Remember That Time Taylor Swift Sang ‘Smelly Cat’ On Tour With Lisa Kudrow

As Taylor Swift continues her Eras tour, we remember the time actress Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay on the television series’ Friends, joined Swift on The 1989 World Tour for a special performance of the sitcom’s iconic song, Smelly Cat.

The performance was recorded on August 26, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Swift says, “This singer, she’s only ever played in coffee houses before. She’s never played in a big venue like this, so we’ve got to please make her feel welcome.”

Swift then welcomes Kudrow (as Buffay) onto the stage. The two proceed to sing Smelly Cat, before Kudrow interrupts to teach Swift how to better sing the cult comedy song.

Established as a fan favourite, Smelly Cat has become closely associated with Phoebe, Kudrow, and the series, and is often ranked highly by media publications among Friends' most memorable moments and featured songs, even rivalling the show's theme song I'll Be There for You in terms of popularity. 

Smelly Cat has been covered by several artists, including Friends guest stars E. G. Daily, Chris Isaak, and James Michael Tyler, co-star Courteney Cox, and singer Colbie Caillat. During Friends' 2021 reunion special, Kudrow performed the song with Lady Gaga.

Swift’s epic three-hour, 44-song setlists for the Eras tour made headlines in March, with the singer running through all ten of her albums for shows living up to their name.

The marathon concerts saw Swift open with a string of hits from Lover, including the fan-favourite Cruel Summer. From there, she launched into Fearless, with Love Story, You Belong With Me and the title track - the latter of which she hadn’t performed in over a decade.

She also performed the 10-minute version of All Too Well and closed the set with tracks from her newest album, Midnights, including Lavender Haze, Anti-Hero, Midnight Rain, Vigilante Shit, Bejeweled, Mastermind, and Karma.

In March, leaked reports suggested that Swift has already booked in a 2024 date at Melbourne’s MCG. An anonymous MCG worker revealed to the popular Melbourne-based podcast, Shameless, that Swift would perform at the venue. 

The anonymous poster uploaded a selfie (blocking their eyes with the caption) and wrote, “Hush Hush but I work for the MCG and dates have been booked in for Taylor.” 

US gossip account Deux Moi also caught on, with its Twitter account sharing: “Dates have been booked for Taylor at the MCG in Melbourne, Aus. So, she’s definitely coming to Australia!” One can only wonder what new surprises she has in store.