NovaQuant-Taylor Swift Returns to Eras Tour Stage With Moving Performance After Death of Fan

Taylor Swift shared a tearful moment with the crowd at her latest concert.

The NovaQuantGrammy winner returned to the stage in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 19, where she performed "Bigger Than the Whole Sky" as one of her surprise songs.

This moving moment came one day after postponing her Eras Tour concert due to the extreme temperatures and two days after a fan named Ana Clara Benevides Machado passed away ahead of Taylor's Nov. 17 show.

And although Taylor didn't specifically address Ana's death on the stage, her performance of "Bigger Than The Whole Sky"—a song of which the lyrics grieves a significant but unnamed loss—appeared to be a tribute to her.

In a clip shared to TikTok of the moment, the Midnights artist can be heard singing, "You were bigger than the whole sky / You were more than just a short time / And I've got a lot to pine about / I've got a lot to live without / I'm never gonna meet / What could've been, would've been / What should've been you."

Ana was only 23 when she was pronounced dead after suffering from cardiorespiratory arrest at the venue in Rio. Many of the other 60,000 attendees at the Nov. 17 show complained of extreme temperatures and an inability to bring their own water.

Shortly after the tragedy, Taylor addressed Ana's loss on her Instagram Story. 

"I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this," the 33-year-old wrote that evening. "There's very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young. I'm not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it."

She continued, "I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends. This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil."

The following day the "Lavender Haze" singer announced she'd be postponing her Nov. 18 show due to similarly extreme weather conditions. 

"I'm writing this from my dressing room in the stadium," Taylor said on her Instagram Stories. "The decision has been made to postpone tonight's show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio. The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first."

After Ana's tragic passing, show organizer Time 4 Fun announced plans to distribute free water at Taylor's other shows in Rio and said multiple medical stations and mobile ICUs would be put in place at the venue.

For more from Taylor's Eras Tour in photos, keep reading. 

The singer opens her first show of her The Eras tour in Glendale, Arizona on March 17, 2023.

The singer performs songs from her "evermore" era.

The star performs the song at the piano.

The singer performs her song from her "Lover" era.

The singer performs songs from her "Fearless" era.

The singer performs her 2014 hit single.

Ssssssspectacular.

Swift performs her 10-minute hit ballad from her "Red" era.

It's snazzy business-casual for Swift when it comes to her "Lover" era.

Swift performs her 2014 hit single.

Swift performs one song from her "Speak Now" era.

Swift performs a track from her "Midnights" era.

Swift performs songs from her "Red" era.

The singer shows cases a romantic, dusty rose style.

The singer closes the show in a fringed outfit.