Who Is Vance Joy, T. Swift's '1989' Tour Opener?

When Taylor Swift announced her 1989 world tour dates, I had a lot of questions, like why she isn't coming to NYC and why we have to wait until next May for it to start. But after that, I mostly just wanted the lowdown on the two guys she's taking on tour. Both opening acts are relative newcomers, but let's first hone in on Vance Joy. The 26-year-old Australian singer — whose real name is James Keogh — used to be a football player and broke into the music scene last March with his EP, God Loves You When You're Dancing. His first single "Riptide" not only hit triple platinum in Australia, but continued gaining traction over the next year until it was featured on his full-length album, Dream Your Life Away, in September.

Though he's a bigger hit in Australia than in the States, he did catch the attention of T. Swift, which was seen when she covered "Riptide" on BBC's Radio 1 in October. While his rendition is ukelele-heavy and faster paced than Swift's piano-only cover, I can imagine these two sharing the stage when he performs this every night. His indie-folk music has some pop beats, which make it perfect to sway or dance away to before shaking it off with Swift. And if you're a fan of his honeyed, smooth vocals, get excited — he signed a five-album deal with Atlantic Records, so hopefully he won't be going anywhere soon. Listen to a few of his songs, plus Swift's cover, below.