A radical shift had been noticed in consumer with Singaporeans becoming more willing to splurge on experiences such as entertainment and travel over material goods. This trend is believed to be due to the mindset of missing out on certain experiences and not being sure whether they would be able to have these experiences again, due to the uncertainty after the pandemic.
Some eager concertgoers are requesting that the number of foreigners who can purchase concert tickets in Singapore be limited with six sold-out shows and online queue numbers exceeding a million.
Concert tickets for British Grammy award-winning rock band Coldplay which last performed before the pandemic in 2017 at the National Stadium were sold out within hours after ticket sales commenced on Monday 19th June. Tickets that were announced for 2 new shows on Monday and Tuesday in response to the high demand were also sold out very fast.
This time a top-tier ticket to A-Mei’s upcoming performance will cost $328. All 15,000 tickets that were priced between $148 and $ 328 to her two-night gig on July 7th and 8th which are a part of her ASMeiR 2023 World Tour, have been swept clean.
Mr. Kwee, a 46-year-old Singaporean who loves the Taiwanese diva’s songs told The Straits Times that before the pandemic his perspective was that concert tickets were pricey, and she would always be able to return in the future, but after the pandemic, it is a different story as she can retire very comfortably and does not need to hold concerts, so the opportunity should be grabbed before it is too late.
The trader in a commodities company is able to connect with several of A-Mei’s songs since they formed the soundtrack of his seminal years when he was studying, and serving national service and even when starting out in his career. He says he would not have spent $300 on a concert ticket 20 years ago, but not thinks it is ok to spend money on a good experience that he will remember forever.
Mr. Kwee is among thousands of fans who snapped up concert tickets by music veterans recently, with tickets priced between $168 and 388 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium for his 60+Concert Tour in July. Tickets to fellow Heavenly King Aaron Kwok’s Amazing Kode World Tour concerts this weekend to be held at the Resorts World Ballroom priced between $188 and 398 have also been snapped up. In February, three concerts of the Irish band Westlife at the Singapore Indoor Stadium were sold out in February. Also, Kwok, 57 and Cheung, 61 were at the peak of their popularity in the 1990s and since they are both in the twilight of their careers, fans are uncertain if the upcoming concerts could be their last chance of catching their idols in action.
Even shows headlined by stars who have younger fan bases such as K-pop girl group Blackpink’s two-night gig at the National Stadium in May and South Korean rapper songwriter BTS band member Suga’s three-night gig at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in June, have sold like hot cakes
Mr. Romell Song, Chief operating officer of IMG Group Asia, a multidisciplinary entertainment company which is organising A-mei’s Singapore concert states that the singer had not released any albums since her last performance in Singapore in 2017, but the first stop of her ASMeiR World Tour in Taipei in 2022 set a new personal record with 12 performances being sold out. Her subsequent concerts in Kaohsiung had a very strong showing as well. He told ST that while this string of positive news helped drive anticipation and high demand for her Singapore concert, 6 years is in any case a long wait which definitely contributed to the robust sales of tickets.
