In a surprise twist organizers didn’t even know about, Taylormania hit a new high Saturday when eight Taylor Swift fans got the chance of a lifetime. After a rigorous round of Swift trivia and skills bouts, the Edmonton Sun’s “Taylor Swift Superfan” contest saw finalists battle it out through a Survivor-style competition at Londonderry Mall.
As all eight finalists — six female, two males — opened their envelopes, each one discovered they won a pair of luxury suite tickets to the Aug. 19 Taylor Swift concert. “This is the first time that the Edmonton Sun has ever ‘tricked’ everyone,” said Edmonton Sun marketing and promotions manager Erin Hazen.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do for an extremely long time.” One of the contestants was Yasmeen Najmeddine. The 12-year-old was the youngest performer in the Top 10 round of the Edmonton Undiscovered talent contest.
In an impromptu concert at the end of the contest, Najmeddine showcased her skills, playing Swift’s “Back to December” in the key of D. “Taylor Swift started all this — Yasmeen started learning her music, figuring out the chords on guitar and stuff like that,” said the young performer’s mother, Rama. Other fans were excited to win the tickets. “I’m like, her biggest fan ever,” said Larissa Palmer, 17, of Stony Plain.
She sported a T-shirt she painted, including the names of Swift’s songs, a portrait of the young singer-songwriter and a quote from the liner notes on her album, “Fearless.”“She’s real and she sings about things she knows. She seems like someone you could hang out with — not a celebrity,” Palmer said. “I make all my friends listen to her.”