A Swiftie’s dream: Inside Spotify’s immersive ‘This Is Taylor Swift’ exhibit

MANILA, Philippines — From a fascinating gallery to a lyric wonderland, the ongoing immersive exhibition of Taylor Swift’s 11 iconic musical eras at Gateway Mall 2, Araneta City, offers a magical experience for every Swiftie who has registered for the show.

The “This Is Taylor Swift: A Spotify Playlist Experience” is being held for the first time in Manila and will run until Feb. 24.

The STAR, along with other guests who dressed up in Taylor’s era-inspired outfits, got a glimpse of what it was like to experience Taylor’s artistry during the exclusive preview last Thursday before it opened to the public.

As we entered through the Enchanted Hallway, the dancing lights in the signature colors of Taylor’s musical eras greeted us, accompanied by an instrumental version of the global pop star’s Enchanted as background music.

Hot chocolate inspired by Taylor Swift eras.

We continued to The Great Collection room, where we explored Taylor’s discography featured on 11 panels installed in the area.

One could feel Taylor’s poetic brilliance through the lyrics of her songs flowing from ceiling to floor, combined with an impressive light projection in the This Is Me Writing zone.

As attendees, we shared our favorite lyrics from Spotify to Instagram stories and redeemed swag from the next room.

We took home an exclusive Spotify x This Is Taylor Swift playlist swag, which allows us to access Taylor’s music just by tapping our phones.

Visitors recreate a scene from one of Taylor’s music videos.

We then moved on to the Message In A Booth part, where we recreated a scene from one of Taylor’s music videos. Inside a phone booth, with rain sound and visual effects, we dialed a number on the payphone and heard Taylor’s recorded voice message.

Afterward, we got a taste of Taylor Swift era-inspired hot chocolate at Chocolate Street, snapped photos in the photo booth, and discovered which Taylor Swift era we belonged to after scanning the provided QR code.

Manila is the second Asian city to host “This Is Taylor Swift: A Spotify Playlist Experience” after its launch in Jakarta from Feb. 14 to 17. The interactive event will head to Seoul after Manila.

Spotify’s head of music for Southeast Asia, Kossy Ng, remarked in a statement how Taylor’s music “shapes culture, sparks connection, and has set numerous worldwide records on Spotify.”

One can feel Taylor’s poetic brilliance through the lyrics of her songs flowing from ceiling to floor, combined with an impressive light projection in the ‘This Is Me Writing’ zone.

“In the Philippines, her growth has been phenomenal, driven by the unstoppable energy of Filipino Swifties. That’s why we’re excited to bring ‘This Is Taylor Swift: A Spotify Playlist Experience’ to Manila, celebrating her iconic musical eras with the fans who live and breathe her music.”

Spotify’s communications lead for Asia Pacific, Cheskie Ayson, shared that the Philippines is Taylor’s second-biggest global streaming market, with streams of “This Is Taylor Swift” surging 150 percent in the past three years.

According to the music streaming platform’s data, some of Taylor’s most listened-to songs in the Philippines are Cruel Summer, Lover, Fortnight (feat. Post Malone), august and cardigan.

The top cities in the Philippines with the most streams are Quezon City, Manila, Cebu City, Caloocan and Davao City.