Taylor Swift ‘hysteria’ gripping Australia is baffling and weird

A ‘weird’ incident in Sydney has left many Australians wonder what the hell is happening with Taylor Swift.

OPINION

I’m starting to wonder if there’s something wrong with me.

Those in the cheap seats can pipe down – yes, you’ve been trying to tell me that for years.

But you can’t move at the moment for talk of Taylor Swift.

It’s taking up entire newspaper front pages, my X feed is full of it – even talkback radio stations, notoriously not the preserve of young women, are giving away tickets.

And I can’t work out what all the fuss is about.

No knock on Swift – she’s clearly talented and her music is catchy and inoffensive. I prefer the country-skewed stuff.

But I’ve never listened to it and felt the need to go gaga.

I wouldn’t sit in front of a screen for hours in the hopes of snatching a ticket and be devastated when I didn’t secure said ticket. I certainly wouldn’t pay thousands as some did.

She went to Pellegrino 2000 in Surry Hills for dinner on Tuesday night and by the time she departed, a throng of young fans were gathered outside shouting “Taylor, Taylor, Taylor”.

Someone clearly spread the word that she was there and, like moths to a flame, people came out of the woodwork.

Taylor Swift was swarmed by fans as she left Pellegrino 2000 after dinner in Surry Hills, Sydney Picture: Matrix Media Group

Nothing would possess me to take time on a Tuesday night to schlep to a footpath outside a restaurant to catch a fleeting glimpse of a singer.

If I were sitting in the same restaurant as a singer I admired I might introduce myself and tell them I like their work but I wouldn’t make a special trip to gawk at them.

Swift, of course, isn’t the only celebrity to whom this happens. People went positively mad for Elvis and the Beatles and plenty of other acts.

“Beatlemania” was coined for the craziness that ensued around that foursome. One fan, who later wrote a book about her experiences, cycled 20 miles from school to watch them land at Heathrow and crawled into the sewers under Abbey Road to listen to them record.

But Swift must be the greatest example of this cult-like celebrity obsession in a decade.

Taylor Swift mania is gripping Australia while she’s visiting on her world tour. Picture: Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

From where does this hysteria come? An hysteria strong enough to make some people cry.

There are people with whom I have been excited to speak or meet. I’ve been lucky enough to interview one of the greatest batsmen of all time, West Indian cricketer Brian Lara, and legendary British cricket commentator Henry Blofeld.

I was excited and perhaps a little nervous on both occasions. They might mean little to you as Swift means little to me but they are figures I grew up admiring.

But I didn’t go mad given the opportunity to talk to them and nor would I have stalked either to a restaurant.

I’m not sure I love anyone more than Nigella Lawson and she still doesn’t drive me that crazy.

Caleb Bond is confused by the Taylor Swift ‘hysteria’ sweeping Australia. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

The madness seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because one group of people believe Swift or whoever else is the greatest being to have walked the Earth, so does everyone else – and then it turns into a quasi-religion.

Admiration transforms into some kind of emotional connection to someone you’ve never met and will likely never meet.

Celebrity sells newspapers and drives clicks because, at heart, we are social creatures and love gossip.

I love music and have rather broad tastes. I’ll listen to the lunchtime concert on Classic FM in the afternoon and then blast bad ’80s ballads on the way to work in the evening. Music – and artists – can be emotional.

But I’ve never deluded myself into thinking I had any kind of real connection to the artist.

If it brings you some joy, good for you. But it’s weird.

Caleb Bond is an Sydney-based commentator and host of The Late Debate on Sky News Australia.

Originally published as Taylor Swift ‘hysteria’ gripping Australia is baffling and weird