Our first guest tonight is an 11-time
Grammy-winning musician and one of the biggest stars
in the world.
Her album, "Red (Taylor's Version)"...
-[ Cheers and applause ] -...is out tomorrow.
She's also returning to "SNL" this week
as musical guest along with host Jonathan Majors.
Please welcome back to the show
the one, the only... Taylor Swift, everybody.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Welcome back to the show.
-Thanks for having me back.
-We love having you in the building, especially
when it means we get to see you on "SNL" this coming Saturday.
Your fifth time as a musical guest.
-Yes. What a dream.
-And -- And a one-time host.
An incredible host back in the day.
-Thank you!
-And I'm wondering. You -- -Back when I was teen.
-That's crazy how young you were.
-Yeah, I was -- Yeah.
-Because you're young now, and that was a long time ago.
-That is so -- Thank you. -You're very welcome.
I can say it honestly because I've also aged.
-What a -- What a friend. No, you haven't.
-Thank you very much.
-That's -- Those are lies. Don't say lies.
-Having been a one-time --
and a first-time host, obviously, when you hosted,
do you have any advice for Jonathan,
your first-time host this week?
-Well, I -- I met him, and I just want to say
he seems like one of the coolest people on Earth.
-Yeah. -I think that everyone
needs to watch and just like -- He's amazing.
I mean, his work is obviously so incredible,
and I'm a big fan, but meeting him,
you just get such a good --
Very real, very, like --
abnormally talented normal personality.
-Yes.
-Those people are unicorn-special.
-Yes, it's so -- it's a very -- very nice combination.
-Those are special, special people.
So, like, you know, I -- I don't --
You know, what's weird is I didn't get any advice
from anyone when I was hosting,
which is actually weird, because I was like 19.
-Yeah.
-So I should've been given advice.
-Yeah. Real ball drop on our -- our end.
-Right? -Yeah.
-There should have been, like, a tip -- like --
like a number people call to give me advice.
But, no, it's -- it's -- you know.
I think it's just gonna be amazing.
I'm so happy to get to be there, to perform and to sing.
You know, I -- I haven't played with my band in years.
And we're all like -- We all find it hard
not to, like, cry that we get to play together.
Like, we're all like,
"Did you guys make it through that last pass?"
We're in rehearsals, just, like, embarrassing ourselves.
So it's just a dream to get to do it.
-Well, I think it must be emotional
just to get back together, but also, part of the emotion
is you're singing songs from -- You know, you're re-recording.
This is your second re-record. -Yes.
I feel like -- I know that everybody has busy lives,
so I -- I do feel the need to, like, explain what I'm doing
because it's not normal.
-Yeah.
-Basically, like, music --
I've always wanted to own my own music
since I started making music, and if --
You probably don't know this, but most of your favorite
artists do not own their work.
The music industry is, uh -- Eh, you know?
Certain corners of it.
But I think that there was --
There was something that happened years ago where I --
I made it very clear
that I wanted to be able to buy my music.
That opportunity was not given me,
and it was sold to somebody else.
And so I just figured, I was the one who made this music first.
I can just make it again.
-Yeah. -So that's what we're doing.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I have to say...
-So that's what we're doing.
So when something says
"(Taylor's Version)" next to it,
that means I own it, which is exciting.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-It's -- It's quite -- It's quite a clever loophole, Taylor.
-Oh, thank you. -I really tip my cap.
-Oh, thank you.
It's -- You know, it's also interesting to kind of
go back and relive this nostalgia with fans
who are the reason why I get to do this
and why I get to, like, sit here
and, like, have this lovely chat with you.
Going back and -- and reliving these things with the fans.
And this time around, I get to really --
I get to do things that I know they wish
I would have done the first time.
-That's really good.
-Because I'm always listening and I'm always lurking.
And I'm always listening
to their opinions and their theories.
And what -- You know, they'll -- they --
They will let me know which songs should have been singles.
-Yeah. -They let me know which songs
did not get videos and should have gotten videos!
And so I just like -- You know what?
Like, I'm listening
and I'm making the videos and I'm doing the things.
-[ Cheers and applause ] -That is really cool.
I want to ask -- I mean, I have emotional connections to songs
I listen to for the first time ten years ago.
I can only imagine what it's like for you,
having written them.
Like, is it -- is it cathartic to go back and re-record them?
Or does it -- When they're about painful things,
do you, like, feel it all over again?
-I mean, I think -- for --
One thing that I noticed about this --
just this week in general
is that I think back to the release week of "Red,"
which is the album that is, you know...
Just in case anybody missed it.
So this originally came out --
-This is it. It's this. It's Taylor's Version.
-Yeah, it came out originally about a decade ago.
And I was 22, and that release week was so stressful
because nobody's heard any of the music.
There are like 14 different genre's on this album.
It's a real patchwork quilt of genre.
I was really experimenting.
-A lot of 22-year-olds are going to bounce around on genres.
-Hopefully. Yeah, you know. That's what we want for them.
-Absolutely. -But I think that --
I was so focused on, like, "Is anyone going to like it?"
And then I was also, like,
at the time, like, honestly, really sad.
'Cause I had actually gone through,
you know, the stuff that I had sung about.
But this time, I'm just like -- I got, like -- I have, like --
got sunglasses on and, like, a mojito
and just like -- It's chill this time.
It's really nice to be able to put this album out and, like --
and not be sad, not be, like,
taking breaks in between interviews to cry.
It's very -- I'm telling you, it's much better this way.
-Yeah. -Much better.
-We -- I think we're all happy. -Yeah.
-With that said...
-You get some time passing, you know?
-Yeah. -You're -- You're reliving
your experience from your 20s when you're in your 30s.
It's really the way to do it. -Yeah.
I wonder if -- if there are people who might
think that they were the one you were singing about,
if it's easier or far, far worse for them ten years later.
-I haven't thought about their experience, to be honest.
-I think that's the -- that's the biggest burn.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
I think there's nothing they'd rather hear less.
[ Laughs ] Hey. I have so many more questions for you.
We'll be right back with more from Taylor Swift.
Welcome back to "Late Night." We're here with Taylor Swift.
And we were talking during the break.
Some very exciting collaborations that you are now
able to do because you're re-recording these songs --
Chris Stapleton, Ed Sheeran, Phoebe Bridgers.
Is that -- -Yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ] -It must be so nice to
have a wish list, and then reach out to these people.
-It really, really was. Essentially, there are songs
on this album that I've called "from the vault" tracks,
because in my mind, there's a metaphorical vault
of songs that I love that I've written --
I write a lot of songs for albums, and then I pare it down.
But these were songs that didn't make it on the album
because I wanted to save them for the next album.
And then, it turned out, the next album was, like,
a whole different thing, and so they get left behind.
And you always think back on these songs, and you're like,
"What would have happened? I wish people could hear this."
But it belongs in that moment in time.
So now that I get to go back and revisit my old work,
I've dug up those songs from the crypt they were in,
and I have, like -- I've reached out to artists
that I love and said, "Do you want to sing this with me?"
You know, Phoebe Bridgers is one of my favorite artists
in the world. I just think she's --
Like, if she sings it, I will listen to it.
[ Laughter ] It's --
I just love her voice, and then I also love
that she's a very funny person. -Do these people believe it
when they get a phone call, saying, "Hi, it's Taylor Swift.
I want you to sing a song with me?"
-Well, I try not to cold call people.
-Right. [ Laughter ]
That's a good instinct, yeah. -It can go very bad.
-Sure. -But, you know, I do send, like,
a very long text that I've crafted over many days.
And I'll send the song, because I don't want them
to ever feel pressured to say yes to something
creatively if it doesn't gel with what they want to do.
So, with Phoebe, I reached out,
and I sent her this song called "Nothing New,"
which I wrote when I was 22. And it's really, really
special to me because it was the first time
I was not a shiny new artist.
I was on my fourth album, and I felt --
Like, I think this happens to a lot of artists,
where they have their breakthrough moment.
And then, the moment after that is really hard for them
because they're just not getting the same --
It's like the first time you walk into a room at a party
and everyone's like, "Oh, Kevin's here!"
When you have your breakthrough moment, like, "Kevin!"
And then, the next time, you walk in, they're like, "'Sup?"
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
-And then, the third time you walk in, they're like,
"Um, so what do you want to do tomorrow?"
and they're just talking. And you're like,
"But I'm here, and you used to --"
So I was dealing with that moment in my life,
and so that song's really special to me.
And I sent it to Phoebe and said it would mean
the world to me if you would do this as a duet.
'Cause I really wanted another female artist
who I loved to sing it with me, because I think it has a very
female-artist perspective, that we go through that experience.
And her response was,
"I've been waiting for this text my entire life."
[ Laughter ]
It was like, "Yes!" -That's a very --
I'm sure she was waiting for that.
I think a lot of people are waiting and excited
for the fact that you have recorded --
There's a 10-minute version of a song --
[ Cheers and applause ]
I mean, I-I just want to say.
-That was a really nice reaction.
-I haven't heard a gasp like that...
-That was great. -...since I said,
"Now it's time for 'A Closer Look.'"
-That was very powerful. [ Laughter ]
-So, tell us about -- But this was --
So you've always had this version.
-Yes. This is the original thing that I wrote.
So, there's a song called "All Too Well"
that was never a single. [ Cheers and applause ]
You guys are really --
This is very nice, what you're doing out there.
[ Laughter ]
This song was never a single, it never had a video,
and somehow, the fans just turned it into
the song from this album.
And when I -- I used to get so sad
when I would sing it that I could barely, like,
get through the song. And then, over time, I realized
the fans were just, like, screaming the words back to me
so loudly that it made it a very joyful experience for me
to sing this song. And since --
It has been a joyful thing for me to sing.
I play it all the time in concert.
And it's just so fun to hear them scream the words.
So this song originally was --
It's a very long song, as it is,
but it was originally 10 minutes long.
And I just kept -- I was just like --
[ Laughter ] I couldn't stop.
But I was like, "Oh, you got to fit something on an album,
so that's unreasonable for it to be 10 minutes long."
And so I had to cut out certain verses and parts of the bridge
and lots of different things that I really loved.
Left some of my favorite lines on the cutting-room floor,
and I'm really happy that people get to hear them.
I'm so proud of this version of it.
I think this version is the version of the song
that was meant to be heard. [ Cheers and applause ]
-That is really thrilling. And then, on top of all that,
there's a short film that you wrote.
-Yeah. -That you directed.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Two fantastic young actors -- Dylan and Sadie,
who I believe -- I hope this is correct --
also huge fans of yours.
It must have been a big deal for them to do this.
-It was really wonderful
working with Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien.
They're just absolutely --
I'm just blown away by what they did in this short film.
I wrote this short film and wanted to direct it,
and the only two people that I imagined playing
the two characters -- it was Sadie and Dylan.
If Sadie --
She was the first one I went to.
And if Sadie had said no,
I don't think I would have made it.
I don't think I would've made the film.
I think I would've just been like,
"This is a sign," like, you know.
But she -- I do like working with friends,
or people who I think would be excited about working with me.
I don't really want to have to convince someone.
I'm not very interested in that at all.
If somebody -- I've never made a short film before.
I've directed some music videos. But I kinda needed to reach out
to people who were like -- would maybe believe
that I would be capable of it, and Sadie just --
Sadie got it immediately. Dylan was like, "Yep."
And I watch everything he's in. I'm a huge fan of his.
And both of them, they just -- they went out,
and they just left it all on the field there in that short film.
They really just acted their asses off.
-Well, it's terrific. And I can only imagine
what the next couple of days are gonna be like for your fans.
You have done them -- -I hope good.
I hope good -- [ Cheers and applause ]
-I feel very confidant about that.
It's so lovely to see you again. -You're lovely.
-Thanks for being here. You guys, that's Taylor Swift.
[ Cheers and applause ]
"Red (Taylor's Version)" is out tomorrow.