Sawt Falasteen - Taylor-mania hits Tokyo as Swift resumes tour before Super Bowl

Hundreds of excited fans queued in the cold from morning to buy merchandise at Tokyo Dome before the four shows, part of the megastar's Eras Tour -- the first billion-dollar-tour ever.

"It's us, hi! We are Swifties from Taiwan!" read a huge fabric banner featuring 10 pictures of Swift's face, held up by a group of fans outside the 55,000-capacity arena.

Results of a hotly contested ticket lottery for Swift's Japan dates were announced in July, with some fans travelling to Tokyo -- even if the tour was coming to them.

"We came just for the concert as we couldn't get tickets in Australia," laughed 18-year-old Ebony Donohue.

"I'm so excited to finally see her. All her music is so different. She's so relatable, and strong and amazing."

Others wearing Taylor Swift T-shirts and miniskirts snapped pictures, while those in a long line for branded goods said they had been waiting years for this moment.

"I've been listening to her songs since I was in middle school, about 10 years. This is the first time I'll see her in concert, and I've been so excited since the moment we were able to get tickets," 25-year-old Saya Matsuo told AFP.

"She is someone who can grab people's hearts, make people sing and dance. I love her personality."

Hikari Oka and Honoka Shimabara, both 18-year-old students, had been waiting since before 9 am for the merchandise stall that opened at midday.

"When I listen to her songs I feel energised, and it also gives me confidence," Oka said.

Swift-mania has reached fever pitch worldwide after the 34-year-old on Sunday scooped her fourth Album of the Year prize at the Grammys on Sunday.

That is the most held by any artist and breaks the joint record of three previously held by Swift and the likes of Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

- Super Bowl dash -

Straight after her last Tokyo concert wraps up on Saturday, Swift will make a pit stop at this weekend's Super Bowl, where she is expected to cheer on her current beau Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs from the VIP suites.

The pop icon will then play dates in Australia and Singapore before heading to Europe on the tour that is predicted to make a staggering estimated $2 billion.

An influx of fans to the concerts has been shown to create a so-called "Swift effect" on local economies.

Travel technology company Amadeus reported an "extraordinary increase in interest" in search traffic for travel to cities in the Asia-Pacific region visited on the Eras Tour.

Swift is not even the only global superstar in Tokyo this week.

Lionel Messi's Inter Miami is facing Vissel Kobe in a pre-season friendly at Tokyo's National Stadium on Wednesday night, but it was still uncertain whether the injured Argentina great would play.

With hundreds of millions of social media followers and a staunchly loyal fan base, politicos -- and conspiracy theorists -- have even opined on Swift's potential impact on the upcoming US presidential election.

Some right-wing critics have floated the baseless theory that the pop icon's burgeoning romance with Kelce is evidence of a "deep-state" plot to rig the Super Bowl and help get US President Joe Biden reelected.

But NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has dismissed such conspiracy theories as "nonsense".

H.Darwish--SF-PST