When people talk about Taylor Swift, they usually talk about her massive tours, her "Eras," or her own chart-topping albums. But honestly, some of her most interesting work is hidden in plain sight on other people's records. You’ve probably heard "Fortnight" or "Bad Blood" a thousand times, but there is a whole sub-sector of songs that feature taylor swift where she isn’t the main attraction. She’s the guest. The secret weapon.
It’s a different vibe when she isn't the boss of the track. Sometimes she’s just providing a ghostly harmony that you have to squint to hear. Other times, she basically hijacks the song.
The Stealth Guest: When Taylor is "Just" a Feature
There is a running joke in the fandom about "Taylor Swift featuring Taylor Swift." But when we look at actual songs that feature taylor swift as a guest artist, the list is surprisingly long and weirdly diverse. Most people remember the big ones. "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls was inescapable in 2009. It’s the quintessential "emo-pop meets country-sweetheart" crossover.
Then you have the tracks where she’s barely there.
Take John Mayer’s "Half of My Heart." If you listen closely—really closely—you can hear her providing backing vocals during the chorus. It’s subtle. At the time, it was a massive deal, but now it feels like a relic of a very specific era in pop culture history.
Contrast that with "Both of Us" by B.o.B. This was 2012 Taylor. She was right on the edge of pivoting to full pop, and here she is singing a hook for a rapper. It worked. It reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 because her voice has this specific quality that makes even a rap song feel like a diary entry.
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The Indie Shift: Big Red Machine and The National
Later in her career, especially during the Folklore and Evermore days, her features became much more "indie sleaze" adjacent.
She didn't just work with Aaron Dessner; she became a recurring character in his world. On Big Red Machine’s album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, she appears on two tracks: "Renegade" and "Birch."
"Renegade" is basically a Taylor Swift song that she gave to her friends. She sings the lead. She wrote the lyrics. It’s a brutal, honest look at trying to love someone who hasn't worked through their own trauma. It’s arguably one of the best songs that feature taylor swift because it shows how her songwriting style can adapt to a more experimental, glitchy folk production.
Then there’s "The Alcott" with The National. Matt Berninger and Taylor trading lines about a struggling relationship feels like a play. It’s moody. It’s dark. It’s exactly what you want from a collaboration between two of the best lyricists in the game.
The Country Roots and the Ghost Vocals
You can’t talk about her features without going back to Nashville.
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Tim McGraw’s "Highway Don’t Care" is a masterclass in the "power trio" format. You’ve got Tim on the verses, Taylor on the "hooky" bridge, and Keith Urban absolutely shredding on the guitar. It’s a song about driving and regret, which is basically the Taylor Swift starter pack.
But have you heard "Best Days of Your Life" by Kellie Pickler? Taylor co-wrote it and sings the "whoa-ohs" in the background. It’s loud, it’s petty, and it’s very 2008.
The Nils Sjöberg Mystery
One of the most famous songs that feature taylor swift technically didn't feature her name for a long time.
"This Is What You Came For" by Calvin Harris (featuring Rihanna). For months, nobody officially knew Taylor was involved. She wrote it under the pseudonym Nils Sjöberg and even provided some of the high-pitched background vocals. When the truth came out, it changed the way people looked at her "hidden" contributions to the industry.
Why These Collaborations Matter
Most artists use features to "buy" a demographic. If a pop star wants to be "cool," they feature a rapper. If a country artist wants a hit, they feature a pop star.
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Taylor seems to do it differently.
Whether it's the 2024 collaboration with Gracie Abrams on "us." or her 2025 appearances on The Life of a Showgirl tracks, her guest spots usually feel like she’s a fan of the artist first. She’s not just there for the stream count (though the "Swiftie Effect" definitely helps). She’s there to experiment with sounds she can't always fit onto her own albums.
- Vocal Texture: She often uses a lower register on other people's songs.
- Narrative Flexibility: She can play the "other woman" or a side character.
- Genre Hopping: She’s done rap, EDM, indie-folk, and heavy country.
Finding the Rare Tracks
If you want to find the deep cuts, look for:
- "Babe" by Sugarland: This was a song she wrote for Red that didn't make the cut, so she gave it to Sugarland and sang the "I’m here!" backing vocals.
- "Gasoline" (Remix) by HAIM: She adds a layer of grit to this track that wasn't in the original.
- "The Joker and the Queen" with Ed Sheeran: A soft, orchestral ballad that shows their long-term creative partnership hasn't lost its spark.
To really appreciate the evolution of her voice, listen to "Two Is Better Than One" from 2009 and then jump straight to "The Alcott" from 2023. The growth is wild. She went from the "sweetheart" feature to the "haunting intellectual" feature.
If you are looking to build a playlist of every song that features Taylor Swift, start with the "Big Red Machine" tracks for the lyricism, but don't sleep on the early country features like "Best Days of Your Life" for the nostalgia. Most of these are available on standard streaming platforms, though some of the live "features"—like her "Thug Story" rap with T-Pain—require a trip down the YouTube rabbit hole.
Check the liner notes of your favorite indie albums from the last few years; you might find a "Nils Sjöberg" or a familiar harmony hiding in the credits.