Taylor Swift was overcome with emotion when fans paid unexpected tribute to her late grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, who was the inspiration behind the pop icon's single "Marjorie" off her "Evermore" album.
As Swift launched into the song during a performance of at Nashville's Nissan Stadium over the weekend, fans near the mainstage held up printed photos of Swift's grandmother. After her performance, Swift sat down in front of a piano and asked the crowd, "What are you trying to do to me? Oh my god, that was so beautiful," according to NME.
Swift had given a backstory to the song ahead of "Evermore's" release, saying in a tweet that "Marjorie" is a song "starring my grandmother, Marjorie, who still visits me sometimes … if only in my dreams."
According to the Independent, Finlay was born in Memphis and established herself as an opera singer. She died in June 2003.
Swift gave fans the backstory of the song during her performance in Nashville.
"That song, Marjorie, that was a song that I wrote about my mom's mom, my grandmother," she said. "She was a singer, too. And she passed away when I was 13."
Swift noted that her mother would be just as emotional about the tribute as she was.
"I just know that my mom, right now, is just like bawling and has been for the solid last 5 and 1/2 minutes, and I love you guys so much. That was so meaningful and so special," she said.
The project was initiated by a fan who printed hundreds of photos of Marjorie, then handed them out to other fans in her section at the concert.
"I couldn't be more proud of making this crazy idea into reality," the fan, Jessica Morris, said on TikTok, according to NME. "Lugging 300 copies around a crowded stadium wasn't ideal, but for her I'd do it, a million little times!"