Taylor Swift Gushes Over Her 1st Song With Jack Antonoff

Taylor Swift has had plenty of collaborators over the years, but none of them have stuck quite like Jack Antonoff.

Since their 2012 meeting, the pair have worked together on 10 albums and a few one-off singles — and became best friends in the process. “Sometimes he sits at the piano and we both just start ad-libbing and the song seems to create itself,” Swift told The New York Times in May 2017. “His excitement and exuberance about writing songs is contagious. He’s an absolute joy. That’s why everyone loves him. I personally wouldn’t trust someone who didn’t.”

The feeling is mutual, with Antonoff describing Swift as a trailblazer. “I’ve seen her change the music industry first-hand,” the Bleachers artist told NME in July 2021. “She’s amazing for being a champion, and making things better for the generations to come. She has a long history of rightly exposing some real darkness in the music industry. And I’m personally thankful for it, outside of our friendship and working relationship, just as an artist.”

Their connection outside of music runs deep too — Antonoff was by Swift’s side after her April 2023 split from Joe Alywn, and Swift was on hand when Antonoff wed Margaret Qualley in August 2023.

Keep scrolling for the complete timeline of Swift and Antonoff’s friendship:

November 2012

Swift and Antonoff first crossed paths at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where they reportedly bonded over their mutual love of the U.K. band Yazoo’s 1982 hit “Only You.” One month later, they saw each other again at the Grammys nomination concert.

October 2013

The duo released their first official collaboration: Swift’s single “Sweeter Than Fiction” from the One Chance soundtrack.

October 2014

Swift released her fifth studio album, 1989. Antonoff produced the songs “Out of the Woods,” “I Wish You Would” and “You Are in Love.” In an Instagram post, Antonoff revealed that his favorite moment of “Out of the Woods” comes at the 2:28 mark. “Will one day write an essay on the different production I used on the song + how much working with taylor on it has meant to me,” he wrote at the time. “She’s a wonderful artist.”

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May 2015

Swift revealed that “You Are in Love” — particularly the line “you’re my best friend” — was inspired by Antonoff’s relationship with then-girlfriend Lena Dunham. “I’ve never had that [in a relationship], so I wrote that song about things that Lena has told me about her and Jack,” Swift told Elle. “That’s just basically stuff she’s told me. And I think that that kind of relationship — God, it sounds like it would just be so beautiful — would also be hard. It would also be mundane at times.” (Antonoff and Dunham split in 2018 after five years together.)

February 2016

The twosome celebrated after 1989 won Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. “We wrote and worked on 1989 in the tiniest spaces,” Antonoff wrote via Instagram after the ceremony, alongside a photo of Swift giving him an emotional hug. “A lot of time over voice notes and email — it really encourages me that those small dream like ideas between friends can become album of the year. winning a grammy for records you make the same way you did when u were a kid is important to me.”

November 2017

Swift released her sixth studio album, Reputation, which featured production from Antonoff on the tracks “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Getaway Car,” “Dress,” “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” “Call It What You Want” and “New Year’s Day.”

August 2019

Swift and Antonoff collaborated again on her seventh studio album, Lover, which was her first release after her departure from Big Machine Records. Antonoff produced 11 songs on the LP, including “Cruel Summer,” “The Archer,” “Cornelia Street” and the title track.

July 2020

Swift surprised the world — then hunkered down amid the coronavirus pandemic — with her eighth studio album, Folklore. While the album featured production from new collaborator Aaron Dessner of The National, Antonoff worked on seven tracks, including “Betty” and “August.”

November 2020

Antonoff starred alongside Swift in the Disney+ special Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, which was about the making of the album.

December 2020

Swift dropped her second surprise album of the year, Evermore, which again featured production and writing by Antonoff. (He’s credited on “Gold Rush” and “Ivy.”)

March 2021

Folklore won Album of the Year at the Grammys, making Swift the first woman to win that award three times (she also won for Fearless in 2010). “And @taylorswift, from 1989 to here … goddamn. you are the one who let me produce records first,” Antonoff wrote via Instagram after the ceremony. “Before you i just ‘wasn’t a producer’ according to the herbs. i just wasnt let in that room. then i met you, we made out of the woods and you said, ‘that’s the version’ and that changed my life right there.”

April 2021

Swift released Fearless (Taylor’s Version), her first rerecorded album from her Big Machine years. Antonoff produced some of the “From the Vault” tracks, including “Mr. Perfectly Fine” and “That’s When.”

September 2021

Swift posted a TikTok video with Antonoff nodding to their collaboration on “August” from Folklore. “Looks like we ran out of august,” she joked in her caption for the clip, which showed the duo sipping wine on a boat.

@taylorswift

Looks like we ran out of august