Mr. Edwin Tong - Singapore's Minister of Culture - said he is a fan of Taylor Swift and knows many of her songs.
In a video interview with AsiaOne , when the reporter asked "I heard you are a Swiftie" (a term referring to the female singer's fan community), the Minister replied: "I'm not sure if I'm a Swiftie, but I love her songs very much".
He said he and his daughter, a huge Taylor Swift fan, made some friendship bracelets. The bracelets were woven with the names of some of their favorite songs. The bracelets were a hit with many Taylor Swift fans, as in her song You're on Your Own, Kid, she wrote: "Make friendship bracelets. Hold on to this moment and enjoy it."
Singapore's Culture Minister plays a challenge to remember the lyrics to Taylor Swift songs. Video: AsiaOne
He also took part in the challenge of remembering the lyrics to Taylor Swift's songs, guessing 22, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Love Story. With You Belong With Me, he remembered the melody but could not guess the exact lyrics.
In another video on the Mothership channel, Mr Tong said: "I love her songs, I love her music. I think she's a smart songwriter." He said Taylor Swift is always present in the family because his three daughters are all big fans of her. The minister's favorite album is Lover and the song All Too Well.
Singapore's Culture Minister sings some Taylor Swift songs. Video: mothership
Edwin Tong, 55, is Singapore's Minister for Culture, Community and Youth. He led a delegation to Los Angeles a year ago to meet with event organizers and invite Taylor Swift to perform in Singapore.
"When we met with Taylor Swift's representatives, we saw the opportunity very quickly because she had not announced the dates for her international tour at that time. We proposed Singapore as a stopover and found out what we could do to meet the criteria, such as timing and location," Tong said, according to Straist Times .
Following Mr Tong’s trip, Singapore and Taylor Swift’s representatives signed an agreement in May 2023. By June, the concert was announced. More than 300,000 tickets for the six shows in early March 2024 had been sold. Singapore provided a sponsorship to convince Taylor Swift to hold concerts in the country, making it her only stop in Southeast Asia.
Economists estimate that Taylor Swift's tour could boost Singapore's economy by $500 million from tourism revenue, according to the Straits Times . Singapore has recently been chosen as a venue for performances by major artists such as Blackpink, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.
"Sea of people" watched Taylor Swift's concert in Singapore, evening of March 2. Video: Nguyen Minh Hien
Taylor Swift's first show took place on the evening of March 2, bringing a colorful musical party, attracting about 60,000 spectators. She will sing more on March 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9.
The Eras Tour is Taylor Swift's high-profile tour, taking place across multiple continents. In October 2023, Taylor became a billionaire thanks to the tour's success. In December 2023, Guinness recognized her Eras Tour as the highest-grossing concert series of all time, reaching over $1 billion, surpassing Elton John's record of $939 million. The singer earned about 85% of all ticket sales - a high and rare rate in the music industry. She ended her most recent show in Sydney, Australia on February 24.
Taylor Swift, 34, is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame with her country music in 2006. After 10 albums, Taylor has received 14 Grammy Awards and 29 Billboard Awards. In addition to touring, she has released re-recorded albums such as Fearless, Red, 1989. She currently has a net worth of about 1.1 billion USD, and was chosen by Time as "Person of the Year" 2023.
Source link
Comment (0)