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In addition to releasing hit after hit, Taylor Swift has occasionally made older songs popular again. For example, she danced to a 2000s rock song and that changed everything for a very 2000s band. A member of that group discussed how Swift changed their career. He also recalled working with Swift once.

In a commercial, Taylor Swift said she loved this song in middle school

Jimmy Eat World is a pop-punk band that peaked during their genre’s heyday in the early 2000s. They are mostly known for their hit single “The Middle,” which is one of the catchiest rock songs ever. Swift dances around to the song in a commercial for Apple Music. In the commercial, the “I Knew You Were Trouble” singer says that she used to listen to “The Middle” when she was in middle school.

During a 2016 interview on Medium, Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins was asked about the commercial. “We had a heads up it might happen, but I thought I’d believe when I saw it,” he replied. “Then I saw it and I couldn’t believe it. It’s just a huge deal when anybody bothers to spend the time with anything you’ve done and find something in it that they can connect with.”

Taylor Swift once performed the song with Jimmy Eat World

Adkins was surprised by the newfound popularity of “The Middle” considering its age. “For a song like ‘The Middle’ that’s been out for fifteen years?” he said. “For it to still be finding an audience with people who may not have even been around when that song was released? It’s things like that. The more that we do this, the easier it is to find those things that you appreciate. It doesn’t take much. I’m just stoked to be outside and not dying of heat right now.”

Adkins was also asked about the time he got to perform with Swift live. “Yeah, she did a thing where she was coming through town and she would invite people to come play with her,” he said. “Regionally. She invited me to come sit in with her and cover the middle.” Adkins joked that he was once a member of Swift’s “squad” of celebrity friends.

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How Jimmy Eat World’s ‘The Middle’ took over the world

“The Middle” became Jimmy Eat World’s only single to enter the top 40. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 33 weeks. The track appeared on the album Bleed American, an album which did well even though its title proved controversial following the September 11 attacks. That record reached No. 31 on the Billboard 20 and stayed on the chart for 70 weeks. Though several of the band’s albums charted higher on the Billboard 200, none of them lasted longer on the chart.

Jimmy Eat World was not as popular as other rock bands of the era, but their influence is still being felt. Right now, pop-punk is having a resurgence, as several rappers are incorporating it into their music. In addition, Kelly Clarkson sampled “The Middle” in her own pop-punk hit “Heartbeat Song” from her album Piece by Piece.

Swift has a lot of power and by making “The Middle” popular again, she’s using that power for good.

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