As Jack Antonoff’s band Bleachers releases the new single “I’m Not Joking,” the guitarist and producer is reflecting on one of the most prolific creative partnerships in modern pop: his decade-long collaboration with Taylor Swift.
Speaking with Howard Stern, Antonoff addressed his absence from Swift’s 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl, the first of her records since 2013 not to feature him as a writer, producer or instrumentalist.
The pair first worked together on “Sweeter Than Fiction,” which Antonoff wrote and produced with Swift for the 2013 film One Chance. The collaboration sparked a creative partnership that would stretch across a decade of Swift’s catalog.
“I was, like, ‘Oh, you're my people,’” Antonoff recalled of that first songwriting session. “And then we started sending music back and forth. I sent her a track I had made and then quite quickly — as she can do in, like, five minutes it felt like — sends back lyrics and melody on top of that track.”
Over the years, Antonoff became one of Swift’s closest studio collaborators, contributing as a co-writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist — playing electric and acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards and drums across numerous recordings.
But Antonoff told Stern he wasn’t surprised when Swift chose a different path for The Life of a Showgirl. For him, creative partnerships often move in cycles.
“The friendship is very deep,” he said. “You live an amazing artistic life together in that room, and then it lives on. It's extremely powerful.”
Still, he says his instinct is not to cling to those collaborations once a creative chapter ends.
When something's done, I'm always like, ‘That's it. We had this moment, and I love you and we'll be friends forever, but that's it.”.
— Jack Antonoff
“When something's done, I'm always like, ‘That's it. We had this moment, and I love you and we'll be friends forever, but that's it. And then when it comes back around, I'm utterly shocked.
“And then, when it happens, I go okay, cool. One more for some reason, but that's it.
“It's really weird. It sounds kind of corny. I like, only feel grateful for the work that's happened.
“And maybe it's because I write my own songs and sing them that I understand that need to have different collaborators and jump around. I don't think it's normal to have the same collaborators over and over. And when I've had it with people, I think it's a weird miracle.”
Meanwhile, Antonoff is turning his focus back to Bleachers. “I’m Not Joking” is the fourth single from the band’s upcoming album everyone for ten minutes.
Antonoff said the record grew out of a desire to strengthen his connection with both himself and his audience.
“I wrote this album from the perspective of deepening the relationship with my audience, myself, with my band,” he said. “And I feel so much rejection towards this idea that everything's for everyone.
“And I like the idea that the gates open and then they close again.”
