We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her fourth studio album, Red (2012). Big Machine Records released the song for download and to U.S. pop radio on August 13, 2012. Written and produced by Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is an upbeat incorporation of many pop styles. Its production contains pulsing synthesizers, processed guitar riffs, bass drums, and a spoken-word bridge. Its lyrics express Swift's frustration with an ex-lover who wants to rekindle their relationship. An alternate version was released to U.S. country radio on August 21, 2012.
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
August 13, 2012
- Conway Recording (Los Angeles)
- MXM (Stockholm)
3:12
- Taylor Swift
- Max Martin
- Shellback
- Max Martin
- Shellback
- Taylor Swift[note 1]
Music critics praised the track for its catchy melody and radio-friendly sound, though some described its lyrics as subpar for Swift's songwriting abilities. The song appeared in year-end lists by Rolling Stone, Time, and The Village Voice. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" peaked atop the charts in Canada and New Zealand, and reached the top five in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, and the U.K. On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the single debuted at number 72 and rose to number one the following week, registering one of the biggest single-week jumps in chart history. The single spent a record-breaking nine consecutive weeks topping the Hot Country Songs chart and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the U.S.
The music video for the song was released on August 30, 2012. The accolades that "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" received include a Billboard Music Award for Top Country Song, a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year, a CMT Music Award nomination for Best Music Video, and a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Song. Swift included the song on the set lists of four of her world tours: the Red Tour (2013–14), the 1989 World Tour (2015), Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), and the Eras Tour (2023–2024). A re-recorded version of the song is featured on Red (Taylor's Version), Swift's 2021 re-recording of her 2012 album.
Background and release[edit]
After writing Speak Now (2010) entirely solo, Swift opted to collaborate with different songwriters and producers for Red. Thus, she called Max Martin and Shellback, two songwriters and producers whose work she admired, to discuss a possible collaboration. The trio conceived the concept for "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" shortly after a friend of Swift's ex-boyfriend walked into the recording studio and spoke of rumors he heard that Swift and her former flame were reuniting. After the friend left, Martin and Shellback asked Swift to elaborate on the details of the relationship, which she described as "break up, get back together, break up, get back together, just, ugh, the worst". When Martin suggested that they write about the incident, Swift began playing the guitar and singing, "We are never ever......", and the song flowed rapidly afterwards. She described the process as one of the most humorous experiences she had while recording, and said the musical partners matched her expectations. An audio clip of her sarcastically speaking about breakups can be heard before the final chorus.[2]
The single was the lead single from Red.[3] Swift premiered the single on August 13, 2012, during a live chat on Google+[4] with the song released on Google Play that day[5] for digital download and to iTunes and Amazon.com the next day, August 14.[6][7] A lyric video also premiered on Swift's official Vevo that same day.[8] The song was released to Adult Contemporary radio stations on August 13, 2012[9] and to mainstream radio stations the next day.[10] The song was released to country radio on August 21, 2012.[11] The music video for the song premiered on August 30, 2012.[12] A limited edition individually numbered CD single was released to Swift's official store and Amazon.com on September 4, 2012. The limited edition CD single was packaged with a "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" T-shirt and backpack.[13] The CD single was also available for individual purchase.[14] The CD single was released exclusively to US Walmart stores the same day.[15]
Composition and lyrics[edit]
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is three minutes and 12 seconds long.[5] Swift wrote and produced the song with Max Martin and Shellback. Written in the key of E-flat minor, it has a common time signature and a tempo of 86 beats per minute, with Swift's vocals spanning from G3 to D5.[16] The production features prominent electronic elements—pulsing synthesizers, processed vocals, and a drum machine, alongside acoustic instruments of guitars and banjo.[17][18] Musicologist James E. Perone noted that Swift's vocals on "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" are both robotic and humane, thanks to the balance between processed vocals during most of the verses and unprocessed vocals at the end of each refrain as well as in the bridge and the spoken interlude.[19] The alternate version released to country radio incorporates a softer production.[18]
In contemporary reviews, critics found "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" an incorporation of many pop-music styles. Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine and Spin described it as bubblegum pop,[20][21] and AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine categorized the song as dance-pop.[22] Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly called it "a sublime explosion of Euro-pop glee".[23] James Lancho, reviewing Red for The Daily Telegraph, called the song "sassy pop-rock in the mould of Katy Perry",[24] and Marc Hogan of Spin deemed the single "saucy electro-pop".[25] Steve Hyden, reflecting on the single in a 2021 article for The New York Times, characterized the song as electro-folk.[26] Perone noticed influences of hip hop on the thumping bass drum, and commented that "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is a musically flexible track, in that its song structure and melodic qualities resemble a conventional country song, but with modern influences of contemporary music that make it adaptable to many different genres.[19]
The lyrics are about a protagonist's frustration over an ex-boyfriend who wants to rekindle their relationship. At one point, Swift sings, "And you would hide away and find your peace of mind/ With some indie record that's much cooler than mine," deriding the ex-boyfriend's pretentious music taste while referencing her own profession as a musical artist.[26] Swift said that the cited lyrics were the song's most important detail because they reveal her real-life ex-boyfriend's judgment of her music, "It was a relationship where I felt very critiqued and subpar. He'd listen to this music that nobody had heard of ... but as soon as anyone else liked this band, he'd drop them."[27] To this extent, she wrote "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" in hopes of commercial success to spite the ex-boyfriend, "Not only would it hopefully be played a lot, so that he'd have to hear it, but [also] it's the opposite of the kind of music that he was trying to make me feel inferior to."[27]
Music video[edit]
Background and release[edit]
A music video for the song premiered on CMT, MTV and TeenNick on August 30, 2012, at 7:49 pm Eastern time, and later on MTV.com, CMT.com, and VH1.com the same day at 8:00 pm Eastern time. The video is directed by Declan Whitebloom, with whom Swift has worked on the music videos for both "Mean" and "Ours".[12] The video was shot like a pop-up book using a Sony F65 CineAlta camera with Leica 25 mm Summilux-C lens in one continuous shot with no editing, and features five sets and Swift in as many outfits.[119] It is also the first music video to be featured in 4K resolution.[120] According to Swift, she wanted the video to be as "quirky as the song sounds" and stated that "There's just knitting everywhere; there's just random woodland creatures popping up."[41] Prior to the video's release, a fourteen-second preview was released by CMT on their official YouTube on August 30, 2012.[121] As of February 2024, it has over 760 million views on YouTube.[122]
Synopsis[edit]
The video, which is done as one continuous shot,[123] begins with Swift in colorful pajamas recounting the events of her off and on again relationship with her ex-boyfriend (played by Noah Mills). The video then segues into Swift going into her living room where her band is dressed up in animal costumes and Swift belts out the chorus of the song. The video then goes to a TV where Swift says "Like, ever." and then to the dining room where we see she returns to recounting the events of her relationship and receives a phone call from her ex who is calling her from a nightclub. Swift hangs up on him and he walks off the screen into the nightclub. It then goes to the two in a truck having an argument and then to them having a stroll in the park. Swift then runs off and we see her on the phone telling the person on the other line how she and her ex are not getting back together and her frustration with their entire relationship. The video then segues back to Swift's living room where a party is going on and her ex shows up unannounced trying to woo her back and she slams the door in his face. The video ends with Swift on her window ledge where she was at the beginning of the video, singing the last line of the song.[124]
Reception[edit]
James Montgomery of MTV praised the video stating that the video is "truly a treat to watch".[125] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News comment on the video was that "[Swift's] tone and demeanor in the clip is conversational and sarcastic, ideally suited to simulating intimacy with her massive teen girl fan-base."[126] Carl Williott of Idolator commented on the video's content and stated "what more could you ask for in a visual for a #1 pop smash?"[127] Rolling Stone called it "flinging strong-willed sass".[128] David Greenwald of Billboard stated that the video "is a quirky celebration that finds Swift singing and dancing with band members in animal costumes in between relationship flashbacks – all filmed in an elaborate long shot. Swift wears large glasses and a pair of printed pajamas as she shrugs off her not-so-nice ex-boyfriend, a scruffy, seemingly older musician-type with a penchant for drama."[129]