Taylor Swift reflects on the beginnings of her longtime collaboration — and close friendship — with Jack Antonoff.
The pop star, 33, paid tribute to the record producer, 39, as she celebrated the vinyl release of “Sweeter Than Fiction (My Version),” the duo’s first song written together. The song — originally featured on the soundtrack for the 2013 film One chance — appears as a bonus track on the Tangerine release 1989 (Taylor’s version), published on Friday.
“You’ll be standing there ten feet tall, I’ll be saying ‘I knew it all along’ 🥲,” she wrote on Instagram on Sunday, referencing the song’s lyrics. “This song always made me think of my friend Jack.”
“It was the first song we did together and watching him challenge himself and create beautiful art over the years has been the thrill of a lifetime,” she continued of Antonoff. “How can he be 6 years older than me and still somehow be my precocious son? We may never know.”
Her post included a series of photos of the couple hugging each other with big smiles on their faces.
Back in August, Antonoff credited Swift with helping launch his career. “She’s the first person to recognize me as a producer,” he said Grandstands said the musician as a guest on TIME’s show Person of the week podcast, referencing his work on Swift’s 2014 single “Out of the Woods” from her first pop album in 1989. “Many people are afraid to sign something that is not done by a proven person.”
Timeline of Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff’s friendship
“I wrote a lot of songs and produced them, but they always kind of went somewhere else,” he continued. “So a label or whoever could say, ‘Oh, we had this person produce it.’ And, you know, I put my heart and soul into that song and she said, ‘I like it.'”
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Swift and Antonoff would win album of the year in 1989 at the 2016 Grammys — a moment he celebrated by sharing a photo of him and Swift embracing backstage.
“My favorite picture from last night. We wrote and worked on 1989 in the tiniest of spaces. Lots of time with voice notes and email — really encouraging that those little dreamlike ideas between friends can become the album of the year,” he wrote in the caption.
Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff perform together during the Eras tour.
Kevin Mazur/TAS23/Getty
The pair went on to collaborate on back-to-back Swift albums and marked a special milestone last year with the release of Swift’s Midnightthe first album they worked on as main collaborators.
“Midnights is a wild ride of an album and I couldn’t be happier to have @jackantonoff as my co-pilot on this adventure,” Swift wrote on Instagram that day Midnight was released. “He’s been my friend for life (presumptuous I know, but I stand by it) and we’ve been making music together for almost a decade HOWEVER… this is our first album we’ve made with just the two of us as main collaborators.”
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When Swift hit the road for her blockbuster Eras Tour, Antonoff showed up to support her, making a surprise appearance at her show on May 26 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He took the stage during her acoustic set, and the two performed a duet of “Getaway Car,” which they wrote together.
Swift later returned the favor, supporting Antonoff at his wedding to actress Margaret Qualley in August 2023. The “Lavender Haze” singer was among the celebrity guests who attended the nuptials in Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
Swift once again praised Antonoff’s creative genius when she saluted him during her acceptance speech at the 2023 MTV VMAs after winning song of the year for “Anti-Hero.”
“He’s so talented it’s incomprehensible,” she told the audience. “And I’m so happy to be making music with him since we worked on the album called in 1989. We will continue to work together until 2089.”
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Source: HIS Education