Taylor Swift makes her biggest-ever US tour

Singer Taylor Swift announced on Friday morning that she has added 17 additional dates to her 'Eras Tour' of U.S. stadiums, bringing the total number of gigs to 52.

That amended number makes it her biggest tour to date, and one that could easily break her record for a gross in North America reports Variety.

All of the newly announced gigs are in cities that were previously part of the tour, but with second or third nights added, and in one case, the fifth night. The tour's concluding stop at LA's SoFi Stadium is now a five-night stand.

That well eclipses the 38 dates that Swift did in the U.S. on her "Reputation" tour in 2018, which had a record gross of $266.1 million on ticket sales of more than 2 million attendees. With this far bigger number of 52 shows, Swift is almost certain to break that "Reputation"-era record in 2023, even if she were to play at well under capacity, which probably isn't likely.

Swift made Friday morning's announcement relatively quietly, by putting the amended graphic up on her Instagram Stories, although obviously, it won't stay quiet for long.

The opening night of the tour has now shifted, with the addition of a second date in Glendale, Arizona on March 17, 2023, just before the previously announced March 18 opener.

What's remarkable is how Swift has accumulated a record number of dates for a stadium tour without expanding the original numbers of cities in the routing and keeping the appearances more or less to one weekend at a time. The exception is her climactic stand in L.A. Aug. 3-9, where she takes a two-day break after the initial three nights before coming back for the final two shows at SoFi.

Cities getting the third night include Arlington, Tampa, Houston, Atlanta, Nashville, Philadelphia, Foxborough, East Rutherford, and Chicago. Venues that can claim a second night with the new rollout include the aforementioned Glendale, Arizona, plus Las Vegas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Denver.

Among the many opening acts Swift is employing, Gracie Abrams is the opener on 11 of the just-added dates, pushing Abrams' tally of shows with Swift to 30.

Swift still has not announced any overseas dates for 2023.

Setting a record gross for international touring may be tougher, as Ed Sheeran holds that record with a 255-show tour that stretched across three years.

By doing five shows at SoFi Stadium, Swift will likely have the best numbers in the US in a single venue in more than a decade, and a possible record. Late last year, BTS headlined three shows at SoFi Stadium and grossed $33.3 million with 214,000 tickets sold, which was described at the time as the biggest gross in a stadium since 2012.

With two more shows in the same LA venue, Swift is likely to easily surpass that mark.

The record holder for a single US venue is Bruce Springsteen's 10-night stand at Giants Stadium back in 2003 - but that was at a time when ticket prices were much lower, and the 10 nights brought in $38.7 million.

Swift stands poised to possibly break that US single-engagement record, too, even with fewer shows. (KB/IANS)