SINGAPORE – Are you ready for it?
Ahead of American superstar Taylor Swift’s six-night concert at the National Stadium from March 2 to 9, The Straits Times (ST) will be running nine full-page infographics, to be published in the newspaper over nine days from Feb 17 to 25.
Each infographic represents one album, or what is known as a music era, covered in the 34-year-old pop queen’s record-breaking Eras Tour, running chronologically from Fearless (2008) through to Midnights (2022).
Expect hand-drawn illustrations and photographs that match the aesthetic of each era, packed with information such as factoids, achievements and note-worthy news from that period in Swift’s life.
On top of that, all nine infographics will combine to form one composite image of Swift, arguably the most famous and influential person on the planet right now.
Swifties should not miss the chance to add these collectible works of art to their merch stash. Collect the whole set by buying a copy of ST during that period, or simply pick your favourite era or eras. Each full-page infographic in the newspaper is sized 52cm by 32.8cm.
ST is also giving away a limited number of free posters (100cm by 63cm) of the composite to the first ST followers who post themselves trying out its special TikTok filter, Swiftie Era (ST’s version), on the short-video platform from now until Feb 23.
ST correspondent Yamini Chinnuswamy and executive infographics journalist Billy Ker say planning of the ambitious project began in November 2023, when deputy Life editor Jeanmarie Tan suggested a multi-era infographic-turned-collectible to tie in with Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour in Singapore, her only stop in South-East Asia.
Mr Ker, 35, says: “The challenge was to keep each of the nine individual infographics visually appealing yet coherent when all of them were combined to form the big composite.
“There needed to be elements that were kept constant throughout so that readers know these separate graphics belong to a series and, yet, they needed to be different enough that they didn’t become boring to look at.”
Mr Ker is behind the composite drawing of Swift, as well as many small illustrations sprinkled throughout the nine pieces.
Watch out for the iconic cardigan of the Folklore (2020) album; a faithful recreation of a big butterfly mural painted on a wall in Nashville, Tennessee, that was commissioned by Swift; and, of course, the star’s three famous cats – Olivia Benson, Meredith Grey and Benjamin Button.
The project also involved editors and sub-editors from various desks across the newsroom, while ST executive infographics journalist Celestino Gulapa contributed two large drawings of Swift from the Folklore and Evermore eras.
ST editor Jaime Ho is proud of the newsroom for this massive, multimedia project.
He says: “The social, cultural and economic phenomenon that is Taylor Swift is indescribable. And she’s coming to town.
“To mark the occasion, we’ve brought our unparalleled visual storytelling talent in the newsroom even closer to our readers in the form of these infographics and limited-edition posters. Swiftie or not, we hope you’ll enjoy them.”
Mr Ker enjoys some of Swift’s discography, but does not call himself a hardcore fan. It is Ms Yamini, a self-confessed Swiftie, who gave him photo references to aid his illustrations.
The 36-year-old wrote close to 8,000 words for the nine infographics after extensive research.
Despite loving Swift’s music – the hit song Love Story had a permanent spot on her iPod Shuffle when it was released in 2008 – Ms Yamini says this is not a fan project for her, but rather an acknowledgement of Swift’s pop culture domination.
She says: “The biggest challenge was keeping a curated and journalistic bent, and not letting the pieces turn into a prettier version of a Wikipedia article where we just rattle off statistics. We wanted this to be interesting not just to Swifties, but also to our broader ST audience who knows little about her.”
Ms Yamini, who also included various “Easter eggs” across the graphics for Swifties to seek out, adds: “I had so many nights of waking up at 3am and remembering some random factoid I forgot to include.
“But I’m quite proud of some, such as the one about Taylor’s maternal grandmother, opera singer Marjorie Finlay, starring in an opera at Singapore’s very own Victoria Theatre. There is even an ST clipping from that time. It just adds a special bit of meaning and connection for us Singapore fans to have with her.”
Finlay died in 2003. Swift released a song about her, titled Marjorie, in her Evermore album from 2020. The song is on the Eras Tour setlist.
Both Ms Yamini and Mr Ker say the experience of seeing the composite poster – the culmination of months of hard work – for the first time was “unreal” and “mind-blowing”.
“I want to believe that I’m the only person crazy enough to want to attempt something like this? Nine full-page infographics that combine into one mega-graphic,” Mr Ker says.
Even with nine full broadsheet pages, it was impossible to fully cover Swift’s nearly 20-year career. Some things simply had to be left out.
Ms Yamini says: “I hope our readers enjoy taking this visual journey through Taylor’s life and career in the public spotlight, and that Swifties forgive us for giving her 2006 self-titled debut album the Eras Tour treatment – which is to say, we barely acknowledge it.”
How to win ST’s limited-edition Taylor Swift infographic poster
Follow The Straits Times on TikTok. Then, be among the first TikTok users to post yourself trying out ST’s special TikTok filter, titled Swiftie Era (ST’s version), from now till Feb 23. Those fast enough to snag a limited-edition poster will receive a direct message from ST’s TikTok team with collection details. While this contest is open to users across all countries, collection has to be done in-person in Singapore.
