Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour faithfully recreated by Filipina viral sensation Taylor Sheesh.

As seemingly half of Melbourne packed into the MCG on Friday for the first night of Taylor Swift’s blockbuster Eras Tour, thousands of devoted fans crowded Federation Square to watch a different queen take to the stage.

Clad in a sparkly fringed mini dress and a long blonde wig, Filipino drag performer Taylor Sheesh emerged to a roar to begin an hour-and-a-half-long re-enactment of Swift’s show, simultaneously taking place just a kilometre away.

Sheesh is perhaps the Philippines’ ultimate Swiftie, and it’s a responsibility she takes seriously.

Her act is a meticulous recreation of the Eras Tour, from the setlist and the dance moves down to the sequin-studded outfits, the result of countless hours of reviewing Swift’s show on social media.

Sheesh said she constantly rewatched videos, “even though I’ve watched it already a million times, to memorise and practice her nuances, her smiling, and choreography”.

As she strutted across the stage, executing Swift’s signature dance moves and hair flips, you would hardly be able to tell from the screams of the crowd that Sheesh was not the real thing.

They may have missed out on tickets to the MCG, but the 10,000-strong audience in Federation Square turned out in force to take part in the biggest Taylor Swift singalong party in the city.

A ‘Taylor Nation’ in waiting
Many may feel as though they have had their fill of the “Cruel Summer” singer over the past few months, but then, they probably are not living in the Philippines.

Swift was the most listened-to artist in the country on Spotify’s 2023 Wrapped, and Google reported Filipinos looked up “Taylor Swift” on the search engine more than every other nation in the world last year.

But despite the South-East Asian nation’s valid claim to being deep “Taylor Nation” territory, the pop star has not toured the country in a decade, and her Eras Tour is giving the country a miss.

“Her last song was We Are Never Getting Back Together,” Sheesh said, referring to Swift’s encore finale during her 2014 Red tour in Manila.

A student at the time, Sheesh could not afford to see her idol back then. She finally got her chance in February, travelling to Tokyo to catch the concert there.

After seeing the Eras Tour up close for the first time, she acknowledged the Philippines still had a long way to go in terms of infrastructure.

“We don’t have any venue yet in the Philippines to cater to that big production,” Sheesh reflected.

But Filipino Swifties have proven to be a determined bunch, with many travelling abroad for the experience of seeing their favourite artist live.