| "Renegade" | ||||
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| Single byBig Red Machine featuringTaylor Swift | ||||
| from the albumHow Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? | ||||
| Released | July 2, 2021 (2021-07-02) | |||
| Recorded | c. March 2021 | |||
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| Length | 4:14 | |||
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| Producer | Aaron Dessner | |||
| Big Red Machine singles chronology | ||||
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| Taylor Swift singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Renegade" onYouTube | ||||
"Renegade" is a song recorded by Americanindie bandBig Red Machine featuring American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift, released on July 2, 2021, by 37d03d andJagjaguwar. It was serviced to UStriple-A radio on the same day as the third single from the band's second studio album,How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? (2021).
Written by Swift and producerAaron Dessner, "Renegade" is an upbeat tune that blendsindie pop andfolk styles, driven by guitar, drums and strings. Swift performs the lead vocals, complemented byJustin Vernon's backing vocals. Its subject matter discusses the toxic effects one's fears andmental health issues can have on their personal relationships, and the resulting confusion and indecision. It depicts the narrator's frustration with their emotionally fortified partner, and the former's efforts to confront and help the latter. Music critics acclaimed the song, with emphasis on its sharp lyrics and instrumentation.
Marking Big Red Machine's first entry in all of therecord charts it appeared on, "Renegade" charted in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The song reached the top 10 of theUK Independent Singles and the USHot Rock & Alternative Songs charts.
This song was something we wrote after we finishedevermore and it dawned on us that this was a BRM [Big Red Machine] song. Taylor's words hit me so hard when I heard her first voice memo and still do, every time. Justin lifted the song further into the heavens, and my brother's (Bryce Dessner) strings and drummer Jason Treuting add so much. The feeling and sound of this song feel very much at the heart ofHow Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?; I'm so grateful to Taylor for continuing to share her incredible talent with me and that we are still finding excuses to make music together.
American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift collaborated withAaron Dessner, the guitarist of American indie rock bandthe National, andJustin Vernon, the vocalist ofBon Iver, on her eighth and ninth studio albums released in 2020,Folklore andEvermore, respectively. In a December 2020 interview forRolling Stone, Dessner said that Swift had been writing songs for the upcoming project ofBig Red Machine, a band consisting of Dessner and Vernon; two of those songs, "Dorothea" and "Closure", ended up appearing on the track-listing ofEvermore instead.[2] Dessner further produced two tracks on Swift's 2021 re-recording,Fearless (Taylor's Version).[3] "Renegade" was recorded by him and Swift for Big Red Machine at herLos Angeles home studio,Kitty Committee, in the week ending March 19, 2021, the same week they had wonAlbum of the Year forFolklore at the63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[4] Vernon recorded additional vocals at his studio, April Base.[5]
On April 13, 2021, Vernon previewed new music on hisInstagram account, in which he shared a brief clip of a forthcoming collaboration with Swift,[6] saying "that's the awesome Taylor one. I think this should be thesingle".[7] On June 27, 2021, a cryptic teaser was posted to Big Red Machine's social media. It depicted videos of Vernon and Dessner, and shots of Swift's penning lyrics.[8] On June 29, 2021, the band revealed their second studio album,How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?, its release date, cover artwork and track listing; "Birch"—another Swift collaboration on the album—and "Renegade" placed fourth and fifth in the list, respectively, featuring Swift's vocals on both.[9] "Latter Days" featuringAnaïs Mitchell was released as thelead single on the same day,[10] followed by "The Ghost of Cincinnati" on the next day.[11] "Renegade" was released as the next single on July 2, 2021,[12] impacting U.S.adult album alternative radio on the same day.[13] Another teaser was posted to the band's social media on July 1, 2021, a 14-second long snippet with Swift's vocals, captioned with a link to a YouTube video that premiered at midnightEDT,[14] the lyric video of "Renegade" directed by Michael Brown.[1] "Renegade" was serviced to the U.S.adult contemporary radio as well, on July 12, 2021.[15] On August 17, a pop version of the song was released.[16]
Arenegade is someone who has rejected lawful or conventional behavior.[12] Addressed insecond person, "Renegade" has the narrator describe how the subject's anxiety and fear are obstacles for the narrator's love for the subject.[17] The song ends with the question "Is it insensitive for me to say, get your shit together so I can love you?", with the outcome remaining uncertain.[18] "Renegade" is set in aC major key. Swift's vocals range betweenE3 andG4.[19] It has a fasttempo of 168 beats per minute.[20]
"Renegade" is performed by Swift as the lead vocalist, backed by Vernon's additional vocals.[5] The song was written by Dessner and Swift. Dessner stated he was emotionally struck the first time he heard Swift talk about "howanxiety and fear get in the way of loving someone or create an inability for someone to love". A retrospective examination of the song's lyrics possibly connects to Swift's relationship with then boyfriendJoe Alwyn. Renegade sums up that emotion with a "fairlyexperimental" sound. It is an upbeat,[21]alternativeindie,[22]indie pop,[23]indie folk,[22] andfolk pop song[24] with strings by Dessner and drums bySo Percussion's Jason Treuting.[1][25] Swift's vocal delivery is wordy, punctuated by brief plucks of gentle acoustic guitar and "rolling"synthesizers. The song ends with apolyphony of layeredharmonies of Swift and Vernon.[26][27]
Spin critic Josh Chesler called "Renegade" an indie pop "banger",[23] Lauren Huff ofEntertainment Weekly dubbed it anearworm,[28] andVariety's Jonathan Cohen said the song continued "the more musically adventurous vein" of Swift's latest work with Dessner, using emotionally stirringcouplets.[25] Robin Murray, wiring forClash, dubbed the song "love-struckmelodrama" with "piercing" lyrics.[29] Nina Corcoran ofConsequence wrote that "Renegade" is a "folk-pop earworm" with Swift's "future classic" lyrics.[24] Mary Siroky of the same publication said that the song focuses on "someone refusing to let love in" and asks "how many times someone can be turned away while waiting patiently for the subject of their affection to realize it's ok to ask for help, and, sometimes, for forgiveness". Siroky also praised thediction and honesty of Swift's songwriting.[18]
NPR's Stephen Thompson stated that Swift, in the song, "stares down a relationship that's become more toxic and labor-intensive than she'd been led to expect". He highlighted the lyric "Is it insensitive for me to say, 'Get your shit together so I can love you'?" and concluded "Renegade" sounds like a Swift song featuring Big Red Machine than the band featuring her.[30] Devon Ivie ofVulture appreciated the song's "memorable" couplets.[31]Pitchfork's rock critic Quinn Moreland said "Renegade" combines Swift's "thoughtful" 2020 songwriting with the "exploratory landscape" of Dessner and Vernon, and found the relationship described in the song as "claustrophobic and tangled in anxiety to the point of mutual destruction", filled with "frustration and indecision", juxtaposed against a "bright and warm" composition. Moreland added that Vernon and Swift's "dueling" harmonies spiral together into "a cocoon of confusion".[26]
Savannah Roberts ofCapital FM wrote "Renegade" depicts the effects mental health issues can have on "budding" relationships, and compared its lyrical style to Swift's older songs, such as "Call It What You Want" (2017) and "The Archer" (2019).[22] Tatiana Tenreyro, reviewing forThe A.V. Club admired the indie direction of Swift's recent works, and remarked that "Renegade" does not contain the "hyper-specific details" of her 2020 albums, but "a more relatable track, one that rings true to anyone who's been with an inadequate partner." Tenreyro added that Swift "undercuts the power of the person she's addressing—the one leading her on without being able to commit—by turning the tables and forcing them to confront their shit via her lyricalzingers."[27]Jon Pareles ofThe New York Times commended Swift's "melodic sense and personality", her abrupt and "symmetrical" phrases, and Dessner's production details, such as "multilayereddrones, tendrils of electric and acoustic guitar", and Vernon's "distant" backing vocals.[32]Billboard writer Jason Lipshutz said the sonic texture of "Renegade" derives from the works by the National, with its "all skittering beats and emotional warfare for adults", but Swift's imprint in that musical territory "remains thrilling, even after many months and multiple Bon Iver duets". He concluded that the song is as "satisfying" as "Exile" (2020), Swift's first duet with Vernon.[33]
"Renegade" marked Big Red Machine's first ever entry on various charts across the globe. In the United States, the song landed at number 7 on theBillboard Hot Alternative Songs chart dated July 17, 2021, introducing Big Red Machine on the chart for the first time,[34] and the 18th entry of Swift's career.[35] Additionally, it debuted at number one on theBillboard Alternative Digital Songs Sales chart, marking Swift's fourth number-one song on the chart.[36] Furthermore, the song charted at number nine on theBillboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart,[37] number 12 on Alternative Streaming Songs,[38] and number 73 on the all-genreHot 100. Bolstered by its three tracking days of radio airplay, the song appeared at number 34 on theBillboard Adult Pop Songs chart.[39] On theRolling Stone Top 100, it entered at number 90, earning 38,300 units, including 3.7 million on-demand streams.[40]
In the United Kingdom, "Renegade" opened at number 73 on theUK Singles Chart, scoring the band's first entry on the chart.[41] Additionally, the song landed at number 9 on theUK Independent Singles Chart.[42] In Canada, "Renegade" landed at number 11 on the Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales chart,[43] and number 53 on the all-genreCanadian Hot 100.[44] Elsewhere, it debuted at number 70 on Australia'sARIA Singles Chart,[45] number 53 on theIrish Singles Chart,[46] and number 3 on theNew Zealand Hot Singles chart.[47] "Renegade" arrived at number 96 on theBillboard Global 200 chart.[48]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Date | Format(s) | Version | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | July 2, 2021 | Standard |
| [49] | |
| Italy | Radio airplay | Goodfellas | [58] | ||
| United States | Triple A radio |
| [13] | ||
| July 12, 2021 | Adult contemporary radio |
| [15] | ||
| July 13, 2021 | Contemporary hit radio | [59] | |||
| Various | August 17, 2021 |
| Pop |
| [16] |
