Taylor Swift returned to the stage in Brazil on November 19 for the first time since 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado passed away ahead of the Friday night Eras Tour concert. It is believed the young Swiftie suffered a cardiac arrest caused by the intense heat wave in Rio de Janeiro. After postponing the Saturday show — the second weather-related delay of the international leg of her tour — Swift appeared to pay homage to Ana Clara during her acoustic set Sunday.
In a handwritten statement released by Taylor Swift after Ana Clara Benevides Machado’s death, the singer told fans she was too “overwhelmed by grief” to talk about the young woman on stage, but as the artist so often does, Swift allowed the music to relay her message. When she got to the surprise songs portion of her set, she opened with “Dancing with Our Hands Tied” before sitting down at the piano for an emotional rendition of “Bigger Than the Whole Sky,” which you can see below:
