It may just be the first time that a few hundred high school boys (and girls) got a date with a pop star because, quite often, sending thousands of texts could be seen as a turnoff.

At any rate, Bishop Ireton students’ persistence paid off Tuesday when they were treated to a private concert by country-pop singer Taylor Swift, the biggest-selling recording artist of 2008.

The students won the visit as part of a Verizon Wireless contest in which the school that sent the most text messages received a private concert. As Ireton found out, about 800 students with a cell phone and a purpose were enough to do the trick. The way the crowd erupted when Swift came on stage left no doubt about it.