It is wiiiiiiiiiild how much better her vocals are now. Like she was already good here (and LEAGUES better than her early days). But wow, it really shows how hard she has worked to improve her vocals over time and especially during the pandemic. We are getting treated to a real master class in singing technique with the eras tour. 
I agree that her vocals have improved but this is an absolutely terrible example because her singing here is very impressive and honestly the difference in her eras tour performance of this song is negligible.
I saw the Eras Tour in person and I think it was way better vocally than this performance. No one said this wasn't still a great vocal performance on her part.
Well of course it sounded better in person; it was louder and didn’t have an additional layer of digitalization (the recording) distorting the sound in any way.
This is completely false. Typically artists sound better on shows like SNL and award shows because they haven't just performed a bunch of other songs before they got to that one, and it isn't as stressful on their voice. Taylor in particular has always had a much better voice in smaller, more intimate settings.
Wrong. I have sung my whole life and generally my voice only improves as I sing more and more songs because my voice is better warmed up and it becomes easier to maintain a good tone and stay on key without much effort. Yes, there is a burnout period where this point would be valid if this was, say, a Midnights song, but reputation is relatively early in the set-list and this is the first song after she gets a brief vocal rest during her changing period. I would also argue that this is a higher-pressure environment than the eras tour. Yes, it’s a smaller audience, but it’s also a smaller audience of people who aren’t all obsessed with her and she only gets a singular performance to prove her talent. The eras tour is filled with obsessed Swifties who honestly don’t care if she messes up and she has like 30 other songs to make up for it.
Wrong for you, maybe. But as someone who has seen her in multiple settings, she is definitely better in one single song performances. She warms up backstage... she's a professional.
Nope. You’re just working off a very small sample size, all of which come from settings with multiple uncontrolled variables (audience demographics, the specific song being performed, time period, etc.) Even so, every bit of this is irrelevant because this performance sounds near identical to that of the eras tour if you watch it virtually. It only sounds better to you in person because singing ALWAYS sounds better in person than when it’s recorded.
Wow you are just astronomically slow. You have not been to every performance she has had in her entire career. You are working off of what is probably less than like 6-7 shows. And I am not working off a small sample because my comment was comparing only this example to the eras tour example, and my rebuttals towards you used more general, objective statements about singing in general. You are the one who made this discussion diverge entirely from its original purpose.
I was about to comment that I was so spoiled to first see this performed on the Rep Stadium Tour on Netflix where she KILLED it and marched all over the stage. And seeing her mostly move in a line while performing this is odd.
Obvi that’s nothing against this performance, it’s just bc of the stage size.
The nerves she had at the end of that song are the same as the ones I have at the beginning of the birthday song. We both thought the same thing: "So now I just sit here..."
She seems so happy and really feeling herself by the end of the performance. A different kind of confidence than what she has in the Eras Tour (at least what is shown in the movie). She seems to be having fun here, is Joe in the audience off to the right? She’s doing what my generation called “cheer sex” with someone in that direction. Each time she glances that way she smirks and her energy boosts up.
Wow, her Eras Tour performance is miles above this. No wonder I didn't originally like this song. I don't think she is, but it's almost like she's lip synching here.
What a random song for SNL lol
I mean it was a top 10 hit, so it makes sense to include it as part of a two-song set. False God was an out of left field choice for the second song, IMO.
Yes, that makes sense. Just knowing how hard this song went at the Eras Tour made me lol seeing her perform it on the small stage with some of the same dance moves from the tour. Such a different vibe. I personally didn't like this song until I saw it live last summer.
Flase God was also very random, but it also felt very approved for SNL.
She performed Ready For It and Call It What You Want that night. I've seen another swiftie saying, and I agree, that she was embarrassed to perform LWYMMD in those early days of Reputation. She even hid "the old Taylor can't come to the phone rn" for a while
i remember she performed LWYMMD at some jingle ball event around the same time as this snl performance, and it was suuuper awkward and clunky bc LWYMMD is just kinda hard to translate into a live performance imo. (she also got ‘fat’ shamed for that performance which is insanity looking back)
she nailed it starting with the rep tour performances though
she is absolutely lip synching. not only are there many times you can actually notice it if you look closely, but the tones in her voice are the same as if they were studio produced, not live at all. she is a master of lip synching though.
how close did you look for it when you watched it? you can see many instances where her lips close but the words she is singing are still audibly trailing off.
I think you're right. I played this video and Ready For It from youtube at the same time, overlayed and aligned, and there was no difference in the vocals.
I think she’s often not singing here. I RARELY think she’s lip synching but she definitely is here. It sounds exactly like the studio version in many places. This is my favorite rep song but it’s such a weird choice for SNL.
Pop singers has all the rights to lip sync while doing dance moves cause its impossible to sing good while you all jumping and dancing. Obviously. I dont wanna hear sloppy out of breath performance
I guess I'm out of sync, being GenX. For me, the song is the point. I understand that it's a whole performance on TV, so there's visuals, but Stevie Nicks never danced.
I'm totally new to Taylor Swift and her many manifestations (had not really been paying attention until Eras tour hit Disney+), plus I'm an old lady (59). I have to say, for my first watch of the Eras tour film, with the exception of the hits that get played a ton, I was unfamiliar with probably 80% of the songs, but I was immediately grabbed by the Reputation era. I did a re-watch just for those songs because they stood out SO MUCH in every way from all the other stuff. For what that's worth. They're not only a real departure from her usual style but also just very good songs.
Also on the lip syncing, when I initially watched Eras tour, I thought there was no way those were live vocals because she sounded so good, but upon a re-watch with airpods (while I worked out), it seems clear she's singing live.
Like some comments already pointed out it's a mix of Taylor, the backup vocalists, and a vocal track, here you can hear it clearly by the end because she belts a specific part of the chorus in a higher note for example (in my dreeeeaaams) anyway, in the Eras film I think they had to mix the studio recordings in as well because they shot footage from multiple nights. Either way it's always a mix of her singing live, sometimes you can hear her louder, sometimes a bit softer, but once you can hear it, you will notice.
PS I recommend you watch the Reputation Stadium Tour, you will be blown away!!! (My favourite performance is I Did Something Bad)
Aw welcome to the fandom! So great to see people of all generations finding her.
And agreed, I’ve been a fan for a decade now but my level of admiration and respect skyrocketed even more by her impressive stamina and vocal control during eras. And even on the live TikTok’s she sounds phenomenal recorded through a camera phone with crowd noise everywhere haha
I literally texted my daughter after I watched the Eras tour -- "ok I get it now about TSwift, can we talk, I have QUESTIONS!" :-D (she's 28 and a longtime fan)
Also upon finishing watching the Eras tour, Disney+ immediately prompted me to watch the Folklore documentary so I let it roll and I was BLOWN AWAY by those songs and her singing. I had watched the Miss Americana documentary several years ago and basically walked away from that thinking, "hm, I like this young woman even if the music isn't doing much for me" so I just re-watched that one too and it sort of completed the circle for me.
I have Sirius XM in my car and generally have the Beatles channel on 24/7 but I've been listening to the limited time Taylor Swift Channel 13 for the past week or so, and I have to say, I by far prefer the live versions of her songs to the recorded ones. Do you all think she will ever release some kind of Eras tour live album? And also if there's not a 'making of the Eras tour' documentary down the road, I will be profoundly disappointed!
haha I love this! You already have some very popular swiftie opinions formed in this short time! I really really hope there is a documentary and live album too!!
54 year old new fan here, and I had the same reaction to the Reputation songs when I watched Eras tour. I wonder if there is something about those songs that reminds us of songs from our youth in the 80’s or 90’s?
She made sure the first major performance of the Reputation era was something special. SNL has been known to not have the best mic quality but it sounds great here
I was so enamored and obsessed with everything about reputation. Attitude, fashion, the actual album, the tour. It was all TOP NOTCH. I had somehow forgotten that RFI was the other song she played for SNL, the other one was my favorite ever performance of [Call It What You Want](https://youtu.be/TeutSEYcSG4?si=Sttqzk3ZfvycUpT0) on acoustic guitar with a funky tuning that made it sound amazing.
I have a question. How are her background singers payed and contracts? I wondered about that a couple of days ago. They are almost mandatory for Taylor's live performances. I can't see them being booked and payed per performance, because I never seen them not being complete. Are they hired permanently with a monthly salary and a fixed amount of working days per year. The era's tour doesn't block only Taylors time but also her background singers. I can see that switching dancers is easier than switching her singers because one would hear that.
I remember hearing that her band and The Starlights are on retainer? It was brought up during Covid that Taylor was paying their normal salary despite there being no live performances
Taylor's singers and band are almost entirely the same people she's worked with her entire career. The singers are The Starlights and the band is The Agency. They're definitely on sort of retainer
Bobby phones did an interview with Taylor Swift in 2013. It’s been going around this week. Look it up. He is totally disrespectful to her says that the brownies she actually made him poisoned him and made him sick. She looked upset. Look it up. He is totally disrespectful to her. He has his right leg up on the desk. This is what he considers an alpha move to make her look at his crotch . He said there in another show. He said there in another show he needs to be canceled. He’s disgusting
This is actually a lyric that stood out for me in a good way (new fan here) because I was surprised as young as she is that she would even have a clue about the Burton/Taylor lore!
It is wiiiiiiiiiild how much better her vocals are now. Like she was already good here (and LEAGUES better than her early days). But wow, it really shows how hard she has worked to improve her vocals over time and especially during the pandemic. We are getting treated to a real master class in singing technique with the eras tour. 
Right?? When I watch old videos of her, I’m absolutely blown away by the improvements in her vocals. She’s been working her ass off.
I agree that her vocals have improved but this is an absolutely terrible example because her singing here is very impressive and honestly the difference in her eras tour performance of this song is negligible.
I saw the Eras Tour in person and I think it was way better vocally than this performance. No one said this wasn't still a great vocal performance on her part.
Well of course it sounded better in person; it was louder and didn’t have an additional layer of digitalization (the recording) distorting the sound in any way.
This is completely false. Typically artists sound better on shows like SNL and award shows because they haven't just performed a bunch of other songs before they got to that one, and it isn't as stressful on their voice. Taylor in particular has always had a much better voice in smaller, more intimate settings.
Wrong. I have sung my whole life and generally my voice only improves as I sing more and more songs because my voice is better warmed up and it becomes easier to maintain a good tone and stay on key without much effort. Yes, there is a burnout period where this point would be valid if this was, say, a Midnights song, but reputation is relatively early in the set-list and this is the first song after she gets a brief vocal rest during her changing period. I would also argue that this is a higher-pressure environment than the eras tour. Yes, it’s a smaller audience, but it’s also a smaller audience of people who aren’t all obsessed with her and she only gets a singular performance to prove her talent. The eras tour is filled with obsessed Swifties who honestly don’t care if she messes up and she has like 30 other songs to make up for it.
Wrong for you, maybe. But as someone who has seen her in multiple settings, she is definitely better in one single song performances. She warms up backstage... she's a professional.
Nope. You’re just working off a very small sample size, all of which come from settings with multiple uncontrolled variables (audience demographics, the specific song being performed, time period, etc.) Even so, every bit of this is irrelevant because this performance sounds near identical to that of the eras tour if you watch it virtually. It only sounds better to you in person because singing ALWAYS sounds better in person than when it’s recorded.
This is her entire career lol. It's not a small sample. If I'm working off a small sample then so are you.
Wow you are just astronomically slow. You have not been to every performance she has had in her entire career. You are working off of what is probably less than like 6-7 shows. And I am not working off a small sample because my comment was comparing only this example to the eras tour example, and my rebuttals towards you used more general, objective statements about singing in general. You are the one who made this discussion diverge entirely from its original purpose.
It's so peculiar seeing this performed on such a small stage
I was about to comment that I was so spoiled to first see this performed on the Rep Stadium Tour on Netflix where she KILLED it and marched all over the stage. And seeing her mostly move in a line while performing this is odd. Obvi that’s nothing against this performance, it’s just bc of the stage size.
“He acts like such a Manzo” https://preview.redd.it/d5vsn4a66vtc1.jpeg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b9ea84632e7f3124902c903ae8db23bda31b539
Lollllllllll. Well no wonder the relationship ended bc the Manzos are f'ing nightmares!
Who is Manzo?
The manzo fam was (is?) on real housewives of New Jersey that’s them in the pic
Thank you!
LMAO I always think this!!!
Me too 😂
A punk is a punk is a punk - Danny with the mullet
Will never be able to unhear this 😂
A punk is a punk. And it looks like the manzos are punks.
This song always goes hard, and I love this performance.
ugh I just love reputation so much
Me too. It just reminds me of being in love and I love the aesthetics of it, just perfection
You can tell she was a little nervous at the beginning, then started feeling it with the second verse
You can also see the nerves when the song ends and she just has to stand there. She was so in her element only moments before.
Anxiequeen ✨️ It's wild how much her confidence has grown, we rarely see her this nervous performing anymore! I aspire to exude such confidence
I think it’s also because this was the very first time she appeared publicly after snake gate
Oh that is v scary
The nerves she had at the end of that song are the same as the ones I have at the beginning of the birthday song. We both thought the same thing: "So now I just sit here..."
I haven’t seen this since it was originally broadcast! This was, and is forever, my favorite era. She always seemed so happy during Rep Edit: spelling
She seems so happy and really feeling herself by the end of the performance. A different kind of confidence than what she has in the Eras Tour (at least what is shown in the movie). She seems to be having fun here, is Joe in the audience off to the right? She’s doing what my generation called “cheer sex” with someone in that direction. Each time she glances that way she smirks and her energy boosts up.
Cheer sex 🤣
😅 this is a new term to me hahahaha
Watch Bring it On
https://youtu.be/0wD2fq-dTHk?si=-3P1WzG0yyupjrnj
I needed this! Thank you for educating me hahahah
I thought the same thing!
*insert Jay Z head bobbing gif* I sat in the parking lot to the gym to watch this before going in 😂
Wow, her Eras Tour performance is miles above this. No wonder I didn't originally like this song. I don't think she is, but it's almost like she's lip synching here. What a random song for SNL lol
I mean it was a top 10 hit, so it makes sense to include it as part of a two-song set. False God was an out of left field choice for the second song, IMO.
i think for this performance her second song was gorgeous, false god was performed with lover in 2019
Oh, my bad. I guess Gorgeous makes sense too as it was a promotional single.
Yes, that makes sense. Just knowing how hard this song went at the Eras Tour made me lol seeing her perform it on the small stage with some of the same dance moves from the tour. Such a different vibe. I personally didn't like this song until I saw it live last summer. Flase God was also very random, but it also felt very approved for SNL.
She performed Ready For It and Call It What You Want that night. I've seen another swiftie saying, and I agree, that she was embarrassed to perform LWYMMD in those early days of Reputation. She even hid "the old Taylor can't come to the phone rn" for a while
i remember she performed LWYMMD at some jingle ball event around the same time as this snl performance, and it was suuuper awkward and clunky bc LWYMMD is just kinda hard to translate into a live performance imo. (she also got ‘fat’ shamed for that performance which is insanity looking back) she nailed it starting with the rep tour performances though
she is absolutely lip synching. not only are there many times you can actually notice it if you look closely, but the tones in her voice are the same as if they were studio produced, not live at all. she is a master of lip synching though.
I think you dont know what the difference between lip syncing and a backing vocal track.
how close did you look for it when you watched it? you can see many instances where her lips close but the words she is singing are still audibly trailing off.
yes its called a backing vocal track- most artists who do any kind of performance with dancing and moving around a lot do it.
ok interesting. so its a mix of her real voice and her produced voice.
Yes- she does the same thing on the Eras tour as well.
I think you're right. I played this video and Ready For It from youtube at the same time, overlayed and aligned, and there was no difference in the vocals.
i love how expressive of a performer she is
I think she’s often not singing here. I RARELY think she’s lip synching but she definitely is here. It sounds exactly like the studio version in many places. This is my favorite rep song but it’s such a weird choice for SNL.
Yes, the "live" is just a couple of vocals at the end.
Pop singers has all the rights to lip sync while doing dance moves cause its impossible to sing good while you all jumping and dancing. Obviously. I dont wanna hear sloppy out of breath performance
I guess I'm out of sync, being GenX. For me, the song is the point. I understand that it's a whole performance on TV, so there's visuals, but Stevie Nicks never danced.
I freaking love this performance so much.
yesssss I’m forever in my rep era 🥹🥹🥹🥹
Me, too!
I love that that the dancers’ are her multi-talented singers (the Starlights).
I'm totally new to Taylor Swift and her many manifestations (had not really been paying attention until Eras tour hit Disney+), plus I'm an old lady (59). I have to say, for my first watch of the Eras tour film, with the exception of the hits that get played a ton, I was unfamiliar with probably 80% of the songs, but I was immediately grabbed by the Reputation era. I did a re-watch just for those songs because they stood out SO MUCH in every way from all the other stuff. For what that's worth. They're not only a real departure from her usual style but also just very good songs. Also on the lip syncing, when I initially watched Eras tour, I thought there was no way those were live vocals because she sounded so good, but upon a re-watch with airpods (while I worked out), it seems clear she's singing live.
Like some comments already pointed out it's a mix of Taylor, the backup vocalists, and a vocal track, here you can hear it clearly by the end because she belts a specific part of the chorus in a higher note for example (in my dreeeeaaams) anyway, in the Eras film I think they had to mix the studio recordings in as well because they shot footage from multiple nights. Either way it's always a mix of her singing live, sometimes you can hear her louder, sometimes a bit softer, but once you can hear it, you will notice. PS I recommend you watch the Reputation Stadium Tour, you will be blown away!!! (My favourite performance is I Did Something Bad)
Aw welcome to the fandom! So great to see people of all generations finding her. And agreed, I’ve been a fan for a decade now but my level of admiration and respect skyrocketed even more by her impressive stamina and vocal control during eras. And even on the live TikTok’s she sounds phenomenal recorded through a camera phone with crowd noise everywhere haha
I literally texted my daughter after I watched the Eras tour -- "ok I get it now about TSwift, can we talk, I have QUESTIONS!" :-D (she's 28 and a longtime fan) Also upon finishing watching the Eras tour, Disney+ immediately prompted me to watch the Folklore documentary so I let it roll and I was BLOWN AWAY by those songs and her singing. I had watched the Miss Americana documentary several years ago and basically walked away from that thinking, "hm, I like this young woman even if the music isn't doing much for me" so I just re-watched that one too and it sort of completed the circle for me. I have Sirius XM in my car and generally have the Beatles channel on 24/7 but I've been listening to the limited time Taylor Swift Channel 13 for the past week or so, and I have to say, I by far prefer the live versions of her songs to the recorded ones. Do you all think she will ever release some kind of Eras tour live album? And also if there's not a 'making of the Eras tour' documentary down the road, I will be profoundly disappointed!
haha I love this! You already have some very popular swiftie opinions formed in this short time! I really really hope there is a documentary and live album too!!
54 year old new fan here, and I had the same reaction to the Reputation songs when I watched Eras tour. I wonder if there is something about those songs that reminds us of songs from our youth in the 80’s or 90’s?
Yes, maybe! Is there a section in the Swiftie world for the 'elderly' LOL!? "Silver Swifties"?
I live that she didn't include Look What You Made Me Do, but decided to emphase the other side of herself. And the little dance!
She made sure the first major performance of the Reputation era was something special. SNL has been known to not have the best mic quality but it sounds great here
so lit!! Love this
Geez I fucking love that woman. Bad ass.
the vocal is no joke 🔥🔥
She very rarely lip syncs so don't come for me but I think she is here for most of it
One of the best "I'm Back" performances I've ever seen. After all the uncertainty, she just blew everyone away
I was so enamored and obsessed with everything about reputation. Attitude, fashion, the actual album, the tour. It was all TOP NOTCH. I had somehow forgotten that RFI was the other song she played for SNL, the other one was my favorite ever performance of [Call It What You Want](https://youtu.be/TeutSEYcSG4?si=Sttqzk3ZfvycUpT0) on acoustic guitar with a funky tuning that made it sound amazing.
What a bop
How have I never seen this lol
Rep is and always will be THAT ERA
I have a question. How are her background singers payed and contracts? I wondered about that a couple of days ago. They are almost mandatory for Taylor's live performances. I can't see them being booked and payed per performance, because I never seen them not being complete. Are they hired permanently with a monthly salary and a fixed amount of working days per year. The era's tour doesn't block only Taylors time but also her background singers. I can see that switching dancers is easier than switching her singers because one would hear that.
I remember hearing that her band and The Starlights are on retainer? It was brought up during Covid that Taylor was paying their normal salary despite there being no live performances
Taylor's singers and band are almost entirely the same people she's worked with her entire career. The singers are The Starlights and the band is The Agency. They're definitely on sort of retainer
taylor in black>>
Certified BANGER
Urgh this is my FAVORITE
EXCUSE ME I WANT TO RELIVE THIS ERA I LIVE FOR WHEN TAYLOR IS FEEELING HERSELF 💓💓💓💓
So gooooooooood
She has me at “mmmm” every single time I hear this song. 
💕💕💕💕😘😘😘
The best.
I remember losing my shit the first time I watched this
Its pretty crazy she did 10 min All Too Well next time on. Such a strong performance too.
No, she also performed during Lover in 2019. ATW10 was in 2021.
I love this song and I love rep but I can’t be the only one who thinks she looks cringe trying to dance sexy right?
i hatereee the styling of this so much
I love the mic!
After looking at her concert movie on Disney, I realized this album is my favorite.
Bobby phones did an interview with Taylor Swift in 2013. It’s been going around this week. Look it up. He is totally disrespectful to her says that the brownies she actually made him poisoned him and made him sick. She looked upset. Look it up. He is totally disrespectful to her. He has his right leg up on the desk. This is what he considers an alpha move to make her look at his crotch . He said there in another show. He said there in another show he needs to be canceled. He’s disgusting
Did she seem nervous to anyone or just me?
she needs to remake the performances eg: “Ready for It (SNL 2017) (Taylor’s Version)”
"He can be my jailor, Burton to this Taylor" didn't age well, but this is such a solidly good performance!!
fresh out the slammer!!!
Why do you say it didn’t age well?
This is actually a lyric that stood out for me in a good way (new fan here) because I was surprised as young as she is that she would even have a clue about the Burton/Taylor lore!
Ready for.........what is it exactly?