Taylor Swift's Release Party Was Basically Church - With Lyric Videos

"The most surprising thing about spending a Friday afternoon at Taylor Swift's The Official Release Party of a Showgirl was how little people looked at their phones. It wasn't a completely phone-free zone - a few people filmed the screen occasionally or checked their socials - but for the most part those in the sold-out theater were entirely focused on the action."

"The AMC Theatres website had been very clear with its warnings that there would be no trailers and our 1:00 p.m. showing would begin promptly at 1:00. Except that wasn't technically the case, as the lights dimmed at 12:58 to kick things off with a commercial for the Target-exclusive Life of a Showgirl release. (Swift played both herself as well as the director of the commercial, getting off some playfully self-depricating jokes while paying the bills.)"

"followed by the aforementioned lyric videos for the other songs. In that introduction, Swift expressed her hope that we might sing along, which was feasibly something we could have done, given that the lyrics were right there on the screen. Instead, there was almost a worshipful silence from the crowd. That's not to say the audience was silent: Each song ended to light applause."

A sold-out theater attended a premiere event where attendees rarely used phones, focused on screens displaying kaleidoscopic lyric videos. Pre-show replaced Noovie with custom motion graphics while tracks played. AMC warned there would be no trailers but lights dimmed early for a Target-exclusive commercial featuring Swift in dual roles, including self-deprecating jokes. Swift introduced the program, announcing the world premiere of the music video for 'The Fate of Ophelia' then lyric videos for the remaining songs. She invited sing-alongs, but the audience mostly remained quiet, responding with light applause at each song's end.

Read at Consequence