Singapore struck a deal ensuring Taylor Swift played the city-state but nowhere else in Southeast Asia, the country’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong admitted Tuesday while defending the secretive arrangement that drew flak from Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Pop icon Swift is halfway through a run of six sold-out shows in Singapore, the only city in Southeast Asia to feature in her blockbuster Eras world tour.
The star’s schedule has sparked controversy in the music-mad region, with Singapore accused of throwing cash at Swift to stop her from appearing in other locations.
House ways and means panel chair Rep. Joey Salceda earlier asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to make the Singaporean Embassy in Manila explain the alleged exclusive deal the rich city-state made for the concert tour.
“We should still officially register our opposition. It also runs contrary to the principle of consensus-based relations and solidarity on which the ASEAN was founded,” Salceda added.
Last month, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said Singapore paid Swift up to $3 million per show on the condition that she plays only in the city.
Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia’s minister of tourism, said “we need what Singapore and Australia managed to pull off, which is to bring in Taylor Swift. We need Swiftonomics in Indonesia.”
The issue unexpectedly reared its head at the ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne – a sober affair typically more preoccupied with matters of security and economic growth.
“Our agencies negotiated an arrangement with her to come to Singapore and perform, and to make Singapore her only stop in Southeast Asia,” Prime Minister Lee said at a joint press conference with his Australian counterpart.
“A deal was reached. And so, it has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don’t see that as being unfriendly.”
Singapore has repeatedly declined to detail the financial terms of the deal. After Singapore, Swift’s Eras Tour will head to Europe. With AFP