Taylor Swift is many things — she’s one of the best selling musical artists of all time, she’s the first billionaire who’s wealth was built entirely by music, she’s among Forbes‘ list of most powerful women, and, through it all, she’s a regular person.
One with a shortlist of exes who, due to her career of choice, tend to crop up frequently in her chart-topping releases. Swift’s choice to write about what she knows — which, in many cases, means heartbreak — has led to broad scrutiny from her detractors, but its also led to massive success. There’s no denying the appeal of Swift’s lovelorn songs, and as it turns out some of her best were penned with Joe Alwyn, a former beau, by her side.
What is Joe Alwyn known for?
Joe Alwyn is by no means known as a singer or songwriter, but his long-term relationship with Taylor Swift led to his collaboration on several of her most popular tracks. The 33-year-old actor is best known for his roles on the big screen, but during his six-year relationship with Swift he also dipped his toes into songwriting.
Most people will recognize Alwyn best for his career of choice, rather than his co-writing credits, however. The talented English star is best known for his roles in 2018’s The Favourite and Mary Queen of Scots, along with 2022’s Catherine Called Birdy.
Which Taylor Swift songs did Joe Alwyn co-write?
Alwyn is still near the start of his career as an actor — he first stepped onto the scene in 2016 — and his tenure as a songwriter is nearly as long. It may not be his career of choice, now that he and Swift have split, but Alwyn’s contributions to several of Swift’s most popular tracks guarantee him a position in music history.
The 33-year-old star has either co-producer or co-writer credits on 10 Swift songs in total, stretching from 2020’s Folklore to 2022’s Midnights. The majority of the songs he’s credited as co-producer on come from Folklore, to which he contributed “Exile,” “Betty,” “My Tears Ricochet,” “This Is Me Trying,” “Illicit Affairs,” and “August.” He’s also credited as a co-writer on both “Exile” and “Betty,” but under the pseudonym William Bowery.
For Evermore, Alwyn maintained his pseudonym for co-writing credits on “Champagne Problems”, “Coney Island,” and the title track “Evermore.” His avoidance of using his real name extended to Midnights as well, on which he is once again credited as Bowery for his co-writing of “Sweet Nothing.”
