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Detroit Radio Station's "Taylor Swift" Prank Backfires Badly
It was a stunt staged by WKQI 95.5FM in Motown and it's hard to believe they didn't see it would not be well received.
It came during their annual "Jingle Ball" Xmas concert, when an announcer with the station told the mostly younger audience they weren't going to believe who was coming out next. It sounded like he said "Taylor Swift," and the crowd predictably went crazy.
But then the marquee lit up with the name "Trailor Swift" and an employee dolled up to look like the singer marched out onstage and began singing one of her songs way off key.
The crowd started booing and became visibly angry at being duped.
The station explained it was a publicity stunt to hype the fact it would be giving away tickets to the real Swift's next concert in Indianapolis in 2024. But it appears while they got their publicity boost, they also left a lot of listeners swiftly pissed.
A radio station announced Taylor Swift as a surprise guest at a concert. Fans were livid when an impersonator came out.
- RonaldS
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Re: Detroit Radio Station's "Taylor Swift" Prank Backfires Badly
It brings to mind the "New Kids on the Rock" prank by Scruff Connors at HTZ-FM from the early 1990s:
My recollection from listening at the time is that he never said "New Kids on the Block", but "New Kids on the Rock", a reference to the large rock etched with the station's logo on the lawn in front of the station.
That, coupled with the fact the NKOTB was no where near HTZ's playlist should have been a clue that something funny was going on (funny strange or funny haha depending on your point of view).