Swift speaks now - and how!

When you’re fifteen, somebody tells you they love you, you’re gonna believe them.”

MANILA, Philippines - Many can relate to Taylor Swift’s simple words on young love, but few will ever understand the feeling when 15,000 people tell you they love you. Even for Taylor, the overwhelming admiration was a bit hard to take in.

Standing silently in the middle of the stage, mouth hanging slightly open, the multi-awarded singer basked in the cheers of thousands of fans filling the Araneta Coliseum last Saturday night. It seemed that, for a few minutes, the 21-year-old songwriter was actually at a loss for words.

Her shock was understandable — the Philippines is not exactly known for its love of country music. Not forgetting that a packed Big Dome is an awe-inspiring sight in itself, seeing over 15,000 Filipinos turn up for a country music concert must have been a pleasant surprise (she hadn’t even seen the young girl who squealed and promptly started crying when she stepped onto the stage!)

Upon recovering from her moment of silence, Taylor launched into a spiel for her fans. She said that despite having different languages and living miles away from each other, everyone in the world can understand love and heartbreak, which is what her songs are about — unwittingly explaining why so many sentimental Pinoys attended her Speak Now concert.

But aside from being very relatable, Taylor’s songs were also very sing-able. Every song she sang, the audience sang with her from beginning to end, whether the songs were monster hits like Mine, or just album favorites like Enchanted, The Story of Us, and Back to December.

Fortunately, the ballad-heavy concert didn’t turn out to be a massive group listening of Taylor’s songs. More than just a singer, she was also a consummate performer. Whipping her hair back and forth, jumping up and down on the stage, dancing and acting, Taylor was able to add an extra energy and flavor to her already soulful melodies.

She also interacted a lot with the crowd, frequently high-fiving the audience members nearest the stage, and walking along the aisles to greet her fans, even accepting a bouquet with a teddy bear handed to her. And for You Belong With Me, one of her biggest hits, she asked the crowd, “Would you sing along with me on this song?” The audience (as if they needed an invitation for a sing-along) outdid themselves, at times even overpowering Taylor’s amplified voice.

The singer-songwriter also showed off her skills in playing the guitar, piano and ukulele, which she played during some song numbers.

Most impressive of all, however, was her talent in changing up her songs. Mixing Fearless with Train’s Hey Soul Sister and Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours, she held the entire Araneta Coliseum captive with her simple, sit-down rendition accompanied only by the shrill tones of her ukulele.

Of course, if her music weren’t enough, Taylor herself was equally enthralling.

Pictures in magazines and music videos don’t do her justice. The girl is a real-life Barbie Doll. Seeing her in person justifies why practically all the men in Hollywood are going gaga over her.

Girls in the crowd were craning and zooming their cameras to the maximum to capture Taylor’s face and outfits, probably to admire and copy at a future time. The boys (there was a surprisingly large number of them!), on the other hand, turned their backs on Taylor so their faces could be right next to hers in all the pictures.

But the Taylor-wannabe and wanna-have-Taylor teenagers made up a small part of the crowd. The rest of the audience was made up mostly of children, most ranging from Grade 4 to Grade 6, though some looked barely out of kindergarten. Of course, being so young and restless, the kids had their parents with them (some moms even looked like they were enjoying themselves more than their kids were).

There were so many youngsters that when Taylor said she wanted to hear the audience sing, the whole venue was filled with the sound of a children’s choir. It seemed that the kids knew every single word on every single song Taylor has written.

Some of those children are the offspring (or relatives) of famous local stars like Carmina Villarroel and Korina Sanchez. Not to be outdone by the kids of their colleagues in the industry, Maja Salvador, Kim Chiu, Phoemela Baranda, Kris Aquino, Vice Ganda, Judy Ann Santos, Marjorie Baretto, and Krissy and Ericka Villiongco also watched the show.

Saving her biggest hit, Love Story, for last, Taylor ended the concert with a bang (and crazily-loud singing from the fans). It was an abrupt ending to the night (it was only 10:30) and she had yet to sing her first chart-topping songs, Teardrops on My Guitar and I’d Lie.

Maybe she only planned to sing her newer works. Or maybe the reason why her show ended so early is because Taylor knew many of her fans at the concert were kids who had bedtimes and curfews.

Whatever the reason for the slightly shorter than usual show, Taylor certainly enchanted the Philippines and made the day a fairytale for all of the young ones who idolize and admire her. For sure, Taylor will always have a place in the world and in the hearts of her Filipino fans.