Every surprise song pairing Taylor Swift has performed on The Eras Tour, ranked

Date: May 20

Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts 

My friend and I were trying to get last-minute tickets to this show. We even had a rental car booked just in case we secured them, ready to drive nearly four hours from New Jersey to Foxborough. 

Our plan failed, and I soon realized that was probably for the best. May 20 was a rain show, which meant thousands of people were standing in a torrential downpour for hours. And they were rewarded with... a just-OK "Midnights" track and one of the weakest songs from her debut album. 

I am so sorry but I do not envy this crowd in the slightest and am actively glad I didn't spend hundreds of dollars to be there.

Date: April 22

Location: Houston, Texas

My sincere condolences to all those in attendance on April 22, but I laughed so hard when I saw she played these two subpar tracks from her early career. 

But hey, at least anyone who got this pairing can say they experienced all 10 eras. Swift's self-titled debut album isn't represented in the standard setlist, so only audiences who get a song off "Taylor Swift" get the whole shebang. 

It also wasn't cold and wet when Houston got to witness these, so they'll always have that over Foxborough night two. 

Date: March 25

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

I know this is going to be controversial, but I am a "Cowboy Like Me" hater. I find it excruciatingly drab and stand by my initial review that it "should've been left off the album." 

So Swift singing "Cowboy Like Me" was like opening the penny case on "Deal or No Deal."

If you were at that show and love the "Evermore" track, I am so beyond thrilled that it was you who got it, and not me. I would not have appreciated it at all. 

"White Horse" is good, but there are stronger "Fearless" tracks, too. 

Date: March 31

Location: Arlington, Texas

When Swift introduced "Sad Beautiful Tragic," she said, "I love this one. When I love a song I don't care what anyone says."

On March 31, I sent that line to senior music reporter Callie Ahlgrim with a message that said, "That quote is a diss at me."

I also sent her another text that said, "I do like 'Ours' — no disrespect to 'Ours' — but full disrespect to 'Sad Beautiful Tragic.'"

As I wrote about the "Red" deep cut in 2019, "The song drags on — not because Swift has a lot to say like she usually does — but because she felt the need to sing a variation of the title 11 times as slowly as she could." 

Date: June 3

Location: Chicago, Illinois

This is one of the most random pairings Swift has played throughout the Eras Tour. It's a vault track from "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" — and not even the best one, that's "Mr. Perfectly Fine" — and something from the "Fifty Shades Darker" soundtrack.

Definitely a surprise, but maybe not the one many people would have wanted. Even if I am pulling for "I Don't Want to Live Forever" to make it onto "Reputation (Taylor's Version)."

Date: March 24

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

I promise this list gets better after this, but "Snow on the Beach" is so boring.

"Our Song," though, is a hit and should've been included on the actual setlist.

Date: April 21

Location: Houston, Texas

The "1989" deluxe track and the "Fearless" song weren't my top picks for what I'd want to hear, but they're both pretty solid songs.

They also are both pre-"Lover" so there's an additional layer of nostalgia that would probably thrill any concertgoer who has been aching to see either song for years.

Date: April 2

Location: Arlington, Texas

"The Lucky One," as Swift described it in Arlington, is about how horrible it is to be famous. Swift maneuvers that thesis well, but I stand firm that complaining about fame in a song is usually not accessible to the vast majority of people listening to it. 

That said, "Jump Then Fall" is so fun, and, as a "Fearless" deluxe track, fairly rare to hear live. 

Date: April 15

Location: Tampa, Florida

"Mad Woman" is one of the weaker tracks off "Folklore" — but it's still an exceptional song in Swift's arsenal. Throw in an appearance from Aaron Dessner and a beloved "Speak Now" track, and you've got a really solid surprise-song pairing. 

Date: April 30

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

This one's tricky because I consider "How You Get the Girl" as one of the worst songs in all of Swift's discography, but "I Bet You Think About Me" is an absolute banger. 

I was personally devastated when "IBYTAM" was crossed off the surprise-song list, but I'm glad I didn't have to hear Swift encourage some pathetic ex-boyfriend to pester a woman into getting back together with him. 

Date: April 29

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Further exposing my personal taste, "Gorgeous" is fun and silly and one of my favorite songs off "Reputation." It was a great way to introduce Swift's sixth album into the surprise-song segment of the tour. 

"High Infidelity," with its line "Do you really want to know where I was April 29th?" may have been predicted to be played on April 29 by just about everybody, but sometimes it's nice to know what this mastermind is going to do next. 

Date: April 23

Location: Houston, Texas

"Begin Again" and "Cold as You" are both emotive breakup songs, with the latter giving Swift's first-ever album some time to shine during the show. Can't be mad at it!

Date: May 12

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

"Gold Rush" in Philadelphia was also expected, thanks to the lines "I see me padding 'cross your wooden floors / With my Eagles t-shirt hanging from the door."

Swift confirmed the lyric was referring to the football team, not the band. 

But just because something's predictable, doesn't mean it's bad. "Gold Rush" is killer.

Back when we reviewed "Evermore," I wrote, "There's a bustling energy that ripples through the track in a way unlike anything Swift has ever produced, elevated exponentially by the best vocal delivery of her career thus far.

Rounding out this pair was "Come Back…Be Here," an aching, yearning deluxe track from "Red," that likely thrilled several people at Swift's hometown show. 

Date: June 2

Location: Chicago, Illinois

These are both two magical deep cuts — Swift even exclaimed, "Oh my God, you know it!" while performing "I Wish You Would."

In the lead-up to our own concert, both of these were thrown around as ones my friends and I would be happy to hear. 

Date: May 6

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Banger after banger. These are two widely known, absolutely beloved songs that are great to scream-sing along to. Swift put her all into those Nashville shows. 

Date: April 13

Location: Tampa, Florida

Oh to have been in the Raymond James Stadium when Swift sang "Treacherous."

I've already waxed poetic about the third song on "Red" before. It's a "brilliantly written song that exemplifies exactly why Swift is one of the best songwriters of her generation."

Honestly, the title track from Swift's third album is actually doing more harm than good here. If she had picked a stronger song to pair "Treacherous" with, it easily could've cracked the top 10 on this list. Some songs like "Dear John," "Clean," or "Cornelia Street" could've even elevated it to No. 1.

Regardless, that audience got one of Swift's greatest songs to date.

Date: May 13

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Just an incredibly strong duo. Both songs are well-written, but they're also different enough from each other to offer the audience some variety. "Forever & Always" is sassy and scathing, while "This Love" is wistful and atmospheric. 

Date: April 14

Location: Tampa, Florida

These are two incredible songs in Swift's catalog, but they're also both from the "Midnights" era, meaning they haven't had as long to grow on fans — and have the ability to be repeated.

Since we can't ever really lose them like we can older tracks, they're less of a loss.  

Date: May 14

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It's not often that Swift plays two surprise songs from the same album.

But for a hometown show on Mother's Day, nothing was more fitting than singing the "Fearless"-era ode to her mom, "The Best Day," and another song from her teen years.

Honestly, I would've cried if I were there.

Date: May 5

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

The first Eras Tour stop in Nashville will go down as one of the most unhinged nights in Swiftie history.

Opener Phoebe Bridgers brought out the rest of boygenius during her set. Swift's rumored new boyfriend Matty Healy was there to the chagrin of many fans. Swift announced the impending release of "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)."

To celebrate dropping her next rerecording on July 7, Swift sang a fan favorite from the album, "Sparks Fly." She stuck to her country roots and followed it up with "Teardrops on My Guitar." Both are wistful, nostalgic, and beyond fun to sing.

Their only downside was they were completely overshadowed by every other surprise throughout the night. 

Date: May 28

Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey

I was in the audience for this show, in the first row of section seven. I was a mere few feet away, watching on as Swift opened her mouth for what we all thought would be an introduction (or "Cornelia Street"). Instead, she uttered the lines, "Walkin' through a crowd, the village is aglow."

At the moment, it felt like a sick joke. Many of us deluded ourselves into thinking she was using it as an intro to another song. There was no way she was going to welcome the MetLife crowd to New York on her final night in New Jersey. 

In hindsight, it was the funniest thing she could've possibly done and I appreciate a good joke. 

But the thing about this pairing is that if I had to rank all of Swift's songs from best to worst, the "1989" closer "Clean" would land within the top four (which also contains two songs already on the setlist.)

There may be stronger pairings on this list, but personally, there are not many single songs I would prefer to hear over "Clean." 

Date: May 21

Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts 

Both of these songs are enjoyable and it's special that they were both played on guitar.

Due to the rain the night before, Swift's piano was malfunctioning on this Sunday so she recalibrated and gave the crowd an additional deviation from her standard fare. 

Date: May 27

Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey

I nearly started crying in a beer garden when I pulled up Twitter and saw she played these two songs just one night before the show I was attending.

This is an excellent pairing. No notes.

Date: March 17

Location: Glendale, Arizona

The very first night of Swift's Eras Tour conned us all into believing "Tim McGraw" was on the setlist, meant to represent her first album.

Instead, her debut single was immediately lost forever to the rest of us who weren't in attendance. 

A song about being a performer and the track that started her entire career was a poetic pairing to kick off the tour with. 

Date: May 26

Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey

"Getaway Car" is a huge fan favorite and "Maroon" is one of the biggest highlights on "Midnights." This was one of those nights that devastated a million Swifties around the world.

I literally woke up on Saturday to a text from a man who has no stake in any of this that just said, "Maroon?!?!?"

Date: April 28

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

No song has come back stronger during the rerecordings than "The Other Side of the Door." It felt like no one even knew it until "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" breathed new life into it and reminded Swifties that the outro is one for the ages. 

She followed it up with "Coney Island," one of her most stunning breakup songs ever written. 

Date: May 7

Location: Nashville, Tennessee 

I didn't necessarily envy anyone who attended Nashville night three — that is, until Swift brought Aaron Dessner out around 1 a.m. in the pouring rain to sing "Would've, Could've, Should've."

This crowd did have to forgo an opening set from Phoebe Bridgers and sit around waiting an extra two hours for the storm to let up enough for Swift to perform, but her strongest soldiers fought for the right to scream the best "Midnights" track in the middle of the night. They deserved it. 

Date: March 18

Location: Glendale, Arizona

The second stop of the tour knocked out two great songs before we even registered that we weren't going to get to hear many of these songs again, and that there were actually two surprise songs each night.

As I previously wrote of "This Is Me Trying," it "stings like alcohol on an open wound. It hurts as it heals. It makes no judgment about the state you're in; all it needs you to understand is 'this is me trying.'"

It stung to lose it, along with the fan favorite "State of Grace."

Date: May 19

Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts 

Swift woke up mad as hell on May 19 and she made it anyone who wasn't at Gillette Stadium's problem by robbing the rest of us the chance to see her perform the debut-era banger "Should've Said No" and the "Red (Taylor's Version)" scorcher "Better Man."

Date: April 1

Location: Arlington, Texas 

Instead of pranking the 70,000 people who attended the Eras Tour on her second night in Arlington, Swift decided to play the most casually cruel April Fool's joke on all of her fans who didn't secure tickets to this stop on the tour by playing two of her best songs ever written.

As I wrote earlier in this list, there are not many songs I'd rather hear than "Clean." This crowd got it and one of the only live performances of her most screamable breakup song, "Death by a Thousand Cuts."

The Eras Tour still has plenty of dates left, but I fear it's going to be nearly impossible to top this duo.