Early in the first concert of her sell-out Australian tour, Taylor Swift asked for the indulgence of the crowd. “If I seem like I’m losing my mind about the fact that there are 96,000 people here tonight – it’s true,” she said, declaring it to be the biggest concert she’d ever played.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground roared back its approval, just like they did for every song, every dance move and every bit of banter, no matter how rehearsed.