On Thursday, Jan. 12, Taylor Swift surprised unsuspecting fans at The 1975’s concert in London at the O2 Arena. It’s safe to say fans were thrilled by surprise, especially because Swift played her Midnights single “Anti-Hero” live for the first time.
A fan captured a video of Swift strutting onto the stage in a chainmail mini dress (which many have compared to her iconic silver fringe mini dress from the Fearless tour) as the crowd erupted with shocked screams. Swift then played “The City,” the fan-favorite track from The 1975’s debut self-titled album (oh, the things they have in common) on an acoustic guitar.
After performing the cover, Swift shocked fans once more by giving them the privilege of being the first to hear her own song, “Anti-Hero,” live. The song (and its music video, directed by Swift herself) describes Swift’s biggest insecurities in a way that every Swiftie can relate to. The track has spent seven consecutive weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned a TikTok trend.
In many ways, Swift crashing The 1975’s show was a full-circle moment. For one, The 1975 was almost featured on the Midnights album. The 1975 frontman Matty Healy said it ended up falling through, though. (Lana Del Rey was the only featured artist on the album with “Snow On The Beach,” but Zoe Kravitz and Dylan O’Brien did help on the production side, with credits on “Lavender Haze” and “Snow On The Beach.”)
Plus, in 2014, Healy wore a 1989 T-shirt at one of his concerts. (Healy was also born in 1989, just like Swift.) According to Buzzfeed, Swift wore a The 1975 shirt while walking around New York City that same year. Since then, fans have been begging for a collaboration. If only they released that Midnights song!