DEAF TAYLOR SWIFT FAN GOES VIRAL AFTER HEARING HER FOR FIRST TIME
A deaf Taylor Swift fan has gone viral after revealing she can hear clearly for the first time in her life, meaning she can finally listen to her favorite singer's music without an interpreter while attending the Eras Tour.
The pop superstar has had a phenomenal time since she started the tour in March 2023. Eras became the highest-grossing live music tour ever long before it hit the halfway point of its 152 shows worldwide. It has seen unprecedented demand and has made over $1 billion—breaking the record for the highest-grossing tour of all time.
The tour is currently in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where Swift will be performing from July 4 to 6. Swift fan Nichole attended the first night in Amsterdam and took to X, formerly Twitter—where her username is @fireworkshow13—to share a photo of the outfit she wore for the occasion.
"Taylor's music has meant so much to me since 2006, but I never knew what I was missing using just hearing aids until I got my cochlear implant. I've seen Taylor before, but tonight is the first with my CI... so my costume needed to match the occasion," Nichole captioned the post on the night of the concert.
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Swift for comment on Friday.
In one of the photos Nichole uploaded, she is wearing a T-shirt that reads "I had a marvelous time hearing everything." In the other photo, her cochlear implant has been bejeweled with the number 13—which is Swift's favorite number—and also has a friendship bracelet attached. Friendship bracelets have become synonymous with the Eras Tour as Swifties enjoy exchanging them with each other at the event.
Nichole's post quickly went viral and at the time of writing, it had been viewed 322,900 times.
People took to her post to share their support, with one person writing: "this is so special! I hope you have the best day."
"this is everything," someone else wrote while a different X user added: "Oh my gosh I'm SO happy for you!!!! Have the most amazing time. The friendship bracelet detail."
Nichole posted to X a variety of times throughout the night to share what it was like being able to go to the concert and hear everything.
"I COULD UNDERSTAND HAYLEY WHEN SHE WAS SPEAKING WITHOUT AN INTERPRETER THIS IS SO WEIRD IM GONNA BE A BLUBBERY RIVER WHEN TAYLOR SPEAKS," Nichole wrote, referring to support act Paramore's lead singer Hayley Williams.
"I CAN HEAR AND UNEERAYQND TAYLOR WHAT THR HELLL ALL RHESE YEAR LATER I UNDERSTAND HER VOICE [various crying emoji] THIS FEELS LIKE MY FIRST SHOW EVER," she posted later on in the evening alongside a photo of her crying.
Nichole continued: "that was the first time i sang every lyric of atwtmv ['All Too Well (10 Minute Version)'] with taylor because before i would always get lost but today i just... didn't because i could hear her voice and where we were."
In another post, Nichole revealed that she has attended 36 Swift concerts since 2010 but this was the first time she knew the surprise songs Swift was singing without someone telling her.
Nichole added: "actually so beyond grateful because i know this isn't the experience of everyone with a cochlear implant and don't want people to think they are a magic fix because they're not, but me being able to hear music like that... only regret is i didn't get it sooner."
Nichole told Newsweek that this is her first time hearing Swift live with my implant, which she got in November 2023. Before that, she used hearing aids that allowed her to hear, but but not in the same way.
"Prior to my cochlear implant, I could 'hear' but everything sounded like it was in a blender. Vocals and instruments were really hard to differentiate and if I was listening live at a show I would either need an interpreter or I would just end up getting lost because I didn't know where we were in the song. Honestly, I thought that was normal," she said.
"When I first had my implant activated I played "Fearless" (streaming by Bluetooth) as the first song and cried in the audiologist's office over how clear it was. I couldn't believe what I was missing.
"Prior to last night I've been to 35 shows and while I sung and danced my heart out, stuff like medleys and surprise songs and even the most basic thing, Taylor's speech, was impossible to hear clearly...When she started talking during the 'Cruel Summer' bridge the already existing tears just blew up because it was the very first time I heard her speak and understood her without captions or an interpreter."
Nichole said the Eras Tour concert was one of the best moments of her life and she's glad she got to experience it the same way as everyone else.
She added: "I love being deaf and I am proud of my deaf identity but I also love music beyond words and I'm so grateful to exist in a world where being both, while challenging, is possible for me."
After completing the European leg of the Eras Tour in the middle of August, Swift will make a few last-minute appearances in American cities, including Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis. She's scheduled to end her tour in Canada, with multiple shows in November and December. The tour is expected to conclude on December 8 in Vancouver, five days before her 35th birthday on December 13.
Update 07/05/24, 6:02 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Nichole.
2024-07-05T09:57:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd