Taylor Swift has revealed just why she has so many celebrity friends.

The singer counts Ed Sheeran, Lorde and Lena Dunham among her pals.

She told US talk show The View: "I look for people who really have their own passion in life.

"Lena and I really relate because we're writers first and foremost and because she's super enthusiastic about everything. When you first meet her she's acting like you're a long-lost friend and that's what's so amazing about her."

"My friends, they are all are chasing their own dreams, and they all have their own ambitions. That's what fuels you.

"You're supposed to surround yourself with people who challenge you and motivate you and make you want to be smarter, stronger, better. So that's what my friends do for me and I'm so happy to have so many good ones right now."

Taylor said that her record label was nervous about her new album, 1989, which is expected to top the chart this weekend, but she added: "I knew I wanted to change the way I did things creatively. I wanted to keep people on their toes."

And she said of her modest attitude: "I don't ever want to be presumptuous about doing well because then you might not work as hard at creating it. So I keep a nice healthy level of insecurity going at all times."