Singapore struck a deal ensuring Taylor Swift played in the city-state, but nowhere else in Southeast Asia, the country's prime minister said on Tuesday while defending the secretive arrangement.
Pop icon Swift is halfway through a run of six sold-out shows in Singapore, the only city in the region to feature in her blockbuster Eras world tour.
The star's schedule has sparked controversy in the region, with Singapore accused of throwing cash at Swift to stop her appearing elsewhere.
The issue unexpectedly reared its head at the Asean-Australia summit in Melbourne -- a sober affair typically more preoccupied with matters of security and economic growth.
"Our agencies negotiated an arrangement with her to come to Singapore and perform, and to make Singapore her only stop in Southeast Asia," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at a joint press conference with his Australian counterpart.
"A deal was reached. And so it has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don't see that as being unfriendly."
Singapore has repeatedly declined to detail the financial terms of the deal.
After Singapore, Swift's Eras Tour will head to Europe.
Earlier, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he knew why Taylor Swift had declined to perform in Thailand. That was because of the Singapore deal to lure her to exclusively perform concerts with the government offering subsidies of about US$3 million (107.4 million baht) per show.
Mr Srettha said that in future, it would be worthwhile for Thailand to follow suit.
Chai Wacharonke, a government spokesman, said on Tuesday that when Mr Srettha mentioned Swift's concert deal in Singapore without performances in other Asean countries, he was bringing this up to praise Singapore for persuading the singer to accept the deal.
"I feel disappointed for misinterpreting the prime minister's intentions, and I urge those who seek to criticise him on this issue to stop," Mr Chai said.
"Acting to diminish the leadership of a country like this is unwarranted. Shouldn't we work together for cleaner politics? Let's move forward together through challenges in the country."