Taylor Swift Begins Throwback Ballad with Moving Speech: 'Appearances Aren't Everything'

Taylor Swift struck an emotional chord with fans Saturday night after she performed a throwback ballad and delivered a heartfelt speech about not judging others based on how they seem from the outside.

During her concert, part of the Reputation Tour, at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Swift, 28, told fans she was going to play a song she hadn’t in several years. It’s “pretty old,” she began, adding, “It’s from my first album.”

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Before breaking into the first verse of “Tied Together with a Smile” — a song she wrote on the day she found out a close friend had an eating disorder — the pop star shared, “One thing I have noticed in my life is you can never judge what somebody else is going through, even if they seem like they have it all together, they seem like, how can they ever have any problems?”

The “Blank Space” singer opened up even more: “You’re looking at somebody who is maybe really beautiful or seems like they have it all together, maybe they have a life that you’re really envious of, but I’ve learned that appearances aren’t everything. Just because somebody looks happy doesn’t mean they are. Just because somebody looks healthy doesn’t mean they are.”

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Lastly, she spoke about the stress and expectations placed on young people today.

“There’s so much pressure on everyone these days to have it all together, to have a perfect body, a perfect life, to know exactly where they want to go with their life,” she concluded. “I think the stress and the pressure of not being able to say that they’re hurting has really taken a toll on a lot of people. So I’m just asking you, just try to be kind to yourself. Just know that there are so many people that are going through the exact same thing that you might be going through, whatever it is.”

In 2007, the then-17-year-old musician told Entertainment Weekly that “Tied Together with a Smile” about “one of my friends, who is this beauty queen, pageant princess — a gorgeous, popular girl in high school. Every guy wanted to be with her, every girl wanted to be her.”

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift

Earlier in the week, on Thursday, Swift honored Aretha Franklin at a concert in Detroit, the hometown of the Queen of Soul. She asked the sold-out crowd to pay tribute to Franklin with a moment of silence.

“Last week we lost an irreplaceable force. Aretha Franklin did so much for music, she did so much for women’s rights, she did so much for civil rights,” Swift told concertgoers as heard on videos shared by fans on social media.

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Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift

“She was one of those people where no matter what you said, no matter what glowing positive thing you said about her, it would be an understatement. Words could never, ever describe how many things she did in her lifetime that made our world a better place. And this is her home,” Swift added.

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“I would like it if we could have a moment of silence so that every single one of us could reflect on our love and respect for her and everything that she did in her life. So if we could please cut the lights, we’ll have a moment of silence for Aretha,” Swift said. “We love you Aretha.”