Taylor Swift made a surprise stop at Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show last night, where she performed "New Year's Day" live for the first time. It was a heartfelt performance, leading up to an emotional hug with Fallon after she finished.

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Mike DiCenzo, a writer/producer from the show, explained just why the moment was so powerful on Twitter. It was Fallon's first show back since his mother Gloria passed away, and at the beginning, Fallon reflected on his time with her. "When we were little, my mom would walk us to the store, me and my sister, and we would hold hands," he said. "And she would squeeze my hand three times, and say ‘I love you.’ And I would squeeze back, ‘I love you too.’ And last week, I was in the hospital, and I grabbed her hand and I squeezed. ‘I love you.’ I just knew we were in trouble."

The song Swift chose to perform has a line that says a very similar thing ("You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi/I can tell that it's gonna be a long road.") It was a "beautiful coincidence in a beautiful performance" that really moved them all, DiCenzo wrote:

She [Swift] was not scheduled to do our show today. But we wanted something special for this first show back, so we asked her on a complete whim, since she had been in town doing SNL. She said yes with zero hesitation. She sang "New Year's Day." No one had heard it. Suddenly she sings the line, "Squeeze my hand 3 times in the back of the taxi." I nearly gasped. Tears. I think everyone in the audience started sobbing. I could see Jimmy silhouetted at his desk dabbing his eyes with a tissue. We all lost it. It was a beautiful coincidence in a beautiful performance. "Hold on to your memories, they will hold on to you," Taylor sang. That hug between Jimmy and Taylor after the song was 100% real emotion. Whatever you think of Taylor, she did something beautiful for Jimmy and our show today, and we're forever grateful.
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Alyssa Bailey
Senior News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.