Taylor Swift And Hayley Kiyoko Team Up On A Surprise Stripped-Down 'Delicate'

Wednesday night (December 5) in New York City, Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at the Ally Coalition's fifth annual Talent Show to sing "Delicate." This is notable for a couple of reasons: 1) Swift was not listed as a scheduled performer at the gig, which also featured Lana Del Rey, Bleachers, Haley Kiyoko, and more; 2) the venue where it happened, Town Hall, has a capacity of roughly 1,500 people, creating one of the most intimate Swift performances in some time; and 3) she sang it alongside Kiyoko, someone who'd previously used Swift's career to contrast with her own struggles in the music industry as a queer artist.


"I've had a couple of music industry execs mention 'You're doing another music video about females Kiyoko told Refinery29 in March. "I was like, um, yeah... Taylor Swift sings about males in almost every song and video, and no one complains."


Swift responded speedily on Tumblr, saying, "We should applaud artists who are brave enough to tell their truthful romantic narrative through their art, and the fact is that I've never encountered homophobia and she has. It's her right to call out anyone who has double standards about gay vs. Straight love interests."


That's all ancient history though, as the pair's team-up on an acoustic "Delicate" was accompanied by plenty of smiles as well as a power that comes from that sort of unexpected teamwork. Kiyoko takes the harmonies also it sounds good. Watch fan-captured video of the efficiency below.


The event also featured Lana Del Rey performing all new cuts from her upcoming Norman Fucking Rockwell album, including two we've previously heard, "Venice Bitch" and why to Vanish The other two, "Hey Blue Baby" and "I Must Be Silly for Feeling So Happy," made their live debuts, as per Billboard.


"Me and Jack [Antonoff] wrote a few nation songs just for fun, so we thought we'd play them," Lana reportedly instructed them crowd, referencing her producer for the upcoming LP. Antonoff was there, also, and his sister, Rachel, hosted the event. Check out one of these new cuts below.


Find out more about the Ally Coalition right here.