One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Video: Kobe Bryant Presents Taylor Swift Her Own Banner At Staples Center
Taylor Swift and Kobe Bryant onstage during The 1989 World Tour at Staples Center (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for TAS)
Taylor Swift got her own banner in the Staples Center before the Clippers.
On Friday night the pop megastar performed the first of five sold-out nights at the Staples Center, setting the record for "Most Sold Out Performances" in the history of the arena. Including last night and the next four nights, Swift set the record at 16 sold-out shows. Kobe Bryant, that other champion of Staples Center, made a surprise appearance to present her the banner:
Bryant walked on-stage just a few songs into her set, commanding the mic and telling her band to pipe down for the announcement, reports the L.A. Times. After all, a banner commemorating an ultra-specific record is important.
My pleasure @taylorswift13 Keep breaking records and changing lives #1989TourLA https://t.co/MNCvXOpXPk
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 22, 2015
Ryan Tedder of One Republic also joined Swift onstage for a song, as the two duetted on his own hit, "Counting Stars."
Sponsored message
If anybody has tickets to the next four nights, please hit us up.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
