"Look What You Made Me Do" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her sixth studio album Reputation (2017). It was first released on August 24, 2017 as the lead single from the album. Swift wrote it with producer Jack Antonoff. It samples the melody of the 1991 song "I'm Too Sexy" by the band Right Said Fred; therefore, Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, and Rob Manzoli of the band are credited as songwriters.
The song received a mixed response from music critics, with division over Swift's stylistic change. The music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and became the most-watched music video within 24 hours. The song broke a string of records, including the record for the most plays in a single day on Spotify. Commercially, "Look What You Made Me Do" has topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Slovakia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It has received a Double Platinum certification in Canada and Platinum certifications in the United States and Australia.
Video Look What You Made Me Do
Release and promotion
On August 23, 2017, Swift announced that the first single of her upcoming sixth album, titled Reputation, would come out the following night. The song was released to streaming services on August 24, and earned over eight million streams within twenty-four hours of its Spotify release, breaking the record for the highest first-day streaming for a single track. "Look What You Made Me Do" was then released the next day onto iTunes for digital download through Big Machine Records and onto Italian contemporary hit radio before a United Kingdom radio release on August 26, 2017. It impacted American contemporary hit radio three days afterwards. A CD single release followed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on October 27, 2017.
A lyric video heavily based on the Saul Bass imagery used in the film Vertigo was released through Swift's official Vevo account on August 25, 2017. The video was produced by Swift and Joseph Kahn. It gained more than 19 million views during its first 24 hours on YouTube, surpassing "Something Just like This" by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay as the most viewed lyric video within that time period. As of November 2017, the lyric video on YouTube has amassed over 85 million views.
Maps Look What You Made Me Do
Composition
"Look What You Made Me Do" runs for 3 minutes and 31 seconds. Music critics have described the track as a hybrid of electroclash and pop, as well as a dance-pop and an electro-pop song. It emphasizes the blame that is placed on an enemy, in particular the line "I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined". The middle eight of the song features Swift saying, "I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now / Why? / Oh, 'cause she's dead!"
"Look What You Made Me Do" is performed in the key of A minor with a tempo of 128 beats per minute. Swift's vocals span from G3 to F5.
Critic Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone noted a "nightmarish aesthetic" present in the song, and believed it to be a continuation of the "antagonistic persona" from "Bad Blood".
Richard Fairbrass, Fred Fairbrass and Rob Manzoli, the members of the British dance-pop group Right Said Fred, are credited as songwriters because the song interpolates the melody of their song "I'm Too Sexy". According to Fred Fairbrass, he and his brother were contacted one week before the release of "Look What You Made Me Do" and were asked whether a "big, contemporary female artist who hasn't released anything for a while" - whose identity they were not told - would be able to use a portion of their song for her latest single. Although the brothers agreed to a deal, they did not officially find out that the artist in question was Swift until the morning after the song was released, but had deduced that it was her based on the description they were given. Both of the Fairbrass brothers said that they enjoyed "Look What You Made Me Do"; Fred Fairbrass told Rolling Stone, "I like the cynical aspect of the lyric, because 'I'm Too Sexy' is a cynical song, and I think she channeled that quite well." A representative for Swift confirmed that the song interpolated the melody from "I'm Too Sexy", but did not include sampled audio from the earlier song.
Critical reception
"Look What You Made Me Do" received polarized reviews from critics. USA Today said that the polarizing reaction to the song illustrated Swift's position as a "ubiquitous cultural force". The Telegraph Randy Lewis praised the song, deeming Swift and Antonoff's work as "blow[ing] past the production clichés of clap tracks and hiccuped syllabic hooks that have proliferated across Top 40 fare in recent years with boldly inventive textures and fresh melodic, rhythmic and sonic accents". He also added how the track musically and sonically shifted alongside the lyrics. Sarah Carson of the Los Angeles Times wrote a positive review of the song, saying: "The reverberating crescendo builds and ever more delicious is the wickedness of Swift's menacing protagonist", praising Swift for her successful embrace of the villain character the media has portrayed her as previous to the song's release. Variety's Chris Willman also praised Swift's embrace of a darker-styled pop music and the stylistic conflict between the song's pre-chorus and chorus. Mark Harris, in New York magazine's pop culture blog, thought of Swift's song as a pop art anthem for the Trump era in how she reappropriates her public feuds as empowering badges of honor without acknowledging her own responsibility or blame.
However, Maura Johnston of The Guardian wrote a negative review of the song, faulting the "sloppy" lyrics and blaming Swift for not giving a clear context in the lyrics. Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone believed that the song marked a continuation of the feud between Swift and rapper Kanye West; the latter had previously name-dropped Swift in his song "Famous" by using the line, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? / I made that bitch famous". The single was noted as being a darker, angrier work than what Swift had done before. Hugh McIntye of Forbes was critical of the change in style, saying that it "didn't sound like [Swift]" and that it "may have some kinks to work out". Meaghan Garvey from Pitchfork referred to it in a review as "a hardcore self-own" track.
Chart performance
In the United States, "Look What You Made Me Do" debuted at number seventy-seven on the Billboard Hot 100, powered by its first three days of airplay. It also sold slightly under 200,000 digital copies within its first day of sales in the country, where it became the fastest selling download since Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You". One week later, the song ascended from 77 to one on the Hot 100 after its first full week of tracking, becoming the fifth largest rise to the top position and Swift's fifth number-one single in the United States. It also topped the nation's Streaming Songs chart with 84.4 million streams, becoming its most streamed song within a week by a female artist and second overall behind the 103 million that Baauer's "Harlem Shake" gained in 2013. The track also had more weekly streams in the US than any other song in 2017. With 353,000 copies sold in its first week, "Look What You Made Me Do" opened atop the US Digital Songs chart and had the country's biggest sales opening since Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" in 2016 as well as the best weekly sales for a song by a female artist since Adele's "Hello" in 2015. The track also became the country's first number-one song with a female artist since Halsey was featured on "Closer" by The Chainsmokers and the first song with a female lead artist since Sia's "Cheap Thrills" with Sean Paul (both in 2016). It additionally was the first solo song by a female to top the US charts since Adele's "Hello". It remained atop the Hot 100 and Streaming Songs charts for a second week with 114,000 copies sold and 61.2 million streams, though descended to number two on the Digital Songs chart when another Reputation track titled "...Ready for It?" debuted at number one with 135,000 digital copies sold and opened at number four on the Hot 100. As a result, Swift became the first artist to have two tracks sell over 100,000 digital copies in the nation within a week since Sheeran with "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill". It also became the first time a female had two songs within the top five of the Hot 100 since 2015 when Swift's previous tracks "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" respectively were at numbers four and five on the chart. The single also topped the Mainstream Top 40 chart, becoming Swift's eighth single to do so.
In the United Kingdom, "Look What You Made Me Do" sold 20,000 copies and was streamed 2.4 million times in less than a week. The song debuted at the top the UK Singles Chart on September 1, 2017 - for the week ending date September 7, 2017 - with opening sales of 30,000 copies and 5.3 million streams within the week and becoming Swift's first chart-topping song in Britain. After two weeks at the top spot, it was displaced by Sam Smith's "Too Good at Goodbyes".
"Look What You Made Me Do" also debuted at number one in the Republic of Ireland on September 1, 2017 and became Swift's first song to top the Irish Singles Chart. In doing so, it surpassed the number three peaks of her singles "Love Story" (in 2009) and "Shake It Off" (in 2014).
"Look What You Made Me Do" opened at number one in Australia on September 2, 2017, becoming her fifth track to top the ARIA Charts. It spent another week at the nation's summit before "Too Good at Goodbyes" took the top position there as well. The song has been certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 70,000 units. After debuting at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, "Look What You Made Me Do" was also certified Platinum by Music Canada for shipments of 80,000 units on September 14, 2017.
In New Zealand, "Look What You Made Me Do" entered at the number one spot on September 1, 2017, becoming Swift's fourth chart-topping single there.
In the Philippines, "Look What You Made Me Do" debuted at number 7 spot on the BillboardPH Hot 100 on its first week. A week later, it soared to the number 1 spot, ending the 10-week reign of "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber. It descended to the runner-up position the following week, as the latter song reclaimed the top spot for an 11th week.
Music video
Production and release
The official music video premiered on August 27, 2017 at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards. The song's music video broke the record for most-watched video within 24 hours by achieving 43.2 million views on YouTube in its first day. It topped the 27.7 million Vevo views Adele's "Hello" attracted in that timeframe, as well as the 36 million YouTube views of Psy's "Gentleman" video. It was viewed at an average 30,000 times per minute in its first 24 hours, with views reaching over 3 million views per hour.
Preparation for the music video began in January, while the shooting took place in May. The dance was choreographed by Tyce Diorio, who had worked with Swift on "Shake It Off" before. Swift's make-up as a zombie was done by Bill Corso. Post-production of the video lasted until the morning of its release. A 20-second music video teaser was released on Good Morning America on August 25. The teaser, upon release, was criticized on Twitter due to similarities to Beyoncé's "Formation" video. Kahn turned to Twitter to dismiss the claims, stated that he had "worked with Beyoncé a few times", and that the music video is not in the way of her "art space". Kahn also remarked that the video is derived from "[an] obscene K Pop video made in [a] North Korean prison in 2006".
It was also revealed that the diamonds used in a scene were authentic. The diamonds, loaned from celebrity jeweler Neil Lane, were said to be worth over $10 million, hence triggering tight security measures. As of November 3, 2017, the video has over 662 million views and broke the record for the fastest video to reach 200, 300 and 400 million views on YouTube. It is the 20th most liked video on YouTube with over 6.37 million likes.
Synopsis
The video begins with a zombie Swift crawling out of a grave, where the headstone reads "Here Lies Taylor Swift's reputation", and digging another grave for her Met Gala 2014 self. The next scene shows Swift in a bathtub filled with diamonds. She is then seen seated on a throne while snakes surround her and serve tea. Swift later crashes her golden Bugatti Veyron on a post and sings the song's chorus holding a Grammy as the paparazzi take photos. She is also seen swinging inside a cage, robbing a streaming company in a cat mask, and leading a motorcycle gang. Afterwards, she gathers a group of women at "Squad U" and dances with a group of men in another room. At the end of the video, various iterations of Swift's public image bicker with one another, describing each other as "so fake" and "playing the victim", ending with one saying "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative" after which the other iterations yell at her to "shut up!" in unison, while the version of Swift in the background watches in silence.
Analysis
The video contains numerous hidden meanings and references. In the opening scene, there is a subtle "Nils Sjöberg" tombstone shown when Swift is digging up a grave, referencing the pseudonym she used for a songwriting credit on Calvin Harris' 2016 single "This Is What You Came For". Similarly, Swift--masked as a cadaveric version of herself in the "Out of the Woods" music video--was shown digging a grave for herself in a 2014 Met Gala gown, an event that characterized her first public appearance with short hair. A single dollar bill in the bathtub full of diamonds that she bathes in was also speculated to symbolize the dollar she was awarded for winning a sexual assault trial earlier in 2017. Interpretations for the bathtub scene were contrasting. Some believe that it is a response to media statement teasing that she "cries in a marble bathtub surrounded by pearls", while others viewed it as a mockery to Kim Kardashian's 2016 gunpoint robbery.
In a separate scene, Swift is shown sitting atop a golden throne, where a carving of a phrase "Et tu, Brute?" could be seen on the armrest, a reference to Shakespeare's drama Julius Caesar. Swift's infamous title as a "snake" during her hiatus was also represented when a snake slithers onto the throne to serve Swift some tea. When Swift's car crashes, some speculated that it may be a jab at Katy Perry as Swift's hairdo is similar to Perry's in the scene. The sports car is also reminiscent of a car in Perry's "Waking Up in Vegas" video. She is also holding a Grammy Award in the scene, a possible reference to the fact that Perry has never won any Grammys despite multiple nominations. Swift's withdrawal of her entire music catalog from streaming services were hinted when Swift and her crew walked out of a streaming company in the video.
Swift gathering at "Squad U" was also said to be a reply to the media dubbing her close friends as a "squad". During the second chorus, Swift can be seen with eight men, each of which revealed an "I Heart TS" crop top after unbuttoning a jacket. This scene is an apparent tribute to her ex-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston, who was seen wearing an "I Heart TS" tank top when they were a couple. The eight backup dancers may also have been a possible reference to the idea that Swift has had eight ex-boyfriends during her career. Swift was also seen standing on a pile of her other iterations, reiterating the idea that she is leaving her past self behind. The shirt that an iteration of Swift wore in the "You Belong with Me" video was also different, with her close friends' names scribbled on it this time.
In June 2016, discussing the relationship between her and Kanye West after West's song "Famous", Swift wrote on Instagram, "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative." The same line is spoken by one of Swift's iterations at the end of the video. She is wearing the same outfit Swift had worn during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, when West interrupted her award-winning speech for Best Female Video.
Accolades
The song is nominated for "Best Music Video" at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards. It is also nominated for "Best Music Video" at the NRJ Music Awards.
Usage in media
ABC used the song in a promotional video for its Shonda Rhimes' Thursday line-up an hour after its release. Sister network ESPN used it in its college football telecast advertisements for the season opening game between Alabama and Florida State, which was aired on ABC on September 2.
Track listings
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- Digital download
- "Look What You Made Me Do" - 3:31
-
- CD single
- "Look What You Made Me Do" - 3:31
- "Look What You Made Me Do" (Music Video) - 4:16
Charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
- "Look What You Made Me Do" (Lyric video) on YouTube
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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