were quick to point out that the mashup, which came during the surprise acoustic song set that differs every night of the tour, came just one day after Scooter Braun announced his retirement as a music manager. Tuesday also happened to be Braun's birthday.
Swift did not mention Braun or their yearslong dispute over the rights to the master recordings of her first six albums, which Braun's Ithaca Holdings acquired in 2019 (and later sold to private equity company Shamrock Holdings both to Swift's dismay, ultimately resulting in her re-recording said albums to own them herself).
Related: Taylor Swift announces official end of Eras Tour during 100th show: 'Like, that's it'
She did, however, bust out laughing on stage during the mashup, which she performed on acoustic guitar. In videos shared by attendees, Swift can be seen getting to the part in Reputation track "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" where she sings "Cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do," but instead of a short cackle like in the original recording, she just could not stop laughing, much to the screaming crowd's delight. Eventually, she continued with the lyrics, "I can't even say it with a straight face," before finishing the performance.
This was not the first time the 14-time Grammy winner had performed these particular songs during the Eras Tour, though. She previously performed both during other acoustic sets earlier in the tour, although it was the first time they'd been combined together. The set, which always features one performance on guitar and one on piano, is a fan-favorite, as Swift aims to perform a different song (or mashup) for each at every tour date.
Braun announced with a lengthy statement on Monday that he was stepping back from music management after 23 years, sharing that he instead will focus on his position as CEO of HYBE America and on his family. He unofficially stepped back from managing top artists such as Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, and Ariana Grande last year.
Related: Scooter Braun shares his 'regret' after purchasing Taylor Swift's music catalog
"Itâs a strange feeling because I think I have wanted this for a while, but I was truly afraid to answer the question 'who would I be without them?'" Braun mused in his statement Monday. "I was really just 19 years old when I started. So for my entire adult life I played the role of an artist manager on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And for 20 years I loved it. Itâs all I had known."
"But as my children got older, and my personal Iife took some hits, I came to the realization that my kids were 3 superstars I wasnât willing to lose," he added. "The sacrifices I was once willing to make I could no longer justify. It was time to step into a new role."
Swift's Eras Tour continues this weekend with three shows in London.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
