The Singapore leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour will soon reach its conclusion – her final performance is on Saturday (Mar 9). The six-night concert was undoubtedly one of the country’s – and region’s – most talked about entertainment events in recent times. So did it live up to its hype? We certainly thought so.
Still, a lot of things happened during the time of the Eras Tour and we thought we’d compile a list of some of the more exciting – and side-eye-worthy – events that happened to preserve the fun memories and bring everyone up to speed (especially those who muted CNA Lifestyle on social media during this time).
THE HIGHLIGHTS
1. MASTERCLASS PERFORMANCES AND SET PIECES
As mentioned in our review of the Eras Tour, the performances were top-notch. The bottom line is: Everyone got their money’s worth on the entertainment front. Swift proved the haters (gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate) wrong and gave her all night after night, whether it was belting out her hits, nailing the dance moves or playing her piano and guitar to great fanfare.
Sabrina Carpenter also showed that she was ready to headline a larger venue for her next solo concert in Singapore, thanks to her amazing crowd work.
The set pieces also deserve praise. From giant platforms, LED screens and glowing canes, every element elevated their respective era – hello, Folklore house– making them a delight to watch.
2. THE OUTROS FOR SABRINA CARPENTER’S SONG, NONSENSE
As most fans know, during her song Nonsense, Carpenter usually does an outro that is specific to the city she’s performing in. Singapore was no different and attendees were treated to a unique outro each night, from innocuous ditties to ones that were downright risque and had alleged partners blushing.
3. DANCER KAMERON SAUNDERS’ SINGLISH
A dancer in Swift’s Eras Tour, Kameron Saunders gained attention and praise in recent days for his use of Singlish during the performance of We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. Like Carpenter, Saunders usually says a line that's unique to each city during this performance. For the Australian leg of the Eras Tour, Saunders thrilled the crowd with the likes of "Naur"and "Yeah, nah".
The Singapore leg saw Swift handing Saunders her microphone after she sang the line “Like, we are never getting back together” to which Saunders responded with a Singlish phrase. So far, these have included “Walao eh”, “No, lah” and “Alamak”.
4. THE FAMOUS FACES THAT ATTENDED THE ERAS TOUR
The Singapore leg of the Eras Tour also became a celebrity-spotting ground as famous faces flocked to the National Stadium to catch Swift. K-pop stars Lisa, Sorn and Minho attended the second night of the Eras Tour and Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan has been spotted on multiple nights, supporting rumoured beau Sabrina Carpenter.
Local celebrities also joined in the fun. Newly-minted mother Rebecca Limwas "out of confinement" and attended an Eras Tour show. Other personalities included Nathan Hartono, JJ Lin and Carina Lau.
Now, Swift's NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce has arrived in Singapore to liven up the party. The 34-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end arrived on Thursday (Mar 7) whileSwift was already in the midst of her concert.
5. THE MARRIAGE PROPOSALS
Congratulations are in order for the newly-minted brides-to-be at the Eras Tour. The shows saw multiple men proposing to their partners during the song Love Story, with audience members cheering them on. Thankfully, their proposals were accepted, adding to an even more enchanted atmosphere.
6. THE SWIFTONOMICS OF IT ALL
Say what you will about the whole exclusivity saga but there’s no denying that it has helped a lot of businesses here. Local businesses selling Swift-themed merch are reporting an uptick in sales while regional demand for Singapore hotels and airlines has seen a spike of up to 30 per cent.
According to one expert, Singapore’s leg of the Eras Tour could potentially generate a revenue of more than US$787 million in economic value. That’s a lot of money.
A few organisations event held Taylor Swift-themed events, such as bracelet-making sessions and photobooths, to build up hype in the days leading up to the Eras Tour here. These events saw Swifties from all over the region coming together to make new friendships and memories.
Speaking of Swifties, who could forget the sheer effort and creativity they've put intocrafting Swift-themed outfits for the show?
THE LOWLIGHTS
1. CROWD CONTROL ISSUES ON THE FIRST NIGHT
Unfortunately, the Eras Tour shows weren’t without faults. The opening night saw fans from other sections rushing into the VIP area, encroaching into the personal space of a few VIP ticketholders, who went online to air their grievances about the bad experience.
According to TikTok user @linmaxin, security guards “pushed the extra people” into the VIP ticketholders’ rows, causing even more crowding to the point where it was “hard to breathe”.
A spokesperson from Kallang Alive Sport Management (KASM) told CNA Lifestyle that they added resources and barriers for the Mar 3 show, Swift's second night, to enhance crowd control measures, and that there were no further reports of such situations since.
2. SECURITY LAPSES THAT SAW FANS ENTERING THE VENUE WITHOUT TICKETS
Two men have also since been charged for helping three other people enter the venue without a ticket. On the third day of the Eras Tour, 29-year-old Yang Chenguang allegedly distracted a security officer while 45-year-old Li Xiao Wei held onto a turnstile to allow three people to enter the National Stadium.
This situation, coupled with the crowd control issues above, makes us wonder if enough security measures had been deployed for such a major event.
3. LOTS OF PEOPLE FELL VICTIM TO TICKET SCAMS RELATED TO THE ERAS TOUR
In early March, the Singapore Police Force revealed that at least S$213,000 (US$158,000) were lost to Taylor Swift concert ticket scams over the past two months – with the number of victims exceeding 330.
Victims would come across concert ticket listings on platforms such as Telegram, X, Facebook and Xiaohongshu.
Scammers would then instruct victims to make payments via PayNow, bank transfers or virtual credits and become uncontactable once they’ve received the funds.
In an effort to curb scams, Carousell suspended ticket sales for the Eras Tour from Feb 23 to Mar 9.
One of the victims of such scams was Thai influencer Chopleum who only found out that her tickets "had already been used" when she tried to enter the National Stadium. A similar case was reported by the owners of pimple patch brand Dododots who claimed that one of the two tickets they bought on resale site StubHub had "already been scanned in".
4. THE RAINY WEATHER
Unfortunately, it was raining for most of the Eras Tour shows. While this did not impact the performances, attendees had to brave the midnight rain as they exited the National Stadium, inconveniencing those who did not bring a poncho.
The good news is that we're now officially out of the woods. There’s no denying that the Eras Tour will go down in history as an impactful event for Singapore. The shows exceeded the wildest dreams of almost every attendee and, suffice it to say, the Eras Tour has become a benchmark for future concerts here.
