Willow (song)
"Willow" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). It was released on December 11, 2020, by Republic Records as the lead single from the album. "Willow" is a chamber folk love song making use of several metaphors to convey the singer's romantic state of mind, such as portraying her life as a willow tree, over picked guitars, glockenspiel, flute, strings, and percussion.
This article is about the Taylor Swift song. For other songs, see Willow (disambiguation) § Songs."Willow"
Swift penned the song's lyrics upon hearing an instrumental composition by the song's producer Aaron Dessner. She compared the song's overarching motif to casting a love spell. An accompanying music video, directed by Swift, premiered the same day as the song's release. The video is a continuation of the storyline from her preceding video for "Cardigan" (2020), showing a golden thread that guides the singer through a mystical saga and leads her to her fated lover. It received widespread critical acclaim from music critics and audiences alike, with particular praise for its romantic lyricism and guitar-centric sound.
"Willow" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, scoring Swift her seventh number-one song in the United States, third number-one debut,[note 1] and second chart-topper in 2020 after "Cardigan"; simultaneously, Evermore opened at number-one on the Billboard 200, making Swift the first act in history to debut atop both the charts in the same week on two occasions, following Folklore and "Cardigan". "Willow" further topped Billboard's Hot Alternative Songs, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Digital Song Sales, and Adult Pop Songs charts. The song also reached number one in Australia, Canada, and Singapore, and the top 10 in Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Swift performed "Willow" live for the first time at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, which was described by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest Grammy performances of all time. The music video of "Willow" earned three nominations at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.
Background and release[edit]
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift launched her eighth studio album, Folklore, in July 2020. After its release, the album's co-producer Aaron Dessner casually composed an instrumental track "Westerly", named after the location of Swift's Rhode Island home. An hour later, Swift wrote "Willow" to the track and sent him back the finished song.[2] "Willow" was a surprise release made available on December 11, 2020, alongside Swift's second surprise album, Evermore, as its lead single.[3] The song was written by Swift and Dessner, who also produced the track. Dessner programmed the track and played drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, piano, and electric, bass, and acoustic guitars. The orchestration was provided by Bryce Dessner. Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone mastered the track at Sterling Sound, Edgewater, New Jersey, while Jonathan Low mixed it at Long Pond Studios in Hudson Valley, New York.[4]
On December 13, 2020, Swift's 31st birthday, an electronic "Dancing Witch" version of "Willow" was released, remixed by Swedish producer Elvira Anderfjärd. It was followed by an acoustic "Lonely Witch" version on December 14, and a synth-driven "Moonlit Witch" version on December 15.[5][6][7] A video for the "Lonely Witch" version, featuring behind-the-scenes pictures from the "Willow" music video, and a video for the "Dancing Witch" version, featuring the storyboards of the "Willow" music video, were uploaded to Swift's YouTube channel on December 15, 2020.[8][9] "Willow (90's trend remix)", an electronic remix of the song, was released as part of the Evermore fan edition, which was available for digital download on June 3, 2021.[10][11] The remix was later independently released onto digital download and streaming services on June 14.[12]
Critical reception[edit]
Patrick Ryan of USA Today named "Willow" as a lyrical standout on Evermore.[24] In his album review for The New York Times, Jon Pareles complimented the song's "restlessly intertwined guitar picking" as one of Evermore's numerous musical flourishes.[25] Paste critic Ellen Johnson commended the song as a "graceful opener" to Evermore,[26] while Bobby Olivier of Spin called it an earworm suited for beach bonfires.[27] Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis opined that "Willow" could easily function as a "pop banger" if synthesizers, auto-tune and programmed beats replaced its "tasteful" acoustic arrangement.[28] Variety's Chris Willman wrote that the song represents Swift's state of mind, and deemed it a cousin to "Invisible String" and "Peace", the eleventh and fifteenth tracks on Folklore (2020), respectively.[29] Insider writers Courteney Larocca and Callie Ahlgrim lauded "Willow"; Ahlgrim admired the song's chorus and lyrics that can easily convey "deeply tangled" human emotions, while Larocca thought that the song resumes Swift's "dreamland" trope from "The Lakes" (2020), the final track on Folklore.[23] Rolling Stone named "Willow" one of 2020's best pop collaborations, praising the pairing between Swift and producer Dessner.[30]
Commercial performance[edit]
Debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, "Willow" scored Swift her seventh number-one single in the US.[note 2] It made her the first artist in history to debut an album and a single at number one simultaneously on two occasions, previously achieving it with Folklore and "Cardigan" (2020). "Willow" was Swift's third number-one debut on the Hot 100, after "Shake It Off" (2014) and "Cardigan". The song became Swift's 29th top-10 hit on the Hot 100, surpassing Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder as the artist with the sixth most top-10 entries in the chart's history, and extended her female record for the most debuts in the top-10, with 19.[31] "Willow" collected 30 million streams, 12.3 million radio impressions, and 59,000 digital sales in its first week.[31] On the chart dated January 2, 2021, it descended to number 38 on the Hot 100, breaking the record for the biggest fall from the number-one spot at that time.[32]
"Willow" also debuted atop the Billboard Digital Songs chart, furthering her record for the most number-one tracks on the chart, with 21.[31] The song also topped the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, followed by 13 other Evermore tracks, giving Swift her second number-one song on the chart after "Cardigan". On the Billboard Hot Alternative Songs chart, Swift claimed 16 spots led by "Willow", besting Machine Gun Kelly's 12 simultaneous entries. Additionally, the song topped Billboard Alternative Streaming Songs and Alternative Digital Song Sales.[33] Four months after its release, "Willow" topped the Billboard Adult Top 40 airplay chart dated April 21, 2021. It marked Swift's eighth number-one single on the chart and her first since "Delicate" (2018), tying her with Katy Perry for the third-most leaders on the chart.[34] It spent three weeks atop it.[35]
In Canada, "Willow" arrived at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, generating Swift's seventh number-one hit in the country.[36] On the UK Singles Chart, "Willow" arrived at number three, shifting 35,183 units in its opening week;[37] it was blocked from the top spot by two Christmas songs. The song marked Swift's eleventh top-five hit in the country. "Willow", along with fellow Evermore tracks "Champagne Problems" (number 15) and "No Body, No Crime" (number 19), increased Swift's total top-20 entries in the country to 21.[38] Similarly, "Willow" landed at number three on Irish Singles Chart, alongside tracks "Champagne Problems" and "No Body, No Crime" at numbers six and 11, respectively, increasing Swift's total amount of Irish top-50 hits to 38.[39]
In Australia, Swift achieved a "Chart Double" by topping both albums and singles charts at the same time. "Willow" opened atop the ARIA Singles Chart, garnering the singer her seventh Australian number-one hit, and the second in 2020 following "Cardigan".[40] In New Zealand, "Willow" debuted at number three on the Top 40 Singles chart, with Evermore tracks "Champagne Problems", "No Body, No Crime" and "Gold Rush" landing at numbers 24, 29 and 34, respectively.[41] On Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, "Willow" peaked at numbers two and five, respectively.[42]