Will Lady Gaga do for Singapore what Taylor Swift did?

Singapore is gearing up for another blockbuster musical concert as American pop star Lady Gaga prepares to take the stage for four highly anticipated shows in May 2025. As the only Asian stop on her latest ‘Mayhem’ tour, the concerts are expected to draw thousands of fans from across the region.

But beyond the excitement, there’s a bigger question—can Gaga’s performances replicate the staggering economic impact of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour? Singapore reportedly paid up to $3 million to secure Swift’s exclusive Southeast Asian shows, a move that injected hundreds of millions into the local economy.

This time, however, the government has opted not to offer similar incentives. According to The South China Morning Post (SCMP), Gaga’s concerts will proceed without any special grants, the city state’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong has revealed.

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So, without a financial push from the state, can Gaga still generate the same level of impact? Here’s a closer look.

All about Lady Gaga’s Mayhem tour

Pop icon Lady Gaga is set to bring her Mayhem tour to Singapore, making it her only Asian stop on the upcoming world tour. According to Billboard, the global superstar will perform a four-day residency at the Singapore National Stadium, which boasts a seating capacity of 55,000 per show.

Scheduled for May 18, 19, 21, and 24, 2025, the concerts are expected to draw fans from across the region. Ticket sales open on March 18 through various presales, with general sales starting on March 21.

The Mayhem tour comes after the release of Gaga’s seventh studio album, which debuted last Friday. The 14-track album marks a return to her signature dark-pop sound, featuring hits like Disease, Abracadabra, and Die With A Smile.

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Gaga’s last Singapore performance was in 2012 during her Born This Way Ball Tour, where she held three sold-out shows at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Before that, she also performed in the city-state in 2009 and 2011.

Last year, the city state hosted several A-list acts aside from Swift – British band Coldplay played multiple shows there and filmed a music video in collaboration with the tourism board, while pop singer Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran also took to the stage at the National Stadium.

Also read: Swift-Quake: How the pop star's fans made earth move at Edinburgh concert

No special grant for Lady Gaga

Unlike Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Lady Gaga’s concerts are moving forward without any state funding. Tong, confirmed in parliament that no government grants were involved in securing Gaga’s shows.

“No government grants were given to secure this event. This was a purely commercial arrangement between the artist and the venue, and an agreement was entered into,” the minister stated during a budget debate on Monday.

He explained that the deal was entirely managed by Kallang Alive Sport Management, a corporate entity under his ministry, which handled negotiations with Gaga’s team and entertainment company Live Nation.

According to reports, Singapore’s government reportedly backed Swift with a $2 million to $3 million deal for exclusive performances in Southeast Asia. The move even drew criticism from its regional neighbours, including from then Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin.

Philippine lawmaker Joey Salceda also raised a protest against it, reportedly urging his country’s Department of Foreign Affairs to formally act.

“[This] isn’t what good neighbours do,” Salceda said last February, claiming that Singapore’s move was detrimental to its diplomatic relations with Manila.

Also read: Why Taylor Swift is causing tensions between Singapore and Thailand

Decoding the ‘Swiftnomics’ for Singapore

Singapore’s exclusive deal to host Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Southeast Asia may have sparked controversy, but it also delivered an undeniable economic windfall. Hosting six sold-out concerts from March 1 to 9, 2024, resulted in a massive surge in tourism and spending.

During the concert week, tourism-related bookings skyrocketed by 275 per cent compared to the same period just two weeks later. Meanwhile, inbound flights to Singapore jumped by 186 per cent, while accommodation bookings surged by an astounding 462 per cent.

But what did this mean for Singapore’s economy?

Economists told Bloomberg that Swift’s concerts would contribute around SG$300–$400 million (US$222–$296 million) to Singapore’s first-quarter GDP.

This boost added to the country’s overall 2.7 per cent year-on-year growth in Q1 2024—an improvement from the 2.2 per cent GDP expansion in the last quarter of 2023. The surge was largely attributed to Swift’s concerts, which triggered a multiplier effect across Singapore’s tourism and hospitality sectors.

The economic impact was so significant that the Singapore Tourism Board revised its 2024 projections, increasing its forecast for international visitor arrivals to 15 million–16.5 million, with expected tourism receipts of SG$27.5 billion–SG$29 billion. According to Nikkei Asia, this was an upward adjustment from an earlier estimate of 15 million–16 million visitors and SG$26 billion–SG$27.5 billion in revenue.

The phenomenon of “Swiftonomics” extended beyond Singapore. Globally, the Eras Tour, which spanned 149 shows in 51 cities across five continents, the Eras Tour became the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first to earn over $2 billion in ticket sales.

With input from agencies