Taylor Swift Once Spent Over $50k For A Private One-Song Concert From This Major Artist

Over the years, Taylor Swift has worked with dozens of artists from all kinds of music genres, from her country roots to pop, indie, rock, R&B, and even hip-hop. She's performed alongside rap icons such as T.I. and Nicki Minaj and even recorded tracks with the likes of B.o.B. ("Both of Us") and Kendrick Lamar (the Katy Perry diss track "Bad Blood"). But perhaps one of her more interesting encounters came courtesy of 2000s hip-hop sensation Nelly, whom Swift reportedly paid a generous sum for a spontaneous, one-song performance during the pop icon's "Speak Now" tour in 2011.

Appearing on iHeart Radio's "The Breakfast Club" with his wife Ashanti, Nelly revealed that Swift had called him to ask if he could head over to Houston and join her and her friends for a performance of his hit song, "Hot In Herre." "'Listen, me and my friends, we made a routine to 'Hot in Herre' last night. ... I want to ask you a really big favor,'" he recalled Swift as saying. "She said, 'I got two shows in Houston, tomorrow and the next day. Can you come down in Houston and perform?'"

Although Swift confessed she was working with a really tight budget, Nelly claimed that the singer was still generous enough to offer to fly him out from St. Louis, book him a presidential suite at Four Seasons, and pay him $50,000 on top of that. "I don't want to disrespect you. I don't really have a budget like that," Nelly recalled Swift telling her. "'We only have like 50,000, you know.'" He remembered asking Swift if she could put the money in a McDonald's bag, which she did. "But I would've did [sic] it for free," Nelly, who has gotten in trouble with the IRS, quipped. "It was hilarious. I'll take it."

In the end, Taylor Swift's plan to have Nelly join her and her friends for a last-minute "Hot In Herre" dance routine never actually materialized, however. Instead, the pair ended up performing Nelly's other hit "Just A Dream" together during Swift's "Speak Now" concert in Houston. That wouldn't be the last time they'd share the spotlight, though. In 2013, Nelly made another surprise appearance at one of Swift's "Red" tour stops, performing his single "Hey Porsche" alongside the pop icon. They reunited again in Nelly's hometown of St. Louis during Swift's "1989" World Tour in 2015 (seen above in the photo), where they finally got to perform "Hot In Herre" alongside the Haim sisters.

Since then, the two have remained good friends. "Oh, I'm a Swiftie. Hell yeah," Nelly declared on "The Breakfast Club" when asked if he considers himself a huge fan of Swift. In fact, the rapper was among the thousands of guests who showed up at Swift's lavish Madison Square Garden wedding to Travis Kelce, which he attended alongside his wife, Ashanti. During the interview, he also pushed back against the negative reactions to Swift's star-studded guest list at her wedding, which included everyone from Hollywood A-listers to some of the biggest names in music.

"I think people forget how long she's actually been in this business. She's been in this business for a long time, man. And at the top of it, when you're like that, you make a lot of friends," Nelly stressed. He and Ashanti had also gushed about the "magical" wedding during an earlier appearance on "Good Day New York," saying they had a wonderful time there. "It was great," Nelly recalled (via People). He also spoke fondly of Kelce, gushing, "Travis is a cool guy too. And he's big, so."