Richard Wilkins reveals why he doesn't think Taylor Swift will add more Australian shows: 'She's in the box seat'

Taylor Swift is the name on everybody's lips this week.

The pop star's wildly popular and highly-anticipated Eras Tour is coming to Australia in February 2024 and it seems everyone with a pulse is a fan: including, of course, Richard Wilkins.

Nine's Entertainment Editor has interviewed the Style singer, 33, many times throughout her album cycles and watched in awe as his colleagues and friends feverishly attempted to score tickets in the pre-sale today.

Wilkins tells 9Honey Celebrity he is astonished by the intense demand for her tickets, describing Swift as a "once in a generation" artist.

"Plenty of artists tour Australia but this is a once in a generation demand for tickets, it's really unprecedented," Wilkins says. 

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"It's a huge tour and she's a huge artist. She's doing five big stadium shows and there's no way that supply can keep up with that demand. And it's been the same around the world.

"She is, without a doubt, the most popular touring artist... That's a big call, but her fans are so passionate and enthusiastic, they will seemingly do anything to get their hands on tickets today."

Despite the insane demand for Swift's five shows, with three in Sydney and two in Melbourne in her Australian schedule, Wilkins doesn't predict she'll be adding more.

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He says it is likely a calculated move to have less seats than fans willing to buy tickets.

"It's good for her business to always have people wanting more, you wouldn't want to have 10 shows and have half of them empty," he says.

"That's the modus operandi. It's a seller's ticket and she's in the box seat. She has millions of fans around the world to keep satisfied." 

Swift rarely does any press these days – even after launching her newest album Midnights in late 2022. However, over the years, Wilkins has been lucky enough to sit down with the Karma hitmaker to promote her previous tours.

Reflecting on their meetings, Wilkins says Swift was always kind and quite intelligent about how she approached her career.

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"I have sat down with Taylor many times. In the early days I found her very smart, I remember talking to her about the country crossover… and she said, 'Oh no, I'm not crossing over from country, my pop career is a spill over from country," Wilkins recalls.

"She was always nice to work with, I remember interviewing her when she was here for her 1989 tour and I took my son Christian along, she was so nice to him.

"After the interview she turned to him and said, 'What are you up to, Christian?' and they spoke for about 20 minutes."

Wilkins expects he will be there for the Eras Tour in February 2024, if not for any other reason than to witness a small part of music history.

"I've seen her in concert before, she always delivers," he says. "It'll be a great show. And one thing we can be sure of is it will all be full houses."

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Title: Richard Wilkins reveals why he doesn't think Taylor Swift will add more Australian shows: 'She's in the box seat'
Sourced From: celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/richard-wilkins-interview-about-taylor-swift-eras-tour-pre-sale-tickets-demand/fe2ef659-477e-4dfe-a8eb-b6e919a22fec
Published Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2023 04:06:00 GMT