Fortnight (song)
"Fortnight" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift featuring the American rapper and singer Post Malone. The two artists wrote the track with Jack Antonoff, who produced it with Swift. Republic Records released the song as the lead single from Swift's eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19, 2024, concurrently with its release. A music video for "Fortnight", directed by Swift, was released the following day.
For the Polo G song, see Hall of Fame 2.0."Fortnight"
A downtempo electropop and synth-pop song, "Fortnight" is instrumented by a pulsing synth bassline. Its lyrics see Swift's character in an unhappy marriage and becoming next-door neighbors with an ex-lover who is also married. Music critics were divided on the song; some critics praised Malone's guest appearance, but others deemed "Fortnight" uninventive for Swift's artistry.
Background and release[edit]
Following the announcement of The Tortured Poets Department during Swift's Grammy speech on February 5, 2024, she revealed "Fortnight" as the opening track of the tracklist shortly thereafter. The rapper and singer Post Malone was announced as the track's guest feature.[1] The following day, he took to his Instagram to share his excitement about the release and the collaboration.[2] During an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, the singer complimented Swift and described her as "amazing" and "talented". According to him, Swift initiated the collaboration by simply "hitting him up". He then "rolled in the studio" and hung out with her, having a "good day" together.[3] At the time of the interview, Malone revealed that he had not heard the full song yet.[4] The track was released as the lead single from the album on April 19, 2024.[5]
Music and lyrics[edit]
"Fortnight" is an 1980s-influenced downtempo electropop[6] and synth-pop track[7] that is instrumented by a pulsing synth bassline and a subtle electronic production.[8] Some critics opined that "Fortnight" was stylistically similar to the music of Swift's 2022 album Midnights.[9][10][11] Clash's Lauren Webb wrote that the track had a 1980s power ballad sensibility reminiscent of such artists as Roxette, Cutting Crew, and Phil Collins.[7] Writing for Billboard, Jason Lipshutz observed how "Swift sings in a dulled monotone that flares up with the stabs of emotion" in the verses before Malone "swirls around her upon arrival" in the bridge.[12]
The lyrics are about a woman's account of how she becomes a neighbor of an ex-lover, who is now married to another woman, while she herself is unhappily married.[6][13] That she lives next-door to her ex-lover makes her fantasize about killing the wife ("Your wife waters the flowers/ I want to kill her").[14] After the second verse, during the double chorus, Swift's character finds out about her husband's fidelity ("My husband is cheating/ I wanna kill him").[14] By the end, Malone's character, representing the ex-lover of Swift's character, sings about moving to Florida ("Thought of callin' ya, but you won't pick up/ 'Nother fortnight lost in America/ Move to Florida, buy the car you want/ But it won't start up till you touch, touch, touch me").[14]
In American Songwriter, Thom Donovan summed up the storyline as "a former love affair turning into a suburban nightmare".[14] Helen Brown of The Independent suggested that the lyrics were autobiographical.[15] Consequence's Mary Siroky opined that the lyrics had a heavy "air of death" ("I want to kill him"),[16] while USA Today's Melissa Ruggeri thought that they were "darkly funny" ("I was a functioning alcoholic 'til nobody noticed my new aesthetic").[17] In an album premiere special with iHeartRadio, Swift shared that the single "really exhibits a lot of the common themes that run throughout [the album]", including "fatalism, longing, pining away, lost dreams".[18] Pitchfork's Shaad D'Souza suggested that the lyrics were in part autobiographical but also fictional, evoking the songwriting of Swift's 2020 album Folklore.[19]
Critical reception[edit]
"Fortnight" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Alli Rosenbloom of CNN described "Fortnight" as a "dynamic first track" and "perhaps the album's catchiest", praising how Swift's and Malone's vocals go well together.[20] Mesfin Fekadu of The Hollywood Reporter also picked it as an album highlight.[11] In the Irish Independent, John Meagher opined that Malone's guest appearance was restrained compared to his usual tendency for "melodramatic performances", and the result turned out to be "all the better".[21] Ed Power in The Daily Telegraph wrote: "His breathy singing voice dovetails surprisingly with Swift's angsty coo."[22] Lipshutz ranked "Fortnight" fifth out of the 31 tracks on the double album edition of The Tortured Poets Department, praising how Malone's appearance suits well with Swift's vocals and gives the bridge "subtle power and hangdog charm".[12]
In less enthusiastic reviews, Callie Ahlgrim of Business Insider and Laura Molloy of NME deemed "Fortnight" uninventive for Swift's artistry, arguing that its sound is too similar to Antonoff and Swift's previous collaborations.[23][24] Variety's Chris Willman regarded the single as a good choice for pop radio, but he contended that it was "not much of an indication of the more visceral, obsessive stuff" for the album's remainder.[9] Paste criticized the song as "a heady vat of pop nothingness".[25]
Commercial performance[edit]
On the day of its release, "Fortnight" set the single-day streaming record for any song on Spotify, surpassing the all-time peak previously held by Mariah Carey's song "All I Want For Christmas Is You" (1994).[31]