When Taylor Swift revealed the Asian stops for “The Eras” tour, I already had a hunch that the Philippines wouldn’t be a part of it. I mean, have you seen how grand her stage sets are? It’s logistically impossible for any of our concert venues to accommodate those without going through major renovations.
Flying to Singapore (and/or Japan) is an option for Filipino Swifties, but during the selling period, I personally was not about to break my bank to see her live. (Taylor, I love you, but I don’t want to end up living on instant noodles for the rest of the year.)
And so, I resigned myself to doing what almost every financially challenged fan would do—live vicariously through shaky fan-recorded videos on social media.
But just when I thought I already reached my peak broke Swiftie behavior, Spotify decided to grace us with a consolation prize of some sort: the “My Top 5: Taylor Swift’s Eras” interactive feature. It’s as if they knew Filipino fans needed some extra love after being left out of the tour circuit.
(For the record, it’s available in 55 other countries, but please let my main character syndrome slide just this once. Spotify did it for us. Period.)
NGL, I was skeptical at first. How could an algorithm possibly understand the depths of my emotional connection with Taylor’s eras? I’ve considered myself a “Reputation” enjoyer through and through, but what if Spotify had other ideas? (Spoiler: It totally had other ideas.)
Nevertheless, I couldn’t resist the temptation and gave it a go. The list of Taylor’s ten iconic eras greeted me upon visiting the link, with “Bejeweled” playing in the background.
My personal tough five
I started rearranging the eras into my personal top five. Shuffling through each album cover has gratuitously plunged me back into the memories and emotions tied to them—the good, the bad, and the embarrassing.
It’s tough trying to strike the perfect balance between my favorite albums and the ones that resonated with me the most. But after a while, I finally made a decision: “Reputation” was a no-brainer for the top spot, followed by “Red,” “Speak Now,” “Folklore,” and “Fearless.”
My personalized digital art card came after locking in my choices, and it’s inspired by “The Eras” poster.
My top five (algorithm version)
With the same enthusiasm that comes with finding Easter eggs in Taylor’s music videos, I clicked on the next button and anticipated “My Top 5: Taylor Swift’s Eras” based on my listening habits.
Full disclosure: It’s far from my personal top five. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I never would’ve known that I was a huge “Lover” listener.
Turns out, my self-perceived identity is different from my listening habits. (I should probably put the blame on “Death by a Thousand Cuts” and “Cruel Summer,” though.)
In a way, it’s almost poetic. Life, it seems, has a way of revealing our true selves when we least expect it. Maybe this feature isn’t just about ranking Taylor’s eras—maybe it’s a reminder that growth and change are inevitable.
(Yes, this is me doing all the mental gymnastics to justify the difference in my top fives. What about it?)
Anyway, if you plan on trying this feature out, make sure your mobile app is updated. I updated mine faster than Taylor could pen a breakup song, after all.
Read more:
PSA: ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ can save lives—like, literally
A class called ‘All Too Well (10 Week Version)’ now exists
Lessons I’m taking home from Dr. Taylor Swift’s NYU speech
Photos from Spotify
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