Taylor Swift fans are mourning the loss of one of their own after a fan named Ana Clara Benevides Machado died during the singer's Friday night (Nov. 17) concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Swift shared her heartbreak surrounding the situation in a note after the show, saying that she wouldn't be addressing the tragedy during her concert due to her overwhelming grief. However, fans believe she shared a tribute to the fan through song.
During Sunday night's show, Swift performed "Bigger Than the Whole Sky" as one of her surprise songs. The song serves as a poignant goodbye to someone who left this earth too soon, and Swift looked clearly emotional as she performed the tune.
@sweetyhigh Bigger Than The Whole Sky ?️ We love you Taylor ? - ?: gustavo.gual - #taylorswift #tstheerastour #riotstheerastour #riodejaneiro #taylorswiftbrazil #brazil #swifttok #swifties #fyp
Fans also noticed she changed one of the lyrics in the song. In the second verse, the original lyrics are, "Every single thing to come has turned into ashes." Instead, Swift sang, "Every single thing I touch has turned into ashes." While some noted that the change could have been a simple mistake — as she sings "every single thing I touch" in the first verse — others wondered if it was a tribute to Benevides Machado.
@belixa.13 Taylor changed the lyrics on bigger than the whole sky tonight. “Every single thing I touch has turned into ashes” #erastour #riotheerastour #theerastour #biggerthanthewholesky #taylorswift #swiftie #taylor #surprisesong #fyp
Fans took to social media to react to Swift's performance and the lyric change. Many wondered if the change was intentional, and if so, they offered their support to the singer.
“every single thing I touch has turned to ashes”
idk if that change on bttws was intentional on taylor’s part tonight, but wow did that cut deep. I know she’s feeling a tremendous weight right now ??— Alena ⸆⸉ ???? (@alenasfolksongs) November 20, 2023
original lyrics: Every single thing to come has turned into ashes
taylor tonight: every single thing i touch has turned into ashes
i'm not crying you are ? taylor i promise it's not your fault ? pic.twitter.com/rrSWJArdO6
— hawa ? (@diorbabe66) November 20, 2023
taylor singing BTTWS was such a beautiful tribute to the fans we lost recently. taylor may not have been able to speak about it but she sang a beautiful song. ??
— michaela⸆⸉ | slut! (@_altarismyhips_) November 20, 2023
According to Brazilian news outlet, G1, 23-year-old Benevides Machado passed out during the second song in Swift's set, "Cruel Summer." She was taken to Salgado Filho Municipal Hospital in cardiorespiratory arrest, but she could not be resuscitated. Her official cause of death has not been revealed, but many outlets have noted the remarkably high temperatures in Rio the day of the show. Reports claim that fans stood in line for the show for hours and that the venue limited water bottles.
Swift responded to the tragedy with a message on her Instagram stories, saying he was "devastated" by the news.
"I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this," Swift wrote. "There's very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young. I'm not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it."
"I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends," she adds. "This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil."
Swift cancelled her concert on Saturday night due to the high temperatures. She returned to the stage Sunday.
