| "Red" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.png) | ||||
| Single byTaylor Swift | ||||
| from the albumRed | ||||
| Written | September 2011 | |||
| Released | June 24, 2013 (2013-06-24) | |||
| Studio | Blackbird (Nashville) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:43 | |||
| Label | Big Machine | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Taylor Swift | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Taylor Swift singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Red" onYouTube | ||||
"Red" is a song by the American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift and the title track of her fourth studio album,Red (2012). She wrote the song and produced it withNathan Chapman andDann Huff. An incorporation ofcountry,pop, androck styles, "Red" features acoustic banjo and guitars alongsideelectronic vocal processing. The lyrics are about a past, tumultuous relationship, likening conflicting emotions evoked from the breakup to various colors, such as the titular color red that symbolizes the overall intense feelings.
To promote the albumRed before its release,Big Machine Records released "Red" via theiTunes Store on October 2, 2012. The song was released to UScountry radio on June 24, 2013, as asingle. Footage fromthe Red Tour (2013–2014) was compiled for amusic video for "Red", released on July 3, 2013. Swift's live rendition at theCountry Music Association Awards, featuringAlison Krauss andVince Gill on background vocals, was released on November 8, 2013. The song peaked within the top 30 on charts and receivedcertifications in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. On the USHot Country Songs chart, it peaked at number two and charted for 42 weeks, becoming Swift's longest-charting single.
When it was first released, initial critical reception was mixed: some reviews deemed the production experimental and successful in combining country and pop, but some others found it inconsistent or underwhelming. Several retrospective reviews have considered "Red" one of the more memorable songs in Swift's discography. After a2019 dispute over the ownership of Swift's back catalog, shere-recorded the song as "Red (Taylor's Version)" for her 2021 re-recorded albumRed (Taylor's Version).
Taylor Swift wrote her third studio album,Speak Now, entirely herself and produced it withNathan Chapman, who had produced both of her previous albums.[1] Released in October 2010,Speak Now expands on thecountry pop production Swift's past music and incorporatesrock stylings.[2] On her fourth studio album,Red, Swift wanted to experiment with sounds other than country pop.[1]
Swift initially continued working with Chapman in her career base ofNashville, Tennessee, until her "started wandering to all the places [she] could go" while she was writing "Red", the title track.[1][3] She wrote the song while on a flight on September 7, 2011; she had finished a concert inTacoma, Washington, and went back home to Nashville because she felt homesick.[4]Scott Borchetta, the president of Swift's then-labelBig Machine Records, overheard Chapman's production and suggested apop-oriented sound.[5]
Chapman and Swift attempted several times to achieve a pop sound without success. Swift asked Borchetta to recruit the Swedish producerMax Martin, whose chart-topping pop tunes had inspired Swift because of how "how [they] can just land achorus".[3][5] Even though Swift went to Los Angeles to work with Martin, he did not produce the final version of "Red",[1] which was produced by Swift, Chapman, andDann Huff—a Nashville-based country producer.[6] Martin produced three other songs forRed instead.[1][7]
"Red" was recorded by Steve Marcantonio andmixed by Justin Niebank atBlackbird Studio, Nashville. Musicians for the track included Chapman on acoustic guitar and percussion, Huff on thebouzouki,Tom Bukovac on electric guitar,Paul Franklin onsteel guitar, Ilya Toshinskiy onganjo, Jimmie Sloas onbass,Jonathan Yudkin oncello andfiddle, Charlie Judge onupright piano,synth, andB-3 organ, andAaron Sterling on drums. Mike Griffith and Jason Campbell were responsible for coordinating the production.[7]
At 3 minutes and 43 seconds,[7] "Red" incorporates eclectic styles. Its production is driven by afour on the floor beat.[8] The arrangement features signifiers ofcountry music that had characterized Swift's previous songs, such as a slighttwang in her vocals and acoustic instruments including banjo, guitars, and fiddles.[8][9] Itspoprefrain[10][11] includeselectronic vocal manipulation where Swift sings the title "reh-eh-eh-ed"[12] androck guitars and string orchestration,[4][8] resulting in an upbeat and lively sound.[4] Music critics categorized the genre assoft rock,[8]pop rock,[13]arena rock,[14] androots rock,[15] with elements ofdance music,[16]dance-pop,[15] andEurodisco.[17]
The lyrics are about the conflicting emotions recollected from lost romance.[8] Swift said that the track explored a dichotomy of a relationship of hers that was simultaneously "the worst thing" and "the best thing ever".[4] The refrains relate the different stages of this fallen relationship to different colors:[9] the breakup itself is blue, the pining for the ex-lover is dark gray, and the passionate love itself is red.[4] Theverses explore both the positive and negative aspects of love: connecting to somebody special feels like effortlessly memorizing every lyric of a favorite song,[4] but it can also get out of control like "driving a newMaserati down a dead end street" and "trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall".[8][18] Jon Dolan fromRolling Stone compared Swift's "stark-relief emotional mapping" on "Red" to the songwriting ofCarole King andJoni Mitchell.[18]
To promoteRed, Swift premiered one album track onGood Morning America and released it onto the USiTunes Store, each week from September 24 until the album's release date of October 22, 2012, as part of a four-week release countdown.[19] "Red" was released as the secondpromotional single fromRed during the second countdown week, on October 2, 2012.[20] The song was released to UScountry radio as a single from the album on June 24, 2013, by Big Machine Records.[21]
In the US, "Red" debuted and peaked at number six on theBillboard Hot 100 chart dated October 11, 2012. It was Swift's 13th song to reach the top 10 on the Hot 100.[22] On theHot Country Songs, "Red" peaked at number two on the chart dated October 20, 2012, and was Swift's longest-charting song, spending 42 weeks.[23][24] By November 2017, "Red" had sold two million digital copies in the US[25] The single was certifieddouble platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 2018.[26]
The single reached the top 30 ofrecord charts in English-speaking countries, peaking at number five in Canada,[27] number 14 in New Zealand,[28] number 25 on theIrish Singles Chart,[29] number 26 in theUK Singles Chart,[30] and number 30 in Australia.[31] It was certified platinum in Australia[32] and silver in the UK[33] "Red" peaked at lower-tier positions on charts in Japan (number 43),[34] Spain (number 46),[35] and Italy (number 56).[36]
Swift performed "Red" for the first time atBBC Radio 1's Teen Awards, held atWembley Arena on October 7, 2012, in London.[37] On October 15, 2012, Swift performed "Red" as part of her concert forVH1 Storytellers, held atHarvey Mudd College inClaremont, California.[38] During the first release week ofRed, Swift appeared and performed the song on television shows includingGood Morning America,[39]Late Show with David Letterman,[40] andThe Ellen DeGeneres Show.[41] She also included the song in her performances at festivals and awards shows, including theCMA Music Festival on June 6, 2013,[42] the2013 CMT Music Awards,[43] and the2013 Country Music Association Awards (CMA).[44] The performance at the 2013 CMA Awards on November 6, 2013, featured an acoustic version of "Red" withAlison Krauss on fiddle andVince Gill on guitar (both on background vocals),Sam Bush onmandolin,Edgar Meyer onacoustic bass, andEric Darken onpercussion.[45] It was released for digital download through theiTunes Store by Big Machine Records the following day.[46]
Swift included "Red" on the set list ofthe Red Tour (2013–14).[47] A music video for "Red", directed by Kenny Jackson and featuringfootage from the tour, was released on July 4, 2013.[48][49] It was nominated forVideo of the Year and Female Video of the Year at the 2014CMT Music Awards.[50] During the September 17, 2015 concert of Swift's1989 World Tour inColumbus, Ohio, she performed a stripped-down version of "Red" on an acoustic guitar.[51] It was a "surprise song" on the set lists of Swift's later tours: these include theReputation Stadium Tour (Pasadena, May 2018)[52] andthe Eras Tour (Foxborough, May 2023; Melbourne, February 2024).[53] During an Eras Tour show in Liverpool on June 15, 2024, she sang the track as part of a mashup with her song "The Manuscript" (2024).[53] Swift also performed "Red" during one-off concerts including a private concert in Paris on January 28, 2013,[54]DirecTV's Super Saturday Night (part of a series of pre-Super Bowl concerts) in Houston on February 4, 2017,[55] and theCity of Lover concert in Paris on September 9, 2019.[56]
Upon its initial release, "Red" received mixed-to-positive reviews from contemporary critics.Rolling Stone provided a positive review, writing that the production effectively accompanied the "simple but effective" lyrics.[9] Billy Dukes ofTaste of Country gave "Red" a 4.5/5 rating, applauding the song for expanding Swift's musical versatility and songwriting capabilities: "[toying] with colors like a skilled artist, ... this song is herSistine Chapel."[57] Marc Hogan fromSpin felt the lyrics were memorable, but said that the genre-spanning production made it unfocused.[8] In a lukewarm review,Entertainment Weekly's Grady Smith wrote the lyrics "paint a rather blurry portrait" of the intense emotions Swift meant to express. Smith remarked that while the song was tolerable, the "poppy" production underwhelmed its emotional sentiments.[20]
Reviews of "Red" in the context ofRed album reviews remained mixed-to-positive. Jonathan Keefe fromSlant Magazine and Randall Roberts from theLos Angeles Times commented that the underwhelming and occasionally clumsy metaphors of "Red" were subpar for Swift's lyrical abilities.[58][59]Billboard appreciated the lyrical sentiments, but felt that the electronic elements might not appeal to Swift's traditional country audience.[12] On a positive side, Jewly Hight fromAmerican Songwriter lauded the country-pop production as "sensory,synesthesia-style poetry",[16] and Jon Dolan fromRolling Stone selected "Red" as one of the songs on the album that proved Swift's maturity as a songwriter.[18] Jordan Sargent, in a 2017 retrospective review ofRed, called the title track "perhaps the album's best pop song since Swift flirts withFleetwood Mac".[60]
In a review of Swift's entire catalog, Jane Song fromPaste wrote: "Maybe it's not the bestRed cut, but it's worth remembering."[61]Rob Sheffield fromRolling Stone compared the pop/Eurodisco crossover to the music ofShania Twain and the "color-tripping lyric" to the songwriting ofPrince, calling "Red" a representation of "this century's most ridiculously masterful megapop manifesto".[17] At the 2014BMI Country Awards, "Red" was one of the award-winning "Country Awards Top 50 Songs".[62]
Adapted from theliner notes ofRed[7]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[32] | 2× Platinum | 140,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[72] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[73] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[33] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[26] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Red (Taylor's Version)" | |
|---|---|
| Song byTaylor Swift | |
| from the albumRed (Taylor's Version) | |
| Released | November 12, 2021 (2021-11-12) |
| Studio |
|
| Length | 3:43 |
| Label | Republic |
| Songwriter(s) | Taylor Swift |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Lyric video | |
| "Red (Taylor's Version)" onYouTube | |
Swiftre-recorded the track for her re-recorded albumRed (Taylor's Version), which was released on November 12, 2021, throughRepublic Records.[74] Prior to the album's release, Swift posted a snippet of the re-recorded track via herInstagram on October 23.[75] Compared to the original version, "Red (Taylor's Version)" features a more refined and mellowed production.[76]
The re-recorded track peaked within the top 10 of the singles chart in Ireland and Singapore,[77][78] and top 20 Australia,[79] Canada,[27] Malaysia,[80] and New Zealand.[81] It also charted on theBillboard Global 200 at number 13.[82]
Adapted from the liner notes ofRed (Taylor's Version)[83]
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[79] | 12 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] | 12 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[82] | 13 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[77] | 9 |
| Malaysia (RIM)[80] | 13 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[81] | 15 |
| Portugal (AFP)[84] | 88 |
| Singapore (RIAS)[78] | 4 |
| South Africa (RISA)[85] | 78 |
| South Korea Download (Gaon)[86] | 170 |
| South Korea BGM (Gaon)[87] | 96 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[88] | 22 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[66] | 25 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[67] | 5 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[32] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[89] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[90] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[91] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
