“I Screamed When I Realised Nobody Was There Yet”: Says Taylor Swift Fan, Who Is First In Line For Tickets At Choa Chu Kang’s Singpost

Public ticketing for Taylor Swift’s concert starts tomorrow (July 7) at noon, and we’re sure those who did not manage to get their tickets during pre-sales are doing everything within their ability to guarantee themselves a seat at the pop star’s upcoming gigs.

Besides trying out sure-fire hacks and manifesting all the good luck in the world for a good queue number, Swifties have also started to queue up at Singpost outlets across the island to double their chances at getting tickets.

Earlier this afternoon, 8days.sg got on a call with Qayyum Lukman, who is first in line at Choa Chu Kang’s Singpost outlet, to find more about the queueing situation.

Qayyum, 25, who is currently serving his national service, said he is “extraordinarily fortunate” as he works at the fire station which follows shifts, and his days off happened to be yesterday and today.

“I’ll be using one of my leave [days] tomorrow,” he added with a chuckle.

How long has he been queueing?

Qayyum revealed that the plan was for him to join the queue at 12pm this afternoon. But after scrolling through social media when he was out with his friends and seeing that lines had already formed at other Singpost outlets last night, he “panicked” and made the “rash decision to take a grab all the way from Bugis to Choa Chu Kang” at midnight.

“I stay in Yew Tee and I’ve always known that I want to queue at Choa Chu Kang ‘cos the location is quite ulu,” he explained.

He continued: “I went over and I screamed when I realised that there was nobody there yet. I came up with this analogy for what that moment felt like. You know in The Amazing Race when the host is at the end point but the contestant is not sure if anyone had gotten there first and was just hiding? That’s how I felt. I sprinted all the way over to Singpost because I was so afraid that someone would appear out of nowhere and I would become second place."

Thankfully, Qayyum and his fellow Swiftie friends queuing with him, are able to ‘swap shifts’ while in the queue.

Hence, he could go home at 8am this morning to charge his phone and get some rest before returning to Singpost in the early afternoon.

The group is also prepared to cover all their bases and join the virtual queue on Ticketmaster while in the physical one tomorrow “just in case anything happens”.

So what does Qayyum think Taylor would say if she knew he had queued for over 48 hours just to get tickets to her concert?

Qayyum, who has been a fan of the singer since 2008, tells us that it is common for her fans around the world to do the same.

“There are other fans who have queued for way longer in other countries so I think she will give me the respect, like it’s amazing that [I] did this, but I don’t think she would be super impressed,” he said.

While speaking to us, Qayyum also found out from his friend that Singpost had limited the queue to just 30 people.

“There were about 10 people when I left [my shift at Singpost] this morning, but now they only allow a max of 30 people before the staff comes out to chase the rest away. I didn’t know about this [beforehand] as well,” he told us.

According to an announcement on Singpost's Facebook page, "chances of purchasing tickets are very low beyond the 30th position in queue", and only "fans with valid access codes will be allowed to join the queues".

They, however, did not specify if fans beyond the 30th position would be allowed to stay in the queues. 

As long as the wait may seem, Qayyum said that the experience has been great as the fans in line are all able to “vibe” together well and have started talking to each other about their favourite Taylor Swift songs and albums.

He had also shared with them the Old Chang Kee curry puffs he received from foodpanda after they saw a post about his queueing experience on social media.  

“Swifties have this certain cuteness to them. They put in so much effort in their outfits during the concert, and I hope they follow the trend where we trade friendship bracelets. I’m gonna dress up as Taylor in the 'Bejeweled' music video where she is covered in individual gems that represent all 10 of her albums,” he said.

He chuckled as he continued: “We’re all manifesting here. We cannot say something else that might manifest something [that we don’t want], you know?”

Watch Qayyum's document his experience of "sprinting" to Singpost in the TikTok below. 

General ticketing will open on Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster's hotline, and at all SingPost outlets on Jul 7, 12pm. Click here to buy. 

Photos: Qayyum Lukman