This Pinay Swiftie Just Secured Three Tickets to The Eras Tour in Singapore and Australia

(SPOT.ph) How far would you go and what are you willing to do to see Taylor Swift in person? Journalist Ara, 24, waited more than a decade to watch Swift live and has secured not just one, but three tickets to see her idol in The Eras Tour. 

Filipino Swifties like Ara had little choice but to book flights to other parts of the world just to see the highly sought-after American popstar live in concert, with the only Southeast Asian leg of the tour happening this 2024 in Singapore, a three-and-a-half-hour flight away from Manila.

"I've been a fan since I was eight, practically been following her throughout all her eras so this tour in particular feels really important. Given how huge of an artist she is and how far along in her career she's been, it's really a once-in-a-generation tour that any life-long fan wouldn't want to miss," she told SPOT.ph in an online exchange.

Also read: Here’s How Much Taylor Swift’s Japan The Eras Tour Tickets Cost in Pesos

How this Pinay secured tickets to Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour

Ara first discovered Swift while watching the Daily Top 10 in Myx. While she had no business listening to "Teardrops on My Guitar" at age eight, "I'm glad I did," she said.

When Swift's 2011 "Speak Now" Manila concert was announced, Ara, an 11-year-old living in Davao, wanted to attend the concert but missed it. Three years later in 2014, Swift came back for the "Red" tour.

"Pero HS pa ako in Davao nun so ang hirap i-justify. When I finally convinced my parents to let me go, sold out na 'yung tickets," said Ara, who loves "Red" and "Folklore" album the most.

Now, the Manila-based journalist found a way to see her life-long idol for the first time up close and personal, as she and her friend secured Australian The Eras tour tickets nearest to the stage.

For Melbourne, she and a friend got tickets to the C8 section, right in front of the stage. In Sydney, two tickets at the A2 section. For the four Australia tickets alone, that's around P60,000.

"A friend who was in Adelaide for a work conference last week got it for me. He bought the tickets from a physical outlet, apparently there's not much people buying in person so he was able to and he was first in line when he arrived."

Come July 7, while streaming Swift's freshly-dropped "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)", Ara and her friends got a total of four tickets for the Singapore leg via Klook. That's P48,484 for two tickets and an overnight stay at a four-star hotel. In case you're wondering, they were #2974 when the queue started; they paid for the tickets within the first 20 minutes.

She is preparing to shell out some P50,000 in total for the Klook package, air fare, and an extended stay in the city-state Singapore, which she will be visiting for the first time in 2024.

Now that she's got tickets to the Southeast Asia leg and Australia stops, she's deciding which tickets to let go of. She plans to watch just once, and eventually sell the other tickets for the same price she bought it.

There is still, of course, the factor of finances, and which trip-and-ticket-seat combo would be most worth it. It's a dilemma, sure, but one every Swiftie right now wouldn't mind being in. "We bought the Australia tickets as back-up because priority talaga is Singapore or Japan since travel expenses would be cheaper."

So why go all out for Taylor Swift?

"Ultimately, no artist has empowered me the way she has. Beyond her songs (that's already super personal), if you've observed her trajectory as an artist and the way she's overcome industry obstacles, you learn a lot about how to exist and persevere in this world as a woman. It's been nice growing up with her in a way even if we're not the same age."

For Ara, it would be "monumental" to see Swift in person.

"What I like about Taylor Swift is how personal of an experience being part of her fandom is. Of course, she's a rich, white, woman in a first world country. We don't live the same lives but her songwriting has always been able to capture how I felt growing up as a girl," she said.

"I think it's her country music roots, 'yung ability to craft a really specific song from experience but still make it feel universal no matter how personal."

Also read:
Taylor Swift Gives Life Hacks on Failure, Cringe Moments at NYU Graduation
Why Is Taylor Swift's Music So Powerful? We Asked Pinoy Swifties