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Many of you will be able to say you’ve watched Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in Singapore by the end of this week, but how many can brag about scoring a gift from the international pop superstar herself?
Well, eight-year-old Kylie Teo can.
The primary two Methodist Girls’ School student was ‘The Lucky One’ who was picked to receive the 34-year-old star’s fedora hat — the one she wears during her performance of ’22’ — on Night 3 (Mar 4) of her National Stadium concerts.
Bestowing the ’22’ hat on stage to a lucky fan is a tradition that Taylor started in 2023, when she kicked off the tour in Glendale, Arizona.
When 8days.sg got on a call with Kylie’s mum, Caslin Luo, she shared that they were only informed that Kylie was the “chosen one” one song before the ’22’ performance.
According to Caslin, who works in fintech, she and her husband along with Kylie and younger daughter Stella, seven, were at their designated seats in the VIP Category 3 section. There, they realised that the kids were too short to see anything, even after standing on the chairs.
“By the third song I told my husband I’m going to take them to the back so at least they could see something, so we actually left our original seats. We were all the way at the back and it was just during the song before [’22’], this Caucasian lady tapped me and said: ‘Would you and her come with me?’ while pointing at Kylie,” recalls Caslin.
Caslin initially thought they had gotten into trouble for straying away from their seats until the lady told her husband and their younger daughter to come along as well.
“That was when I thought it was a bit strange, so I asked her: ‘Is she going to get the ’22 hat’?!’ And she just smiled and shrugged, and I went a little berserk (laughs),” says Caslin.
Meanwhile, Kylie, well, ‘Fearless’-ly made her way to the front of the stage by herself.
While walking there, Kylie thought of which friendship bracelet to gift Taylor and it was the one with her name on it.
“When she was at the stage, I think she struggled to take it out so there was one-two seconds of awkwardness while Taylor was just squatting there waiting for her,” says Caslin.
Thankfully, Kylie managed to pass Taylor her bracelet in time, and the star replied with a “Thank you very much, I love you” before giving her a big hug.
Now you must be wondering, how does it feel like to hug Taylor Swift?
“She said it was as though Taylor Swift was singing in the rain,” laughs Caslin. “I told her that part of the stage was sheltered and there was no rain, then she said: ‘Oh but it felt like it was raining ‘cos there were beads of water’, which I assumed was just sweat ‘cos it was very, very warm (laughs).”
Kylie turned into an instant celebrity after her moment of glory.
“She got a lot of attention,” recalls Caslin. “She was wearing the hat and going to the toilet was impossible ‘cos she had to stop to take pictures with people. It got to a point where, during one of the toilet breaks, I told them to just not wear the hat because we are not going to be able to make it there and back quickly.”
Caslin continues: “I think she was a bit nervous and overwhelmed. On our way back there were so many people congratulating her and offering her friendship bracelets, we came back with so many more because people were very friendly and enthusiastic.”
How does Kylie’s little sister Stella feel about her big sister getting chosen and not her though?
“A bit disappointed,” admits Caslin.
“She asked us if she could go up too, and I told her ‘No. Only one child gets to go up but you get to see Taylor super up close’,” she adds.
Well, Stella did get a little something from Taylor too.
“If I’m not wrong, when Taylor was at the end of the stage, she gave [Stella] a flying kiss ‘cos my husband was carrying her right next to Kylie and they were wearing the same outfit. So I told her: ‘Hey, Taylor also gave you a flying kiss!’ but I think she’s still a bit disappointed lah. Such is life,” chuckles Caslin.
What makes this entire experience even more surreal was how the family almost didn’t make it to the concert.
Caslin shares that she actually did not manage to get tickets during the actual sale period and had to resort to other ways but the “mark up was insane”.
“About two to three weeks before the concert, a friend shared an opportunity with me that came from the sponsoring bank, UOB. I needed to sign up for a credit card which I did, and I got four tickets. I didn’t even dare to share the news with my children in case those tickets didn’t come through,” she laughs.
Before those tickets came along, Caslin was planning on just spending the night vibing to Tay Tay’s music outside the stadium with her family.
“I mean, you know children right? They don’t mind ‘cos they don’t know what they’re missing out on. They were doing all the friendship bracelets and I said: “Oh, are you sure you want to do those ‘cos we’re not actually going in”. But children being children, they were like: ‘Sure!'” she says.
“We even went to buy outfits, not knowing we were going to make it to the show (laughs). I only told them when I received the actual tickets, which was just a couple of days before the show.”
So what is Kylie going to do with her precious ’22 hat’ now?
“I’m going to ask her to write a diary entry so that she can put it with the hat and we’ll keep it for her. Children tend to forget as they grow up, so I just want her to be able to remember everything that she felt last night,” says Caslin.
We think Kylie can start her diary entry with: “Today Was A Fairytale…”