Fearless (Taylor Swift album)
Fearless is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Under Big Machine Records imprint, it was released in the U.S. and Canada on November 11, 2008, and elsewhere on March 9, 2009. Written predominantly by Swift while she was promoting her 2006 self-titled debut album in 2007–2008, Fearless features additional songwriting credits from Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey, Colbie Caillat, and John Rich. Swift wrote seven of the standard edition's 13 tracks by herself and, in her debut as a record producer, co-produced the album with Nathan Chapman.
For the 2021 re-recording, see Fearless (Taylor's Version).Fearless
Fearless is a country pop album whose composition incorporates country-associated instruments such as banjos, fiddles, mandolins, and acoustic guitars, that intertwine with dynamic electric guitars and strings. Music critics found the album to feature a crossover appeal brought by the influences of different styles of pop, folk, and rock. Inspired by Swift's teenage feelings, the lyrics explore themes of romance, heartache, and aspirations. The album's title refers to the overarching theme of all of its tracks, as they altogether depict Swift's courage to embrace the challenges of love.
After the release of Fearless, Swift embarked on the Fearless Tour, which ran from April 2009 to July 2010. The album was supported by five singles, including "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", which performed well and set records on both country and pop radio. In the U.S., Fearless spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard 200 and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It peaked in the top five of albums charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.K., and has sold 12 million copies worldwide.
Music critics lauded Swift's songwriting for offering radio-friendly tunes and an emotional engagement that appealed to not only teenagers but also a broad audience, although some deemed the production formulaic. The most-awarded country album of all time, Fearless won Album of the Year at both the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009, and it won Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the Grammy Awards in 2010. The album featured on Rolling Stone's 2022 list of the 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time. Following the 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she released a re-recording, Fearless (Taylor's Version), on April 9, 2021.
Background[edit]
Taylor Swift signed a publishing contract with Sony/ATV Tree Publishing in 2004 to become a songwriter;[1] at 14 years old, she became the youngest Sony/ATV signee in its history.[2] After signing a recording contract with Nashville-based Big Machine Records in 2005 to become a country music singer, Swift wrote songs with other Music Row songwriters and recorded her eponymous debut album with the producer Nathan Chapman for four months near the end of 2005.[3][4] Released on October 24, 2006, it was the longest-charting album on the U.S. Billboard 200 of the 2000s decade, and established Swift as one of country music's rising stars.[5][6] Its third single, "Our Song", made Swift the youngest person to single-handedly write and sing a number-one song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[7] Her success was rare for a female teenage artist, as country music had been dominated by mostly middle-aged male musicians.[8][9]
To promote Taylor Swift, Swift toured as the opening act for other country musicians, including Rascal Flatts and George Strait, during 2007–2008. While on tour, she continued writing songs for her follow-up album mostly by herself on the road, "at the concert venue ... a quiet place in some room at the venue, like the locker room".[10][11] In addition to self-penned material, Swift had songwriting sessions with Liz Rose, with whom she had largely collaborated on her first album.[12] She also wrote with the musician John Rich and the singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat.[13]
Composition[edit]
Lyrics[edit]
Like Swift's debut album, Fearless's prominent themes are love and life from a high school teenage girl's perspective.[15][29] The songs in Fearless examine those themes with a more nuanced and mature observation.[30] Swift embraced country music's narrative songwriting to convey her coming of age.[31][32] She wrote the track "Fifteen" during her freshman high school year in Hendersonville, Tennessee.[33] In the narrative, Swift and another girl named Abigail—her real-life high school friend—go through teenage love and heartbreak together.[30][34] As the song concludes, Swift realizes she could accomplish more than dating high school senior boys.[35] Music critics highlighted "Fifteen" as an example of Swift's songwriting about teenage themes, both with a starry-eyed innocence and a sense of nostalgia.[36][37][38]
Release and promotion[edit]
Packaging[edit]
Swift named the album Fearless inspired by the title track: "[Being] fearless doesn't mean you're completely unafraid and it doesn't mean that you're bulletproof. It means that you have a lot of fears, but you jump anyway."[70] All the songs on the album reflected her "fearless" attitude to embrace the hardships and challenges in love and life.[58][71] Swift was the booklet designer; Joseph Anthony Barker, Ash Newell, and Sheryl Nields were responsible for the photography; and Leen Ann Ramey designed the cover artwork.[21] The 13-track standard edition was released on November 11, 2008, by Big Machine Records.[72] An international edition, featuring three additional tracks—"Our Song", "Teardrops on My Guitar", and "Should've Said No"—was released on March 9, 2009, by Big Machine in partnership with Universal Music Group.[73]
Swift announced a reissue of Fearless, subtitled Platinum Edition, on September 10, 2009.[74] The reissue was released on October 26, 2009.[75] The Platinum Edition package includes a CD and a DVD; the CD features six additional songs—"Jump Then Fall", "Untouchable", "Forever & Always" (Piano Version), "Come in with the Rain", "SuperStar", and "The Other Side of the Door"—placed prior to the original tracks. The DVD comprises the music videos for "Change", "The Best Day", "Love Story", "White Horse", and "You Belong with Me"; behind-the-scenes footage for the latter three; behind-the-scene footage from the first concert of the Fearless Tour; and "Thug Story"—a video Swift filmed with rapper T-Pain exclusively for the 2009 CMT Music Awards.[74] "Untouchable" is a cover of rock band Luna Halo's 2007 song that had its lyrics and arrangement rewritten by Swift.[76]
Commercial performance[edit]
A commercial success in the U.S., Fearless set many chart records and catapulted Swift to mainstream prominence.[112] It spent 11 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, the longest run of the 2000s decade.[94][113] It holds the records for the most weeks at number one for a female country album[114] and the album with the most top-40 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 (13 including tracks from the Platinum Edition).[115][note 6] Five tracks peaked within the top 10: "Fearless", "Love Story", "You Belong with Me", "Change", and "Jump Then Fall"; Fearless was the first album since Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. (1984) to have five top-10 songs with none reaching number one.[116] On the Top Country Albums chart, Fearless spent 35 weeks at number one.[117] It became the female album with the second-longest weeks at number one on Top Country Albums, behind Shania Twain's Come On Over (1997, 50 weeks).[118]
With 3.217 million copies sold in the U.S. throughout 2009, Fearless was the year's best-selling album in the country. The achievement made Swift, then 20 years old, the youngest artist and the only female country musician to have a best-selling album of a calendar year.[119] It was the only album from the 2000s decade to spend its first full year in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and spent a total of 58 weeks in the top 10—a record for a country musician.[120][121] In December 2017, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Fearless Diamond in recognition of 10 million album-equivalent units based on sales and streams.[122] All singles were certified platinum or multi-platinum; the tracks "You're Not Sorry" and "Forever & Always" were certified platinum; and "Hey Stephen", "Breathe", "The Way I Loved You", "The Best Day", "Change", and "Jump Then Fall" were certified gold.[123] By January 2024, Fearless had sold 7.285 million copies in the U.S.[124]
Fearless's commercial success extended beyond the U.S. and marked Swift's international breakthrough.[125] In the wider English-speaking world, Fearless peaked atop the charts of Canada and New Zealand[126][127] and within the top five of Australia (number two),[128] Scotland (number four),[129] and the U.K. (number five).[130][131] It received multi-platinum certifications in Ireland and the U.K. (double platinum),[132][133] New Zealand (triple platinum),[134] Canada (four-times platinum),[135] and Australia (eight-times platinum).[136] The album reached the top 10 on charts in Japan,[137] and top 20 in Austria, Brazil, Germany, Greece, and Sweden.[138][139][140] It was awarded sales certifications across European and Asian markets, including gold certifications in Japan,[141] Germany,[142] Austria,[143] and Norway;[144] a platinum certification in Denmark;[145] a double-platinum certification in Singapore,[146] and a nine-times-platinum certification in the Philippines.[147] As of April 2021, the album had sold 12 million copies worldwide.[148]
Accolades[edit]
Fearless featured on 2008 year-end lists by the Associated Press (7th),[156] Blender (32nd),[157] Rolling Stone (39th),[158] and The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop (58th);[159] and 2009 year-end list by The Guardian (40th).[160] Jon Caramanica in The New York Times placed the album at number four on his list of 2008's best albums and called Swift "one of pop's finest songwriters".[161] The most awarded country-music album in history, Fearless won Album of the Year at both the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards and the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards in 2009.[162][163][164] It was awarded as the Top Selling Album by the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) twice in a row, in 2009 and 2010.[165] At the American Music Awards of 2009, Fearless won Favorite Country Album and was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album.[166][167] Its other accolades included a Teen Choice Award for Choice Female Album,[168] a Sirus XM Indie Award for International Album of the Year,[169] and a Juno Award nomination for International Album of the Year.[170]
At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in February 2010, Fearless won Album of the Year and Best Country Album.[171] The Album of the Year made Swift, then 20 years old, the youngest artist to win the award, a record she held until the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020, when Billie Eilish won Album of the Year at 18.[172] Swift is the second country-music artist to win the three highest awards for a country-music album by the ACM, the CMA, and the Grammys—after the Chicks with their 1999 album, Fly—and the first to further win the Grammy for Album of the Year for the same album.[173] "White Horse" won two Grammy Awards that year: Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song.[174]
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[198]
Notes:
Track-listing variants: