Red (Taylor Swift album)


Red is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Big Machine Records. Inspired by past romantic relationships evoking "red" intense, tumultuous emotions that Swift was experiencing during conception of the project, Red touches on the themes of romance and heartbreak, but represents a mature perspective, while exploring the pressure of being in the public eye. Red is a country, pop and rock record with influences from arena rock, alternative rock, dance, dubstep, electronic, folk and heartland rock; many commentators described it as a pop album, while others deemed it as a country album that sees Swift transitioning from her roots to mainstream pop, which they found to be subsequently complete with its follow-up 1989.
Red contains collaborations with Gary Lightbody and Ed Sheeran. Preceded by two singles, the album was supported by seven singles in total, four of which peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100: the lead single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" topped the chart for three weeks, "Begin Again" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" peaked at numbers seven and two respectively, and the title track at number six. Upon release, Red received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised Swift's songwriting craftsmanship, but were divided on the incorporation of various genres—Swift's emerging versatility was praised but met criticism for being inconsistent. Red was included on several year-end and decade-end lists by numerous publications, with Rolling Stone, Chorus.fm and Insider placing it at number-one; on Metacritic, it is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 2010s. It received nominations for Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, and for Album of the Year at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards.
Red debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 1.2 million copies, giving Swift her third consecutive chart-topper in the US, making her the first female artist to have two million-selling album openings; it went on to spend seven weeks atop the chart. It was also Swift's first chart-topper in the UK, and topped charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reported Red as the second best-selling album of 2012, with sales of 5.2 million copies globally. To support the album, Swift embarked on The Red Tour, which ran from March 2013 to June 2014 and grossed over $150 million. As of December 2017, Red is certified 7× Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America, for moving over seven million units in the US.

Background and release

On August 13, 2012, Swift gave a live webchat to over 72,500 viewers, in which she answered fan questions, previewed the lead single, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", and announced her fourth album's title Red, as well as its release date. During the live webchat, she also revealed that she wrote more than 30 songs for the album, of which 16 were released, and said that much of her inspiration came from dysfunctional relationships. Contrary to her previous self-written album Speak Now, Swift enlisted the help of several of her favorite songwriters.
in October 2012.
In an interview with MTV News, the singer revealed that the album "is interesting because each song stands on its own. It's this patchwork quilt of different sounds and different emotions, and I don't think anything on the record sounds like We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". She also previewed songs from the album on Good Morning America every Monday, beginning on September 24 until October 15. Swift performed on October 22 for the album's release, and the next day, she performed a live concert on the same show. According to the singer she had spent over two years with the recording process, writing and preparation for the album. Sarah Barlow shot the album's cover, which shows Swift's face, particularly her red lipstick. Pitchfork remarked that it resembled the cover of Joni Mitchell's 1971 album Blue''. The standard and deluxe versions of the album were released on October 22, 2012 in Italy, New Zealand, the United States, among others. The deluxe edition of the album comes with a second disc with three new tracks and the original demo recordings of "Red" and "Treacherous" along with an acoustic version of "State of Grace". A karaoke version of the album was also released on February 5, 2013 on the iTunes Store, which includes the instrumental version from all tracks of its standard version.

Commercial performance

In the United States, Red debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. It became the fastest-selling album in over a decade after selling 1.21 million copies in its first week, and earned Swift her third No. 1 album on the chart. Red had the second highest first week sum by a female artist, only behind Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again, which opened with 1.3 million units. Red had the biggest sales week in 2012 and outsold the top 52 albums in the Billboard 200 on its first week. It has also the biggest one week sales for a country album beating Garth Brooks' Double Live which sold 1.085 million copies in 1998. Red sold 465,000 digital copies in its first week in the US, which is the second biggest after Lady Gaga's Born This Way. It sold around 1.459 million copies worldwide in its first week of sales. In its second week on the Billboard 200, the album remained at No. 1 and sold 344,000 copies. Next week Red held atop the Billboard 200 and sold a further 196,000 copies which brought its sales to 1.749 million, thus ranking the third biggest selling album of 2012 behind Adele's 21 and One Direction's Up All Night. The album was dethroned by One Direction's Take Me Home on its fourth week.
In its seventh week, Red climbed back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 selling 167,000 and with that, Swift became tied with Jay-Z and Whitney Houston for fourth most-weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking in 1991. With Red spending its sixth week atop Billboard 200, Swift became the first artist since The Beatles 43 years earlier to log six weeks atop Billboard 200 with three consecutive studio albums. Swift held the Billboard 200 top spot the next two weeks, thus making Swift the first artist since The Beatles in 1969 to log six or more weeks at No. 1 with three consecutive studio albums, following Fearless and Speak Now. Also, this is the third time that Swift has had the No. 1 album in the last week before Christmas, which is traditionally the most competitive week of the year. She also achieved the feat with Fearless in 2008 and Speak Now in 2010. Red spent its seventh non-consecutive week at No. 1 in the sales week ending December 30, 2012, selling 241,000. This gave Swift a total of 24 weeks atop the Billboard 200 throughout her career, tying her with Adele as the woman with most weeks at No. 1 since SoundScan began tabulating the Billboard 200 in May 1991. Swift later surpassed this record with the release of her next album, 1989. Red finished 2012 as the second biggest album despite being out for only two months, selling 3.11 million. It makes the fourth time she has an album ranked in the year's top three sellers.
Red has spent 16 weeks at number-one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and a total of 225 weeks on the chart; it was Swift's last album on that chart, after which, she released her first pop album,1989. As of January 2019, the album has sold 4.45 pure million copies in the US. In December 2017, Red was certified 7× Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America for earning over 7 million units in the country.
In Canada, Red ranks Swift's third No. 1 album as well selling 93,000 copies on its debut week and has easily crossed the Platinum certification in the country. With those sales, Red became the biggest one week sales in Canada since Michael Bublé's Christmas moved 107,000 copies last Christmas season of 2011 and the biggest first week sales since 2008. As of May 2013, Red has been certified quadruple platinum by Music Canada with shipments exceeding 320,000 copies.
In the United Kingdom, Swift garnered her first No. 1 album with Red with sales of 61,000 copies on its opening week. In Australia, the album debuted at No. 1 and spent a total of three consecutive weeks at the top, becoming Swift's longest running No. 1 album in Australia; Red was certified 4× platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments exceeding 280,000 copies. In New Zealand, the album also became Swift's third No. 1 album, and has been certified platinum by the RIANZ. Worldwide, Swift set a new worldwide iTunes Store record for highest ever first-week album sales with 566,000 copies sold digitally around the globe. Later, this record was beat by Justin Timberlake's album The 20/20 Experience.
Globally, Red was ranked as the second best-selling album of 2012, with sales of 5.2 million copies sold worldwide.

Promotion

Singles

The album's lead single, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", was released on August 13 and became Swift's first No. 1 single on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song's jump from its debut position No. 72 to No. 1 was the result of a massive digital demand of the song. With 623,000 downloads, the song placed second among all-time best week sales singles, behind Flo Rida's 2009 song "Right Round". It stayed at No. 1 for three non-consecutive weeks, being displaced twice at the top, first by "Flo Rida's "Whistle" and second by Maroon 5's "One More Night". The song stayed in the top ten for thirteen weeks and charted for a total of twenty-four weeks. In UK, it peaked at No. 4, giving her her first top ten hit since "Love Story" and the song became her first No. 1 song in New Zealand. As of December 2012, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" has sold more than three million downloads in the US.
"Begin Again" was released to the iTunes Store on September 25, 2012 as part of a countdown to the album release. A few hours after its early release to iTunes, it shot to No. 1, thereby becoming the first single to dethrone Psy's "Gangnam Style" in a week. The song sold 299,000 digital copies in its first week of release and debuted at No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated October 4, 2012. It was later announced that the track would be serviced to country radio on October 1, 2012 as the second single from the album. The song became her seventeenth consecutive top ten hit in US Billboard Hot Country Songs, but also tied with "Fearless" as her lowest-charting single on the chart, although it reached No. 3 on Billboard Country Airplay. The song received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best Country Song.
"I Knew You Were Trouble" was released as the second international single from Red on November 14, 2012, in the UK. In the US, it was released on November 27, 2012 as the third single. The song debuted at No. 3 on Billboard Hot 100 with 416,000 copies sold in its first week, Swift's second-largest first week singles sales. It became Swift's fourteenth top ten hit and her eleventh song to debut inside the top ten. With sales of 416,000 from "I Knew You Were Trouble", Swift became the first artist in digital history to have two songs that debuted with sales of 400,000 or more copies. In its eleventh week, it sold a massive sum of 582,000 in the US, making it the fourth-biggest digital sales week of all time. It caused the song to re-peak at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. "I Knew You Were Trouble" became a commercial success, selling over three million copies in the US and reaching No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and Billboard Pop Songs, and also reached the top ten in ten countries.
"22" was released as the fourth single from Red. It was sent to Australian radio on February 4, 2013. It was released in the United States on March 12, 2013. The music video was released on YouTube on March 13, 2013. The song was released in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2013. It peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first single from Red to miss the top ten. As of November 2017, the song has sold 2.3 million copies in the United States.
"Red", the album's title track, was released to country radio on June 24, 2013 as the third country single. The song debuted at No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 2 on the Hot Digital Songs chart selling 312,000 in its first week. It also debuted at No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart, behind Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". As of November 2017, the song has sold 1.6 million copies in the United States.
"Everything Has Changed", which features British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, was released as the fourth international single as well as the fourth U.S. Pop/Mainstream single on July 16, 2013.
"The Last Time", featuring Snow Patrol lead vocalist Gary Lightbody, was later confirmed as the fifth and final international single and seventh and final from Red. A UK release was announced as of October 13, 2013, and it subsequently impacted UK contemporary hit radio on November 4, 2013. The release of the single coincides with the announcement of the dates for the European leg of her international Red Tour.

Promotional singles

During the four weeks preceding the release of Red, one track was released each week digitally on the iTunes Store after a preview of it had been heard on Good Morning America. The first of the four promotional singles is "Begin Again", which was released digitally on iTunes on September 25, 2012. "Red" is the second promotional single off the album, and became available for download on October 2, 2012. "Red" debuted at No. 6 on the Hot 100 with sales of 312,000. "I Knew You Were Trouble" is the third promotional single off the album, and became available for download on October 9, 2012. The fourth and final promotional single is "State of Grace", which became available for download on October 16, 2012. Each of them reached No. 1 on iTunes and the top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, with "I Knew You Were Trouble" having the highest peak at No. 2 as Swift's 14th top 10 song. With sales of 416,000 from "I Knew You Were Trouble", Swift became the first artist in digital history to have two songs that debuted with sales of 400,000 or more copies.

Tour

Swift promoted the album with The Red Tour. It was Swift's second tour to perform in major stadiums after the Speak Now World Tour. The tour began on March 13, 2013, in Omaha, Nebraska and ended on June 12, 2014, in Singapore. Throughout the tour, many artists were invited on selected dates, such as Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, Cher Lloyd, among others. The tour grossed $150.2 million and became the highest-grossing tour of all time by a country act.

Critical reception

Red was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 23 reviews. In their aggregate decade-end list for the 2010s, Metacritic named Red as one of the fifteen most frequent albums on decade-end best-of lists by publications. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 6.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 2012, Jon Dolan believed Swift had been influenced by Joni Mitchell and U2, writing that "her self-discovery project is one of the best stories in pop. When she's really on, her songs are like tattoos." Billboard called the album "her most interesting full-length to date" and said it "puts Swift the artist front and center with big, beefy hooks that transcend her country roots for a genre-spanning record that reaches heights unseen since Shania Twain's Up!." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called Red a pop record that showed almost no trace of country and said although Swift's lyrics about romantic relationships and social anxiety still sound somewhat clumsy, they do not detract from "the pristine pop confections" that comprise the music: "If anything, these ungainly, awkward phrasings humanizes this mammoth pop monolith: she's constructed something so precise its success seems preordained, but underneath it all, Taylor is still twitchy, which makes Red not just catchy but compelling." Spin magazine's Michael Robbins found Swift "too smart and tuneful to condescend to her contradictions" on the album's augmented pop songs.
In the Los Angeles Times, Randall Roberts was impressed by her ability to incorporate different musical styles as she "strives for something much more grand and accomplished" than a cynical point of view. Sputnikmusic critic Channing Freeman claimed that Red showcased Swift's definite transition from country to pop, with music that unlike on her previous records is "a complement to all of those conflicting emotions that have been present in her lyrics for some time now". Jon Caramanica from The New York Times believed that "each moment of pure pop breakthrough is tempered immediately afterward by a contemplative country moment". In a retrospective review in 2019, Pitchforks Brad Nelson compared Red to Joni Mitchell's 1971 album Blue, applauding what he found to be Swift's sharp, more mature observations through a wide variety of genres, adding that she effectively conveys the tumultuous feelings ensued from past relationships and the effect of time on memory and loss.
Some reviewers were more reserved. Jonathan Keefe from Slant Magazine wrote in 2012 that, as a pop record, Red is not consistent enough to be considered "truly great" because a number of songs lacked Swift's "usual spark". Nonetheless, he concluded that "its highlights are career-best work for Swift, who now sounds like the pop star she was destined to be all along." Michael Gallucci from The A.V. Club found Swift's lyrics somewhat more "deeper and darker", and the music far more ambitious than her previous records, but overall a "complicated and sometimes unfocused" pop record. He dismissed the duets as boring, while calling "State of Grace" and "All Too Well" "fascinating work". Arnold Pan from PopMatters believed some of the songs should have been edited out on what was a transitional album for Swift, who abandoned her country-pop roots in favor of "beefed-up modern rock" stylings. Writing for MSN Music, Robert Christgau viewed Red as a minor version of the Magnetic Fields' 1999 album 69 Love Songs. He preferred its feistier tracks but also appreciated the more sentimental songs "Begin Again" and "Stay Stay Stay", which "stay happy and hit just as hard".

Year-end lists

Red was included on numerous year-end lists of 2012.
PublicationAccoladeRank
Associated PressAP Music Writers' Top 10 Albums of 20122
Billboard10 Best Albums of 2012 Critic's Picks5
The Daily BeastBest Music Albums of 20127
The GuardianThe Best Albums of 201216
IdolatorThe Best Albums of 20122
MTV NewsBest Albums of 20123
NewsdayBest Albums of 20126
The New York TimesJon Caramanica's Top 10 Albums of 20122
Pazz & JopTop 100 Albums of 201217
PopMattersThe 75 Best Albums of 201223
Rolling Stone50 Best Albums of 201231
The Salt Lake Tribune10 Best Albums of 201210
SpinSpin's 50 Best Albums of 201238
StereogumStereogum's Top 50 Albums Of 201219

Decade-end lists

Red is included on numerous decade-end lists published in 2019.
PublicationAccoladeRank
AllMusicThe AllMusic Decade In Review
Atwood MagazineOur Favorite Albums of the Decade
BillboardThe 100 Greatest Albums of the 2010s4
Chorus.fmTop 50 Albums of the 2010s6
Chorus.fmCraig Manning's Top 200 Favorite Albums of the 2010s1
Cleveland.com100 Greatest Albums of the 2010s14
GeniusThe Genius Community's 100 Best Albums of the 2010s73
The IndependentThe 50 Best Albums of the Decade16
Insider15 of the Best Albums of the Decade1
The Mercury NewsThe 50 Best Albums of the Decade21
PitchforkThe 200 Best Albums of the 2010s59
Rolling StoneThe 100 Best Albums of the 2010s4
Rolling StoneRob Sheffield's 25 Best Albums of the 2010s1
StereogumThe 100 Best Albums of the 2010s10
Tampa Bay TimesThe 10 Best Albums of the 2010s9
Taste of CountryThe 50 Best Country Albums of the 2010s13
UproxxAll The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked3

Industry awards

Singles from the album received Grammy Award nominations. Lead single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was nominated for Record of the Year at the 55th Grammy Awards and "Begin Again" received a Best Country Song nomination at the 56th Grammy Awards. Red received nominations for Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 56th Grammy Awards.
YearOrganizationAwardResult
2013Academy of Country Music AwardsAlbum of the Year
2013American Music AwardsFavorite Pop/Rock Album
2013American Music AwardsFavourite Country Album
2013Billboard Music AwardTop Billboard 200 Album
2013Billboard Music AwardTop Country Album
2013Canadian Country Music AssociationTop Selling Album
2013Country Music Association AwardsAlbum of the Year
2013Juno AwardInternational Album of the Year
2013Sirius XM AwardsInternational Album of the Year
2013Telehit AwardsBest Female Pop Album
2014Country Music Awards of AustraliaTop Selling International Album of the Year
2014Grammy AwardAlbum of the Year
2014Grammy AwardBest Country Album
2014World Music AwardsWorld's Best Album

Track listing

Notes
Credits adapted from AllMusic.

Musicians

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history