Bad Blood (Taylor Swift song)
"Bad Blood" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift wrote the song with the producers Max Martin and Shellback, and it is a pop song with prominent drums and keyboards. The lyrics are about betrayal by a close friend; many media publications interpreted that the American singer Katy Perry was the subject. A remix featuring the American rapper Kendrick Lamar, with additional lyrics by Lamar and production by Ilya, was released to radio as the fourth single to promote 1989 on May 17, 2015, by Big Machine and Republic Records.
"Bad Blood"
May 17, 2015
- MXM (Stockholm)
- Conway Recording (Los Angeles)
3:31
3:19 (remix)
- Taylor Swift
- Max Martin
- Shellback
- Kendrick Lamar[a]
Music critics gave the album version of "Bad Blood" mixed reviews; some found it to demonstrate a defiant attitude and deemed it a highlight, but others criticized the production as bland and the lyrics as repetitive. The remix version received somewhat more positive comments for Lamar's verses, and it received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Although NME and PopMatters ranked "Bad Blood" among the best songs of 2015, critics have retrospectively considered it one of Swift's worst songs. The single reached number one in Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Scotland, and it received multi-platinum certifications in the first three countries.
The music video for "Bad Blood" was directed by Joseph Kahn and produced by Swift. Its ensemble cast consisting of Swift's fellow celebrities of singers, actresses, and fashion models received extensive media coverage. Several media outlets deemed its neo-noir visuals cinematic and futuristic. It won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video and MTV Video Music Awards for the Video of the Year and Best Collaboration. Swift included "Bad Blood" in the set lists for three of her world tours: the 1989 World Tour (2015), the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), and the Eras Tour (2023–2024). Following the 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded both the album version and the Lamar remix for her 2023 re-recorded album 1989 (Taylor's Version); both re-recorded versions are subtitled "Taylor's Version".
Background and release[edit]
Taylor Swift's fifth studio album, 1989, was inspired by 1980s synth-pop. The album's electronic production using synthesizers, programmed drums, and processed backing vocals marked a departure from the country styles of her previous releases.[1][2][3] On 1989, Swift and Swedish producer Max Martin served as executive producers.[2] Martin and his frequent collaborator Shellback produced seven out of thirteen songs on the album's standard edition, including "Bad Blood".[4] The album was released in October 2014 to commercial success, selling over one million copies within a week.[3]
"Bad Blood" was released as the fourth single from 1989.[5] The remix version featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar was released on May 17, 2015, for digital download by Big Machine Records.[6] The single release was supported by the premiere of its music video at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards.[7] "Bad Blood" impacted US contemporary hit radio on May 19, 2015, under Big Machine and Republic Records imprint.[8] The song was released to Italian contemporary hit radio on June 12, 2015, through Universal Music Group.[9][10]
Writing and composition[edit]
Swift wrote "Bad Blood" about an undisclosed female musician. She revealed in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone that this female peer, whom she had thought of as a close friend of hers, attempted to sabotage one of her concert tours by hiring people who worked for her.[11] Upon the release of 1989, various publications speculated that Katy Perry was the subject of the song; Perry and Swift were involved in a heavily publicized feud that received widespread media coverage.[12][13][14] Several publications including Time and The Washington Post noted parallels between the lyric "If you live like that, you live with ghosts" in "Bad Blood" and the title of "Ghost", a song from Perry's 2013 album Prism.[13][14] Some critics initially interpreted "Bad Blood" to be about lost romance, which is the central theme of 1989.[15] According to several media outlets, Perry's 2017 single "Swish Swish" is a diss track responding to "Bad Blood".[16][17][18]
"Bad Blood" was recorded by Sam Holland at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and by Michael Ilbert at MXM Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound Studio in New York.[4] It is a pop track featuring heavy, stomping drums. Jem Aswad of Billboard compared its stomping beats to those of Gwen Stefani's 2005 single "Hollaback Girl",[19] while The Observer's Kitty Empire likened the production to that of English singer Charli XCX.[20] The repeated chorus phrases, "Now we got bad blood / You know it used to be mad love," sung by Swift with tense vocals over surging keyboard tones.[21] Swift resents her former friend for having betrayed her, through lyrics such as "These kinda wounds, they last and they last," and "Band-aids don't fix bullet holes / You say sorry just for show."[22]
The single version incorporates elements of hip hop. It includes two verses written and performed by Lamar.[23][24] According to Britton Luke of NME, the revamped version resembles the production and structure of Rihanna's 2010 single "Rude Boy". Lamar finished his verses in a few takes with Swift during a studio session in Los Angeles, recalling that their collaboration went smoothly because "the vibe was right".[25] He told Rolling Stone in 2017 that he was unaware of the publicized feud between Swift and Perry, saying, "That's far beyond my concern. I have to stay away from that, for sure."[26] The remix saw additional production from Ilya Salmanzadeh, who incorporated a deeper bass.[24]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Bad Blood" first charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in November 2014 and January 2015 as an album cut from 1989, peaking at number 78.[43] Upon its single release, the remix version entered the Hot 100 at number 53 and the Digital Songs chart at number 26, selling 47,000 digital copies.[43] The following week, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated May 24, 2015, earning 385,000 digital copies in sales, 18.1 million streams, and 57 million radio impressions.[44] Jumping 52 positions to the number-one spot, it marked one of the largest jumps to the top in Billboard chart history.[44] "Bad Blood" was Swift's fourth Hot 100 number one and 1989's third, making Swift the first artist since Adele with her 2011 album 21 to yield three chart toppers from the same album.[44] It was Lamar's first number one and second top-10 entry.[44]
"Bad Blood" dropped to number two after spending a week at number one.[45] It spent five consecutive weeks at number two, blocked from the top by "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.[46] On Billboard's airplay charts, "Bad Blood" reached number one on the Pop Songs (Mainstream Top 40) chart, a pop-focused airplay chart, in its fifth charting week.[47] It was the fastest song to top the chart since Nelly's "Over and Over" (2004) featuring Tim McGraw, which spent three weeks before ascending to the number-one spot.[47] In the week ending July 12, 2015, "Bad Blood" broke the record for the most single-week plays in the Pop Songs chart's 22-year history, besting the previous record by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You Again".[5] The single additionally peaked atop the Adult Top 40 chart.[48] "Bad Blood" was the 10th-best-selling song of 2015 in the US, selling 2.584 million digital copies.[49] The single has been certified 6× Platinum, based on sales and on-demand streams, by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[50] By July 2019, it had sold 3.2 million digital copies in the US.[51]
The single also topped the charts in Australia,[52] Canada,[53] New Zealand,[54] Scotland [55] and Belgium. It peaked within the top five on charts of South Africa (two),[56] Lebanon (four),[57] and the United Kingdom (four).[58] The song also reach the top ten in Hungary, Finland and Ireland, top twenty in Spain, Japan, France and Mexico, top thirty in Czech Republic and Germany and top forty in New Zealand (solo version), Italy and Netherlands. "Bad Blood" has received multi-platinum certifications in Australia (8× Platinum)[59] and Canada (3× Platinum), platinum certification in the United Kingdom,[60] and gold in New Zealand.[61] In the United Kingdom, the single had sold 373,000 downloads as of July 2021.[62]
Accolades[edit]
"Bad Blood" was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and won Best Music Video at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in 2016.[77] At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video for "Bad Blood" received eight nominations and won two: Video of the Year and Best Collaboration.[78] The song was one of the awarded songs at the 2016 ASCAP Pop Music Awards[79] and the 2016 BMI Awards, where Swift became the first woman to win a prize named after its recipient, the Taylor Swift Award.[80]
The song received accolades at fan-voted awards such as Teen Choice Awards (including Choice Music - Collaboration),[81] MTV Europe Music Awards,[82] Radio Disney Music Awards,[83] and the Philippines' Myx Music Award.[84] It received nominations at the American Music Awards (for Collaboration of the Year),[85] People's Choice Awards,[86] Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards,[87] and iHeartRadio Music Awards.[88] Its music video won accolades at the UK Music Video Awards,[89] Mexico's Telehit Awards,[90] and France's NRJ Music Award.[91]