BELLE OF THE BALLTaylor Swift ditches her guitar and rocker duds for a grand ball gown - one of several costume changes - during her concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 26
Compared to the R-rated gyrations of pop stars like Britney Spears, Swift's rock-country production felt endearingly innocent. Her set pieces included a school library and a turreted castle; her dancers wore yellow cheerleading uniforms and Regency-style gowns whose bodices never threatened to rip. Only once, during a sultry cover of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around...," did she give a bittersweet hint that she is also growing up.
For the most part, though, her songs hit like heroin for the Disney princess set. She opened with "You Belong With Me," her latest single from her "Fearless" album, released last November; followed by feel-good odes like "Our Song" and "Hey Stephen." She evoked a fragile Janis Ian during her acoustic version of "Fifteen," though only the Baby Boomer parents likely noticed.
Her biggest number was "Love Story," in which she donned a red brocade gown that quick-changed into a white Grecian dress, but she got the most sustained applause for a quieter rendition of "Tim McGraw," her first hit from her eponymous 2006 album.
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