Swift premiered "...Ready for It?" during anESPN college football match on September 2, 2017; the following day,Big Machine Records released the song for digital download. The single was released to US radio as the second single fromReputation on October 24, 2017. Music critics generally described the production of "...Ready for It?" as anthemic and considered it a better single choice thanReputation's lead single "Look What You Made Me Do". While most reviews praised the production elements, several regarded the track as generic and indiscernible from mainstream trends.
The single both peaked within the top 10 and received platinumcertifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The accompanying music video, directed byJoseph Kahn, features a dark, futuristic aesthetic and referencessci-fi franchises. It depicts two versions of Swift dueling each other: a black-hooded human version and a mechanized, robotic version. Swift performed "...Ready for It?" live as the opener on theReputation Stadium Tour (2018) and the first song of theReputation act onthe Eras Tour (2023–2024).
Taylor Swift's fifth studio album,1989, was released in October 2014. Itssynth-pop sound and commercial success transformed Swift's status from acountry music artist to a global pop star.[1][2] Her fame was accompanied bytabloid gossip on her celebrity disputes and short-lived relationships, which blemished her "America's Sweetheart" reputation.[3][4][5] During a self-imposed hiatus, she secluded from public appearances and conceived her sixth studio album,Reputation, as an answer to the media commotion surrounding her celebrity.[6][7]
On September 2, 2017, Swift premiered a snippet of "...Ready for It?" during a teaser leading toABC'sSaturday Night Football broadcast ofESPN'sFlorida State vs.Alabamacollege football game.[8][9] A day after the snippet premiered, the track was released for digital download byBig Machine Records, as part ofReputation's pre-order.[10][11] It was the second song released fromReputation, after the lead single "Look What You Made Me Do".[12][13] In the United States, although the track initially was not actively promoted to radio,pop radio stations proactively aired it, thus making it gain traction on airplay throughout September and October 2017.[14][15] It was officially promoted to USrhythmic contemporary radio on October 24, 2017, as the album's second single,[16] by Big Machine Records.[17] Aremix byBloodPop was released in December 2017, accompanied by a lyric video.[18][19]
A sample of the second chorus and instrumental break of "...Ready for It?", depicting Swift's vocals over the heavyelectronic production with densesynthesizers anddubstepdrops
Swift wrote "...Ready for It?" about finding a "partner in crime". She was influenced by the novelCrime and Punishment (1866) byFyodor Dostoevsky to use criminal imagery such as bank robbers, thieves, and heists, finding it an interesting way to write songs about finding love.[43] The lyrics of "...Ready for It?" are about excitement, lust, and infatuation in a burgeoning romance. The opening lines see Swift's narrator being attracted by a man whom she describes as a "killer" the moment she sees him. This man is "younger than [her] exes" but "acts like such a man".[44][45] In turn, she confesses that she herself is a "robber" who has stolen other men's hearts "never saying sorry".[41] She dreams about "[keeping] him forever" and keeping this relationship private so that nobody can know about it.[27] She compares her romance to that ofElizabeth Taylor andRichard Burton, implying the complications of stardom and privacy.[28][36][46]
Upon its release, "...Ready for It?" was seen by many critics as an improvement fromReputation's lead single "Look What You Made Me Do";[28][47][35]The Music's Uppy Chatterjee opined that it should have been the lead single.[48] Favorable reviews considered the song anthemic andcatchy. Mary Wang ofVogue described the track as both a love song and a stadium anthem,[49] Patrick Ryan ofUSA Today lauded the "sparkling, anthemic" chorus,[35] and Shahzaib Hussain ofClash deemed the sound defiant.[50] Tom Breihan ofStereogum was impressed by the musical elements that were new to Swift such as rapping, tropical house, and sudden dynamic changes, writing that she "rides a beat better than anyone could've reasonably expected".[28] In the views ofJon Caramanica ofThe New York Times, the maximalist pop of "...Ready for It?" represented a new musical direction for Swift, with "harsh sounds and urgent buildup segments to theatrical, bruising effect".[51]Slant Magazine's Alexa Camp thought that the song was carefully constructed with catchy pop melodies and rapping cadences.[30] Kristen He fromBillboard wrote that "...Ready for It?" showcased how Swift successfully used her voice as an instrument, in line with mainstream pop production choices, and hailed the chorus for featuring "one of the prettiest melodies of her career".[41]
Less enthusiastic reviews considered the production of "...Ready for It?" generic and the songwriting subpar. InSpin, Jordan Sargent acknowledged that the song is "melodically rich" but considered the metaphors clunky and ineffective and wrote that the song showcased Swift in a "mask" that lost her distinctiveness.[29] Craig Jenkins ofVulture similarly lamented that the track was an effort to keep up with mainstream trends and criticized Swift's experimentation with rapping and hip-hop as a cynical move for her artistic reinvention.[47] According to Frank Guan, also fromVulture, the song sounded too similar to other popular songs on radio.[31]The Daily Telegraph described the lyrics as "wonderfully cringeworthy".[27]The New Zealand Herald's George Fenwick considered "...Ready for It?" one of the worst tracks off the album.[52]
Retrospective reviews have considered "...Ready for It?" an effective opener forReputation. According toBillboard's Joe Lynch, when the song was first released, "casual listeners were confused,Swifties were challenged, and haters were given a bounty of fresh ammo".[22]Alexis Petridis ofThe Guardian thought that Swift's rapping was "better than you might expect" and highlighted the "impeccable hook" that had been absent in the lead single "Look What You Made Me Do".[53]Vulture's Nate Jones wrote that he disliked Swift'sflow "borrowed fromJay-Z" but regarded the chorus as undeniable.[54]Stereogum ranked "...Ready for It?" among the 40 best pop songs of 2017,[55] andVariety's Chris Willman placed it at number 38 on his 2024 ranking of Swift's 75 best songs.[56] Less complimentary comments were fromNME's Hannah Mylrea, who described the song as a messy combination of genres,[21] andPaste's Jane Song, who considered Swift's "vaguelyBahamian accent" in the song "unsettling".[57]
Elsewhere, "...Ready for It?" entered the top 10 on charts of Australia (number three),[65] Hungary (four),[66] Malaysia (six),[67] Canada (seven),[68] the United Kingdom (seven),[69] Greece (nine),[70] and New Zealand (nine).[71] The single reached the top 20 in Ireland, the Czech Republic, and Lebanon;[a] and top 40 in Austria, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.[b] It has beencertified six-times platinum in Australia,[79] and double platinum in Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.[c]
The video features two versions of Swift dueling with each other: acyborg Swift (left) and a human Swift (right). Thebodysuit that she wears as a cyborg received backlash for making her appear naked.
The music video was directed byJoseph Kahn.[84] On October 23, 2017, Swift released a teaser of the music video for the song.[85] The teaser received backlash from online commentators and audience, who claimed that Swift appears naked in the teaser. Subsequently, Swift posted anInstagram story denouncing the nudity claims alongside a selfie of her wearing abodysuit, captioned "It truly warms my heart that ppl had so much to say about this bodysuit."[86][87][88] The full video premiered on October 26. It features homage references tosci-fi films likeBlade Runner (1982),Tron (1982),Westworld (1973), andEx Machina (2014); and 1990smanga franchises likeGhost in the Shell andSailor Moon.[84][89][90]
The video's central narrative is a battle between two versions of Swift: a human one and acyborg one.[91] In this narrative, an imprisoned female robot is eager to break out and avenge her captors.[89] It starts with the human Swift, dressed in a black cloak. She walks through a dark alley and enters a room where the cyborg Swift is held captive in aforce field cage. The cyborg Swift mutates into various forms trying to escape, and she eventually breaks through the cell walls, with shards of glass cutting the cloaked Swift across the face, revealing she is a cyborg as well. The cyborg guards try to contain both of them to no avail, and the video ends with the white cyborg Swift walking away from her demolished cell and moving up an escalator.[92][93]
"...Ready for It?" was the opening number of Swift's 2018Reputation Stadium Tour.[102] Before the performance began, the intro included news snippets discussing Swift's reputation. The screens onstage then parted, and Swift emerged through the smoke,[103][104] wearing a black hoodie[105] before revealing herself in a sparkling black bodysuit and knee-high black boots.[106] Onthe Eras Tour (2023–2024), Swift performed "...Ready for It?" as the opening number for theReputation segment,[107] which began with stage screens showing imagery of snakes. Swift appeared onstage in a one-legged blackcatsuit embroidered with snakes motifs.[108][109]
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