Taylor Swift showcased her formidable "Reputation" during her Eras Tour stop in Cardiff, Wales, on Tuesday, treating fans to performances of two of her pointed diss tracks: "I Forgot That You Existed" and "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things." Fans noticed the significance of this mashup, especially given its timing the day after Scooter Braun announced his retirement as a music manager, which also happened to be his birthday.
During her surprise acoustic set, Swift didn't directly address Braun or their longstanding dispute over the rights to her first six albums' master recordings. These rights were initially acquired by Braun's Ithaca Holdings in 2019 and later transferred to Shamrock Holdings, a move that Swift opposed, leading her to re-record those albums to regain control.
During her performance of the mashup on acoustic guitar, Taylor Swift couldn't contain her laughter onstage. In videos shared by fans attending her Eras Tour show in Cardiff, Wales, Swift reached the part in her song "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" from the "Reputation" album where she sings, "Cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do." Instead of the brief chuckle heard in the original recording, Swift broke into sustained laughter, much to the excitement of the cheering audience. Eventually, she composed herself to continue singing the lyrics, "I can't even say it with a straight face," before concluding the performance.
Taylor Swift had previously performed both "I Forgot That You Existed" and "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" separately during earlier acoustic sets on her Eras Tour, making their combination in Cardiff a notable first. Each night of the tour features a unique set where Swift alternates between performing on guitar and piano, much to the delight of her fans.
Scooter Braun, in a lengthy statement on Monday, announced his decision to step away from music management after 23 years, citing a shift towards focusing on his role as CEO of HYBE America and his family. He had already begun scaling back his involvement with top artists like Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, and Ariana Grande unofficially since last year, as per reports.
"It’s 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 lovedit. It’s all I had known."
"But as my children got older, and my personal Iife took some hits," Braun continued, "I came to the realization that my kids were 3 superstars I wasn’t 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."
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is set to continue this weekend with three performances at the Wembley Stadium in London.
