During 1990, at the height of her popularity, Madonna launched her Blond Ambition World Tour to worldwide critical acclaim, setting a new bar that female pop stars would forever try to match in terms of sheer entertainment value. Twenty years later, music's current preeminent blonde - Taylor Swift - has embarked on her Fearless Tour, making her case for why she has racked up countless awards, praise and famous boyfriends during the past 18 months. Just 20 years old and already a superstar, Taylor Swift carries high expectations with her wherever she goes. When she played her sold-out show at John Paul Jones Arena last Saturday, tableau found she did not seem to disappoint a single fan.
Opening with one of her signature hits, "You Belong With Me", Swift started on a high-octane energy level. Aided by thousands of screaming fans, she kept the spirit alive throughout the night. Before long, she was rifting on her sparkly guitar - which, naturally, matched her dress - and tearing through massive sing-a-longs like "Our Song" and "Teardrops on My Guitar."
As a girl who has shot to superstardom during the past year, Swift may be expected to approach her audience with an air of snobbery. Forget that - there doesn't seem to be a single pugnacious bone in her body. In fact, the most touching moments of the show came when she would find herself totally overwhelmed by the amount of applause she was receiving from the excited crowd. She reciprocated the feeling by taking the time to exchange hugs and kisses with a number of audience members between her songs. At one point, she was so overwhelmed by the raucous applause that she put her hand over her heart, wore the sweetest look on Earth on her face and announced "Thank you, Charlottesville! I'll never forget that!" Maybe it was cheesy, and maybe she was acting like she had just been named Miss America, but the sincerity was unmistakable - and that's what counts.
Following an acoustic set that featured fan-favorites like "Tim McGraw" and "Fifteen," she returned to the main stage to rock out for the final section of the show. One of her biggest radio hits to date, "Love Story", received the full-on Renaissance treatment as Swift donned a princess dress that perfectly complimented the song's easy-to-relate-to, puppy-dog love lyrics. The biggest surprise of the night - a mash-up of Taylor's "You're Not Sorry" and Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around" - soon followed and featured Taylor on piano complete with hair flicks, beautiful yet deadly facial expressions and an overall awesome display of artistry.
But what about that controversial voice of hers, which has been the main target Swift detractors use when they claim she is undeserving of her great success? Yes, it may be thin, but it is surprising just how much power this country girl's voice really possesses. There were no displays of vocal acrobatics throughout the two hours she was on stage, but she was consistently competent, and with 14,000 screaming girls to help her out, it did not really matter if she hit a bum note here or there.
The dramatic encore featuring an awesome percussion interlude and full-on waterworks for "Should've Said No" found Swift at the top of her well-crafted game. Entertaining, personable and looks that are both sweet and deadly - this is one blonde with a whole lot of ambition.
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