ryanfoundation/InstagramRyan Seacrest helped make a difference today, and Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance to make that experience even more memorable.
The two stars joined dozens of young patients at Nashville's Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt on Friday to officially open Seacrest's latest pediatric hospital studio. Snapping a selfie with the singer, Ryan posted a photo of the duo on Instagram and wrote, "Surprise of the century?! Thx for being part of our 10th opening today and everything you do for the kids #SeacrestStudios."
In fact, Swift helped Seacrest with the ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the Nashville hospital, which now includes a 723-square-foot, multimedia broadcast studio. "It has the state-of-the-art equipment, glass, windows...I know deejays that would be jealous if they saw what this looked like," Seacrest tells E! News.
He adds that he didn't "do construction, but, I did help in the design from the beginning," and that Nasvhille seemed like a great location to add to his growing list of studios. "Just the people here are great. This is a great hospital."
And to everyone's enjoyment, the inaugural broadcast was done right then and there with Swift. "About two years ago, I was lucky enough to get to visit Ryan's studio at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia," the celeb told the audience.
"And what I saw when I went there was an opportunity for the kids to find excitement and express their creativity and learn about what it is to create content—whether you would like to make your own radio show or whether you want to record. It was so exciting to see the excitement that it brought to this one hospital. That fact that [Seacrest is] opening his tenth studio just speaks to his commitment to bettering the lives of kids who are ill, and it affects their whole family."
She later added, "I'm so thankful to be here when it's opening. And I just want to say thank you to Ryan for everything that he's doing to help kids and to really change the hospital experience in the best way possible. So thank you for having me. Thank you so much for inviting me today. You're amazing."
Seacrest Studios, which brighten kids and teens' hospital stays by letting them explore TV, radio and new media, also has locations in Atlanta, Dallas, Orange County and Philadelphia, to name a few. They're all part of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, which hopes fun, multimedia experiences can help uplift patients' spirits.
Along with Swift, Selena Gomez, Nick Jonas, Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Usher and Britney Spears are some of the big names who have take the time to stop at one of Seacreast's studios.
—Reporting by Brian S. Sanderson