Shake It Off
"Shake It Off" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her fifth studio album, 1989. Swift wrote the lyrics and composed the melody with producers Max Martin and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Swift's public image, the lyrics are about her indifference to detractors and their negative remarks. An uptempo dance-pop song, it features a looping drum beat, a saxophone line, and a handclap-based bridge. Big Machine Records released "Shake It Off" on August 19, 2014, to market 1989 as Swift's first pop album after her previous country-styled releases.
For other uses, see Shake It Off (disambiguation)."Shake It Off"
August 19, 2014
2013–2014
- MXM (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Conway Recording (Los Angeles)
3:39
- Taylor Swift
- Max Martin
- Shellback
- Max Martin
- Shellback
Music critics praised the song's dance-pop production as catchy, but some found the lyrics weak. Retrospectively, critics have considered "Shake It Off" an effective opener for 1989 to transform Swift's image from country to pop. The song featured on 2010s-decade-end lists by NME and Consequence. "Shake It Off" topped charts in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Mexico, New Zealand, and Poland, and it received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the single peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and received a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Mark Romanek directed the music video for "Shake It Off", which portrays Swift as a clumsy person unsuccessfully attempting several dance moves. It attracted accusations of cultural appropriation for featuring dances associated with people of color such as twerking. Swift performed the song at awards shows and music festivals, and she included it 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). "Shake It Off" won accolades including a Favorite Song win at the People's Choice Awards and three nominations at the Grammy Awards. Following the 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song as "Shake It Off (Taylor's Version)" for her 2023 re-recorded album 1989 (Taylor's Version).
Background[edit]
Taylor Swift had been known as a primarily country singer-songwriter until her fourth studio album Red (released in October 2012),[1] which incorporates various pop and rock styles, transcending the country sound of her previous releases.[2] The collaborations with Swedish pop producers Max Martin and Shellback introduced straightforward pop hooks and new genres, including electronic and dubstep, to Swift's discography.[3][4] Swift and her label, Big Machine, promoted it as a country album.[5] The album's diverse musical styles sparked a media debate over her status as a country artist, to which she replied in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, "I leave the genre labeling to other people."[6] Swift began recording her fifth studio album, 1989, while touring to support Red in mid-2013.[7] Inspired by 1980s synth-pop, she conceived 1989 as her first "official pop" record that would transform her image from country to pop.[8][9] Martin and Shellback produced seven out of thirteen tracks for the album's standard edition, including "Shake It Off".[10]
Music and lyrics[edit]
Swift wrote the lyrics to "Shake It Off" and composed the song's melody with Martin and Shellback.[11] It was the last song recorded for 1989.[12] The track was recorded by Sam Holland at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles and by Michael Ilbert at MXM Studios in Stockholm, Sweden.[10] It was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound Studio in New York City.[10]
Musically, "Shake It Off" is an uptempo dance-pop song that incorporates a saxophone line.[13][14] Jonas Thander, the song's saxophone player, based his part on Martin's pre-recorded MIDI horn sample, using a tenor horn.[15] It took Thander over ten hours to edit the saxophone part, which he completed over the following day.[15] "Shake It Off" follows a ii–IV–I chord progression; it employs a verse–prechorus–chorus form to begin with a loose verse, tighten for the prechorus, and loosen again for the chorus.[16] The song's upbeat production is accompanied by a looping drum beat, a handclap-based bridge, and synthesized saxophones.[17][18]
The lyrics of the song were inspired by the media scrutiny that Swift had experienced during her rise to stardom.[19] In an interview with Rolling Stone in August 2014, Swift said about the song's inspiration: "I've had every part of my life dissected ... When you live your life under that kind of scrutiny, you can either let it break you, or you can get really good at dodging punches. And when one lands, you know how to deal with it. And I guess the way that I deal with it is to shake it off."[20] Discussing the song's message with NPR in October 2014, Swift said that "Shake It Off" represented her more mature perspectives from her previous single "Mean" (2010), which was also inspired by her detractors.[21] According to Swift, if "Mean" was where she assumed victimhood, "Shake It Off" found her in a proactive stance to "take back the narrative, and have ... a sense of humor about people who kind of get under [her] skin – and not let them get under [her] skin".[21]
In the first verse of the song, Swift references her perceived image as a flirtatious woman with numerous romantic attachments: "I go on too many dates / But I can't make 'em stay / At least that's what people say."[22][23] The lines in the chorus are arranged rhythmically to produce a catchy hook: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate / Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake."[23][24] The spoken-word bridge opens with Swift asserting that the "dirty cheats of the world ... could have been getting down to this sick beat".[25][26] The lyric "this sick beat" is trademarked to Swift by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.[27]
Release[edit]
On August 13, 2014, Swift appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she announced she would hold a live stream via Yahoo! on August 18, 2014.[28][29] During the live stream, Swift announced the details of the album 1989. She debuted "Shake It Off" as the album's lead single and premiered the song's music video simultaneously.[30] "Shake It Off" was released digitally worldwide by Big Machine on August 19.[31] The same day, Big Machine, in partnership with Republic Records, released the song to US radio.[32] A limited CD single edition was available on September 11.[33] In Europe, "Shake It Off" was added to a BBC Radio playlist on August 25,[34] Italian radio on August 29,[35] and was released as a CD single in Germany on October 10.[36]
The release of "Shake It Off" and its parent album 1989 had been highly anticipated, given Swift's announcement that she would abandon her country roots to release an "official pop" album.[23] The magazine Drowned in Sound described the single as "undoubtedly ... the most significant cultural event" since Radiohead's 2011 album The King of Limbs.[17] While noting that "Shake It Off" was not Swift's first "straight-up pop" song, Billboard's Jason Lipshutz considered it a sign of a "bold foray into the unknown", in which Swift could experiment beyond her well-known formulaic country pop songs that had been critically and commercially successful.[9]
Critical reception[edit]
"Shake It Off" received mixed reviews from music critics.[37] While some deemed the production catchy, others found the song repetitive and lacking substance compared to Swift's previous album Red, which was perceived to be her artistic peak.[38][26] Critic Randall Roberts from the Los Angeles Times's lauded the song's energetic production, which they described as "perfect pop confection". Roberts, however, found the lyrics shallow, calling the song insensible to the political events at the time: "When lives are at stake and nothing seems more relevant than getting to the Actual Truth, liars and cheats can't and shouldn't be shaken off."[25]
The Guardian's Molly Fitzpatrick lauded the song's music, but felt that the lyrics fell short of Swift's songwriting abilities.[39] Giving the song a three-out-of-five-stars score, Jeff Terich from American Songwriter regarded Swift's new direction as "a left-turn worth following". While Terich agreed that the lyrics were dismissive, he felt that critics should not have taken the song seriously because it was "pretty harmless".[18] In a positive review, Jason Lipshutz from Billboard wrote, "Swift proves why she belongs among pop's queen bees ... the song sounds like a surefire hit."[40] In a review of the album 1989, Alexis Petridis praised the lyrics for "twisting clichés until they sound original".[41] In the words of Andrew Unterberger from Spin, while "Shake It Off" was musically a "red herring" that feels out of place on the album, it thematically represents Swift's new attitude on 1989, where she liberated herself from overtly romantic struggles to embrace positivity.[42] Swift herself acknowledged the song as an outlier on 1989, and deliberately released it as the lead single to encourage audiences to explore the entire album and not just the singles.[43]
Retrospectively, Hannah Mylrea from NME considered "Shake It Off" an effective opener for Swift's 1989 era, which transformed her image to mainstream pop.[44] While saying that "Shake It Off" was not one of the album's better songs, Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone applauded it for "serving as a trailer to announce her daring Eighties synth-pop makeover".[45] Nate Jones from Vulture agreed, but described the song's bridge as "the worst 24 seconds of the entire album".[26] In his 2019 ranking of Swift's singles, Alexis Petridis ranked "Shake It Off" third—behind "Blank Space" (2014) and "Love Story" (2008), lauding its "irresistible" hook and "sharp-tongued wit".[46] Jane Song from Paste was less enthusiastic, placing "Shake It Off" among Swift's worst songs in her catalog, writing: "Swift has a pattern of choosing the worst song from each album as the lead single."[47]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Shake It Off" gained an audience of nine million on US airplay after one day of release to radio[48] and debuted at number 45 on Radio Songs after two days of release.[49] After its first week of release, the single debuted at number nine on Adult Top 40 and number 12 on Pop Songs, setting the record for the highest debut on both charts.[50] On the Pop Songs chart, it tied with Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover" (1993) for the highest first-week chart entry.[50] Although not officially released to country radio, the single debuted and peaked at number 58 on Country Airplay.[51]
"Shake It Off" debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated September 6, 2014, the 22nd song to do so.[52] After two consecutive weeks at number one, it dropped to number two, where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks.[53] "Shake It Off" returned to number one in its tenth charting week, and spent a further week at number one, totaling four non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100.[54] It also topped Billboard airplay-focused charts including Pop Songs, Adult Top 40, and Adult Contemporary.[55] The song sold 3.43 million digital copies in 2014 in the United States.[56] "Shake It Off" was one of the best-selling singles of the 2010s decade in the United States, selling 5.4 million digital copies as of January 2020.[57] As of October 2023, the single remains Swift's biggest chart success on the Hot 100, where it spent nearly six months in the top ten and 50 weeks in the top 100.[58][59] The song was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which denotes 10 million units.[60] With this achievement, Swift is the first female artist to have both a song and an album (Fearless) certified Diamond in the United States.[61]
"Shake It Off" also topped the charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia (eighteen-times platinum),[62] Canada (six-times platinum),[63] and New Zealand (five-times platinum).[64] In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart[65] and was certified four-times platinum to become Swift's best-selling single.[66] In Japan, "Shake It Off" peaked at number four on the Japan Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum.[67] The single also topped record charts in Hungary and Poland,[68] and it was a top-five hit in other European countries, peaking at number two in Spain;[69] number three in Ireland,[70] Norway[71] and Sweden;[72] number four in Denmark[73] and Israel;[74] and number five in Germany[75] and the Netherlands.[76]
Accolades[edit]
"Shake It Off" appeared on many publications' lists of the best songs of 2014. It featured in the top ten on lists by Time Out (third),[91] PopMatters (fourth),[92] The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll (fourth),[93] and Consequence (eighth).[94] The track featured on 2014 year-end lists by Drowned in Sound (14th),[95] Dagsavisen (16th),[96] and NME (27th).[97] It was ranked by NME and Consequence as the 19th and 38th best song of the 2010s decade, respectively.[98][99] USA Today listed "Shake It Off" as one of the ten songs that defined the 2010s.[100]
"Shake It Off" has received many industry awards and nominations. It was honored by the 2015 Nashville Songwriters Association International, where Swift was the Songwriter of the Year.[101][102] The song received an award at the 2016 BMI Pop Awards, where Swift also earned the distinction of Songwriter of the Year.[103] At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015, "Shake It Off" was nominated in three categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, (both categories lost to "Stay with Me" by Sam Smith) and Best Pop Solo Performance but lost to "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.[104]
At the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, "Shake It Off" received three nominations, winning Top Streaming Song (Video).[105] "Shake It Off" won Song of the Year at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards,[106] Favorite International Video at the 2015 Myx Music Awards (Philippines),[107] and Favorite Song at the 2015 People's Choice Awards.[108] The song was nominated for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards,[109] Teen Choice Awards,[110] Rockbjörnen Awards (Sweden),[111] Radio Disney Music Awards,[112] and Los Premios 40 Principales (Spain).[113]
Controversies[edit]
2014 Triple J Hottest 100[edit]
Following a January 13, 2015, article on BuzzFeed titled "Why Isn't Everyone Voting For 'Shake It Off' In The Hottest 100?", the #Tay4Hottest100 hashtag campaign on social media emerged during the voting period for the Triple J Hottest 100, an annual poll selecting the 100 most prominent songs by Australian radio station Triple J.[136] The campaign led to a significant amount of media coverage as Australian music fans debated the merits of Swift's inclusion in the poll.[137][138] One criterion for eligibility is being played on air by Triple J at least once in 2014; Swift's "Shake It Off" did not receive airplay, but a cover of the song by the folk group Milky Chance did.[139] According to those critical of the campaign, the Hottest 100 is reserved for non-mainstream artists who were "discovered or fostered by Triple J" and provides valuable exposure for artists in the outer circles of the music industry.[140][141] Those defending the campaign criticized Triple J's practice of favoring "masculine 'rockist'" and "alternative" artists for perpetuating cultural elitism and sexism.[137][141] Guardian Australia's Elle Hunt wrote, "the virulent response to #Tay4Hottest100 has revealed the persistence of a dichotomy I'd thought we'd thrown out long ago: that of high art versus low."[142]
On January 20, 2015, Guardian Australia submitted a freedom of information request to the ABC in regard to the station's response to the campaign and the eligibility of "Shake It Off" for the Hottest 100 contest.[143] Triple J's manager Chris Scaddan told the website Tone Deaf: "We don't comment on voting campaigns while Hottest 100 voting is open. It draws attention to them and may influence the results of the poll."[144] On January 23, The Sydney Morning Herald citing University of Queensland reported that the #Tay4Hottest100 campaign had overwhelmed the Hottest 100 for 2014—over 7,341 Hottest 100 posts over the past 30 days related to Swift, compared to 230 related to Chet Faker, the current leader of the contest.[145] "Shake It Off" was eventually disqualified by Triple J on January 26, 2015.[146] In the announcement, Triple J acknowledged Swift's music and career but highlighted that her entry—which had not received airtime—would not reflect their spirit.[137] They subsequently introduced two new rules that prohibited "trolling the poll"-type campaigns for the proceeding Hottest 100 polls.[147]
Glen Fuller, a scholar in communications, described the #Tay4Hottest100 campaign as an example of "connective action" in the age of social media.[141] As noted by Fuller, the emergence of personalized "action frames" expressing personal viewpoints intertwining with a larger framework of information created by media publications resulted in fragmented arguments that failed to result in a definite outcome.[148]
Lawsuits[edit]
In November 2015, Jessie Braham, an R&B singer known by the stage name Jesse Graham, claimed that Swift plagiarized his 2013 song "Haters Gonna Hate", citing his lyrics "Haters gone hate, playas gone play. Watch out for them fakers, they'll fake you everyday."[149] He stated that Swift's "hook is the same as mine" and that there would be no "Shake It Off" if he "hadn't written 'Haters Gonna Hate' ".[150] In the lawsuit, he alleged that 92% of Swift's "Shake It Off" came from his song, and demanded $42 million in damages from Swift and the distributor Sony.[151] On November 12, 2015, the lawsuit was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Gail Standish, who ruled that Braham did not have enough factual evidence but could file a new complaint "if his lawsuit deficiencies are corrected".[151] Standish quoted lyrics from Swift's songs "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "Bad Blood", "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off":
In September 2017, songwriters Sean "Sep" Hall and Nate Butler sued Swift for copyright infringement. They alleged that the lyrics of "Shake It Off" plagiarized those of "Playas Gon' Play" (2001), a song they wrote for girl group 3LW, citing their lyrics, "Playas they gon' play, and haters they gonna hate / Ballers they gon' ball, shot callers they gonna call."[153] U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, in February 2018, dismissed the case on the grounds that the lyrics in question were too "banal" to be copyrighted;[154] but U.S. Circuit Judges John B. Owens, Andrew D. Hurwitz, and Kenneth K. Lee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in October 2019, reversed the ruling, holding that the district court had "constituted itself as the final judge of the worth of an expressive work", and sent the case back to the district court.[155]
Swift's legal team filed new documents for dismissal of the suit in July 2020,[156] and in July 2021, filed for a summary judgment, arguing that the discovery phase of the lawsuit has turned up evidence in their favor.[157] On December 9, 2021, Fitzgerald refused Swift's request for a summary judgement.[158] Swift's legal team filed a second motion to dismiss the case on December 23, claiming the Fitzgerald's ruling was "unprecedented and cheats the public domain" if the plaintiffs could sue everyone who uses the phrases in any songwriting, singing or says it publicly.[159] On January 14, 2022, Hall and Butler's legal team filed a response stating, "The rules simply do not provide defendants with vehicles for rehashing old arguments and are not intended to give an unhappy litigant one additional chance to sway the judge."[160] On December 12, 2022, the lawsuit was dropped with no final verdict.[161]
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of 1989.[10]
"Shake It Off (Taylor's Version)"
October 27, 2023
Prime Recording (Nashville)
3:39
- Taylor Swift
- Max Martin
- Shellback
- Taylor Swift
- Christopher Rowe