SINGAPORE — With my hands nervously clasped, I could feel my anxiety bubble and tears start to well as I waited for my preferred seat selection for Taylor Swift's much-anticipated concert to go through.

It had come to my turn at the front of the line at the Bukit Panjang post office after waiting for nearly 24 hours, and the Singapore Post (SingPost) staff member handling my purchase assured me that the tickets will now surely be mine.

But after a few days of an emotional roller coaster struggling with ticket booking portal Ticketmaster's website to preregister for a spot, failing to snag a ticket during the United Overseas Bank cardmember pre-sales, and the ticketing delays that occurred on Friday (July 7) morning at SingPost branches, you can't fault me for having some trust issues.

“Will you be paying by Visa?” the woman in the SingPost uniform finally asked. "I've selected the tickets for you."

As I tapped my card and a loud “beep” confirmed my payment of S$1,018 for four tickets, my tears came before I knew what was happening. There I was sobbing in public, knowing I was just few seconds away from being one of the lucky ones who will be watching Swift perform live in Singapore next March.

The staff member handed me a receipt and congratulated me. Other Swifties, the collective name for Taylor Swift fans, started cheering while they waited for their turn, just as they did for others ahead of me.

I was crying not because I had to pay a large sum for my preferred seats, but because the almost 18-hours I spent queuing and waiting on the hard concrete floor of the SingPost finally paid off.

With Singapore being the only stop for Swift's The Eras Tour in Southeast Asia, demand for tickets exceeded a million. Fans had the option of buying the tickets online through Ticketmaster, or by queuing physically at any of SingPost's 55 outlets. 

But given how Wednesday's UOB presale saw a 1.3 million-long online queue and various issues on the Ticketmaster website, to some fans, queuing up physically from as early as 48 hours before general sales began was the way to go.

"Because your queue number (online) is randomised, queueing in line is almost like a guarantee you’ll be ahead of others,” one fan told me, adding that being here in person was “more reliable” than logging into Ticketmaster and praying for the best. 

She, alongside about 40 other Swifties whom I've come to be well-acquainted with, were roughing it out for that slim chance to secure a ticket for Ms Swift's six-day tour.

Well aware that some might consider this emotionally draining endeavour to be a ludicrous waste of time and having no experience queuing overnight for anything like that, I sought to see for myself why others were willing to brave the judging stares and the humid weather.

I joined the queue at around 10.15am on Thursday with the blessings of my editors who wanted to know what the big deal was. With the help of two strangers whom I met that I now call my friends, I was 13th in line — the number which the pop star considers to be her lucky number.

I knew the day would end in tears of joy or those of profound disappointment.

What I found wasn't just the exhausting emotional turmoil that the experience gave me, but it was the kindness of Swifties that made it bearable.

FRIENDSHIPS FORMED BY EVENING

Armed with a foldable chair, book, some snacks, portable chargers and an elephant soft toy for comfort, I originally planned to join other desperate fans in the great ticketing war in the evening after a work event.

But the queue was reaching double digits when I visited the Bukit Panjang outlet on Thursday morning. 

Thankfully, two kindhearted fans offered to help me hold a spot behind them till I finished work. At around 6pm, I began my patient wait in the queue.

SingPost's announcement on Thursday afternoon that there was a slim chance for those beyond the 30th position to get tickets hardly had any effect on us. We were the early birds, and we were going to get the tickets by hook or by crook, or so we told ourselves.

Already, the fans in the queue were playing Swift's songs, singing to kill the time. More people joined the queue up till midnight, with others joining to provide moral support.

They were from a range of ages, the youngest being just 14 years old. Parents and relatives were also in line, helping their children hold the fort through the night for a chance to see the pop star.

I had the company of my boyfriend, mother and colleague up till 11pm as they brought me dinner to fuel up, and more drinks to help me last the night.

When they left, I quickly sought refuge from loneliness with a motley crew of strangers — including four cousins, a polytechnic student and a secondary school student. We played board games that I brought along, ate together, and hummed to Swift's songs playing in the background.

And so, a bond was quickly forged among the few of us in our section in the line.

MIDNIGHT: LATE-NIGHT CHATS, FOOD AND DRINKS SHARED

One benefit of Bukit Panjang's SingPost outlet is the queue's location — it had a shelter to protect those in the line from the elements yet was open enough to not feel too stuffy.

But it was impossible to sleep, as the building's lights and the sound of vehicles whizzing by kept me wide awake.

With barely an hour of sleep, chatting about the concert and learning more about each other kept our spirits up.

Plans were also made among fans to exchange friendship bracelets — a fan tradition based on her song You're On Your Own, Kid — before the concerts in March 2024.

Now and then, someone would offer to buy snacks and drinks from a nearby convenience store for others. Almost magically, food that was passed around among those still awake would appear in front of me too, and I didn't have to fear going without food.

Some residents in the line also offered to bring people to their homes nearby to use the restroom.

The kindness made what would otherwise be a grimy, uncomfortable night on the concrete steps in front of the post office a bit more bearable.

"We were expecting to take turns to stay in the queue and protect our spot but people have been nice to take care of things so we can stretch our legs," said one fan as we waited for the sun to rise. 

"I think it's because we're all emulating what Taylor Swift is: Kind, caring and an inspiration."

FRIDAY: THE GREAT TICKETING WAR

But the hunky-dory way it was going so far was never going to last. This is the Great Ticketing War after all, a zero-sum situation in which someone getting a ticket means another person not having one.

Sure enough, some drama further in the line ahead unfolded when someone revealed they had multiple access codes, which meant that they might be queuing in the line for other people, despite an earlier count to know each other's position in line.

I swear I almost heard Swift's song Bad Blood play in the background as they argued in the front of the line.

My lucky 13th number queue moved to 15th in the unofficial recount at about 8am. All things considered, it isn't that bad.

Some fans were more vocal when people were seen cutting the queue, because it wasn't clear if they were just there to provide their friends with moral support, or to sneak into line.

Others turned a blind eye, knowing little could be done, opting for peace.

Personally, I was too tired and sleepy by the time the sun rose to do anything about it.

At 8.30am on Friday, SingPost finally opened its doors, though the general sales would only start at noon.

We watched as SingPost staff members happily wished those in line "good morning", then hand out forms for fans with access codes to fill in with their details and their preferred tickets. 

Chatter started brewing as people took the time to rethink their choices and passed their pens around. Suggestions of best categories and dates with the highest chances to get tickets were thrown around.

But as noon crept closer, the tension was palpable. Fans started wondering aloud how to best increase their chances, tinkering with their devices, and planning to get a digital queue number on the Ticketmaster website for the online sales as well.

AFTERNOON DELAYS

When the time finally came for the start of the ticket sales, everyone cheered as the first few Swifties made their way into the post office.

But by 12.15pm, word got around that the first two groups in line were struggling to check out their tickets.

There was anger, confusion, and fear of having wasted a night away from home. A staff member soon informed everyone that there was a system issue, without elaborating further.

Piling on the anxiety was the fact that problems also began to appear with the online general sales. Desperate, some began started asking if they could buy access codes off other fans at the back of the line so as to ensure they could secure the tickets.

It was only at 12.40pm, when the first two groups in line emerged from the post office triumphantly with their tickets, with others cheering and clapping for them.

It is quite hard to explain what emotion this is: I was genuinely happy for those who, like me, waited in line for so long. But I was equally anxious about whether I was able to get tickets.

I heard from my fellow TODAY journalist at Bedok's SingPost branch about how fans from the back of the line went up to the counters every 10 minutes to ask for clarifications. 

Things were thankfully less chaotic where I was, because people were relying on joking with the SingPost staff members, perhaps to hide our worries. 

“Maybe you should try turning the computers off and on again? That’s what works right,” they said, laughing. “Or maybe, give the computer a hit?”

I could scarcely believe that it came to my turn, number 15 in line, at around 2.30pm.

As I left with my tickets crying tears of joy and relief, the fans I made friends with hugged me and congratulated me. A sense of comfort overwhelmed me as more tears flowed, yet I was glad.

The Ticketmaster nightmare was finally over and I made new friends along the way to secure my prized possession.

Would I do it again? For Taylor Swift's concert tickets, I would waste my time and lose my mind multiple times.