song grand tour

• Country Music
• George Jones
• Tammy Wynette

The Meaning Behind “The Grand Tour” by George Jones Hit a Bit Too Close to Home

by Jim Beviglia January 23, 2024, 6:47 am

Country music has always been associated with songs of sadness. It makes sense then that George Jones was such a legend of the genre,. Nobody has ever been able to transmit sadness across the airwaves quite like he did.

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Getting deep inside the tragedies and misfortunes of his songs might have been a little easier for Jones than most. He was often living through some circumstance in his own turbulent life that related almost directly to the lyrics. Case in point: “ The Grand Tour ,” a masterpiece of melancholy that features Jones hitting every nuance and twist in a brilliantly crafted piece of material. Let’s look back at how this country classic came to be and learn the meaning behind “The Grand Tour” by George Jones.

Getting Grand Again

George Jones dominated the ’60s in terms of the country music charts. But by the time the decade turned over, he was scuffling a bit to find the touch. While many blamed the never-ending drama in his personal life for the dip, Jones himself felt that his work wasn’t getting properly handled by his producers and record executives, which is why he decamped for Epic Records.

Jones thought that Epic’s Billy Sherrill was just the guy to transform his work, but their first few records together didn’t do much. To make matters worse, Jones’ wife at the time, Tammy Wynette, was pretty much the queen of the genre. In an interview with Billboard in 2006, Jones spoke about how it took Sherrill a while to understand just how to approach Jones’ vocal stylings.

“He just came up with that sound like he got with Tammy [Wynette], [sings] ‘Ba bum ba bum ba bum,’ build-ups, and it was a little more updated, I guess,” Jones remembered. “He tried to do that with me, but I finally had a talk with him. I said, ‘Billy, I’m country, I’m traditional, I know you’re wanting to cross over with me like you have with Tammy, Charlie Rich and those people, but I’m hardcore and I can’t help it. That’s what I feel, and I can’t do a good job for the label, you or anybody else if I don’t feel it myself.’ I had no problem after that, we’d go in and he got me a good sound. I used my fiddle and steel and good country pickers, and I guess I really just lucked up a little bit on finding the songs.”

Stranger Than Fiction

One of those songs that Jones found was a beauty written by Norro Wilson, George Richey, and Carmol Taylor. And, as was so often the case with Jones, he found himself singing about a subject that hit very closet to home. “The Grand Tour” is a song about a breakup, and, about the time he recorded it with Sherrill, his own marriage to Wynette was crumbling. Bizarrely enough, co-writer Richey would later marry Wynette in a twist that not even Jones’ most devastating songs of woe could have imagined.

If Sherrill had struggled initially producing Jones, he certainly got it just right with “The Grand Tour.” It’s clever how each section begins with Jones singing a cappella, only to be answered by a piano that almost seems to be mocking him before the whole band kicks into gear. Pete Drake provides inimitable support on steel guitar. As for Jones, listen to how he sounds genial at the beginning of each verse as he talks to the stranger, before his emotions get the better of him as he talks about his wife’s departure.

What Is “The Grand Tour” About?

“The Grand Tour” is structured as if the narrator were a real estate agent conducting an open house for potential buyers. But it quickly turns into something different when he explains that, Some things I know will chill you to the bone are waiting inside. From there, he goes through the inventory: a chair, a bed, a photo of the pair, and finally, her rings, all her things/And her clothes are in the closet .

To each of these is attached a bittersweet memory of happier times. When he shows the stranger the picture of her, he can’t help but ruminate on what might have been: Don’t it look like she’d be able/Just to touch me and say, ‘Good morning, dear.’ But since she’s gone forever , that’s an impossibility.

[RELATED: Behind the Song: George Jones, “He Stopped Loving Her Today”]

Alternative Take

It should be noted that some fans of the song believe that “The Grand Tour” doesn’t depict a divorce, but instead a scenario where the wife has died along with their child in some accident. That’s a bit of a gruesome take on it in our opinion, but the important thing is the emotion conveyed by Jones as he brings it all home: As you leave you’ll see the nursery/Oh, she left me without mercy .

“The Grand Tour” proved a massive comeback hit for Jones upon its release in 1974, and helped point the way to another monumental collaboration with Sherrill in “ He Stopped Living Her Today .” You don’t need to have lived through that kind of sadness to relate to the song, because George Jones’ performance made sure we could wallow in it with him for the course of those gloriously sorrowful three minutes.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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The Grand Tour

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About The Grand Tour

"The Grand Tour" is a song made famous by country music singer George Jones. Originally released in 1974, the song was the title track to his album released that year. The song became Jones' sixth No. 1 song (fifth if only solo entries are considered) on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart in August 1974, and was the fourth-biggest hit of the year. In 2014, Rolling Stone named the song number 38 on its "40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time".

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George Glenn Jones (born September 12, 1931) is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette. more »

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Written by: CARMOL TAYLOR, GEORGE RICHEY, NORRIS WILSON, NORRIS D WILSON

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Know any other songs by george jones don't keep it to yourself, image credit, the web's largest resource for, music, songs & lyrics, a member of the stands4 network, watch the song video, more tracks from the album, the collection: super hits/super hits, vol. 2/george snd tammy super hits [longbox].

• #1 White Lightnin'
• #2 Why Baby Why
• #3 The Window Up Above
• #4 A Picture of Me (Without You)
• #5 The Grand Tour
• #6 Bartender's Blues
• #7 He Stopped Loving Her Today
• #8 Tennessee Whiskey
• #9 The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)
• #10 Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes
• #11 The Door
• #12 Still Doin' Time
• #13 Shine On (Shine All Your Sweet Love on Me)
• #14 I Always Get Lucky With You
• #15 I'm a One Woman Man
• #16 I Turn to You
• #17 Wine Colored Roses
• #18 Loving You Could Never Be Better
• #19 She Thinks I Still Care
• #20 Radio Lover
• #21 Golden Ring
• #22 We're Gonna Hold On
• #23 When I Stop Dreaming
• #24 We Go Together
• #25 Southern California
• #26 (We're Not) the Jet Set
• #27 Two Story House
• #28 Something to Brag About
• #29 My Elusive Dreams
• #30 The Ceremony

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Flashback to George Jones’ “The Grand Tour” – One of the Saddest Songs of All Time

George Jones’ hit song, “The Grand Tour” will absolutely be our all-time favorite.

It was released in 1974 as the first single from Jones’ album of the same name. The emotional song was a hit and earned Jones the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, the sixth No. 1 song of his career.

One of the Saddest Country Songs Of All Time

While “The Grand Tour” itself was incredibly successful, the song’s meaning was about a failed marriage and lost love.

The song kicked off with sorrowful foreshadowing that sends chills down your spine. Jones then invited us into his broken home, now haunted by happy memories of the past.

“There’s her rings, all her things. And her clothes are in the closet like she left them when she tore my world apart. As you leave, you’ll see the nursery. Oh, she left me without mercy. Taking nothing but our baby and my heart,” the song goes.

Jones’ bellowing and his sorrowful voice added an element of real pain to the song as soon as he sang. So, it was no longer a surprise when Rolling Stone named the song No. 38 on its “40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time.”

Songwriter Norro Wilson contemplated the success of “The Grand Tour” in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. “As I recall, when George cut that song, it was the most talked-about record he’d had in an awfully long time,” Wilson said. “‘The Grand Tour’ is one of my proudest moments.” 

When Wilson arrived at the Grand Ole Opry around the time of the record’s release, “No sooner I walked in the door, everybody came runnin’ up to me and said, ‘Jesus Christ! Have you got a monster on your hands?'” Wilson recalled. “And man, I went ballistic! Everybody I ran across that night said, ‘That’s just gonna be a monster.’ It was a really, really, really good record.”

“The Grand Tour” was also deeply personal for Jones when he first sang it, as his own marriage to his fellow country star, Tammy Wynette, was on the verge of its end. Indeed, just within a year of the song’s release, Jones sadly split from his wife. Oddly enough, Wynette later married George Richey, who co-wrote “The Grand Tour.”

So grab a box of tissues and check out George Jones’ heart-tugging performance of “The Grand Tour.”

George Jones

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S3.E1 ∙ Motown Funk

S3.E2 ∙ The Colombia Special Part 1

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S4.E1 ∙ The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen

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The Grand Tour: Where You Can Stream Every Episode Online

• Top Gear trio, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, returned with The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime after leaving the original show.
• The Grand Tour evolved over 5 seasons, ditching the Top Gear format for adventure-based episodes filmed around the world.
• The Grand Tour will conclude in Zimbabwe after over 20 years of automotive adventures, as the trio pursue new projects individually.

If you were around, conscious and a self-proclaimed automotive enthusiast in the early 2000s, then you should distinctly know three names: Jeremy Clarkson , Richard Hammond and James May. These three British car enthusiasts hosted one of (if not) the most prolific automotive review shows, that started in 2002, named " Top Gear ." Top Gear was a no-holds bar, British automotive enthusiasts' show that had glitz, glamour and the Stig.

They had several different segments that covered automotive news, hot laps with new cars, celebrity guests and eventually turned it into a touring series where they would globe trot, partaking in all kinds of adventures with different automobiles. Unfortunately, the beloved TV series did not come without its fair share of controversies. As a result, Jeremey Clarkson was fired from the series. James May and Richard Hammond subsequently resigned in 2014.

Fast-forward to 2015 and rumors starting swirling around the internet that the three automotive musketeers were going to make a comeback in a "Grand" style. By the time 2016 rolled around, there was an official announcement that they were coming back to host their own TV series called, " The Grand Tour ." The Grand Tour is a carbon copy of Top Gear that has the guy's own twist on the series. We're going to go over the synopses of the series, tell you where you can stream it and cover the fact that it may be on its last tour.

HotCars has sourced information from IMDb and Amazon Prime, in order to bring you everything you need to know about streaming The Grand Tour .

Here's What Top Gear's "The Stig" Now Does As A Day Job

Here's where you can stream every episode of the grand tour.

The Grand Tour consists of five seasons. Each episode is between one hour and 90 minutes in length. The first couple of seasons have a similar format to the original Top Gear. Instead of a dedicated location, they would film in a massive tent in different locations around the world. Finally, they ended up staying put in The Cotswolds, England.

When the third season premiered, they had completely trashed the idea of carbon copying Top Gear. Instead, they focused on making it a show of their own and really leaning into the "Grand Tour" aspect of the show. They sacked the studio audience, the tent and the hot laps for going on season-long adventures around the world .

When it comes to streaming these three famous gear heads, you have two options. It originally (and still does) air on Amazon Prime here in the US. Prime TV is included with your Amazon Prime membership, but if you do not want to buy a Prime membership for $140 a year, you can buy episodes in a pay-per-view format. You can also watch it for free (with advertisements) on FreeVee.

Where To Watch

• Amazon Prime: $14.99 per month.
• FreeVee - Free with created profile.

This Is The Best Road Trip Ever From A Top Gear Special

The grand tour seasons 1-3 synopsis.

Season one premiered November 18th, 2016 and is currently sitting at an 8.6 out of 10 rating on IMDB, titled: The Holy Trinity. The set-up of the first couple of seasons mimicked the format of Top Gear . The difference is that they re-titled the different segments to not only not be sued by the BBC, but also to give them their own style and flair. The first season had 13 episodes, and they went all over from Nambia to Stuttgart in Germany, engaging in their usual wacky antics.

They even poked fun at their last series. Whenever they have a "celebrity" on, they would have them perish in some horrendous accident behind the tent that was all a stunt to make fun of the "stars in a reasonably priced car" segment from Top Gear. There were hot laps, a news segment called "conversation street" and a Stig-like stand-in, who would actually show their face while driving the car of the week. Instead of the Stig, they employed "the American." Mike Skinner is his name, and he is a NASCAR driver that they would poke fun at while he was driving whatever car they threw at him.

The Contraversial Segment Top Gear Couldn't Air, According To The Stig

The grand tour seasons 4-5 synopsis.

Releasing in December 2019, the producers scrapped the knock-off Top Gear format and instead stuck to their name and actually took the guys on a "Grand Tour." No longer was the studio audience, the segments, or the Stig with a face. In its place, they traveled to Cambodia and Vietnam, and even to Scotland. The year 2020 saw the inevitable COVID-19 pandemic which halted production.

Naturally, the pandemic caused complications for filming, but the trio persevered. In order to abide by UK laws at the time, which instructed individuals to restrict who they mix with, they each purchased a caravan in which they could travel in whilst filming, which was also the basis for the camera crew. By following these guidelines, the GT team were still able to deliver a new episode.

The Grand Tour Turned To "Special" Feature-Length Episodes

With the unfortunate rise of the pandemic, production of The Grand Tour turned season 4 into shorter specials that highlighted different adventures . Each episode was titled along the lines of: "The Grand Tour Presents: *Insert Special Title Here*" This is where the true nature of grand touring came into play. They took a detour from their typical four-wheeled vehicles and traded them in for speed boats to travel around Vietnam in "The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen."

The "Lochdown" episode is a cheeky title based on the fact that the guys take three of their favorite vintage American cars on a trip around Scotland. The final special consisted of the guys absolutely destroying different French cars by any means necessary and even driving some strange plane-type car.

Jeremy Clarkson Isn't The Only Top Gear Alumni That Now Has A Farm

The end of the grand tour has been announced.

In November 2023, it was announced that the series would be coming to an end. In an interview with Variety magazine , Jeremy Clarkson actually stated that, "I’m unfit and fat and old." Unlike the end of Top Gear , the guys are going to be ending it on their own terms because, in all honesty, they've been doing it for over 20 years at this point. When announcing the end of The Grand Tour in the final 'normal' episode, Jeremy was understandably emotional.

They have climbed the highest peaks, crossed the hottest deserts , driven the nicest cars possible and are basically throwing in the towel. Maybe Jeremy just wants to tend to his farm. The final episodes are currently streaming on Prime and Freevee. The last episode will take place in Zimbabwe, but there has not been an official announcement on the release date. The three gearheads now enjoy unique projects of their own, such as Jeremy's new show, Clarkson's Farm , which is also available to stream on Amazon Prime. James May also enjoys a number of his own shows, in addition to having recently set up a gin company. Hammond runs his own classic car workshop, with a show on Discovery+, dubbed Richard Hammond's Workshop .

Sources: IMDB , Amazon Prime, Variety

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

James May has crushing news for Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond fans

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It sounds like the end of an era for Top Gear and The Grand Tour fans.

James May has some devastating news for fans of the long running motoring shows, and he’s admitted he doesn’t think he’ll ever work with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond again.

The 61-year-old TV star has presented alongside Jeremy, 64, and Richard, 54, across both shows since 2003, but he has insisted their time has come after the final Grand Tour special on Amazon Prime .

Speaking to UniLad, he said: ‘I think people would only really like us doing cars, despite what some people say – “Oh, I think you should all go off and do cooking or you should all go and do a podcast about nothing.”

‘But I don’t think so, I think we should let it lie, what we did.’

It’s been 21 years since the beloved – and sometimes controversial – trio first fronted Top Gear together, and their partnership on the BBC series lasted until 2016, when they launched The Grand Tour.

However, the Amazon Prime series is now set to end after eight years, with Jeremy recently explaining that they were leaving the programme because he had run out of ideas for future instalments.

‘I’ve driven cars higher than anyone else and further north than anyone else. We’ve done everything you can do with a car. When we had meetings about what to do next, people just threw their arms in the air,’ he told The Times.

The Clarkson’s Farm star admitted the physical demands of the programme had become too taxing since he became ‘unfit and fat and old’.

He quipped: ‘If you’re Bear Grylls you go to a hotel – there aren’t any hotels in the Sahara desert.’

However, Jeremy has dismissed James’ previous suggestion that the trio’s working relationship was ‘fuelled by mutual loathing’.

He argued: ‘We’ve spent more time in each other’s company than our families’ over the last 25 years so I don’t think it would have lasted as long as it did if we’d hated each other as much as James likes to think.’

Top Gear has been put on hold by the BBC after presenter Freddie Flintoff suffered horrific injuries in a crash during filming in 2022 , but Richard expects it could to return in some form ‘one day’ in the future.

‘I don’t know. I have no doubt Top Gear will come back one day,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘Somebody will pick it up and run with it. It’ll be a different show.’

In terms of the trio, Jeremy has been back on screens for the third season of Clarkson’s Farm, and viewers were left heartbroken over the weekend.

The fourth episode brought fans to tears when the pigs that were bought at the start of the series gave birth to piglets.

However, the lovely moment turned devastating when the mother accidentally killed some of them them by sitting in on and suffocating them.

The Grand Tour is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Former Top Gear star recalls going down ‘path of recovery’ after crash on BBC series

MORE : Jeremy Clarkson fans ‘turned away from Diddly Squat Farm’ after crowds swarm

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Suga of BTS’s World Tour Is Pop Subversion at Its Finest

In the U.S., the first member of the group to stage solo concerts delivered a thrilling declaration of artistic individuality.

Four hooded figures seemed to float down the stage, through the soft exhalations of a fog machine. On their shoulders, they carried a body clothed in black. Rain and lightning flashed a clean white on the screen behind them. When the man was finally laid on the ground, what followed looked like a resurrection: The spotlights found him, screams rose, and at last he stirred. Then he raised a microphone to his mouth.

This rock-star Lazarus was Min Yoongi, better known as the rapper and songwriter Suga of the Grammy-nominated, chart-topping South Korean group BTS. But none of his bandmates were onstage that night at UBS Arena, on Long Island, New York, because it was the first date of his solo world tour. Since last summer, the members have been focusing on individual projects as each prepares to complete his mandatory military service. The first in BTS to do a solo tour, Suga was also performing as Agust D, the name he adopted in 2016 for making music that was darker, more raw, and more personal than his group work. Last month, he released his studio album D-Day , the powerful conclusion to his trilogy of Agust D records, which delivered social critique and meditations on trauma, fame, mental illness, alienation, and forgiveness.

Suga’s ongoing tour, also titled D-Day, is the first real showcase of his oeuvre, and, on the sold-out U.S. leg of his tour, it felt like a declaration of artistic individuality more than a decade in the making. His concerts exploded with frontman energy and auteurist flourishes. But his most striking achievement was embracing pop music’s empathy-fueling potential while resisting its dehumanizing effects.

All 11 of his U.S. tour dates, which wrapped Wednesday night in Oakland, California, began with a short film that ended with Suga lying on a road in a thunderstorm. This was a reference to when he was hit by a car while working in Seoul part-time as a delivery boy to support himself while training to debut with BTS. The crash left him with a painful shoulder injury that continued to dog him even as BTS went on to achieve international fame. The segue from the video to the real-life Suga being carried onstage, seemingly lifeless, was smooth yet jarring—a reminder of the human vulnerability of a pop star whose fans camp outside concert venues for days.

When I saw Suga on that first night, at UBS Arena, as well as the final U.S. night, at Oakland Arena, his show challenged expectations of what a pop concert can do. On one level it was a dynamic hip-hop show, put on by a technically proficient rapper who as a kid would sample the Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s music to make his own beats. Suga set the tone for the evening with “Haegeum,” whose title refers both to a Korean string instrument and to the notion of lifting a ban on something that was forbidden. “Endless influx of information prohibits freedom of imagination / And seeks conformity of thought,” Suga rapped in Korean. “Slaves to capitalism, slaves to money, slaves to hatred and prejudice / Slaves to YouTube, slaves to flexin’.” The haegeum ’s haunting strings and a deliciously grimy bass vibrated the air. Though the track was written entirely in Korean, the crowd roared the lyrics back to him. He practically entered a hypnotic state while running through a rap-heavy opening sequence with the defiant “Daechwita” and the earlier fan favorites “Agust D” and “Give It to Me.”

Read: The friends who listen to BTS together stay together

Before the audience could get too settled, Suga brought out his acoustic guitar, its body decorated with messages and drawings from the other six BTS members. He’d only learned to play the instrument during the pandemic , so his unplugged version of “Seesaw” cut a sharp contrast to previous performances of the song, which featured choreography, backup dancers, and an elaborate set. His effortless swagger during the earlier hype songs gave way to the quieter spectacle of Suga in singer-songwriter mode. Later, he sat down at an upright piano and performed his own version of the 2020 BTS track “Life Goes On” and, in a particularly emotional moment, a solo rendition of the song “Snooze,” which features the singer Woosung and the late Sakamoto. A clip of Suga and Sakamoto’s sole meeting, from late 2022, played beforehand on the big screen—the older musician playing the song on a grand piano while the younger man tries to contain his joy. Sakamoto’s presence on “Snooze,” one of his final collaborations, was especially poignant to Suga, who idolized him and wrote the song to comfort younger struggling artists.

Read: The astonishing duality of BTS

Again and again, D-Day allowed Suga to experiment in ways that he hadn’t been able to with BTS, and it was thrilling to see. Yes, he was still clearly a seasoned entertainer, who knew how to command the attention of tens of thousands of people , who could jump around a stage rapping without appearing to take a breath, as during the exhilarating medley of BTS rap songs in the middle of the concert. And at two Los Angeles shows, he welcomed guest appearances by the American singers Max and Halsey for their respective collaborations. But his subversive choices stood out too. The concert was interspersed with short films that evoked the dream logic of David Lynch and the grainy aesthetic of grind-house movies, telling the story of the musician’s three identities: the pop idol Suga, the shadow self Agust D, and the human Min Yoongi. The ultimate artistic aim of the concert seemed to be to clarify each of these distinct selves to the audience while recognizing that they must all exist together. Seeing him perform his solo BTS songs, including “Interlude: Shadow,” as well as his verses from tracks with the other BTS rappers , affirmed that he wasn’t looking to reject his past but instead was proud of it. After all, it had taken him to South Korea’s Blue House , America’s White House , the United Nations General Assembly, and the Grammys stage.

In another fascinating production choice, throughout the show, pieces of the extended stage were pulled to the ceiling by chains, giving Suga less and less space to perform, requiring him to navigate the platform more carefully. For his last pre-encore song, “Amygdala,” he stood on a lonely-looking square as fire blazed all around him, a terrifying prison. The centerpiece of the D-Day album, the emo-rap track serves as an origin story for the alter ego of Agust D, referencing his life’s defining traumas—the car accident, his mother’s heart surgery, and his father’s liver-cancer diagnosis—and how they shaped him. During the song’s final lines, apparently depleted, he collapsed on the ground, and the hooded figures returned to carry him away. Only this time, he wore all white, as though he’d been cleansed, his catharsis complete.

By the encore, all of the stage pieces had been removed, revealing the technical equipment that had been hiding beneath it. Scattered about were fire extinguishers, electrical cords, pyrotechnic devices. No longer elevated above the crowd, Suga performed his last few songs at ground level, right in front of fans, sometimes grabbing their phones and filming himself. These last moments were bittersweet: Much of the audience knew that after the tour ended in Seoul in late June, Suga would begin his military service for at least 18 months. That reality made the concerts feel like a temporary farewell. Fans’ glowing lightsticks rippled like a single wave throughout the arena. Every so often, carried by a feral energy, the crowd would start barking, making Suga gawk or laugh. In Oakland, he told the audience that he would return with the rest of the BTS members, asking fans to wait just a little longer.

On the tour’s first night, one more surprise awaited. I had assumed that the final song would be something sentimental or light-hearted. Instead, Suga walked over to an ominous circle of video cameras, stood right in the middle, and began murmuring the opening bars of “The Last.” This song, off his first mixtape, is one of his best and one of my favorites. It’s also a song I have a hard time listening to these days. On “The Last,” Suga raps about his OCD, depression, and social anxiety. His delivery starts out low and subdued and gradually grows more desperate; by the end he sounds like he’s somewhere between screaming and crying. When I first heard it years ago, I recalled my own unceasing panic attacks and the suffocating desire to die. The song lodged itself in my heart, a welcome shard.

Read: I wasn’t a fan of BTS. And then I was.

In recent years, Suga has made more music about growth, about self-love and being okay with uncertainty and suffering. He spoke early during the concert, in English, about wanting to perform with less anger, highlighting songs such as “SDL,” “People,” and “People Pt. 2”; these tracks painted a portrait of someone with a great capacity for measured reflection, forgiveness, and humility in the face of life’s challenges. I understand that too: The relief of no longer hurting so badly, of discovering healing on your own terms. So when I heard the first lines of “The Last” (“On the other side of the famous idol rapper stands my weak self, it’s a bit dangerous”), I froze. What was he doing? Those cameras—arrayed like a surveillance system, transmitting the videos to the screen above him—devoured and projected the anguish he was performing, suggesting that I was devouring it too.

But after a minute, I understood. Though he rapped with the same breathless passion he did as a striving 23-year-old, I realized that he wasn’t performing with pure fury but with an anger tempered by time. This emotion was no less powerful or sincere, but it was less damaging to the person communicating it. These days, he could stand in the flames and feel their heat, but not be consumed by them. He could connect with his younger self without fully becoming that person again.

Then the spell was over. The moment the song ended, the house lights went up so that we could see him walking in silence offstage. No goodbye, no drawn-out thank yous and waves to the cheering audience. Not even a glance backward. On the first night, people exchanged confused looks, shocked by his sudden exit. You could perhaps see this whole finale as a quiet confrontation with an audience, a grand assertion of the self by a beloved artist. But if it was a confrontation, it was one rooted in trust rather than condescension. Trust that the audience can sit with discomfort, that they’re self-aware enough not to be offended or horrified by what he’s showing them.

It was the perfect ending. A concert that began in darkness and mythmaking ended in light and exposure. Suga started the show being carried by others; he ended it by carrying himself out. What more could we want? He had just shown us everything.

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Travis Kelce Welcomed to 2024 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix With Taylor Swift’s ‘Florida!!!’ Song

Taylor Swift provided the perfect song to welcome Travis Kelce to the 2024 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix race on Sunday, May 5.

The singer was not with the NFL star, 34, but a video announcing Kelce’s arrival was shared by the BWT Alpine F1 Team. The social media clip — which showed the Kansas City Chiefs player showing off his Alpine cap while grabbing a bite to eat — was set to Swift’s “Florida!!!” featuring Florence and the Machine, one of the tracks from her latest album The Tortured Poets Department.

The official F1 Miami Grand Prix X account couldn’t resist making the same Swiftie reference: “Travis Kelce in 🎶Florida!!!🎶.”

Kelce wore a two-piece emerald green outfit that included shorts and short-sleeves, perfect for the warm weather at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida. It was quite a different look from the pinstripe suit and fedora he wore one day prior at the Kentucky Derby in Louisville.

Welcome to Florida, Travis 🤙🤙 pic.twitter.com/cEjWG6UCKD — BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) May 5, 2024

Though Swift wasn’t seen at his side, Kelce had plenty of pals nearby. Swift’s close friend Ed Sheeran was in town to watch the race while Kelce’s teammate Patrick Mahomes and wife Brittany Mahomes were also on site.

Related: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Relationship Timeline

News broke in October 2023 that Kelce and Patrick, 28, joined the investment group supporting the Alpine Racing Formula 1 team, with Kelce noting in a statement at the time that he was “thrilled” about the opportunity.

“Our shared passion for excellence and innovation forms the cornerstone of this partnership. It’s about being able to contribute to a sport that demands precision, teamwork and relentless pursuit of success,” Kelce added. “I am looking forward to this new chapter and can’t wait to see what we achieve together.”

Travis Kelce in 🎶Florida!!!🎶 pic.twitter.com/PCEdbd2m4X — F1 Miami Grand Prix (@f1miami) May 5, 2024

Though Swift was not in attendance, she recently sparked fan theories that she made a reference to Formula 1 in her song “imgonnagetyouback,” which was released as part of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology , in April.

Related: All the Famous Names Taylor Swift Drops on ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

“Small talk, big love, act like I don’t care what you did,” Swift sang on the second verse of the track. “I’m an Aston Martin that you steered straight into the ditch / Then ran and hid.”

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Some fans believed Swift was alluding to her rumored 2023 romance with Formula 1’s Fernando Alonso , who has been driving for Team Aston Martin since last year. Alonso, 42, subsequently reacted to the lyrics in a TikTok video, holding a finger over his lips as Swift sang the Aston Martin line. Swifties on social media were quick to note hat Kelce was wearing Aston Martin green on Sunday.

Related: Every Time Travis Kelce Supported Taylor Swift at Her 'Eras Tour' Concerts

Amid the hype surrounding The Tortured Poets Department , Swift has been enjoying time off with Kelce. She has been on hiatus from the international leg of her Eras Tour since March and will return to the stage in Paris on Thursday, May 9, while Kelce has been in the NFL offseason since the Kansas City Chiefs’ February Super Bowl victory.

In March, the pair took a romantic vacation to The Bahamas , and in April, they were spotted at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California. Later in the month, Swift and Kelce reunited with Patrick and Brittany, 28, at a charity auction for the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation in Las Vegas, where Swift donated tickets to the Eras Tour that raked in $80,000.

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Inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s opulent $21K-per-night Italy villa: Butler, chef, Lake Como views

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Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift enjoyed a secret romantic getaway to Italy’s Lake Como following the singer’s Eras Tour stop in Paris .

The lovebirds stayed at the Villa Sola Cabiati, which is located on the Grand Hotel Tremezzo’s gorgeous waterside property.

The stunning private villa — which has six separate suites and sleeps up to 12 — set the pair back nearly $21,000 per night during their three-night stay.

The full-service villa is a Neoclassical landmark, with “roots going back to the 16th century,” the hotel’s website states.

Amenities include a private pool, expansive arabesque gardens, a butler, housekeepers, a chambermaid, and a private chef — all available “at your disposal.”

While the villa features a few modern touches, guests immediately travel back in time when they step into the home’s massive foyer.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Villa Sola Cabiati (@villasolacabiati)

The ceilings are adorned with “immaculately-preserved frescoes” and “hand-crafted Murano chandeliers” while the walls are lined with “museum-quality paintings.”

The home — which still features “its original, exquisite terrazzo floors” — used to belong to the Dukes of Serbelloni and it “remains full of period heirlooms and artwork — including the bed in which Napoleon and Joséphine Bonaparte slept when they visited the Palazzo Serbelloni in Milan.”

The immaculately manicured gardens “ideal for candlelit dinners and morning strolls,” which the couple seemingly took advantage of during their stay.

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The couple was photographed enjoying a romantic meal on the property earlier this week, sipping wine while taking in the unobstructed lake views.

Swift and Kelce, both 34, looked every bit in love while holding hands across the table, which was decorated with a white tablecloth and several silver statues.

Following the meal, the duo went on a stroll in the picturesque town with their arms wrapped around one another.

At one point, the Kansas City Chiefs star leaned down to give the “Cruel Summer” singer a kiss.

The athlete played coy about the pair’s location on the latest episode of his “New Heights” podcast after his brother, Jason Kelce, asked about his “country of origin.” 

“I can give you a continent. I’m in Europe,” the tight end said, before clarifying he would not play a “guessing game.”

While Travis seemingly tried to throw fans off by opening the call with a “Bonjour,” fans believe Jason gave the couple’s location away after bursting into a fake Italian accent at one point.

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