Taylor Swift Wrote Rihanna’s Biggest Club Banger Under a Fake Male Identity

The Song You’ve Danced to a Million Times

Let’s take it back to summer 2016. The world was simpler. And everywhere you went—Uber rides, clubs, H&M fitting rooms—you heard one song on a loop: "This Is What You Came For" by Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna. It was the perfect EDM track. Rihanna’s vocals were effortless, the beat was infectious, and it crushed the charts. But here is the plot twist that most people still don't know: Rihanna isn't the only superstar on that track. The song was written by a mysterious songwriter named Nils Sjöberg.

Who is Nils Sjöberg?

For a while, nobody questioned it. "Nils Sjöberg" sounds like a perfectly normal name for a Swedish pop producer. The credits looked legit. But behind the scenes, "Nils" was actually Taylor Swift. At the time, Taylor was dating DJ Calvin Harris. Not wanting their relationship to overshadow the song (or maybe just wanting to flex her songwriting muscles in secret), she recorded a demo on her iPhone, sent it to Calvin, and they agreed to keep her involvement a total secret. She adopted the pseudonym to keep the tabloids away.

The "Oohs" Are The Giveaway

Once you know this, you can’t unhear it. Go listen to the song again. Specifically, pay attention to the recurring "Ooh, ooh, ooh" backing vocals throughout the chorus. That is not Rihanna. That is 100% Taylor Swift’s uncredited voice layered into the mix. She is literally haunting the track.

The Twitter Meltdown

So, how did the secret get out? In classic Hollywood fashion: Drama. After the couple broke up, rumors started swirling that Taylor had written the hit. Calvin Harris took to Twitter (in a now-legendary rant) and confirmed it, writing: "Amazing lyric writer and she smashed it as usual. Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though." He even referenced her feud with Katy Perry. It was chaotic. It was messy. It was pop culture history.

The Ultimate Flex

Eventually, Taylor officially changed the credits with BMI. "Nils Sjöberg" was killed off, and Taylor Swift was listed as the writer. Why is this story so good? Because it proves that Taylor Swift’s pen is so sharp, she can write a global club anthem for Rihanna—a genre totally outside her wheelhouse at the time—and dominate the radio without even putting her face on the cover. So next time this song comes on at a party, you can be that annoying person who yells: "You know this is a Taylor Swift song, right?"