taylor swift
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Taylor Swift has always been explicit in her songs — delivering crystal-clear messages with uber-specific details. And in the last five years, she’s also been explicit in the “parental advisory” definition of the word — meaning she’s now comfortable dropping an F-bomb here and there.
When Swift released her sixth studio album, reputation, in 2017, her return to music after three years was a triumphant one, as she took control of her own narrative and cemented her transformation from America’s sweetheart to proudly feminist idol. And her declaration in the album cut “I Did Something Bad” that “If a man talks sh– then I owe him nothing” formally marked her dive into the world of curse words.
Sure, there are a few instances of a pre-reputation Taylor letting out some of the less offensive expletives. If you listen closely, you’ll even find one in her debut album: “You never did give a damn thing, honey,” she sings in the bridge of the emotional ballad “Cold as You.” But the death of “OId Taylor” is when the swear words really began to soar.
With Lover in 2019 came the line “I’d be a bi—, not a baller” from “The Man.” But Swift’s first explicitly explicit tracks did not arrive until her pandemic-era 2020 sister albums folklore and evermore. Opening the former with the line “I’m doing good, I’m on some new sh–” was just the start; iconic lyrics like “’What a shame she’s f—ed in the head,’ they said” followed shortly after.
On her 10th studio set Midnights, the lyrics have become more colorful than ever. The 13-track project includes six explicit songs, with the curse words ranging from “hell” to “f—in’” to one we surely did not have on our bingo card: “di–head.”
As the pop superstar continues to embrace her honest lyricism, keep reading for 20 times Taylor Swift has cursed in her songs.
Taylor Swift‘s followed up the excitement of her Midnights release by dropping the instrumental version of “Question…?”
According to initial reports to Luminate, the album has earned more than 1.4 million equivalent album units in the U.S. through its first five days of release (through Oct. 25).
If you need a guide to follow along with Taylor Swift’s “Question…?” find the lyrics below:
(I remember)
Good girl, sad boy, big city, wrong choicesWe had one thing going onI swear that it was something ’cause I don’t remember who I wasBefore you painted all my nights a color I’ve searched for since
But one thing after another f—ing situationCircumstances, miscommunicationsAnd I have to say, by the wayI just may like some explanations
Can I ask you a question?Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room?And every single one of your friends was making fun of youBut fifteen seconds later they were clapping, too?Then, what did you do?
Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? (Oh)Did you wish you’d put up more of a fight? (Oh)When she said it was too muchDo you wish you could still touch her?It’s just a question
Half-moon eyes, bad surprise, did you realize?Out of time, she was on your mindWith some di–head guy that you saw that nightBut you were on something
It was one drink after another, f—ing politics and gender-rolesAnd you’re not sure and I don’t know got swept away in the grayI just may like to have a conversation
Can I ask you a question?Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room?And every single one of your friends was making fun of youBut fifteen seconds later they were clapping, too?Then, what did you do?
Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? (Oh)Did you wish you’d put up more of a fight? (Oh)When she said it was too muchDo you wish you could still touch her?It’s just a question
Does it feel like everything’s just like second-best after that meteor strike?And what’s that, that I heard, that you’re still with her?That’s nice, I’m sure that’s what’s suitableAnd right, but tonight
Can I ask you a question? (Can I ask you a question?)Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room? (In a crowded room)And every single one of your friends was making fun of you? (Making fun of you)But fifteen seconds later they were clapping, too?Then what did you do? (Do)
Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? (Oh)Did you wish you’d put up more of a fight? (Oh, more of a fight)When she said it was too muchDo you wish you could still touch her?It’s just a question
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff
Taylor Swift called on her friends Haim, Laura Dern, Jack Antonoff and Dita Von Teese for her dazzling Cinderella-inspired music video for “Bejeweled,” featured on her 10th studio album, Midnights.
“Midnight, what a storied and fabled hour… On this sparkling evening I’ll be releasing my twist on a fairytale we all know. The one about the girl and her step sisters and the clock striking 12…” she captioned her announcement of the video, featuring a photo of herself as the fairytale princess, sitting in a dark room wearing a worn down dress while sewing a glittery, midnight blue gown. “This video is wild, whimsical and created SPECIFICALLY for you, my beloved fans who have paved this shimmering path.”
If you need a guide to follow along with Taylor Swift’s “Bejeweled,” find the lyrics below:Baby love, I think I’ve been a little too kindDidn’t notice you walking all over my peace of mindIn the shoes I gave you as a presentPuttin’ someone first only works when you’re in their top fiveAnd by the way, I’m going out tonight
Best believe I’m still bejeweled when I walk in the roomI can still make the whole place shimmerAnd when I meet the band, they ask, “Do you have a man?”I can still say, “I don’t remember”Familiarity breeds contempt, don’t put me in the basementWhen I want the penthouse of your heartDiamonds in my eyes, I polish up real, I polish up real nice (nice)
Baby boy, I think I’ve been too good of a girl (too good of a girl)Did all the extra credit, then got graded on a curveI think it’s time to teach some lessonsI made you my world, have you heard?I can reclaim the landAnd I miss you (I miss you), but I miss sparkling (ah, hey)
Best believe I’m still bejeweled when I walk in the roomI can still make the whole place shimmerAnd when I meet the band, they ask, “Do you have a man?”I can still say, “I don’t remember”Familiarity breeds contempt, don’t put me in the basementWhen I want the penthouse of your heartDiamonds in my eyes, I polish up real, I polish up real nice (nice)
Sapphire tears on my face, sadness became my whole skyBut some guy said my aura’s moonstone just ’cause he was highI went dancin’ all night and you can try to change my mindBut you might have to wait in lineWhat’s a girl gonna do? A diamond’s gotta shine
Best believe I’m still bejeweled when I walk in the roomI can still make the whole place shimmer (shimmer)And when I meet the band, they ask, “Do you have a man?”I can still say, “I don’t remember”Familiarity breeds contempt, don’t put me in the basementWhen I want the penthouse of your heartDiamonds in my eyes, I polish up real (nice), I polish up real nice
I went dancin’ all night and you can try to change my mindBut you might have to wait in lineWhat’s a girl gonna do? What’s a girl gonna do? I polish up niceBest believe I’m still bejeweled when I walk in the roomI can still make the whole place shimmer
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff
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Taylor Swift took fans deep into her mind with the release of “Anti-Hero,” off her freshly dropped 10th studio album, Midnights.
Swift previously called the track “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” as she’s never “delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before.”
“I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized,” she continued. “Not to sound too dark, but I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person — don’t feel bad for me, you don’t need to. But this song really is a real guided tour through all the things I tend to hate about myself; we all hate things about ourselves.”
If you need a guide to follow along with Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” find the lyrics below:
I have this thing where I get older but just never wiserMidnights become my afternoonsWhen my depression works the graveyard shiftAll of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room
I should not be left to my own devicesThey come with prices and vicesI end up in crisis (I’ve realized all this time)I wake up screaming from dreamingOne day I’ll watch as you’re leaving‘Cause you got tired of my schemingFor the last time
It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s meAt tea time, everybody agreesI’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirrorIt must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero
Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy babyAnd I’m a monster on the hillToo big to hang out, slowly lurching toward your favorite cityPierced through the heart, but never killed
Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruismLike some kind of congressman? (I’ve realized all this time)I wake up screaming from dreamingOne day I’ll watch as you’re leavingAnd life will lose all of its meaningFor the last time
It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me (I’m the problem, it’s me)At tea time, everybody agreesI’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirrorIt must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero
I have this dream my daughter in-law kills me for the moneyShe thinks I left them in the willThe family gathers around and reads it and someone screams out“She’s laughing up at us from hell”
It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s meIt’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s meIt’s me, hi, everybody agrees, everybody agrees
It’s me, hi (hi), I’m the problem, it’s me (I’m the problem, it’s me)At tea (tea) time (time), everybody agrees (everybody agrees)I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirrorIt must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff
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It’s been nearly a week since Taylor Swift dropped her 10th studio album Midnights, but she’s hardly done rolling out treats for fans.
The star unveiled two instrumental tracks on Thursday (Oct. 27) for “Question…?” and “Bejeweled,” which are both available to order as digital singles on Swift’s website.
The instrumentals come on the heels of Swift’s freshly released music video for “Bejeweled,” which features cameos from Haim, Laura Dern and Jack Antonoff as the star-studded crew puts their own twist on Cinderella.
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“Midnight, what a storied and fabled hour… On this sparkling evening I’ll be releasing my twist on a fairytale we all know. The one about the girl and her step sisters and the clock striking 12…” Swift captioned her announcement of the clip, alongside a photo of herself as Cinderella, sitting in a dark room wearing a worn down dress while sewing a glittery, midnight blue gown. “This video is wild, whimsical and created SPECIFICALLY for you, my beloved fans who have paved this shimmering path.”
Since releasing Midnights, Swift also dropped a 3am Edition of the album featuring seven additional tracks, as well as the music video for “Anti-Hero.” According to initial reports to Luminate, the album has earned more than 1.4 million equivalent album units in the U.S. through its first five days of release (through Oct. 25).
Midnights has the largest week for any album since Adele’s 25 debuted with 3.482 million in its first week (chart dated Dec. 12, 2015). And Midnights‘ traditional album sales total of 1.05 million continues to be the biggest sales week for a set since Swift’s own reputation album debuted with 1.216 million copies sold (chart dated Dec. 2, 2017).
Swifties now have a whole new way to take part in the Midnights fun.
Snapchat teamed up with Taylor Swift and virtual communications company BLNK to create three custom augmented reality Lenses, which transports users to the gates of Big Ben in London or Grand Central Terminal in New York City to unlock a hidden Midnights experience all to the tune of “Anti-Hero.”
The augmented reality experience will transform each clock face into Swift’s Midnights clock. Hands on each of the clocks will spin until they stop at midnight, and the entire structure will transform into a larger than life vinyl player, complete with gears, turntables, spinning vinyl and, of course, music from the album.
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Additionally, fans can use Snapchat to scan any edition of the album’s back cover art to unlock a filter in which the three missing pieces of the clock will appear to create a complete clock.
According to initial reports to Luminate, Midnights, which was released on Oct. 21, has sold more than 800,000 copies in the U.S. through its first day across all available formats (multiple digital album download, CD, vinyl and cassette variants). It has already logged the largest sales week for any album since 2017, is the top-selling album of 2022 year-to-date, and has set a modern-era record for single-week vinyl album sales. Spotify also announced that the album is officially the most-streamed album in a single day in the streaming service’s history.
At the time of publication, the album earned more than 1.4 million equivalent album units in the U.S.
Bon Iver took the stage in London at OVO Arena Wembley on Wednesday night (Oct. 26), and he surprised the crowd when he had Taylor Swift join him onstage to perform their song “exile” for the first time.
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The track was featured on Swift’s 2020 album, Folklore, which Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and The National‘s Aaron Dessner both contributed too. Dessner was also onstage during the “exile” performance.
Dessner recently collaborated with Swift on the 3am Edition of her freshly released 10th studio album, Midnights. Of the seven additional songs to the original 13 tracks, Dessner co-wrote and co-produced “The Great War,” “High Infidelity,” “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” and “Hits Different.”
“The most talented person in the world, Taylor Swift,” Vernon told the OVO Arena Wembley crowd following the performance, to which Swift sweetly replied, “The most talented person in the world, Justin Vernon. Also, the most talented person in the world, Aaron Dessner.”
“Alright, good night everybody,” Vernon joked as Swift left the stage. “We don’t know what to do now.”
Released as a surprise on July 24, 2020, Folklore represented a surprise pivot towards indie-folk that proved a critical and commercial blockbuster for Swift, earning the album of the year Grammy and topping the Billboard 200 albums chart for eight nonconsecutive weeks.
Swift followed up with Folklore‘s folky sister album, Evermore, in December of the same year. The album spent four nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200.
Watch the “exile” performance in London, captured by a fan and uploaded to Twitter, below.
When Taylor Swift arrived to the 2022 VMAs red carpet in a crystal-draped Oscar De La Renta mini-dress, fans were quick to point out its striking resemblance to a scene from her “Look What You Made Me Do” music video. Sure, it could have just been a coincidence — but Swifties know that there’s usually more than meets the eye when it comes to the music industry’s queen of Easter eggs.
So what could be the story behind the look? Ahead of the awards, the Internet was abuzz that this was Swift’s subtle way of sharing that reputation (Taylor’s Version) would be the next album in her lineup of re-recordings. But an announcement of her third re-record was nowhere to be found that night. Instead, the pop star threw a *swift* curveball, revealing that her next project would actually be her 10th studio album, Midnights.
With the arrival of the 13-track set (or 20 tracks on the 3am Edition) on Oct. 21, fans will now agree that the dazzling drip was almost certainly a tribute to “Bejeweled,” her second song from the album to be given the music video treatment. Covered in gems and rhinestones — and including cameos from Laura Dern, the HAIM sisters and Dita Von Teese — the video does exactly what Swift declares: “I can make the whole world shimmer.”
In honor of her newest visual triumph, which she self-wrote and directed, Billboard went back through her catalog of music videos to find the moments where she shimmers brightest (including “Look What You Made Me Do,” of course). Check them out below.
Following the release of Taylor Swift‘s vulnerable “Anti-Hero” music video on Friday (Oct. 21), the star received some backlash, with critics accusing her of being “fatphobic” due to a scene in which Swift steps on a scale that reads “fat.”
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However, on Tuesday morning’s (Oct. 25) episode of The View, the hosts took to Swift’s defense, noting that she is expressing her personal experience with body image. “They missed the point,” Sunny Hostin said. “For someone who’s an artist, she gets to have agency over her artistry. She was describing a personal experience, and quite frankly, it’s a personal experience a lot of women experience. I’ve experienced it, and men. You get on the scale and you’re a perfectly normal weight and all you see is fat, all you see is, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m five pounds heavier than I should be.’”
Whoopi Goldberg urged critics to “just let her have her feelings,” and not to watch the video if don’t like it. “Why are you wasting your time on this?” she continued. “You all want to say something about Taylor Swift, leave her a– alone!”
Goldberg concluded by calling out “our society” instead Swift. “You can never be just what you are. Everybody wants you to be something more, be less this, more that, and it’s what people do to each other on social media,” she said.
Swift has previously opened up about personal nature of “Anti-Hero,” calling it “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” as she’s never “delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before.”
“I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized,” she continued. “Not to sound too dark, but I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person — don’t feel bad for me, you don’t need to. But this song really is a real guided tour through all the things I tend to hate about myself; we all hate things about ourselves.”
Watch The View segment below.
The early numbers are in for Taylor Swift‘s Midnights, and while it was safe to assume her 10th studio album would be a hit, fans might not have predicted just how big it could be.
According to initial reports to Luminate on Monday, the album earned more than 1.2 million equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first three days alone. With that news, Midnights has the biggest week for an album, by units, since Swift’s own reputation in 2017 and is already the year’s top-selling album, year to date.
On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith discuss all the circumstances that allowed Swift to reach that elusive million mark again, from the curiosity surrounding the album and the awareness campaign that included a prominent Thursday Night Football teaser to the positive word-of-mouth from early listeners and dozens of collectible (and clock-building) variations.
Listen below to hear all about it:
Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Sam Smith and Kim Petras hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with “Unholy” — the first chart-topper for both acts — and how Lil Baby captures his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with “It’s Only Me.” Plus, listen to the show for even more early numbers from Swift’s blockbuster album-release week.
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard‘s senior director of charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)