Even at 16 years old, Miley Cyrus’s voice was a force of nature! She sang “Fifteen” with 19-year-old Taylor Swift in an iconic moment at the 51st Grammys in 2009. Even though they were singing Taylor’s song, somehow Miley effortlessly became the main character, and her soulful, yearning vocals absolutely stole the show. The real winner was the fans, though, because seeing two of the biggest icons in pop on one stage, with just Taylor’s acoustic guitar for accompaniment, is a timeless moment.
The looks shared between the two teen stars are just too sweet. It has to be said that “Fifteen” was the perfect song choice for this moment – what an incredible songwriter Taylor was at such an early age. Miley took to the song so naturally, and that Tennessee farm girl twang was out in full force! The Music Man has to say the vocal interplay between the two stars, given their distinct styles, makes this such a joy to listen to.
Fan channel Swifties uploaded Taylor and Miley’s duet on “Fifteen” 10 years after the performance, providing a big nostalgia hit for fans. Viewers were stoked to hear them sing together and added comments such as “Miley always knew how to sing! She sounds incredible and stable!” and “This is one of my favorite performances to this day. I hope they sing together on an award show again sometime.”
Teen Miley had no shortage of memorable duets. When the Tennessee hitmaker was 17, she sang with Dolly Parton on the latter’s hit “Jolene.” This performance was very touching, as Dolly is Miley’s godmother, and their close bond really came through in the performance. Unlike her duet with Swift, Miley sits back more here and really gives center stage to the living legend Dolly Parton. The smiles and little comments they share throughout the performance are so adorable.
Taylor Swift issued “Fifteen” as the fourth single from her second studio album, Fearless. Tay Tay is the sole songwriter for the tune, and she co-produced the track with Nathan Chapman. The song was inspired by her real-life experience of navigating her freshman year in high school. The Music Man readers might be interested that the heartbroken girl namedropped in the song, Abigail Anderson, is a real person and a longtime bestie of Tay Tay. Abigail actually makes two appearances in the Taylor Swift discography, as she was also mentioned by name in the pop star’s song “Ruin the Friendship.”