This week is significant for swemos — that’s “Swiftie emos” for those unfamiliar — as Taylor Swift praised two 2000s pop-punk icons in a recent interview with The New York Times.

Swift, recognized as one of the 30 greatest living American songwriters by the Times, shared her admiration for Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, highlighting their impactful lyricism.

READ MORE: The Best Pop-Punk Album of Each Year of the 2000s

Taylor Swift Was ‘Intensely Impacted by Emo Music’

“I was most intensely impacted by emo music, right?” Swift remarked. “Dashboard Confessional, Chris Carrabba. Fall Out Boy, Pete Wentz’s lyrics. They take a common phrase and twist it, right?”

Swift elaborated further. “Like, ‘I’m just a notch in your bedpost, but you’re just a line in a song. Drop a heart, break a name.’ Right?” she referenced a line from Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down.” “It’s ‘drop a name, break a heart,’ but they switched it. Those are the kinds of lyrics where I would read them and just go, ‘Oh, my God.’

READ MORE: The Best Love Song by 22 Pop-Punk + Emo Bands

Swift’s fondness for pop-punk and emo artists is well-known. She previously collaborated with Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump on “Electric Touch,” released in 2023 as a vault track from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), the re-recording of her 2010 album. She also worked with Panic! at the Disco’s lead vocalist Brendon Urie on her 2019 Lover lead single “ME!” Additionally, she toured with Paramore as support.

What Have Pop-Punk and Emo Stars Said About Taylor Swift?

A mutual admiration exists between Swift and the pop-punk stars she enjoys. Stump previously commended Swift for her consistent songwriting and ability to maintain her “sense of self” throughout her extensive catalog.

“What shocks me is the consistency of her work,” the frontman shared on the Glass Slipping podcast last year. “From when she was young writing these songs, they’re hers. You know she’s working with other writers … but they all sound like her. They all get her. She must be doing a lot too. She could potentially be doing all of it, for all we know. … But the point is that she has the sense of self to know when to insert and when not to.”

READ MORE: 11 Essential Early 2000s Emo Albums Everyone Should Own on Vinyl

Carrabba also expressed his appreciation for Swift on Instagram, sharing an excerpt from her New York Times interview.

“@taylorswift has been so kind to me over the years,” Carrabba wrote. “To hear her express how my songs affected her was a lovely surprise. Everything is connected. I feel fortunate to be a link in the chain.”

See what other rock musicians have praised Taylor Swift below: