Taylor Swift Says Watching Jack Antonoff Make 'Beautiful Art' Has Been 'Thrill of a Lifetime'

Taylor Swift is reflecting on the beginnings of her longtime collaboration — and close friendship — with Jack Antonoff.

The pop star, 33, paid tribute to the music producer, 39, as she celebrated the vinyl release of "Sweeter Than Fiction (My Version)," the very first song the duo wrote together. The song — originally featured on the soundtrack for the 2013 movie One Chance — appears as a bonus track on the Tangerine edition of 1989 (Taylor's Version), released Friday.

"There you’ll stand ten feet tall, I will say ‘I knew it all along’ 🥲," she wrote on Instagram Sunday, referencing the track's lyrics. "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," she continued of Antonoff. "How can he be 6 years older than me and also somehow still be my precocious young son? We may never know."

Her post included a series of photos of the pair hugging each other with big smiles on their faces.

Back in August, Antonoff credited Swift with helping to launch his career. “She’s the first person who recognized me as a producer," the Bleachers musician said while appearing on TIME's Person of the Week podcast, referring to his work on Swift's 2014 single "Out of the Woods" from her first pop album 1989. "A lot of people are afraid to sign off on something that isn’t done by a proven person."

"I had written lots of songs and produced them, but they would always sort of go somewhere else," he continued. "So the 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 love it.' "

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Swift and Antonoff would go on to win album of the year with 1989 at the 2016 Grammy Awards — a moment he celebrated by sharing a photo of him and Swift hugging backstage.

"My favorite pic from last night. We wrote and worked on 1989 in the tiniest spaces. A lot of time over voice notes and email — it really encourages me that those small dream-like ideas between friends can become album of the year," he wrote in the caption.

The pair have continued to collaborate on Swift's successive albums and marked a special milestone last year with the release of Swift's Midnights, the first album they did as main collaborators.

"Midnights is a wild ride of an album and I couldn't be happier that my co pilot on this adventure was @jackantonoff," Swift wrote on Instagram the day Midnights was released. "He's my friend for life (presumptuous I know but I stand by it) and we've been making music together for nearly a decade HOWEVER… this is our first album we've done with just the two of us as main collaborators."

When Swift hit the road for her blockbuster Eras Tour, Antonoff turned up to support her, making a surprise appearance at her May 26 show in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He came onstage during her acoustic set, and the two performed a duet of "Getaway Car," which they co-wrote.

Swift later returned the favor, supporting Antonoff at his August 2023 wedding to actress Margaret Qualley. 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 gave him a shout-out 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 lucky I've been making music with him since we worked on an album called 1989. We'll continue working together until 2089."