Taylor Swift surprises 96-year-old fan

Taylor Swift has surprised potentially her oldest fan, giving a private performance for a 96-year-old war veteran.

09-taylor-swift.w704.h396.jpg

Taylor Swift performs onstage during opening night of her 2018 reputation Stadium Tour at University of Phoenix Stadium on May 8, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Kevin Mazur) Source: AAP

At age 96, Cyrus Porter is a devoted Taylor Swift fan.

He's travelled from his rural Missouri home to St Louis and Memphis, Tennessee, to see her in concert.

On Monday, in the midst of a thunderstorm, the concert came to the World War II combat veteran, a surprise visit from the singer and her parents.

He had hosted 72 people for a family Christmas a day earlier.

Many of his relatives were still there when a van pulled into the driveway of his home in New Madrid, about 130 miles south of St Louis.

"My daughter opened the door and said, 'It's Taylor Swift!"' Porter told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I couldn't believe it. It's not a miracle but I'd say it's pretty close."

Swift spent about an hour talking with Porter and family. Then, on the enclosed back porch, she sang her 2014 No. 1 hit, Shake It Off, with dozens of Porter's relatives joining in.

"The whole family was singing along on the back porch," Porter said. "I though the police might come by!"

Porter likes his classic country, but he has been a fan of the 27-year-old singer ever since she burst onto the music scene as a teenager.

It wasn't clear how Swift came to find out about Porter's fandom, but he said that he was "proud of her to take the time out to do something like that for an old country boy".


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world