Philippine ‘Swifties’ flock to Taylor Sheesh show

MANILA – Thousands of diehard Taylor Swift fans erupted in screams on Friday as a Philippine drag queen impersonating the American music megastar strutted on stage in a Manila shopping centre.

For many Filipino “Swifties”, as Taylor Swift’s fans are called, this is the closest they will get to the 33-year-old singer’s “The Eras Tour” after the Philippines was left off the Asian leg in 2024.

As fans across the region scrambled on Friday to get their hands on tickets for her six shows in Singapore, one of only two stops in Asia, Filipino Swifties flocked to a mall to see the next best thing: Taylor Sheesh.

Wearing a long blonde wig and gold sequined and tasselled dress, Sheesh shimmered across the floor as she imitated Swift’s dance moves and lip-synced songs from her 2010 album Speak Now.

Mostly young fans sang along to the lyrics they first heard as children,…