| "Imgonnagetyouback" | |
|---|---|
| Song byTaylor Swift | |
| from the albumThe Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology | |
| Released | April 19, 2024 (2024-04-19) |
| Studio | Electric Lady (New York City) |
| Genre |
|
| Length | 3:42 |
| Label | Republic |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Lyric video | |
| "Imgonnagetyouback" onYouTube | |
"Imgonnagetyouback" (stylized inall lowercase) is a song by the American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift. Written and produced by her andJack Antonoff, it was released in thedouble album edition of her eleventh studio album,The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024). Led by restrained,trap-influenced beats, mutedkeyboards, and millennial-styled backing vocals, the track was categorized assynth-pop and "pop-R&B" by critics. The lyrics are about the considerations of restoring a past relationship that makes Swift indecisive about whether to reconcile with an ex-partner who broke up with her or get revenge.
Critics compared "Imgonnagetyouback" toOlivia Rodrigo's track "Get Him Back!" (2023), frequently drawing similarities with their lyricism. Several deemed the song unremarkable or underwhelming, while some were more appreciative of it. Commercially, the track peaked at number 28 on theBillboard Global 200 and reached the top 30 of national charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. It received a goldcertification from theAustralian Recording Industry Association. Swift performed the song live on acoustic guitar, as part ofmashups of her songs, in two shows of herEras Tour in July 2024.
Taylor Swift ѕtarted work on her eleventh original studio album,The Tortured Poets Department, following the completion of her previous albumMidnights (2022).[1] She continued on it during the US leg of herEras Tour in 2023, when the tour heightened her fame while she was experiencing intense media reports on her personal life.[1][2] Swift described the album as a "lifeline" for her and one that she "needed" to create, detailing how its development somewhat reminded her that songwriting was an integral part of her life.[3] 31 songs were written or co-written by Swift forThe Tortured Poets Department;Jack Antonoff, who worked on all of Swift's albums since1989 (2014), co-produced 16 of those songs, including "Imgonnagetyouback".[4][5][6]
The track was written and produced by Swift and Antonoff, who providedprogramming and played acoustic guitars, drums, percussion, piano, and synthesizers includingJuno 60,M1 keyboard, andProphet 5. Jack Manning, one of the assistantengineers alongside Joey Miller and Jozef Caldwell, also played piano. Laura Sisk and Oli Jacobs recorded the song atElectric Lady Studios in New York City.Serban Gheneamixed it at Mixstar Studios inVirginia Beach. The track was engineered by Bryce Bordone andmastered forvinyl by Ryan Smith.[7]
"Imgonnagetyouback" has a length of 3 minutes and 42 seconds.[8] It is led by restrained,trap-influenced beats, mutedkeyboards, and backing vocals that Paolo Ragusa ofConsequence described as "millennial-coded".[9][10] Critics labeled the song as subtle[9][11] and "upbeat"[12] and classified it assynth-pop[13][14] and "pop-R&B".[9] Writing forVanity Fair, Kase Wickman regarded its opening a parallel to that ofthe 1975's "Looking For Somebody (To Love)" (2022).[15] The journalistAnnie Zaleski called it not only congruent ofMidnights sonically with the "duskyelectropop" sound but also thematically with the "late-night ruminations on the past".[9]
The lyrics of "Imgonnagetyouback" are about the considerations of whether rekindling a romantic relationship would be healthy or not.[9] In it, Swift sees a chance of reconciling with an ex-partner, who was the one who broke up with her, but she is uncertain about if this reunion would occur in either restoring a past relationship or another quarrel between them.[11][16] As a result, Swift is indecisive on whether she should reconnect with him or have revenge.[17] Critics likeBillboard's Ashley Iasimone andElite Daily's Dylan Kickham thought the song was about flirting with an ex-partner.[18][19] whileJon Pareles ofThe New York Times said that it was "partly awordplay exercise [...] with pushback at its core."[12] Emily Bootle fromThe i Paper wrote that the track includes Swift's "trademark romantic extremes" and recalls the "chaos-fetishisation" of her song "Blank Space" (2014).[20]
Throughout the track, Swift contemplates on her ongoing matters with the ex-partner in a playful manner, alternating between threatening revenge on him and imagining their reunion.[21][19] It begins with her describing a scene ("Lilac short skirt, the one that fits me like skin"), before she states, "I'll tell you one thing, honey/ I can tell when somebody still wants me, come clean".[18] In thechorus,[18] Swift uses the titular phrase as adouble entendre to either reconcile with him or destroy his posessions.[22][23][17] At one point during the song, Swift favorably compares herself to anAston Martin vehicle ("I'm an Aston Martin that you steered straight into the ditch").[20][14] As it progresses into the conclusion, she moves on and starts over again: "I can feel it coming, [...] [humming], in the way you move"/"Push the reset button, we're becoming something new"/"Say you got somebody [...], [I'll] say, 'I got someone too' "/"Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leaving here with you".[17][14]
"Imgonnagetyouback" received comparisons toOlivia Rodrigo's song "Get Him Back!" (2024) from critics, some of whom believed that the song[24][25] alongside its theme[22] and sentiments[23] are similar to Rodrigo's. Others further thought the track's aspects were identical to that of "Get Him Back!". Kickham found "both songs center on the same play on words".[19] Nate Jones ofVulture wrote it had nearly alike "conceit and striking lyrical similarities",[a] but he nonetheless stated that "this is likely a simple case of parallel thinking rather than plagiarism, especially as the two songs sound nothing alike".[26] Although believing that the song utilized "identical wordplay and styling",Elle's Lauren Puckett-Pope agreed with Jones' last sentiment, feeling that the songs considerably differ in their soundscapes: "Imgonnagetyouback" is "quieter, ethereal synth-pop" while "Get Him Back!" is "high-tempo [and] percussive".[14] On the other hand, Nina Miyashita and Jonah Waterhouse fromVogue Australia felt they varied in "many creative ways".[21]
Although Swift did not confirm who was the song's subject,[14] some critics and publications speculated that it could potentially be one of Swift's former romantic partners.The Daily Telegraph's Poppie Platt opined that the subject wasJoe Alwyn, who until early–2023 had a six-year relationship with Swift, mainly because she felt that it was similar sonically to Swift's previous songs that she believed to be about him.[b][27] Puckett-Pope considered it to be most probablyMatty Healy, who dated Swift in 2023 after her breakup with Alwyn, according to the several lines she analyzed.[14] The British radio station,Capital, regarded it as Alwyn based on the many interpreted lyrics, one of them about moving on that the station thought alluded to Swift progressing into a relationship with Healy or her current romantic partnerTravis Kelce, following her parting with Alwyn.[17]
"Imgonnagetyouback" became available underRepublic Records on April 19, 2024, as part of adouble album edition ofThe Tortured Poets Department, subtitledThe Anthology, two hours after the standard edition was released; it is listed as 18th in the track list.[28][7] In July 2024, Swift performed the song live on acoustic guitar, as part ofmashups with her other songs, in two shows of the Eras Tour. She sang it for the first time during a show at Amsterdam on July 5, fusing it with "Dress" (2017).[18] At a Munich show on July 28, Swift combined the track with "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" (2016).[29]
"Imgonnagetyouback" reached the top 30 of theBillboard Global 200 (at 28),[30] as well as in the national charts of the United States (26),[31] Canada (29),[32] and New Zealand (30).[33] In Australia, the song peaked at number 23 on theARIA Singles Chart and helped make Swift the artist with the most single–week entries on the chart with 29.[34][35] It received a goldcertification from the country'sAustralian Recording Industry Association.[36] The track further peaked at number 70 in Portugal and number 99 in Switzerland.[37][38] On other charts, it reached Greece'sInternational Top 100 Digital Singles chart (at 62),[39] Sweden'sHeatseeker chart (3),[40] and the United Kingdom'saudio streaming (32)[41] andsales charts (61).[42]
_(53727521364)_(cropped).jpg)
Several critics found the song unremarkable or underwhelming. Writing forBeats Per Minute, John Wohlmacher considered the track "somewhat banal synth-pop", and it became an immediate skip for him after multiple listens.[13]Rob Sheffield fromRolling Stone called the song a "catchy oddity" similar to "Get Him Back!", although he opined that it does not have the part where Swift "meet this guy's mom just to tell her her son sucks."[24]Screen Rant's Lynn Sharpe said that, aside from the "catchy"hook and how Swift delivered some of thebridge's lyrics, the track was "simply fine" though unmemorable.[16] While also calling it "simply fine", Ragusa negatively compared the song's take on the concept of "Get Him Back!" to that, believing that it was lacking in quality and, alongside the backing vocals, was and deserved to be excluded from1989.[10] Jones thought the song was unnecessary to be within the double album.[26]
Some were more appreciative towards the song. Jason Lipshutz ofBillboard described its production as dainty and "shuddering" where Swift confidently sings her intentions,[23] whileThe Hollowood Reporter's Ryan Fish regarded the song as Swift's "catchy" approach to the concept of "Get Him Back!".[22] Callie Ahlgrim ofBusiness Insider recommended it for listening.[43]
Credits are adapted from theliner notes ofThe Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.[7]
| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[34] | 23 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[32] | 29 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[30] | 28 |
| Greece International (IFPI)[39] | 62 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[33] | 30 |
| Portugal (AFP)[37] | 70 |
| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[40] | 3 |
| Swiss Streaming (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] | 99 |
| UK Singles Sales (OCC)[42] | 61 |
| UK Streaming (OCC)[41] | 32 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[31] | 26 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[36] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
