Before fame, Taylor Swift had the opportunity to sing in front of Jay-Z. Now, the two are among the biggest names in the music industry, but when they first crossed paths, Swift was still a child. She said he offered her a brief form of congratulations for singing, which she bragged about constantly afterward.

Jay-Z congratulated a young Taylor Swift on a performance

After Swift released her debut album to widespread acclaim, people began to wonder if she’d collaborate with other artists. While she didn’t have plans at that point, she hoped to work with Jay-Z someday. She’d even already met him.

“I’m not planning anything like that right now, but I think the coolest thing in the world would be to do something with Jay-Z,” she told CMT in 2007. “When I was 11, I sang the national anthem at a 76ers game in Philly. Jay-Z was sitting courtside and gave me a high-five after I sang. I bragged about that for like a year straight.”

She thought a collaboration between the two of them would be unexpected. 

“I love doing cover songs that nobody expects,” she said. “When I went to live shows, I always loved stuff like that. I like it when something you wouldn’t expect to happen onstage happens — musically or visually. I think Sugarland does a great job of incorporating different surprises into their shows.”

She said she hardly got stage fright, even at that age

As Swift began performing in front of large audiences as a child, she had to learn to work through stage fright early.

“I think everyone has that problem when they first start singing,” she said. “In my opinion, the only way to conquer stage fright is to get up on stage and play. Every time you play another show, it gets better and better.”

She admitted it wasn’t easy, but she worked through her nerves. Swift said she didn’t follow the typical advice for avoiding stage fright, though. 

“I started singing in front of crowds when I was 10, and it was a little scary at first,” she said. “Anything you’ve just started doing is going to be scary. Once, somebody told me to picture the audience in their underpants. Do not picture the audience in their underpants. That does not work. At all.”

Jay-Z defended Kanye West after he interrupted Taylor Swift

In 2009, Kanye West infamously interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech at the VMAs in defense of Beyoncé. He drew widespread condemnation, getting booed by the crowd and even being called a “jack***” by Barack Obama. Jay-Z, however, came to West’s defense. 

“He’s just a super-passionate person,” he said, per the BBC. “Of course it was rude because it was her moment but that’s the way he really felt.”

He added that he thought the coverage was overblown.

“I think it was rude but the way they’re treating him… He’s on the cover of every paper,” Jay-Z said. “He didn’t kill anybody. No one got harmed.”