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In the very first show of her very first headlining tour of the United States, pop princess Taylor Swift could have honked a tuba with her left nostril for two hours and the sold-out crowd of teen girls still would have shrieked and swooned as if the St. Pete Times Forum were handing out free unicorns at the door.
Such was the adoration for the 20-year-old singer-songwriter that there was never a question of whether she could carry a tune in the cavernous venue. It was whether Thursday's euphorically appreciative audience of 15,432 would actually let Swift get a word in.
Touring behind sophomore album Fearless, which has spent more time at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 chart than any other album in the 21st century, Swift had more than boisterous fans to help her through the biggest gig of her life. There was a seven-piece band, six backup dancers, an IMAX-sized video screen, a taped cameo by buddy Miley Cyrus and a shape-shifting stage that was a schoolroom one second, a castle the next.