"Is Taylor Swift in there?" asked a middle-aged woman passing by Songland Records in Cooleman Court on Friday morning, as a line of Swifties extended from the first floor, down to the ground floor and out on to the pavement.
No, the billionaire pop icon had not popped down to the shopping centre in Weston for a coffee and maybe a wander through the Aldi special buys aisle. As good as that is.
The reason for the massive line was that the "very, very last" tickets to Swift's concerts in Australia were going on sale and Songland is a Ticketek outlet.
People had been lining up outside the centre since 3am to get in the queue and be in with a chance of securing a seat at the golden girl's Eras show next year.
The final tickets for the Sydney concerts went on sale around the nation at 10am.
They were not for new shows, but for the existing concerts, sometimes for "partially-obstructed side view tickets".
Not that anyone cared about that.
They just wanted to be sure they got to be in Tay Tay's presence. Somehow. Anyhow.
By about 11.20am, Frontier Touring announced all tickets for the Sydney shows had been sold and the next chance was when the Melbourne shows went on sale at 4pm Friday.
Plenty of successful ticket purchasers walked out of Songlands not even knowing how much they had paid. They just wanted the tickets.
"Oh ... so $1500," one mum said, after looking at the receipt for her four tickets.
Farrer sisters Sienna, 15, and Amelie, 14, Dy-Mortimer got tickets after their dad started lining up for them at 3am outside the centre. Dad of the Year, right there.
The sisters took over after the Swifties were allowed inside the centre just before 6am.
They were ecstatic to secure the golden tickets.
"Don't want to go to school now," Sienna said.
Friends Molly, 12, and Sophie, 13, both of Weston Creek, sobbed after they secured four tickets.
"We've been waiting for ages and I love Taylor Swift so much and I finally get the tickets," Sophie said.
Best. Day. Ever. For them, at least.
Songland's owners were keen to keep the expectations of those in the long line very low.
A security guard at Cooleman Court made every Swiftie read a statement from the store before joining the line.
"My very experienced guesstimate is that, as there will, literally, be MILLIONS of people trying for this small amount of tickets released, that they will all be sold, again literally, in the first second of going on sale," Frog, the owner, wrote to the Swifties.
Sales lasted a bit longer than that, but not by much.
Matt Schoy, a 24-year-old public servant from Civic, secured four tickets for "a bit more than I would like".
He was "more of a casual" Taylor Swift fan who got "caught in the hype".
But he did get tickets.
Next stop, last sales for the Melbourne concerts at 4pm Friday.
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