Don’t Miss Taylor Swift’s And Def Leppard’s Great Duet Performance

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On November 7th 2008, rock legends Def Leppard performed with a young Taylor Swift on CMT’s Crossroads television show. At the time, Taylor Swift was already a big name in country music, but she had yet to cross over into mainstream culture and become the massive pop star she has become in 2016. Yet, even in 2008, many fans took offense to Def Leppard’s collaboration with Taylor Swift in a live performance.  It wasn’t just fans of the band Def Leppard who seemed to dislike the pairing. Young Taylor Swift fans also left negative comments on Swift’s decision to sing with the band Def Leppard. 

The CMT Crossroads show was a brilliant concept in which musical acts of completely opposite genres shared the stage performing each other’s music. CMT was a country music television station. On the CMT Crossroads Show, one act would always represent a variety of country music styles, while the other performers would always embody a particular rock genre. For the most part, it made for very interesting and exciting performances. Many fans enjoyed watching their favorite artists sing songs outside their particular musical expertise. Some of the most successful album releases of the 2000’s have been duet albums between performers of contrasting styles. Who would have thought that Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett would have had the tremendous success they enjoyed after recording an album together?

The Taylor Swift and Def Leppard concert featured an eight-song set of material from the catalogs of both artists. For many fans, it was a great deal of fun to hear Def Leppard perform Taylor Swift songs such as “Picture to Burn,” “Love Story,” “Teardrops on My Guitar,” and “Should’ve Said No.”  It was also very interesting to hear Taylor Swift sing Def Leppard classics like “Photograph,” “Hysteria,” When Love & Hate Collide,” and  “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” the latter in which she also sang with Def Leppard at the 2009 CMT Country Awards show.

The controversy surrounding the show’s performance was fueled by hardcore fans of both acts. It was in part due to fans’ ignorance of the concept of stretching one’s musical horizons. Some of the greatest artists of all time from both genres have recorded albums outside of their recognized fields. Joe Elliot once told Rolling Stone magazine that it was great joy to sing with Taylor Swift because “it just gets you out of your homogenized bubble”[1]

We agree with Joe Elliott. Good music is good music. It’s as simple as that. Taylor Swift and Def Leppard are two incredibly well-respected artists. If you watch the Crossroads video, you will also see the respect they had for each other and the fun they had together on stage. Is that not what it’s all about?

Updated June 30, 2026

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