Ryan Adams gave his televised debut of his Taylor Swift 1989 cover album on Thursday night (Oct. 1) during the first week of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. For his live performances, the 40-year-old rocker rolled out his versions of 1989 singles "Bad Blood" and "Style." And for those in attendance (and online), he also rolled out an acoustic version of "Blank Space."
Adams' versions of his 1989 cuts translate seamlessly from record to a live setting, and he proved that this music is (almost) just as much his as it is Swift's on The Daily Show.
For "Bad Blood," he gives his own sing-songy version a little extra swing in its step. Adams' (and Swift's) record highlight "Style" is also particularly biting, and his extra rock edge adds just the slightest bit of anger that wasn't there before.
Adams wasn't just on The Daily Show to act as a house band, he also chatted with Noah, once again emphasizing that he did not record 1989 ironically. But, the project was lengthy.
"It took us three weeks," Adams said to laughter from the audience before clarifying. "No, that's actually a long time for us."
"We have a studio in L.A. that's an all analog studio. We do everything differently; we don't use computers. We just kind of go in and if you can't really do it in real life, you can't do it at all," he said before launching in to "Style."
For an online bonus, Adams also rolled out an acoustic take on Swift's "Blank Space."
Adams' 1989 is out now; the album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
