Much of the noisy showbiz joy these days seems to be out there where global pop superstar Taylor Swift is. In the Philippines, there's much showbiz sorrow to bear up to.

Some days ago, Swift threw Australia into a frenzy with her Eras concert tour. Since 2 March, it's in Singapore that she has caused a roaring pandemonium and an upsurge in that little country's tourism economics.

The government shelled out millions of US dollars to have her in the midst of Singaporeans and of Swifties (Swift's fans) from other parts of the world, including, perhaps, a hundred or so from our archipelago of 7,100 islands, led by well-off showbiz idols and other celebrities. This list includes a software engineer, Charlyn Suizo, 30, who heads a group of Swifties in the Philippines, who  flew in from Manila on Friday with 17 friends.

A Reuters international news agency report says Suizo spent at least $6,000 on her flights, concert tickets and accommodation. That is slightly above the average annual household income in the Philippines, the report stressed.

Swift will be in Singapore until 9 March, with the National Stadium as the concert venue that can accommodate more than 90,000 viewers. The country's Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong proclaimed in Parliament on Monday, 4 March, that Swift's Eras Tour has "significant" economic benefits that "outweigh the size of the grant" that given to the concert promoter. The revenue from such top-tier events is also ploughed back into "non-revenue generating, highly impactful social events," the minister added.

By January 2024, hotel rates in Singapore have increased by more than 2,000 percent! Tickets to Swift's Singapore concerts started selling in July 2023. What used to be US$150 a night in a hotel there has gone up to US$450. All hotels in the country are fully booked, so the reports go as of this writing.

There's just one sore note about Swift's concert. There were reports from the opening night concert on 2 March that concertgoers in some of the floor sections rushing to the VIP area on front of the stage, ruthlessly pushing away those who bought the S$1,800 tickets for the area. Additional security measures have been put in place in the National Stadium for the remaining concerts.