Photo Credit: Annalise Deal

Taylor Swift performs at HP Pavilion during her Speak Now World Tour.

If you’re a guy, you might want to ignore this article. Then again, you probably secretly love Taylor Swift, so in that case, keep reading.

Taylor Swift’s Speak Now World Tour made a two-night stop in San Jose last week. The country pop star performed at HP Pavilion Thursday and Friday nights to sold-out crowds.

While Taylor Swift is one of my favorite artists, I was a little concerned going into her concert that she wouldn’t sound good live. After all, she acknowledges this common fear herself in her hit song, Mean, in which she describes how her critics are “drunk and goin’ on about how [she] can’t sing.”

Yet Taylor blew me away, sounding phenomenal despite the fact that HP (more commonly known for hosting San Jose Sharks games) has questionable acoustics. She sounded great from the opening song, Sparks Fly, to her closing encore number, Love Story.

Her costume changes were quick and each outfit perfectly matched the tone of the song. And the props, backup dancers, and band were amazing, working together seamlessly to create setups like a mock-wedding scene during the tour’s namesake song Speak Now.

I should probably mention that Josh Kelly and the band Need to Breathe were the show’s openers. They were awesome, according to Taylor, but, full disclosure, I did not actually see these acts.

While Taylor performs her most famous songs like Mine, Fifteen, Enchanted and Fearless at every concert, she selects songs from locally-based artists or bands to cover while she’s in town.

As Bay Area fans, we were lucky enough to hear her sing Drops of Jupiter by Train during the Thursday night show. I’m sure her Canada fans won’t be so fortunate; Justin Bieber is a native.

One of my favorite sets of the night was when Taylor ran through hoards of screaming fans to a small circular stage at the back of the arena and sang some of her slower songs like Last Kiss with just acoustic guitars and a ukulele.

I noticed during the show that there were quite a few dads and boyfriends who had clearly been dragged along to the concert. I felt bad for them, sitting there while thousands of girls sang along to every song. Maybe they were secretly enjoying it.

Taylor ended the show with a fantastic spectacle, floating around the arena in a small, hot-air balloon-esque basket while singing Love Story.

Go see Taylor Swift next time she’s in town. Even the most skeptical people will walk away wondering why they ever thought she couldn’t sing.