The worrying signs that Taylor Swift could burn out before her Eras tour reaches Britain – and losing her voice is just one of them

It was the moment all Taylor Swift fans had been dreading as she pushed herself night after night on her continent-spanning Eras tour. And then, during her show in Singapore on Monday night, it finally happened: the global megastar’s voice gave out.

While singing her hit Delicate, she suddenly started coughing and spluttering.

Her diehard fans, dubbed Swifties, rushed to social media to express their concerns, with one person writing: “I was there and so worried about Taylor, she is fighting for her life.”

While perhaps an overreaction, it does beg the question: is it all too much for Taylor Swift?

Cracks in the star’s voice appear to be just the tip of the iceberg: It has been plagued with problems ever since she took her record-breaking, multibillion-dollar tour east to Australia and Asia.

The North American leg was the highest-grossing tour in history and touted a cultural phenomenon that boosted the US economy with claims that Swiftmania – she’s not a Trump fan – could even help influence the 2024 presidential election.

Like the Pied Piper, Ms Swift’s phenomenal three-and-a-half-hour performance inspires her fans – it’s a showcase of her seemingly unbreakable endurance as she takes the audience through 44 songs and charts the ‘eras’ of her two decades of making music.

But since she arrived in the US last November, things started to go wrong.

Her father was accused of assault in Australia after people ‘aggressively pushed’ to reach Swift, the tour has sparked a dispute between South Asian countries – more on that later – and her continued use of a ‘gas-guzzling’ private jet has been heavily criticised.

And Ms Swift is only halfway through her global tour – she has yet to take it to Europe – and Swifties are now concerned that the 33-year-old is teetering on the brink of ‘tour burnout’, which could bring the tour to a halt .

Taylor Swift (pictured) has fans worried after appearing to have a cold during her first show in Singapore

As the 14-time Grammy winner kicked off her third of six performances in Southeast Asia, coughing fits and throat clearing interrupted her performance halfway through the song.

One X user wrote: ‘You can hear a raspy tone in her voice, she also seems calmer and more reserved in her movements.’

Another added: ‘I can only imagine how exhausting it must be on tour giving 100 at every performance, she is incredible.’

Some weakly suggested it could be the change in the weather: “Combination of weather change, humidity and probably physical fatigue,” one person wrote.

But other Swifties were unanimous: “I’m scared, she needs a break now.”

Swift has only been back on the road for less than a month after pausing her tour for Christmas. She will have a break in April and will start the European leg in May.

So far she has performed 79 shows and has 73 more to go.

Several high-profile acts have previously canceled tour dates due to mental health issues and burnout, including Wet Leg, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes. And Burnout was the reason behind the breakup of One Direction, one of the biggest boy bands of the 21st century, after performing 329 live shows and releasing four albums in just under four years.

The high pressure and relentless touring led to 31-year-old Zayn Malik leaving the band in 2015 due to ‘stress’, saying he wanted to be ‘a normal 22-year-old’.

Like Ms. Swift, the band was a global phenomenon, winning five Brit Awards, more than 50 million record sales, 91 worldwide number ones and more than 7.5 million concert tickets sold.

The five boys, discovered when they were teenagers on The

Taylor Swift’s father Scott (pictured with her in 2015) was firmly by her side during her tour. But he has been charged with assault after a run-in with paparazzi in Australia

Meanwhile, other artists live in fear of the problem, with Ed Sheeran explaining in 2022: ‘Being burned out is a very real thing. I hope I don’t burn out.

“When I was doing arena tours, you play like four shows in a row, one show off. Four shows in a row, one showpiece.’

Ms. Swift coped well with burnout during the U.S. leg of her tour, performing two to three shows at a time in each city and then taking a week off, which meant her voice got quite a break.

But it now appears that the wheels of the well-oiled Eras Tour machine are flying away, starting with the singer’s voice, but ending with her father possibly taking legal action in Australia.

Scott Swift, 71, was a fixture at his daughter’s side during her global tour and when she finished her final show in Sydney, Australia, he accompanied her across the harbor back to their hotel by yacht.

As they stepped off the luxury boat at the Sydney wharf at 2.30am, Ms Swift, who was hidden under an umbrella, was heading to a waiting car when she was approached by a handful of local photographers.

According to paparazzo Ben McDonald, the singer’s team “pushed” umbrellas into the photographers’ faces. He claims that after the singer was in the car, Swift “barged in” and attacked him, without provocation.

Mr McDonald said: ‘I’ve been doing this for 23 years and I’ve never been in a situation where someone hit me in the chops.’

Responding to the allegations, Ms Swift’s team said: ‘Two individuals aggressively pushed their way towards Taylor, grabbed her security staff and threatened to throw a female staff member into the water.’

But Mr McDonald – CEO of Matrix Media Group – branded the statement “complete nonsense” and said the only woman on the scene was Taylor Swift.

In a statement, New South Wales Police said: “The younger man reported the incident and officers are now investigating.”

The alleged attack was not well received by X with some saying: ‘Lock him up!’

Another person wrote: ‘Her dad overreacted. He had no reason to punch that man. The photographer should sue the father.’

In a rare occurrence, America’s Golden Girl has received a poor reception and Ms Swift’s private jet, a Bombardier Global 6000, left Sydney hours after the alleged attack.

Her jet is of course another point of contention for fans outside America after she was criticized in Australia for using it regularly.

She flew from America to Australia and then used it to travel between Melbourne and Sydney before sending it back to Hawaii to pick up her footballer boyfriend Travis Kelce so he could watch her perform.

Australian critics condemned the 33-year-old for flippantly using a “gas-guzzling plane” instead of flying commercially.

One person wrote on

A spokesperson for the pop star said she had offset her carbon footprint by purchasing carbon credits to support verified projects that help reduce global emissions to “protect fragile ecosystems.”

Elsewhere, it seems that while the Eras Tour benefited America by reportedly boosting its economy by £4.5 billion, the colossal show is becoming more of a hindrance than a help to other countries as it works its way across the whole world.

Countries in Southeast Asia were left outraged when it was revealed that Swift had signed an exclusive deal with Singapore that she would only perform there. Last week she earned £14 million to perform six shows there.

Singapore’s culture minister declined to confirm how much Ms Swift was paid, but claimed the figure was nowhere as high as reports suggest.

However, the fact that she was paid at all has caused an uproar in the region. Thailand’s prime minister accused Singapore of paying £2.3 million a night for the performances.

In the Philippines, a lawmaker called for a protest against the deal, saying: “This is not what good neighbors do.”

There has also been criticism that the deal may have been a tactic to boost tourism and that the affair has reportedly sparked controversy and disagreement between the countries.

After her break next month, Swift will head to Europe in May – to Portugal and then England – if (ital) she manages to keep the burnout at bay.