Taylor Swift charms Montreal audience July 14, 2011. (Pierre-Paul Poulin, QMI Agency)

TORONTO - There’s something ironic about country-pop superstar Taylor Swift having to cancel four recent U.S. dates of her so-called Speak Now tour because of bronchitis, right?

As in being ordered by a doctor to Don’t Speak Now.

But if the 21-year-old singer-songwriter, who returned to performing on Thursday night in Montreal, was any worse for wear on Friday night at the Air Canada Centre, as she launched a two-night stand at the hockey arena in front of 15,000 screaming fans - many carrying placards - she sure didn’t show it.

Or more importantly sound it.

Swift, decked out in a gold sequined mini-dress and black boots, emerged from beneath her wooden stage floor to kick off the two-hour show with Sparks Fly, from Speak Now, her mega-selling third album released late last year.

Backed by a nine-piece band, and occasionally eight dancers, on an elegant looking stage dominated by three golden staircases, and a gazebo, Swift made her way through most of Speak Now’s material and older favourites like Fearless, You Belong To Me, Fifteen and Love Story, the latter two which produced two of the biggest singalongs of the night, often skipping or running around the stage and whipping her long, curly blond hair back and forth.

Her only real misstep, other than a draggy final quarter of the show (the encore exempted), may have been to mention that divisive Toronto mayor Rob Ford was also in the crowd, which prompted half-cheers, half boos.

Better executed were her three reasons why she loved Toronto specifically, and Canada generally, once she made her way through Speak Now’s Mine and The Story Of Us.

The first one was Casa Loma.

“I seem to have a thing for castles, I really like them a lot, the only actual real castle in North America is in Toronto,” she said.

She also said she loves Canada for her “two favourite Ryans - Gosling and Reynolds, thank you for that,” referring to the actors who hail from Cornwall, Ont., and Vancouver, respectively.

“No. 3, you guys are just awesome people, you know,” said Swift. “Just welcoming and I appreciate it. There’s no one I’d rather spend my Friday night with.”

She also delivered shoutouts to some of her favourite Canadian musicians later in the show as she covered snippets of Alanis Morissette’s You Learn, Justin Bieber’s Baby and Tal Bachman’s She’s So High.

Canadian love-fest aside, Swift made her first costume change into a cream-coloured dress and flats, with her hair in one braid on the side, and strapped on a banjo to play on a makeshift porch for Our Song and Mean, the latter which prompted the first singalong of the night.

But it was the pretty, golden confetti-laden scene with that golden staircase ramp magically moving forward with eight string players on it while Swift emerged from beneath the floor in a pale blue gown and playing a white piano that made a real statement during the ballad Back To December.

Within minutes though, Swift was back in fiery, hair-whipping mode in a red sequined mini dress for Better Than Revenge as she made her way around most of the stage while the golden staircase ramp was raised into the rafters.

Next up was the title track from Speak Now featuring a mock wedding complete with a preacher, bride and groom, bridesmaids and a church pew with Swift now in a short purple dress and white gloves.

Naturally, Swift ended up walking off with the groom before descending into the crowd on the floor, where she shook hands and even kissed a baby before making her way to a smaller stage at the back where she picked up a ukulele - “a happy sounding instrument,” she pointed out - for Fearless while seated under a rotating golden tree.

She exchanged the ukulele for a beautiful, turquoise blue acoustic guitar on the ballad, Last Kiss, which prompted another major singalong before breaking into the Canadian music homage and her own You Belong To Me and making her way back to the stage for the fireworks-boosted ballad, Dear John.

Swift certainly seems to have the girlish, fairy tale scenarios down pat - a ballerina kicked off the ballad, Enchanted (her now famous ode to Owl City’s Adam Young, who also inspired the name of her recent perfume Wonderstruck) while Swift herself dramatically danced around and clanged a large golden bell - one of three - that descended onto her stage during Haunted and climbed into a floating balcony that allowed her to fly over the audience for the show-ending Love Story while golden confetti rained down.

It remains to be seen, however, how she’ll transition into a full-fledged adult performer as her career progresses.

For now, what she’s doing sure seems to work for her primarily young, female fan base.

SET LIST:

Sparks Fly

Mine

The Story of Us

Our Song

Mean

Back to December/Apologize/You’re Not Sorry

Better Than Revenge

Speak Now

Fearless/I’m Yours

Last Kiss

You Learn/Baby/She’s So High

You Belong With Me

Dear John

Enchanted

Haunted

Long Live

ENCORE

Fifteen

Love Story