Taylor Swift is usually all about the girl gang. But the pop icon has room in her heart (and a place on her squad) for at least one platonic male friend: singer, songwriter, and music producer Jack Antonoff.
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If you haven't heard the name before, chances are you've heard the music he's worked on. From 2008 to 2015, Antonoff was the guitarist and drummer for the pop-rock band Fun, who released massive hits like "We Are Young" and "Some Nights." Now, he's the lead singer of the rock band Bleachers and a Grammy-winning producer and songwriter who has worked with artists like Lorde, Lana Del Rey, the 1975, The Chicks, and Carly Rae Jepsen. And, of course, Taylor Swift.
"Sometimes he sits at the piano, and we both just start ad-libbing, and the song seems to create itself," she told The New York Times in 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."
Swift and Antonoff are arguably at the top of their game in the music industry right now, and a lot of their individual success can be credited to the projects they've worked on together. So, how did these two come to be such a dynamic duo? Let's dive in.
They met at an awards show
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As the story goes, Antonoff and Swift crossed paths for the first time during the 2013 awards show circuit. Their interaction was brief, but the producer told True Jersey in 2019 that they bonded over loving a 1980s track by the U.K. band Yazoo.
They've worked on multiple songs together
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That same fated year the musical minds first met, Antonoff and Swift worked on their first of many songs together. In 2013, they co-wrote the song "Sweeter Than Fiction" for the soundtrack of the British film "One Chance" and unknowingly began a creative collaboration that would lead to a string of chart-topping hits.
Antonoff has produced and co-written more of Swift's songs than you might think. On her "1989" album, he worked on "I Wish You Would," "Out of the Woods," and "You Are In Love." His seven "Reputation" credits include "Getaway Car," "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things," "Cruel Summer," and "Look What You Made Me Do." And if you're a fan of Lover, Folklore, and Midnights, you can thank Antonoff for production credits on almost every song. Swift even wrote a song about one of Antonoff's past relationships.
While Swift mostly writes about her own romantic entanglements, her friends' love lives are also fair game. In a 2015 interview with Elle, the singer revealed that the track "You Are In Love" from her 2014 album "1989" was about Antonoff's relationship with actress (and fellow member of the Swift Squad) Lena Dunham.
"I wrote that song about things that Lena [Dunham] has told me about her and Jack [Antonoff]," she said. "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."
The couple met on a blind date in 2012 and dated for five years before calling it quits in 2018.
Antonoff credits Swift for helping his career as a music producer
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Antonoff isn't fighting to make a name for himself in the music industry anymore, but that wasn't always the case. During a 2023 interview on Time's "Person of the Week" podcast, he credited Swift's trust in his musical abilities for helping him get where he is today.
"She's the first person who recognized me as a producer," Antonoff said. "A lot of people are afraid to sign off on something that isn't done by a proven person ... And, you know, I put my heart and soul into that song, and she said, 'I love it.'"
They've praised each other's talents
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Seeing as how Swift and Antonoff have worked together on multiple occasions, it's no surprise that they think highly of each other's talents. In a 2014 Instagram post, Antonoff expressed how thankful he was to have worked on her "1989" album.
"[I] 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, adding, "she's a wonderful artist."
Swift is equally as sappy when cheering on Antonoff's artistry. In 2023, she shared a collection of images of her hugging the producer on Instagram with a caption that reflected on the first song they wrote together: "Sweeter Than Fiction."
"There you'll stand ten feet tall, I will say 'I knew it all along' ?," the singer wrote. "This song has always made me think of my friend Jack. It was the first song we made together and watching him challenge himself and make beautiful art over the years has been the thrill of a lifetime. How can he be 6 years older than me and also somehow still be my precocious young son? We may never know."
