Taylor Swift dazzled the Saturday Night Live (SNL) stage on Oct. 5 by performing renditions of “Lover” and “False God” from her most recent album Lover. During the show, she was joined by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who recently won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards for her work in Fleabag. During their promotional ads together, the women made playful jokes about the British-infused script supposedly written by Waller-Bridge.
Image Courtesy of ET Online
During her visit with Jimmy Fallon at The Tonight Showearlier in the week, Fallon asked Swift what songs she would be performing on SNL. In traditional Taylor Swift fashion, she said, “You know we got to be a little cryptic because it’s fun.” According to Paper Magazine, she revealed that she would be performing “Lover” in a way that she has never done before, as well as a song that she has never performed live. Fans took to the Internet to try to decipher her clues but still ended up completely unsuspecting of her selections.
Swift began the night with a moving performance of “Lover”, wearing an ensemble that was very reminiscent of 1980s fashion, complete with acrylic hoop earrings and various shades of green. She played an illuminated piano throughout the entirety of the song, with music sheets suspended from the air around her as she sang. Performing without any background singers or additional instruments, Swift tweeted that “[she] had the best time playing Lover on @nbcsnl exactly the way [she] wrote it, on [a] piano in a quiet moment.” This beautifully simplistic solo version of the track was the first time Swift had performed it in such a fashion, just as she had said, which excited viewers nationwide.
Courtesy: Slate
Towards the end of the show, the second half of her puzzling hint was revealed. “False God” was performed with a sexy and smooth tone — just like it’s lyrics. Swift came out wearing a black embellished pantsuit, setting the mood with airy movements and gestures (yes, her signature reach into the crowd was one of them).
The cozy design of the set was more elaborate than the first, containing dozens of Edison bulbs lighting up the stage as saxophone player Lenny Pickett played alongside Swift’s vocals. Fans were especially pleased with this song choice because she had not performed “False God” yet, making Twitter fans everywhere go berserk. Taylor Nation, a fan account for the musician, tweeted saxophone emojis and retweeted multiple fans exclaiming their love over the song selection. Last Saturday, #TaylorOnSNL became a top trending topic on Twitter in the US.
Courtesy: Stereogum
After the show, paparazzi spotted Swift with boyfriend Joe Alwyn leaving for the SNL afterparty. Fans couldn’t help but notice the large glimmering ring on Swift’s right hand. Although it was on the wrong hand, this led to multiple engagement rumors to resurface.
Courtesy: Yahoo Entertainment
When her album Lover was first released, fans noticed multiple references to weddings and marriage throughout the album, leading fans to believe that the couple is engaged, or possibly even married. Because of their extremely private relationship, this could be a wild assumption from the Swifties — or, it could be another one of Swift’s cryptic messages.
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