Taylor Swift And Nelly: Swift Continues Her Epic Break Up From Country Music

Taylor Swift and Nelly shocked fans in St. Louis, Missouri at Swift’s September 30 concert. With HAIM on backup vocals, Swift and Nelly performed Nelly’s 2002 hit “Hot in Herre” to the sold out Scottrade Arena. Two other times Nelly has surprised Swift fans with appearing on stage when the singing sensation Swift stops by in St. Louis according to Mashable. The 1989 Tour was no exception.

While Nelly and Swift singing together may not be a huge surprise, the impromptu collaboration did seem surprising to Swift’s new gal pals HAIM.

“OMG DID WE JUST DO THAT!!!!???? Here’s to a 100000000000000000000 more EPIC HIGHLIGHTS!”

Swift and the sisters must have known something was up though. According to People, the ladies had a nice dance number ready for the occasion compete with hip swinging action.

The 1989 Tour will move to Toronto on October 2. Taylor Swift and most likely other guest stars will be in the United States through the end of October. From their the “Shake It Off” singer will take her show to Singapore, China, and Australia all before the end of the year.

Taylor Swift and Nelly appearing on stage together further cements Taylor Swift deep in the pop music culture. With each album, Swift seems to get further and further away from her country roots. The 1989 Tour has been loaded with talent, but very little of that talent has come by way of country music stars. The complete list can be found at Billboard.

The first big surprise on the tour came from the Imagine Dragons from Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, From there, the tour has been peppered with singers and actors solidifying Swift as a true global sensation. No better example of just how big Taylor Swift has become came when 1989 stopped in Nashville.

In the country music capital of the world, Swift brought out none other than the lead man for the legendary Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, to do the classic Stones’ hit “Satisfaction.” This caused a 72-year-old grandma to completely lose her mind. The video of her reaction has since gone viral.

To Swift’s credit, she loved every minute of it, and she seemed truly pleased that the lady was able to see her life-long favorite, Mick Jagger. Swift commented that reactions like this one were the main reason she enjoyed surprising fans with special guests.

Though Swift seems to be drifting further away from country, she keeps all performers in mind when it comes to the industry. Taylor Swift was one of the only performers in the music industry when Apple looked to launch their Apple Music service in the summer to balk at putting her album up. Swift refused to release 1989 on the service if the artists were not going to be compensated for Apple Music’s three month free trial they were offering.

“I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company.”

“These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much. We simply do not respect this particular call.”

Apple was very quick to change their policy. Apple seemed to feel that for a music service to be successful it most likely needed to launch with the most popular album in the country.

What do you think of the Taylor Swift and Nelly surprise? Do you think Swift is straying too far from what made her famous, or do you like the pop music better?

[Photo by Getty Images/Dilip Vishwanat]