Taylor Swift Slips Back Into Country With Sugarland Duet, ‘Babe’
A Taylor Swift and Sugarland duet on the duo's new album, Bigger, proves the superstar is still country at heart. She's a featured artist on "Babe," a track she co-write with Train frontman Pat Monahan.
Swift's Sugarland cut comes nearly a year and a half after she gave her penned song "Better Man" to Little Big Town, which led to a Song of the Year win at the 2017 CMA Awards (and a Best Country Duo/Group Performance prize at the 2018 Grammy Awards).
"Babe" is the only song on Sugarland's new album not written by the duo themselves, or that they didn't have a hand in. It's the only song featuring Swift.
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The pop crossover singer seems to keep a toe dipped in Nashville waters at all times, recently making a surprise appearance at the Bluebird Cafe. Her March 31 popup performance included acoustic deliveries of her hits "Love Story," "Shake It Off" and "Better Man" as part of a documentary celebrating the venue's 35th anniversary, which also helped launch the careers of Garth Brooks, Keith Urban and more.
"I wanted to say a big thank you to the Bluebird Cafe. I think any songwriter in town would echo my sentiments and say that this is kind of the only place where this exists — this particular place where you get to come and hear the writer's take on the songs they've put out into the world," Swift said, praising the iconic venue.
Bigger is Sugarland's first album release since The Incredible Machine in 2010, and they're doing it up big. The duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush went on hiatus in 2012 to focus on solo projects, reuniting at the 2017 CMA Awards. Though fans have been asking for a Sugarland reunion, it was an unexpected surprise that keeps giving. They announced soon after that an album and tour were in the works. The album's first single, "Still the Same," was released in December 2017.
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