How Taylor Swift is the 'invisible string' connecting her fellow pop stars

When Selena Gomez released “Call Me When You Break Up,” her new single featuring Gracie Abrams, there seemed to be an “invisible string” connecting the two singers.

The collaboration of Gomez and rising pop girl Abrams should come as no surprise, given their mutual bestie: Taylor Swift.

Swift might not have been featured on Gomez’s latest track, which was released ahead of her forthcoming album with fiancé Benny Blanco, I Said I Love You First, but she’s likely a big reason this collaboration came to fruition.

Abrams and Swift became fast friends in Dec. 2021 after Swift invited her to her birthday party. Their relationship blossomed from there. Abrams opened for Swift on her “Eras Tour,” and the pair collaborated on a song for Abrams’s 2024 album, The Secret of Us. Abrams and Swift have also been spotted hanging out together in New York City.

Gomez and Swift, on the other hand, have been friends since 2008. While they’ve yet to collaborate on any music, Gomez has long supported Swift, joining her onstage at the “Speak Now World Tour” in 2011 and “1989 World Tour” in 2015 and cheering her on from the VIP section during Swift’s Dallas and Los Angeles “Eras Tour” stops.

The Abrams-Gomez collaboration is proof that those within Swift’s personal and professional orbits often overlap.

The “Fortnight” singer’s influence and friendships are far-reaching, from her impressive roster of “Eras Tour” openers and frequent collaborators to her ever-changing “squad.” All roads, it appears, lead back to Swift.

Tour openers

Swift has been known to bring both well-known and rising artists on the road with her. Her record-breaking “Eras Tour,” which concluded in Dec. 2024, featured an all-star lineup of openers across 54 cities in 21 countries, including Paramore, Haim, Muna, Beabadoobee, Griff and Suki Waterhouse.

Short n’ Sweet singer Sabrina Carpenter was also a mainstay during Swift’s tour, joining Swift for her Latin America dates from Aug.-Nov. 2023, Australia dates in Feb. 2024 and Singapore dates in March 2024. In addition to opening for Swift, Carpenter was seen by her side at a Kansas City Chiefs game in Oct. 2023. While touring, Swift and Carpenter were also spotted out in Australia in Feb. 2024.

Abrams is another artist who had a notable presence on the “Eras Tour,” joining Swift as an opener for her North American tour dates from April-Aug. 2024 and again from Oct.-Dec. 2024. The “That’s So True” singer, who has since graduated to playing arenas as a headliner herself, was the sole artist to join Swift during the final leg of the tour.

Even in a pre-“Eras Tour” world, Swift had a knack for adding artists as openers who'd ascend to pop superstardom themselves. Charli XCX, for instance, had yet to go “brat” when she joined Swift as an opener during her “Reputation Stadium Tour” in 2018.

Frequent collaborators

Collaboration is key to Swift’s artistry. Often, her tour openers transition from stage to studio. Once that friendship and familiarity on tour is established, the songwriting begins.

Among the artists she’s teamed up with over the years are Hayley Williams from Paramore, who joined Swift on her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) track “Castles Crumbling” in 2023; pop-rock trio Haim, who was featured on Swift’s Folklore track “No Body, No Crime” in 2020, and Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine, who was featured on The Tortured Poets Department track “Florida!!!” in 2024.

Swift was recently a featured artist herself, when she co-wrote and lent her vocals to Abrams’s 2024 song “Us” for her second studio album, The Secret of Us. Swift and Abrams wrote the Grammy nominated track while hanging out at Swift’s New York apartment. The pair even put out a fire after a candle fell over during their all-nighter.

When it comes to crafting her albums, Swift often turns to producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner. Antonoff has produced and co-written tracks on Reputation, Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Midnights, while Dessner worked with Swift on Folklore and Evermore. Both Antonoff and Dessner lent their expertise to Swift’s latest album, 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department.

Antonoff has also teamed up with female artists in Swift’s circle. He produced eight songs on Florence and the Machine’s 2022 studio album, Dance Fever, along with several tracks on Carpenter’s 2024 album, Short n’ Sweet, including “Please Please Please” and “Slim Pickins.”

The former Fun guitarist also reunited with Dessner on Abrams’s album The Secret of Us helping produce “Us.” Dessner, meanwhile, is a longtime collaborator of Abrams, having co-written and produced tracks for both of her albums.

Though it wasn't exactly a collaboration in the traditional sense, Swift also received songwriting credits and 50% of royalties on Olivia Rodrigo’s tracks “Deja Vu” and “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” from Rodrigo’s 2021 debut album, Sour, due to copyright issues. Rumors of an alleged feud between Swift and Rodrigo swirled in the years that followed, though Rodrigo shut them down in 2023.

Inner circle

In addition to longtime friend Gomez, Swift continues to add famous faces to her inner circle.

Rapper Ice Spice, a newer addition to Swift’s crew, enjoyed a seat next to the pop star at back-to-back Super Bowls in 2024 and 2025. Sisters Danielle, Alana and Este Haim, of the band Haim, have been counted among Swift’s closest friends since 2014, when they were spotted at the singer’s parties. All three sisters were seen with Swift at this year’s Super Bowl too. Swift also reunited with two of her newer girlfriends-slash-“Eras Tour” openers, Abrams and Carpenter, at this year’s Grammys.

As for her longest-known famous bestie, Gomez and the “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” singer have been friends for over a decade. Swift and Gomez first crossed paths in 2008 while dating Jonas Brothers Joe and Nick.

“It was amazing, because she was the girl with the big curly hair and all the bracelets and the cowboy boots. And I was definitely up-and-coming, and we just clicked,” Gomez told KIIS FM UK in 2017. “It was the best thing we got out of those relationships.”

Their friendship is still going strong today. Following news of Gomez’s engagement to producer Benny Blanco in Dec. 2024, Swift called dibs on being the flower girl at their wedding.

Blurring the lines

Gomez and Abrams are blurring Swift’s spheres of influence in teaming up for “Call Me When You Break Up.” Gomez, one of Swift’s oldest friends, calling on Abrams, one of Swift’s newer friends, feels like a new allegiance in the canon of Swift.

Gomez and Abrams orbiting in Swift’s circle at the same time appears to be hugely beneficial for fans of both artists: It gave us the collaboration we didn’t know we needed.