Taylor Swift concert generated 'Swift Quake' last year, study finds
What's the story
What is it that Taylor Swift cannot do?
She can re-script history at the Grammys, potentially influence America's political mood, be permanently stitched into the limelight due to her relationship with Travis Kelce, AND make the ground shake.
Literally.
In a recent study, Caltech and UCLA researchers discovered that the movements of 73,000 fans at Swift's August 2023 concert at SoFi Stadium (part of her The Eras Tour) generated seismic activity, causing "Swift Quake."
Research
Researchers analyzed seismic data from Swift's SoFi Stadium concert
The study—titled Shake to the Beat: Exploring the Seismic Signals and Stadium Response of Concerts and Music Fans—focused on the fifth night of Swift's six-night stint at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, with motion sensors installed over five-and-a-half miles away from the venue.
Researchers analyzed the data by examining graphs of wavelength frequencies.
Swift's hit Shake It Off generated the largest local magnitude of 0.851, while Love Story also produced a significant amplitude.
The study
Details of the research and comparisons with other artists
The study discerned it was the audience's movements and not the music itself that created "distinct harmonic tremors" at the SoFi Stadium.
Notably, a similar occurrence was noted during Swift's July show at Seattle's Lumen Field, which produced seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.
Moreover, the research also compared the seismic activity during Swift's concerts to other shows at the same venue featuring Beyoncé, Metallica, and Morgan Wallen.
Expert opinion
Here's what the research head had to say
Caltech seismologist Gabrielle Tepp told the Los Angeles Times, "So it turns out jumping is very effective at creating these harmonic signals. The stronger or the more people you have jumping, the more energy is going into [the ground]."
"I would definitely say for the stronger songs, you probably have a lot more people excited, a lot more people jumping around."
"Based on the maximum strength of shaking, the strongest tremor was equivalent to a magnitude-2 earthquake."
Global tour
Meanwhile, read more about her 'The Eras Tour'
Swift's The Eras Tour has become the highest-grossing music tour of all time, surpassing $1B worldwide.
Her sixth ongoing concert tour, comprising 152 shows across five continents, kicked off a year ago, on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona.
The city memorably re-christened itself in her honor.
It will wrap up on December 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada.
Her concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.