Taylor Swift’s Friends Say She’s Always ‘a Shoulder to Lean on’ in Life (and During Breakups) (Exclusive)

It’s nice to have a superstar friend.

Taylor Swift tops PEOPLE’s 2023 Most Intriguing People list, and in this week’s cover story, the Grammy winner’s friends, collaborators and tour starters talk about what she’s like offstage and out of the spotlight.

Swift has known the rock group Haim — made up of sisters Este, 37, Danielle, 34, and Alana Haim, 31, who collaborated with her on the 2020 song “No Body, No Crime” — for nearly a decade.

“She’s incredibly fertile,” Danielle says. “Every time we all get together, we’re very excited because we know they’re going to play something new and revolutionary. Her heart is always open, and you can hear that in her songs.”

Reign of Taylor Swift! The pop superstar tops PEOPLE’s 2023 Most Intriguing People list

Taylor Swift and Haim are performing together in July.

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And despite her hectic schedule, Swift always shows up.

“She always put her friends before herself in every situation,” says Alana. “She’s the kind of friend who watches over us for weeks after a difficult breakup and is a shoulder to lean on.”

Indeed, Swift met her longtime friend Hayley Williams, the frontwoman of Paramore, when they were both in the running for the 2008 Grammy for Best New Artist.

PEOPLE’s 2023 Most Intriguing People Cover, featuring Taylor Swift.

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“Not long after we became friends, she knew I was embarrassed to go to my ex’s wedding, so she went with me, made it fun, and then we ditched the reception and went to the Cheesecake Factory,” Williams, 34, recalls.

And Swift is still a supportive friend of mine to this day.

“She called recently when I was going through a rough patch, just to listen and crack jokes and give me good advice that of course sounded like perfectly formed lyrics,” says Williams, who adds, “She’s funny k… and so much fun .”

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Taylor Swift and Hayley Williams in 2011.

Frederick Breedon IV/WireImage

Over the years, Swift has also paved the way for the next generation of female artists. She personally asked singer-songwriter Girl in Red (born Marie Ringheim), 24, to open for her on her record-breaking Eras tour.

“She turned to me out of the blue and wrote a paragraph of kind things about my album. I was totally blown away and it meant so much to me,” says The Girl in Red, who adds, “I started doing ‘What Would Taylor Do?’ mentality to everything. It sounds silly, but it really makes me want to do better.”

Taylor Swift with Sabrina Carpenter at the 2023 VMAs.

John Shearer/Getty Images

Says opener Sabrina Carpenter, 24: “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve really watched how fearless she is and how smart she is. As a performer, I watch how she can connect with every single person in the crowd. , like she’s singing to them personally.”

And she also looks after her pre-groups. In July, Swift had to push back the start time of her concert in Cincinnati due to inclement weather, which meant she had to cut Gracie Abrams’ first set that night.

Within two minutes “Taylor texted me along the lines of, ‘The weather is bad, but can we sing “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” during my acoustic set?’ ,” recalls singer-songwriter Abrams, 24, of Swift’s invitation to perform together later in the show. “I was blown away by the sheer disbelief of that moment. It was the best time of my life. [She’s the] most generous friend and mentor.”

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Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams perform during ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’.

TAS2023/Getty

Swift often collaborates with her friends. Haim opened for her on select Eras tour dates – and joined her on stage to perform “No Body, No Crime”.

“Playing the Eras tour with Taylor and performing ‘No Body, No Crime’ with her every night was one of the most exciting things we’ve ever had the chance to experience,” says Este. “It really was like a dream. Not only was she so incredibly welcoming on stage, but her fans hugged us and sang every word.”

Friend and collaborator Maren Morris joined Swift on stage to perform theirs Fearless (Taylor Version) vault song “You All Over Me” on the Chicago Eras Tour stop over the summer.

“She brought the bar down,” says Morris, 33. “The sheer scale of her stadium tours … is half-inspiring and half-terrifying!”

Maren Morris and Taylor Swift 2019.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for iHeartMedia

Above all, Williams says, Swift is “forever an artist’s artist.” Friends recorded Speak Now (Taylor Version) vault song “Castles Crumbling” together — though Swift had other plans at first.

“When Taylor asked me to perform Speak now TV, she originally suggested another song, and I was honest with her that even though the song might have been closer to what the average Paramore fan would expect me to perform on, I wasn’t that attached to that sound,” Williams recalls. “Then she told me , within minutes, sent ‘Castles Crumbling’, and not only did it feel more like a nice one, but I connected with her lyrically on a deeper level… She respected my gut feeling and still pushed me to stay with it with her. ”

Swift has worked closely with music producer Aaron Dessner, 47, since collaborating on her pandemic projects Folklore and Forever, who says, “She’s legitimately just a very down-to-earth and hard-working person” in the time he’s known her.

“She’s an absolute genius,” adds Dessner, “and thankfully also a truly wonderful human being.”

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Source: HIS Education