Taylor Swift personally chose the Beatles classic Paul McCartney performed at her wedding to Travis Kelce, then received a suggestion of her own from the man she had asked to sing it.
During his October 2 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, McCartney revealed that Swift requested “I Want to Hold Your Hand” for the couple’s July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden.
The 84-year-old musician immediately imagined turning the performance into something more personal for the newlyweds. “I said, you should sing along, and you should sing it to your man,” McCartney recalled, according to PEOPLE.
The Associated Press independently confirmed that Swift and Kelce married at Madison Square Garden and that Stevie Nicks performed during the celebration.
Swift’s Request Brought the Song Back After Nearly 62 Years
Swift’s request resulted in an exceptionally rare McCartney performance. The Guardian reported shortly after the wedding that the reception marked his first public performance of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in more than six decades.
Setlist.fm’s concert archive identifies September 20, 1964, at New York’s Paramount Theatre as the Beatles’ most recent documented performance of the song. McCartney’s wedding rendition happened almost 62 years after he last performed it live with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
The Beatles’ final documented performance of the song and McCartney’s 2026 return to it both happened in Manhattan, with Swift’s request bringing the early Beatles hit back to a stage in the same city generations later.
‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ Helped Launch Beatlemania in America
The Recording Academy notes that “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was released in the United States on December 26, 1963, entered the Billboard Hot 100 the following month and became the Beatles’ first U.S. No. 1 in February 1964.
It stayed at the top for seven weeks as Beatlemania accelerated across the United States. The group then performed the song during its landmark February 9 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, introducing millions of American television viewers to the band at the height of its breakthrough. The Recording Academy later inducted the single into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Swift and Travis Kelce Both Sang During the Reception
Music at the reception extended beyond McCartney and Nicks. Wedding guest Ross Tucker later said Swift and Kelce both sang during the celebration, while Jason Kelce confirmed his brother’s turn with the microphone during an appearance on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast.
PEOPLE reported that Jason described Travis as someone who had always been able to carry a tune, even with considerably more experienced performers sharing the reception stage.
Tucker offered even stronger praise, saying Travis sounded good enough that someone unfamiliar with his football career could mistake singing for his profession. Jason connected that comfort with music to their upbringing in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where he said arts and music played a significant role in their education.
Swift’s own music also appeared throughout the ceremony. PEOPLE reported that lyrics from “Blank Space” were embroidered onto handkerchiefs and that an instrumental version of “Love Story” accompanied her walk down the aisle.
McCartney and Swift’s Mutual Admiration Goes Back Years
McCartney and Swift had developed a public friendship long before she asked him to perform at her wedding. In 2020, the two sat down together for Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians, comparing their songwriting processes, experiences with fame and the albums each created during the pandemic.
Their support later extended to one another’s concerts. McCartney attended Swift’s Eras Tour show at Wembley Stadium in June 2024, where fans greeted him with friendship bracelets as he made his way through the venue. Swift returned that support on March 28, 2026, when she attended McCartney’s intimate show at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre.