Over the course of her arena-filling Speak Now tour, Taylor Swift has been performing with some of her favorite artists. Many of the pair-ups have been with artists you might expect — Usher, Justin Bieber, Hayley Williams — but some are more likely to have you scratching your head. A swaggered-out Swift has been displaying her street cred by chilling with rappers like Nicki Minaj, T.I. and B.o.B during several of her tour stops. But it's not all that bizarre considering Swift is a big fan of the genre.
"I'm a huge hip-hop fan, and it's been so amazing to have so many incredible artists come out and to get to sing the hooks on their songs that I've been blasting in my car for the last couple years," she told at the launch event for her Wonderstruck perfume. "It's been awesome. I couldn't have asked for more amazing special guests on this tour, and we're not finished yet."
When asked who she was most surprised by, she shared that it was T.I. The rapper joined Swift onstage in October, just days after finishing his 11-month prison sentence, to perform "Live Your Life."
"Well, I called T.I. the night before the show, so I felt like it's such short notice that [he wouldn't do it with me], and he's just like, 'Hey, yeah, sure,' " she recalled. "And it was just amazing. I was so excited 'cause I'm such a fan and I thought, 'This is such short notice, this is so ridiculous' that I'm asking him to do this the night before. And he's like, 'I'll be there,' " she continued. "And he showed up for sound check and we were all just so star-struck."
The headline-making Atlanta appearance marked the beginning of T.I.'s return to public life. He's currently releasing music (including his new single, "I'm Flexin' "), working on a clothing line, Akoo and is planning to take over pop with an in-the-works remix of Ke$ha's "Sleazy." Swift's Speak Now world tour continues through March 2012, with a break around the holidays in November and December.