How Taylor Swift's early support left a lasting mark on Chase Rice

Chase Rice recently took a trip down the memory lane and looked back on a full-circle moment with Taylor Swift.

In a new interview with Us Weekly, the 40-year-old singer recounted meeting the songbird at Travis Kelce's Tight End University event in June. 

Reportedly, this meetup came years after she first supported his songwriting breakthrough.

For the unversed, Rice, who co-wrote Cruise, recorded by Florida Georgia Line in 2012, shared that Swift was one of the early voices to publicly boost the track. 

“She was a big part of my career early on with that song and blowing it up,” he said.

Recalling their first real conversation, Rice said, “I actually walked up to her and just said bye to Travis and her, and she said, ‘Well, can you sit down for 10?’”

He admitted he almost declined because of a songwriting session scheduled the next day, but Swift's enthusiasm for writer Lori McKenna convinced him otherwise.

“We just talked music, and I talked to her about ‘Cruise,’ and it was a really, really full-circle moment that was cool,” he remembered.

Before conclusion, Rice added that Swift's approachable nature left an impression. “She just has this way about her that’s like, ‘OK, you’re not talking to Taylor Swift the superstar. You’re just talking to Taylor.’ And that’s what it was."

"It was really, really cool,” he remarked.