It’s no secret that Taylor Swift loves to surprise her fans with musical guest stars. It’s been a staple of her concert career. She sometimes curates the experience for whichever city she’s performing in; for example, she’s brought out Ricky Martin in Miami and Bryan Adams in Toronto. But there are times that some of the guest appearances are actually rather surprising, whether it’s the song or the performer.
Here are four unexpected Taylor Swift duets that happened on stage.
Def Leppard in Nashville (2009)
One of the things Swift has been careful with during her career has been to not overtly sexualize herself, so it’s interesting that she appeared on the CMT Music Awards performing Def Leppard’s raunchy “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” This was obviously very early in her career, so one wonders if she’d do that now. Fun fact: This song gained traction in strip clubs and helped revive the lagging sales of Hysteria. It’s also, frankly, one of Def Lep’s worst songs, but they must play it from here to eternity.
Tal Bachman in Vancouver, British Columbia (2011)
The son of Bachman-Turner Overdrive founder Randy Bachman, Tal pursued his own music career. He has one big hit, and what a hit it was. An ode to being in love with someone out of reach, “She’s So High” features an irresistible melody and high notes, and when Swift brought Bachman out to perform his song from 1999, the crowd instantly knew it. Swift told fans it was one of the songs that inspired her to make music. Even though many of those screaming fans were mere babies when the song blew up, their exuberant harmonizing underscored its timeless appeal.
Tyler Glenn in Newark, New Jersey (2013)
Given that Neon Trees’ “Everybody Talks” became a big hit back in 2011—the Septuple Platinum track is now their signature song—it should have been no surprise Swift invited frontman Tyler Glenn onstage to sing with her. But it was unexpected when she introduced him as being “one of my lead favorite singers in one of my favorite bands” to join her to “sing one of my favorite songs.” The Utah group have always been underdogs in the pop-rock world, so this was a great endorsement. Further, Glenn’s unique singing style proved to be a challenge for Swift when she took over the second verse. One YouTuber made the claim he is probably the only person who could outshine her onstage.
Jon Bon Jovi and Prince William in London (2013)
Turnabout is fair play. When Jon Bon Jovi performed an acoustic set at the Winter Whites Gala charity ball at Kensington Palace, he managed to wrangle both British and pop royalty on stage for a cover of his band’s most famous tune, “Livin’ on a Prayer.” The famed frontman is probably one of the only people who could pull that off, and it was helpful during the choruses as he does not sing those high notes anymore, so Swift and the Prince happily obliged. It also turns out Swift went up to support the Prince as he was the one called up.
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Photo by Rick Diamond/WireImage
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