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You are currently reading the article dedicated to the album Red. You may have been looking for the re-recorded version, the song or the tour.

Red (occasionally stylized as RED) is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 22, 2012, through Big Machine Records. The title is the color to which Swift associated the tumultuous emotions she was experiencing from lost love while conceiving the album.

Swift designated Red as a breakup album, and its songs portray the complex and conflicting feelings that result from fading romance. Hoping to convey those sentiments sonically, she engaged new producers to experiment with sounds beyond the country pop style of her past albums. The ensemble included Dann Huff, Max Martin, Shellback, Jeff Bhasker, Dan Wilson, Jacknife Lee, Butch Walker, alongside her long-time collaborator Nathan Chapman. Red combines pop, country, and rock, using acoustic instruments alongside synths and drum machines. The tracks draw on styles such as electronic, arena rock, Britrock, dance-pop, and dubstep.

Red was supported by a world tour, the Red Tour (2013–2014), and seven singles; "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100, and "I Knew You Were Trouble" reached the top ten in Australasia and Europe. The album topped the charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it made Swift the first artist since the Beatles to have three albums each spend at least six weeks atop the Billboard 200. Initial reviews of Red mostly praised Swift's songwriting for its emotional exploration and engagement but were divided on the musical styles, with critics deeming them inconsistent and questioning Swift's identity as a country artist.

Red was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards, and Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards. The critical debate influenced Swift to relinquish her country identity on subsequent releases. Retrospectively, critics regard Red as a career-defining work showcasing Swift's evolved songcraft and a transitional album bridging her country roots to mainstream pop. Many publications ranked it among the best albums of the 2010s decade, and Rolling Stone placed it at number 99 on their 2023 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the album and released it as Red (Taylor's Version) in 2021.

Background[]

Swift's third studio album, Speak Now, was released by Big Machine Records on October 25, 2010. She wrote the album entirely herself[1] and produced it with Nathan Chapman, who had produced both of her previous albums.[2] Speak Now expands on those albums' country pop sound with a more aggressive influence of crossover pop that was also characteristic of Fearless (2008)[3] and incorporates rock styles including pop rock, arena rock, and new wave rock. Speak Now registered in the 2010 Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling digital album by a female artist[4] and was nominated for Best Country Album at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012.[5]

After Speak Now, Swift continued working with Chapman on her next album.[6] By October 2011, she had written around 25 songs.[7] Although executives at Big Machine felt that the materials were sufficient and congratulated her for finishing work within one year, Swift felt that her creativity diminished because she had been repeating the same songwriting process.[8] She sought to collaborate with other producers to venture outside of her "comfort zone" of writing songs alone.[8] While Swift viewed the solo-written Speak Now as her statement as a songwriter, she envisioned her fourth studio album as a statement of her "thirst for learning".[9] She reworked the new album while touring on the Speak Now World Tour from 2011 to 2012.[10]

Writing and lyrical content[]

Swift recalled working on her fourth studio album within two years—she wrote songs by herself and produced them with Chapman within the first year, and engaged other producers within the second year. She explained that she recruited producers whose works had instilled curiosities in her.[8][10] While experimenting sonically, she prioritized conveying her emotional sentiments over what she "should [...] do from a production standpoint, or what works in this genre", as with her typical songwriting approach.[11] On songs that Swift co-wrote, she first presented her co-writers with the feelings she had been going through, played a rough version of her song on guitar, and asked for their ideas on ways to better convey the story.[6] Each track's production corresponded to the emotion it portrayed, to which Swift attributed the album's "eclectic blend of music".[8]

Production sessions took place in between stops of the Speak Now World Tour.[12] The first song that Swift wrote was "All Too Well"; during a February 2011 rehearsal of the tour, she ad-libbed lyrics written after a broken relationship while playing a four-chord guitar riff as her touring band spontaneously played backing instruments.[9] Swift told Rolling Stone that this relationship caused "a few roller coasters", and she channeled the tumult into the songs.[12] She continued writing tracks like "Red" and "State Of Grace" and produced them with Chapman in her creative base of Nashville.[9] "Red" was a critical point during the album's formation;[6] Big Machine's president Scott Borchetta overheard the production and suggested a more pop-oriented sound.[13] After several failed attempts at the desired outcome, Swift asked Borchetta to recruit Max Martin, a Swedish producer known for his chart-topping pop songs.[6][13] Swift traveled to Los Angeles to work with Martin and his frequent collaborator Shellback, who produced the songs "22", "I Knew You Were Trouble", and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together".[13]

The final version of "Red" was produced by Swift, Chapman, and Dann Huff, and the three produced two more tracks: "Starlight" and "Begin Again"[10]. Swift engaged Jeff Bhasker because she was intrigued by his drum production, citing "We Are Young" (2011) by the indie band Fun as an example[8][14] Bhasker produced two songs: "Holy Ground" and "The Lucky One".[15] She worked with Butch Walker on "Everything Has Changed"—a duet with the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, and Dan Wilson on "Treacherous".[10] She wrote "The Last Time" with Gary Lightbody and Jacknife Lee of the Irish-Scottish band Snow Patrol; Lightbody featured as a guest vocalist, and Lee produced the track.[6][10] Swift named the album Red, denoting the color to which she associated the tumultuous and extreme emotions—"intense love, intense frustration, jealousy, confusion"—that she was experiencing.[16] By the time recording began, Swift had written more than 30 songs, and 16 of which made the final cut of the standard edition; Swift was the sole writer of nine tracks.[9][14]

Although Red transcends Swift's country roots, her storytelling ability, nurtured by this country background, remains intact in her songwriting[17][18]. Pitchfork's Brad Nelson summed up the album's theme as disappearances, from lost romance and relationships to Swift's old country sound[19]. For Nelson, this serves as the influence for the album cover, on which Swift is looking downward with her face partially shadowed from her brimmed hat[20]. Reviewers observed the similarities between the cover of Red and that of the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 1971 album Blue[21][22], which inspired Swift's songwriting on Red[23].

Whereas Swift's previous songs contain fantasy-driven narratives with happy endings, Red realizes the uneasy reality of how a seemingly enduring relationship can painfully end[20]. In the album's liner notes, Swift quotes a line from Pablo Neruda's poetry collection Tonight I Can Write (The Saddest Lines), "Love is so short, forgetting is so long", which she deems simultaneously relatable and simple, appropriate for the album's overarching theme[24][25]. Critics observed a sign of maturity in Swift's perspectives and recognized additional themes—wide-eyed optimism, insecurity about one's perceived image, and the pressure of stardom[17]. Hints of sex, absent from Swift's earlier music, are apparent on Red, which coincided with her outgrowing of her public image as an innocent sweetheart[17].[note 1]

The A.V. Club's Michael Gallucci acknowledged the deeper observations of Red's songs but did not appreciate their criticism of Swift's ex-lovers[26]. NPR's J. English, meanwhile, noted the album portrays Swift at her most vulnerable and maturity for recognizing her coming of age in "plaintive, reflective tones"[17]. Billboard similarly noted the album's portrayal of maturity through vulnerability, saying "she most effectively lays bare her emotional life in all its messy complexity"[27]. Most of the songs on Red were inspired by one ex-boyfriend who, according to Swift, contacted her after listening to the album and described the experience as "bittersweet"[28].

Release and promotion[]

Both the standard and deluxe versions of Red were released on October 22, 2012[29]. In the United States, the standard edition was available in digital and physical formats, and the deluxe edition containing six extra tracks was available exclusively for physical purchase at Target[29]. Swift had tie-ins with corporations including Keds, Walmart, and Papa John's[29]. A day after the release, she began a cycle of television appearances, starting with a live performance on Good Morning America, which was followed by pre-recorded television appearances on such talk shows as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and 20/20[29]. She gave interviews to as many as 72 radio stations, mostly in the United States and some international outlets from South Africa, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, and Mexico[29]. Her live performances at awards shows included the MTV Video Music Awards[30], the Country Music Association Awards[31], and the American Music Awards[32].

Despite Red's promotion as a country album, its diverse musical styles sparked a media debate over Swift's status as a country artist[33]. Spin argued Red is difficult to categorize because country music is "the most dynamically vibrant pop genre of the last decade or so"[34]. Other critics commented Swift had always been more pop-oriented than country and described Red as her inevitable move to mainstream pop. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Swift responded country music "feels like home" and dismissed the debate, saying "I leave the genre labeling to other people".

Swift and Big Machine implemented an extensive marketing plan for Red[29]. On August 13, 2012, Swift announced the album's details through a live webchat via Google Hangouts[35] and released the lead single, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". On September 22, Swift announced on Good Morning America a four-week song release countdown from September 24 until the album's release week[36]. The four songs—"Begin Again"[37], "Red"[38], "I Knew You Were Trouble"[39], and "State of Grace"[40]—were released for digital download onto the iTunes Store.

Singles[]

Promotional singles[]

On August 13, 2012, Swift released the lead single, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," which was her first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100[35][41]. An alternative version of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was released to US country radio[33]; it spent ten weeks atop Hot Country Songs[42].

Red was further promoted with a string of singles. "Begin Again", which peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, was re-released as a single to US country radio on October 1, 2012[43][44]. "I Knew You Were Trouble" was released as an official single to pop radio on November 27, 2012[45]; it was a big hit on pop radio, peaking for seven weeks atop Mainstream Top 40[46]. The single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100[47] and was a top-ten hit in Australasia and Europe[48]. "22" was released to pop radio in March 2013[49] and "Red" was released to country radio in June 2013[50]. The singles peaked at number 20 and number six on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively[51]. Tracks "Everything Has Changed"[52] and "The Last Time" were also released as singles, with the latter having a UK-exclusive release[53].

Other songs[]

"Ronan" was released digitally on iTunes following a performance of the song on Stand Up for Cancer, with all the proceeds going to Cancer-related charities, as stated by Swift herself via Twitter. President and CEO of Big Machine Records Scott Borchetta confirmed via Twitter that the song is would not be on Red, but that they "may have to rethink" about adding it to the album. "Better Man" and "Babe" were written for the album but they were scrapped and then given to Little Big Town and Sugarland.

Tour[]

Main article: Red Tour

Swift announced the album's accompanying world tour, the Red Tour, shortly after the album's release[54]. On October 26, 2012, she announced the first 58 dates for the North American leg, beginning in Omaha, Nebraska, visiting Canada and the United States throughout the spring and summer of 2013, and concluding in Nashville, Tennessee, in September[55]. To support a high demand, Swift held the concerts mostly in sports arenas and stadiums[54]. After the North American leg, the Red Tour visited Australasia[56], the United Kingdom[57], and Asia[58].

Commercial performance[]

In the United States, Red debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 1.208 million copies, surpassing Garth Brooks's Double Live (1998) as the fastest-selling country album[59][60]. With Speak Now and Red, Swift was recognized in the Guinness World Records as the "First Solo Female with Two Million-Selling Weeks on the U.S. Albums Chart"[61]. Red spent seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200[62], and made Swift the first female artist, and the second after the Beatles, to have three consecutive studio albums each spend six or more weeks atop the chart.[note 2] It was the third consecutive time—after Fearless (2008) and Speak Now (2010)—that Swift had a number-one album during the last week before Christmas, traditionally the most competitive week of the year[64]. On Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, it spent 16 weeks at number one, and was the year-end number-one album of both 2012 and 2013[65]. Surpassing 3.11 million copies after two months of sales, Red was the second-highest-selling album of 2012[66]. As of January 2024, its US sales stood at 4.582 million copies. The Recording Industry Association of America certified the album seven-times platinum for surpassing seven million album-equivalent units.

The album reached number one on the record charts of European and Oceanic countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, and Scotland. It received multi-platinum certifications in Australia (4× Platinum), Canada (4× Platinum), and New Zealand (2× Platinum). In the United Kingdom, Red was Swift's first number one on the Albums Chart and had four top-ten songs on the Singles Chart, the most of Swift's albums[67]; it was certified 2× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and sold 619,000 copies as of June 2021[68]. Less than a month after its release, Red sold 2.8 million copies worldwide[69]. By the end of 2012, Red finished as the global second-best-selling album with 5.2 million copies[70]. By August 2014, it had sold over eight million copies[71].

Critical reception[]

Red ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 77/100[72]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 starsStar fullStar fullStar fullStar full[73]
The A.V. Club B+[26]
The Daily Telegraph] 3/5 starsStar fullStar fullStar emptyStar empty[74]
Entertainment Weekly B+[75]
The Guardian 4/5 starsStar fullStar fullStar fullStar empty[76]
Los Angeles Times 3/4 starsStar fullStar fullStar empty[77]
MSN Music (Expert Witness) A−[78]
Pitchfork 9.0/10[20]
Rolling Stone 3Star fullStar fullStar halfStar empty[79]
Spin 8/10[34]

Red generally received positive reviews from contemporary critics, most of whom commended Swift's songwriting[29][80]. Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called the album "a 16-song geyser of willful eclecticism", said Swift "often succeeds in joining the Joni [Mitchell]/Carole King tradition of stark-relief emotional mapping", and that "When she's really on, her songs are like tattoos"[79]. Pitchfork's Brad Nelson lauded the "newfound patience to Swift's observations" and deeper exploration of emotion in Reds songwriting[20].

The album's production polarized critics. Billboard praised Red's radio-friendly tunes that catapulted Swift to even greater fame[81]. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic asserted that although Swift's lyrics about romantic relationships and social anxiety sound somewhat clumsy, they add substance to "the pristine pop confections", which makes Red a compelling album[73]. The Guardians Kate Mossman described the album as "one of the finest fantasies pop music has ever constructed"[76]. Roberts was impressed by the different musical styles as Swift "strives for something much more grand and accomplished"[77]. Caramanica agreed, commenting that the production is a striking feature of Red that proves Swift is more of a pop star than a country singer[82].

Critics often considered Red to be a sign of Swift growing up. Billboard considered Red to be her first adult pop album, describing her previous works as that of "an accomplished teenager".[81] Caramanica stated that her growth was "largely musical, not experiential."[82] He noted that she was beginning to show more maturity as a strategist and adult.[82] Caramanica asserted that there are indications that Red shows her "body is as alive as her mind," which was "territory she's generally skipped before now."[82] Dolan considered the album part "Joni Mitchell-influenced maturity binge" and part pop, describing the combination as "not just inevitable but natural."[79] Spin's Michael Robbins characterized the album as a record "full of adult pleasures".[83]

Some reviewers were more reserved in their praise. Jonathan Keefe from Slant Magazine considered Red not consistent enough to be "truly great" but asserted that some of the songs were "career-best work for Swift, who now sounds like the pop star she was destined to be all along".[84] Michael Gallucci from The A.V. Club argued the music was more ambitious than Swift's previous records but considered the album as a whole "complicated and sometimes unfocused".[26] He considered the duets boring and the occasional use of Auto-Tune to "sound like any number of indistinguishable female pop singers".[26] Writing for MSN Music, Robert Christgau viewed Red as an inferior version of the Magnetic Fields' 1999 album 69 Love Songs but appreciated "Begin Again" and "Stay Stay Stay", considering them to "stay happy and hit just as hard" as songs on 69 Love Songs.[78] The Daily Telegraph's James Lachno found the production bloated and commented the album would be better had Swift fully embraced mainstream pop and abandoned her old country sound.[74] Mesfin Fekadu of the Associated Press asserted that the album "sounded empty" compared to Fearless (2008) and Speak Now (2010), but praised "I Almost Do" and the duets.[85]

Accolades[]

Red received accolades in terms of both critical and popular recognition. Mainstream publications featuring Red on their lists of the best albums of 2012 included Billboard[86], The Daily Beast[87], The Guardian[88], Idolator[89], MTV News[90], Newsday[91], PopMatters[92], Rolling Stone[93], Spin[94], and Stereogum[95]. Jon Caramanica ranked the album second on his list of 2012's best albums for The New York Times[96]. Red was placed at number 17 on the 2012 Pazz & Jop, an annual mass critics' poll conducted by The Village Voice[97]. Spin proclaimed Red one of 2012's best country albums[98].

At the 56th Grammy Awards in 2014, Red was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Country Album.[99] The album received nominations at US country music awards, including two nominations for Album of the Year at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards[100] and the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards[101]. It won Favorite Country Album at the 2013 American Music Awards,[102] Top Album and Top Country Album at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards,[103] Top Selling Album at the 2013 Canadian Country Music Association Awards,[104] and Top Selling International Album of the Year at the 2014 Country Music Awards of Australia.[105]

Impact[]

Red appeared on many publications' lists of the best albums of the 2010s. According to Metacritic, it was the fifteenth-most-acclaimed album of the decade.[106] It featured on Atwood Magazine's unranked list,[107] and was included on lists of The Independent[108] and Pitchfork.[109] It was ranked within the top 10 by Insider (first),[110] Uproxx (third),[111] Billboard (fourth),[112] Rolling Stone (fourth),[113] the Tampa Bay Times (ninth),[114] and Stereogum (tenth).[115] Taste of Country ranked Red as one of the best country albums of the decade.[116] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Red at number 99 on its revised list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[117]

The album's production straddling country and pop inspired Swift to venture into genres she had not tried before.[118] The successful pop radio singles, specifically the dubstep-infused "I Knew You Were Trouble", served as a "signal flare" for Swift to collaborate with pop producers Max Martin and Shellback, who are known for radio-friendly pop, again.[119][120] Upon reading reviews calling Red an inconsistent album, Swift fully embraced the electropop sound, transcending her earlier country image.[121] Its upbeat pop production laid the groundwork for the electropop and synth-pop sound of her next album, 1989 (2014).[118][122] Swift continued to explore pop with its successors Reputation (2017) and Lover (2019).[123]

“ Red [was] where [Swift] proved herself not just the supreme pop songwriter of her generation, but one of the all-timers. [...] Red wasn't her first masterwork, but it's the one that established the Swiftian universe as a place where every lost scarf is a ticking time bomb that can take years to explode into a classic song.[124] ”

Many critics claim Red as Swift's best body of work.[125] According to Pitchfork, Red progressed Swift's sound "to meet the highest aspirations of her songwriting", watching her push herself outside of traditional boundaries "to stray into the interzone between pop and country".[126] Clash demarcated Red as the turning point of Swift's career—it "was the first time Taylor actively stepped away from the pretty dresses and southern girl chic" to the outrage of "old fashioned listeners". According to the magazine, Red proved an album can be "both ground-breaking and wildly commercial", because avant-garde is not the only way to experiment with music, as Swift "opened a door for every other musician" in 2012 to coalesce multiple genres.[127] Jordan Sargent of Spin named Red "one of the best pop albums of our time".[128]

Various media outlets have credited Red with inspiring a generation of artists; The New York Times' Steven Hyden said Red encouraged new indie artists to put out music that is "aesthetically much closer to Swift's pop than anything in the rock underground".[129] MTV said Red normalized intimacy in pop music and popularized Swift's vulnerable songwriting style with future artists such as Halsey, Kacey Musgraves, Troye Sivan, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Conan Gray.[130] Fans and critics have also dubbed Red an "autumnal album" due to its aesthetic and lyrical imagery.[131] In 2019, an indie rock album titled ReRed, featuring Wild Pink, Adult Mom, Chris Farren, and other artists, was released as a tribute to Red. All of its proceeds go to Equal Justice Initiative.[132]

In November 2020, following a dispute over the ownership of the masters to her back catalog, Swift began to re-record her first six studio albums.[133] The first one was Fearless (Taylor's Version), released on April 9, 2021.[134] On June 18, 2021, Swift announced Red (Taylor's Version) would be released on November 12, 2021, a week earlier than originally planned.[135] The album contains all 30 songs Swift recorded for the 2012 release of Red;[136] these include the charity single "Ronan", her recordings of the 2016 Little Big Town single "Better Man" and 2018 Sugarland single "Babe", the ten-minute version of "All Too Well", and six other previously unreleased tracks.[137][138]

Track listing[]

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."State Of Grace"Taylor SwiftSwift • Nathan Chapman4:55
2."Red"SwiftSwift • Chapman • Dann Huff3:43
3."Treacherous"Swift • Dan WilsonWilson4:02
4."I Knew You Were Trouble."Swift • Max Martin • ShellbackMartin • Shellback3:39
5."All Too Well"Swift • Liz RoseSwift • Chapman5:29
6."22"Swift • Martin • ShellbackMartin • Shellback3:52
7."I Almost Do"SwiftSwift • Chapman4:04
8."We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"Swift • Martin • ShellbackSwift • Martin • Shellback3:13
9."Stay Stay Stay"SwiftSwift • Chapman3:25
10."The Last Time" (featuring Gary Lightbody)Swift • Lightbody • Jacknife LeeLee4:59
11."Holy Ground"SwiftJeff Bhasker3:22
12."Sad Beautiful Tragic"SwiftSwift • Chapman4:44
13."The Lucky One"SwiftBhasker4:00
14."Everything Has Changed" (featuring Ed Sheeran)Swift • SheeranButch Walker4:05
15."Starlight"SwiftSwift • Chapman • Huff3:40
16."Begin Again"SwiftSwift • Chapman • Huff3:57
Total length:01:05:09
Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."The Moment I Knew"SwiftSwift • Chapman4:46
18."Come Back...Be Here"Swift • WilsonWilson3:43
19."Girl At Home"SwiftSwift • Chapman3:40
20."Treacherous" (Demo)Swift • WilsonWilson4:00
21."Red" (Demo)SwiftSwift • Chapman3:47
22."State Of Grace" (Acoustic)SwiftSwift • Chapman5:23
Total length:01:30:28

Outtakes[]

Spotify streams[]

Standard edition
No. Song Streams
1. State Of Grace 62,299,777
2. Red 262,839,139
3. Treacherous 56,086,526
4. I Knew You Were Trouble. 893,498,789
5. All Too Well 254,016,741
6. 22 407,650,274
7. I Almost Do 63,051,501
8. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together 697,734,932
9. Stay Stay Stay 58,396,823
10. The Last Time 67,862,585
11. Holy Ground 55,224,198
12. Sad Beautiful Tragic 40,371,915
13. The Lucky One 44,583,144
14. Everything Has Changed 281,968,481
15. Starlight 44,350,072
16. Begin Again 131,475,851
Deluxe edition
No. Song Streams
17. The Moment I Knew 32,342,179
18. Come Back...Be Here 43,230,448
19. Girl At Home 23,344,224
20. Treacherous (Original Demo Recording) 16,804,218
21. Red (Original Demo Recording) 17,865,293
22. State Of Grace (Acoustic) 24,185,168
* Total streams 3,579,182,278

No. Song Streams
1. I Knew You Were Trouble. 893,498,789
2. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together 697,734,932
3. 22 407,650,274
4. Everything Has Changed 281,968,481
5. Red 262,839,139
6. All Too Well 254,016,741
7. Begin Again 131,475,851
8. The Last Time 67,862,585
9. I Almost Do 63,051,501
10. State Of Grace 62,299,777
11. Stay Stay Stay 58,396,823
12. Treacherous 56,086,526
13. Holy Ground 55,224,198
14. The Lucky One 44,583,144
15. Starlight 44,350,072
16. Come Back...Be Here 43,230,448
17. Sad Beautiful Tragic 40,371,915
18. The Moment I Knew 32,342,179
19. State Of Grace (Acoustic) 24,185,168
20. Girl At Home 23,344,224
21. Red (Original Demo Recording) 17,865,293
22. Treacherous (Original Demo Recording) 16,804,218

Last Update: November 4, 2024

Physical copies[]

Standard editions[]

Special editions[]

Booklet[]

Physical booklet[]

Digital booklet[]

Photoshoot[]

Main article: Red photoshoot

Personnel[]

Musicians

  • Taylor Swift – lead vocals, background vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Nathan Chapman – bass guitar, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, mandolin, percussion, piano, soloist, synthesizer, background vocals
  • Peggy Baldwin – cello
  • Brett Banducci – viola
  • Jeff Bhasker – bass guitar, keyboards, piano, background vocals
  • J. Bonilla – drums, percussion
  • Nick Buda – drums
  • Tom Bukovac – electric guitar
  • David Campbell – string arrangements, conducting
  • Daphne Chen – violin
  • Lauren Chipman – viola
  • Eric Darken – percussion
  • Marcia Dickstein – harp
  • Richard Dodd – cello
  • Paul Franklin – steel guitar
  • Eric Gorfain – violin
  • Dann Huff – bouzouki, electric guitar, high strung guitar, mandolin
  • Charlie Judge – accordion, Hammond B3, piano, upright piano, strings, synthaxe, synthesizer
  • Gina Kronstadt – violin
  • John Krovoza – cello
  • Marisa Kuney – violin
  • Jacknife Lee – bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
  • Max Martin – keyboards
  • Grant Mickelson – guitar
  • Anders Mouridsen – guitar
  • Jamie Muhoberac – cello
  • Neli Nikolaeva – violin
  • Owen Pallett – conductor, orchestration
  • Radu Pieptea – violin
  • Simeon Pillich – contrabass
  • Wes Precourt – violin
  • Bill Rieflin – drums
  • Shellback – bass guitar, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards
  • Jake Sinclair – bass guitar, background vocals
  • Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar
  • Aaron Sterling – drums
  • Jeff Takiguchi – contrabass
  • Andy Thompson – guitar, electric piano
  • Ilya Toshinsky – mandolin
  • Butch Walker – drums, guitar, keyboards, percussion, background vocals
  • Patrick Warren – string arrangements
  • Amy Wickman – violin
  • Dan Wilson – bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, background vocals
  • Rodney Wirtz – violin
  • Jonathan Yudkin – fiddle, violin
  • Caitlin Evanson – background vocals
  • Elizabeth Huett – background vocals ("The Moment I Knew")
  • Tyler Sam Johnson – background vocals
  • Gary Lightbody – featured artist, background vocals
  • Ciara O'Leary – background vocals
  • Ed Sheeran – featured artist

Production

  • Taylor Swift – songwriting, production
  • Nathan Chapman – production, engineering
  • Joe Baldridge – engineering
  • Sam Bell – engineering
  • Matt Bishop – engineering
  • Delbert Bowers – assistant
  • Chad Carlson – engineering
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Leland Elliott – assistant
  • Jeff Bhasker – production
  • Eric Eylands – assistant
  • Greg Fuess – assistant
  • Chris Galland – assistant
  • Şerban Ghenea – mixing
  • Matty Green – assistant
  • John Hanes – mixing engineering
  • Sam Holland – engineering
  • Dann Huff – production
  • David Huff – digital editing
  • Michael Ilbert – engineer
  • Tyler Sam Johnson – guitar engineer
  • Jacknife Lee – engineering, production, songwriting, programming
  • Gary Lightbody – songwriting
  • Steve Marcantonio – engineer
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing
  • Max Martin – production, songwriting
  • Seth Morton – assistant
  • Justin Niebank – mixing
  • Chris Owens – assistant
  • John Rausch – engineering
  • Matt Rausch – engineering
  • Tim Roberts – assistant
  • Eric Robinson – engineering
  • Liz Rose – songwriting
  • Pawel Sek – engineering
  • Shellback – production, songwriting, programming
  • Ed Sheeran – songwriting
  • Jake Sinclair – engineering
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
  • Andy Thompson – engineering
  • Butch Walker – production
  • Hank Williams – mastering
  • Brian David Willis – engineer
  • Dan Wilson – production, songwriting

Visuals and design

  • Taylor Swift – creative director
  • Sarah Barlow – photography
  • Austin Hale – designing
  • Jemma Muradian – hair stylist
  • Bethany Newman – art direction
  • Josh Newman – art direction
  • Lorrie Turk – make-up artist

Managerial

  • Scott Borchetta – executive producer
  • Leann Bennett – production coordination
  • Jason Campbell – production coordination
  • Mike "Frog" Griffith – production coordination
  • JoAnn Tominaga – production coordination

Hidden messages[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Taylor Swift on New Album, New Home, Favorite Fan Moments
  2. ↑ Taylor Swift Speak Now
  3. ↑ Speak Now – Taylor Swift
  4. ↑ Fastest-selling digital album in the US by a female artist
  5. ↑ Grammy Awards 2012: Complete Winners And Nominees List
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Taylor Swift Q&A: The Risks of Red and The Joys of Being 22
  7. ↑ Taylor Swift on Speak Now Follow-Up: 'I've Written 25 Songs So Far'
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Exclusive: Taylor Swift Talks About Red, How to 'Begin Again' With New Love, and Being the World's Best-Behaved Bad-Ass
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 500 Greatest Albums: Taylor Swift Looks Back on Her 'Only True Breakup Album' Red
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Taylor Swift Sees Red All Over
  11. ↑ Taylor Swift's Red: The Billboard Cover Story
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Taylor Swift's Bold New Direction. Rolling Stone
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 The Power of Taylor Swift. Time.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Taylor Swift Talks Writing, Relationships, Rejects and New Album Red
  15. ↑ Taylor Swift – Red Album Personnel
  16. ↑ The New York Times
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 NPR
  18. ↑ Spin
  19. ↑ Pitchfork
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Taylor Swift: Red Album Review
  21. ↑ Consequence
  22. ↑ Time
  23. ↑ Rolling Stone
  24. ↑ The Wall Street Journal
  25. ↑ NPR
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 The A.V. Club
  27. ↑ Billboard
  28. ↑ Vulture
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.6 Taylor Swift raises the bar with a savvy Red marketing campaign
  30. ↑ Taylor Swift Performs 'Never Ever' at the 2012 MTV VMAs
  31. ↑ Taylor Swift's Red Debuts at #1
  32. ↑ AMAs 2012: Top 5 Best Performances
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Top of the Pops: Taylor Swift, 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Taylor Swift, Red
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Taylor Swift releases single 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', announces new album Red
  36. ↑ Taylor Swift Launches Red Album Release With 4-Week Song Preview Countdown
  37. ↑ Taylor Swift Wants to 'Begin Again' on New Single: Listen
  38. ↑ Taylor Swift explains her personal rainbow of emotions on Red
  39. ↑ Taylor Swift Debuts 'I Knew You Were Trouble' Song: Listen
  40. ↑ Taylor Swift releases 'State of Grace' single
  41. ↑ Taylor Swift's 'Never' Is Hot 100's Longest-Leading Country Song Since 1980
  42. ↑ Taylor Swift Scores 25th Hot Country Songs Top 10 With 'You All Over Me'
  43. ↑ Country Aircheck Weekly
  44. ↑ PSY Can't Beat Maroon 5 In Close Race For Hot 100's Top Spot
  45. ↑ Top 40/Mainstream > Future Releases
  46. ↑ Billboard
  47. ↑ Baauer's 'Harlem Shake' Debuts Atop Revamped Hot 100
  48. ↑ Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble
  49. ↑ Top 40/M Future Releases
  50. ↑ Going For Adds :: Country
  51. ↑ Taylor Swift Chart History
  52. ↑ Taylor Swift's Ed Sheeran Duet Will Be Her Next U.K. Red Single
  53. ↑ This week's new releases 04-11-2013
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Taylor Swift to Outdo Herself on Red Tour: 'I Like for It to Be Big'
  55. ↑ Taylor Swift Tour to Paint the Road Red
  56. ↑ Taylor Swift's Red Tour To Play Stadiums in Australia
  57. ↑ Taylor Swift's Red tour – review
  58. ↑ Taylor Swift breaks China ticket sales record on 'Red' tour
  59. ↑ Taylor Swift's Red Sells 1.21 Million; Biggest Sales Week for an Album Since 2002
  60. ↑ One Direction's 'Take Me Home' Debuts at No. 1 With Year's Third-Biggest Opening
  61. ↑ Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Justin Bieber Among 2014 Guinness Record-Setters
  62. ↑ Taylor Swift's 'Red,' 'Les Mis' Soundtrack Lead Billboard 200 Chart
  63. ↑ Bruno Mars Debuts at No. 2 as Taylor Swift's Red Still Rules
  64. ↑ Week Ending Dec. 23, 2012. Albums: Swift Is First Since The Beatles
  65. ↑ Taylor Swift Scores 10th No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With Red (Taylor's Version)
  66. ↑ Adele's '21' 2012's Best Selling Album; Gotye Has Top Song
  67. ↑ Taylor Swift Has Red Hot Debut in U.K.
  68. ↑ The Biggest Hits and Chart Legacy of Taylor Swift's Red Ahead of Its Rerelease
  69. ↑ Taylor Swift Closes In on Three Million Copies of Red Sold
  70. ↑ The Global Bestsellers of 2012
  71. ↑ Taylor Swift's new single Shake It Off shakes up pop music
  72. ↑ Reviews for Red by Taylor Swift. Metacritic.
  73. ↑ 73.0 73.1 Red – Taylor Swift
  74. ↑ 74.0 74.1 Taylor Swift, Red, Album Review. The Daily Telegraph.
  75. ↑ Red – review – Taylor Swift. Entertainment Weekly.
  76. ↑ 76.0 76.1 Taylor Swift: Red – Review
  77. ↑ 77.0 77.1 Album Review: Taylor Swift's Red Brims with Confidence
  78. ↑ 78.0 78.1 Taylor Swift/Donald Fagen. MSN Music.
  79. ↑ 79.0 79.1 79.2 Red
  80. ↑ What Are People Saying about Taylor Swift's Red?
  81. ↑ 81.0 81.1 Taylor Swift, Red: Track-By-Track Review
  82. ↑ 82.0 82.1 82.2 82.3 No More Kid Stuff for Taylor Swift
  83. ↑ Taylor Swift, Red (Big Machine). Spin.
  84. ↑ Taylor Swift: Red. Slant Magazine.
  85. ↑ Taylor Swift's Red fades to mediocrity
  86. ↑ 10 Best Albums of 2012 Critic's Picks
  87. ↑ Best Music Albums of 2012
  88. ↑ The Best Albums of 2012
  89. ↑ 2012's Best Albums
  90. ↑ Best Albums of 2012
  91. ↑ Best of 2012
  92. ↑ The 75 Best Albums of 2012
  93. ↑ 50 Best Albums of 2012
  94. ↑ Spin's 50 Best Albums of 2012
  95. ↑ Stereogum's Top 50 Albums Of 2012
  96. ↑ Jon Caramanica's Top 10 Albums of 2012
  97. ↑ Pazz & Jop: Top 100 Albums of 2012
  98. ↑ Best Country Albums of 2012
  99. ↑ Grammy Awards 2014: Winners List
  100. ↑ CMA World — International Awards — CMA World
  101. ↑ 2013 ACM Awards: Nominees & Winners
  102. ↑ American Music Awards 2014 Winners – AMAs The Complete List
  103. ↑ 2013 Billboard Music Awards winners and nominees — complete list
  104. ↑ Taylor Swift to Receive First-Ever Generation Trophy at 2012 Canadian Country Music Association Awards
  105. ↑ The Country Music Association of Australia congratulates the Golden Guitar winning members of the 42nd (2014) Country Music Awards of Australia
  106. ↑ Best Albums of the Decade (2010–19)
  107. ↑ Our Favorite Albums of the Decade
  108. ↑ The 50 best albums of the decade, from Frank Ocean's 'Blond' to Adele's '21'
  109. ↑ The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s
  110. ↑ The 15 best albums of the decade, ranked
  111. ↑ The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s
  112. ↑ The 100 Greatest Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks
  113. ↑ The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s
  114. ↑ The 10 Best Albums of the 2010s
  115. ↑ The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s
  116. ↑ The 50 Best Country Albums of the 2010s
  117. ↑ The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
  118. ↑ 118.0 118.1 Cover Story: The Reinvention of Taylor Swift
  119. ↑ Taylor Swift talks next album, CMAs and Ed Sheeran
  120. ↑ Billboard Woman of the Year Taylor Swift on Writing Her Own Rules, Not Becoming a Cliche and the Hurdle of Going Pop
  121. ↑ Taylor Swift on 'Bad Blood,' Kanye West, and How People Interpret Her Lyrics
  122. ↑ Taylor Swift shakes off country with first pop album
  123. ↑ Taylor Swift's 1989 Perfected the Pop Crossover Album
  124. ↑ Red (Taylor's Version) Makes a Classic Even Better
  125. ↑ Red (Taylor's Version)
  126. ↑ The 200 Most Important Artists of Pitchfork's First 25 Years
  127. ↑ Why Taylor Swift's 'Red' Is Her Turning Point
  128. ↑ Listen to Taylor Swift's Red, One of the Best Pop Albums of Our Time
  129. ↑ Taylor Swift, Indie-rock star? Long, Long ago, this might have felt strange.
  130. ↑ Taylor Swift's Red Found Its Power And Legacy In The Details
  131. ↑ Folklore reveals a more introspective side to Taylor Swift
  132. ↑ Stream The Taylor Swift Tribute Album ReRed Feat. Wild Pink, Adult Mom, Chris Farren, Future Teens, & More
  133. ↑ Taylor Swift Performs on 'GMA,' Talks Re-Recording Big Machine Songs (Watch)
  134. ↑ Taylor Swift's Fearless (Taylor's Version) Debuts Huge: What It Means for Replicating Oldies, Weaponizing Fans
  135. ↑ Taylor Swift's re-recorded version of Red is arriving a week earlier than planned
  136. ↑ Taylor Swift Announces Red As Next Re-Recorded Album, November Release Date
  137. ↑ Taylor Swift's Fans Already Figured Out the 'From the Vault' Track Titles off Red (Taylor's Version)
  138. ↑ Taylor Swift Cheekily Reveals Phoebe Bridgers Feature on New Red (Taylor's Version)

Notes[]

  1. ↑ The media had described Swift as "America's Sweetheart" for her wholesome girl next door image. As she became a household name in popular music, her dating history with a series of well-known male celebrities became a subject of tabloid scrutiny and began to diminish that image.
  2. ↑ Swift's previous studio albums Fearless and Speak Now respectively spent 11 weeks in 2008–09 and six weeks in 2010–11.[63]
RED
"State Of Grace" • "Red" • "Treacherous" • "I Knew You Were Trouble" • "All Too Well" • "22" • "I Almost Do" • "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" • "Stay Stay Stay" • "The Last Time" • "Holy Ground" • "Sad Beautiful Tragic" • "The Lucky One" • "Everything Has Changed" • "Starlight" • "Begin Again"
Deluxe Edition
"The Moment I Knew" • "Come Back...Be Here" • "Girl At Home" • "Treacherous" (demo) • "Red" (demo) •
"State Of Grace" (acoustic)
Taylor's Version
"Ronan" • "Better Man" • "Nothing New" • "Babe" • "Message In A Bottle" • "I Bet You Think About Me" • "Forever Winter" • "Run" • "The Very First Night" • "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)"
The More Red (Taylor's Version) Chapter
"Safe & Sound" • "Eyes Open"
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