On a magical Monday night, British singer Maisie Peters lived out a dream that had been with her since she was just 12 years old. That dream? To perform in front of a massive crowd as the opening act for none other than Taylor Swift. And not just any crowd—Peters found herself standing before a jaw-dropping 90,000 people during the seventh London date of Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour.
Imagine the scene: the energy of the crowd, the magnitude of the moment, and the sheer thrill of sharing the stage with icons like Paramore and Taylor Swift. It was an unforgettable night that Peters had been eagerly anticipating. Her excitement was palpable long before she even set foot on the stage.
Earlier in the month, when it was first announced that she would be an opener for Swift, Peters couldn't contain her joy. She took to Instagram to share her feelings with her fans, writing, “Supporting Taylor Swift has been my dream since I was 12 years old and watched the 'Love Story' music video for the first time.” This was a full-circle moment for Peters, who had grown up idolizing Swift. The 24-year-old star added, “It is such an honor to be part of something so special and iconic, and I already know I’m gonna have the time of my life :’) thank you, Dr. @taylorswift. SCREAM!!!!!”
As the day of her performance drew closer, Peters' excitement only grew. The night before her big moment, she was too thrilled to even sleep, a sentiment she shared in a video post on social media. This excitement carried over into Monday, where she documented every step of her journey, from rehearsals to the final countdown before she took the stage. She shared photos from the Eras Tour stage and captioned them with, “Eras, I’ll see you at 4:55 if I don’t pass out from excitement before then 🫶🫶🫶🫶.”
When the moment finally arrived, Peters delivered a performance that she—and her fans—will never forget. After the show, she shared her emotions with her followers, posting two photos of herself with Taylor Swift alongside pictures of her own performance. Her caption read, “Long live 😭✨🤍 thank you @taylorswift for everything, forever <3.” She followed up with another heartfelt post, saying, “I got to live my dream last night at the Eras Tour, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it :’))))) seeing so many of you singing in the crowd made my heart BURST, and then getting to scream every lyric at my first ever Taylor Swift show after (!!!! can you believe it!!!) was literally the most magic I’ve ever experienced.”
But as with any big moment in the spotlight, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Peters' night was tinged with a bit of controversy when she faced widespread mockery online. A video clip of her performance, where she slightly altered the lyrics to one of her biggest hits, “Lost the Breakup,” didn’t land as she had hoped. In the clip, Peters cheekily changed the lyrics to: “You say: ‘Wow, hey, it’s been forever, you want to get a drink, like, together?’ / I say: ‘I’m kinda busy, like, I’m with Taylor tonight!’ / No shit, I won the breakup.”
She posted the video with the caption, “I just performed at the Eras Tour … if that’s not winning the breakup, idk what is,” adding, “That was so surreal, Eras, wow, thank you so much, I’ll never recover from how special that was :’)))))” Despite her excitement, the response was not what she expected. Her vocals in the video were harshly criticized in the comments on both Instagram and TikTok.
The situation escalated when someone else reposted the clip to X (formerly known as Twitter) with the caption, “Is this serious?!? 😭😭😭,” which quickly gained traction as people piled on with ridicule. However, not everyone was quick to jump on the criticism bandwagon. Some fans and followers rushed to Peters' defense, pointing out that the particular part of her song isn’t even sung in the recording—it’s spoken dialogue. They also noted that Peters was likely nervous, performing in front of such a massive crowd and as the opener for her favorite artist. “Why is everyone so mean 😭” one person commented on Peters' Instagram post. “We have seen Maisie live before and she sounds amazing! 🫶🏼 She clearly must’ve been nervous and SO SHE DAMN SHOULD BE— we would be too if we were singing in front of Taylor on her tour HELP! ❤️”
Another fan echoed this sentiment, saying, “To all the people hating...did YOU just play the Eras Tour? No. You didn't. SHE DID 🥰”
In a move that many found poignant, Peters subtly addressed the backlash by sharing a screenshot of Taylor Swift's song “Mean” on her Instagram story. For those unfamiliar, Swift wrote “Mean” in response to a particularly harsh review by music critic Bob Lefsetz, who had criticized her February 2010 performance with Stevie Nicks. In his review, Lefsetz cruelly claimed that Swift couldn’t sing and even went as far as to predict that the performance would “shorten her career”—a statement that has, of course, aged terribly as Swift continues to break records and dominate the music industry.
For Maisie Peters, the night may have been a mix of highs and lows, but there's no denying that she lived out a lifelong dream and stood on one of the biggest stages in the world. Despite the criticism, she held her head high and celebrated the incredible opportunity she had been given. After all, not many can say they’ve opened for Taylor Swift, and for Peters, that alone is a win that outshines any negativity.
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