Sydney fans gave Taylor Swift a blast from the past — and in case you aren’t a full-on Swiftie, Us is here to break down the “Sydney” chant.
As Swift, 34, sang “Blank Space” during the 1989 portion of her Eras Tour on Friday, February 23, fans cheered her on by chanting “Sydney.” In social media videos shared via Instagram, Swift could be seen smiling and nodding her head as the crowd cheered her on. Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, was also seen singing along from a VIP tent.
“IT REALLY HAPPENED 😭😭😭,” one account captioned the clip. “Taylor even called us out afterwards saying ‘I was hoping that you guys would do that.’ WE MADE HER PROUD.” More fans shared their reactions in the comments section.
“I want to cry this is so special,” one social media user gushed, as another added, “It’s so magical!!!!!!!!!!”
Ahead of the show, the official Taylor Nation Instagram account encouraged fans to recreate the chant. “SYDNEY!” 🏌🏼♀️ It’s finally time to recreate *the chant* tonight at #SydneyTSTheErasTour…,” the account wrote. “Let us hear that back! 📣 #TSTheErasTour.”
The fan favorite chant originated when Swift went on her 1989 World Tour in 2015. At each stop, she screamed the city’s name into a microphone that repeated itself as she harmonized with it. After her Sydney show, the chant went viral.
“Alright Sydney, I would like to do a little experiment,” Swift said into the microphone while taking a golf club and hitting it into a metal pole. (In the “Blank Space” music video, Swift hilariously used a golf club to destroy a car.) She then screamed “Syd-ney” into the microphone and said, “Let me hear that back,” as the chant repeated itself. Swift then continued singing the rest of the song.
Elsewhere during the 1989 segment of her Eras Tour on Friday, Swift sang “Bad Blood,” which is known to be about her former feud with Katy Perry. Perry, 39, was actually in attendance on Friday and singing along with Swift from a VIP tent. She even recorded the song on her phone and posted sweet pics from the show.
“Got to see an old friend shine tonight ♥️✨,” she captioned the post.
The duo’s falling out originated in 2012, when Swift hired a number of dancers who previously performed with Perry on her California Dreams tour in 2011. Six months into Swift’s Red tour, Perry asked the dancers to join her on her Prismatic World Tour, so they left Swift’s shows and reunited with Perry.
Swift later opened up about the experience during a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone. “For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not,” she said. “[Then last year] she did something so horrible. I was like, ‘Oh, we’re just straight-up enemies.’ … She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. … So now I have to avoid her. It’s awkward, and I don’t like it.”
Years later, the duo rekindled their friendship and Perry appeared in Swift’s 2019 “You Need to Calm Down” music video. The pair dressed up in hamburger and french fry costumes and hugged each other.
