“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift

song info

    “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift (official video) is a country song.

    
    U.S. Billboard Hot 100: #25, down from last week #15, down from previous week #11 (eleven), down from previous week #9 (nine), 18 weeks on chart, peak #1 (one)
    Country: #2 (two), down from last week #1 (one), previous week #1 (one), previous week #1 (one), 17 weeks on chart, peak #1 (one)
    Pop: #18, down from last week #12 (twelve), down from previous week #9 (nine), down from previous week #5 (five), 17 weeks on chart, peak #2 (two)
    Adult Contemporary: #21, down from last week #19, down from previous week #18, down from previous week #10 (ten), 17 weeks on chart, peak #8 (eight)
    Adult Pop: #17, down from last week #13, down from previous week #8 (eight), down from previous week #7 (seven), 17 weeks on chart, peak #7 (seven)
    Radio Songs: #29, down from last week #21, down from previous week #13, down from previous week #9 (nine), 18 weeks on chart, peak #3 (three)
    Digital Songs: #38, down from last week #34, down from previous week #24, down from previous week #16, 16 weeks on chart, peak #1 (one)
    On-Demand Songs: #13, down from last week #12 (twelve), 9 weeks on chart, peak #3 (three)
    Ringtones: #19, down from last week #16, 16 weeks on chart, peak #9 (nine)
    Country Digital Songs: #5 (five), down from last week #3 (three), previous week #3 (three), down from previous week #2 (two), 16 weeks on chart, peak #1 (one)
    Latin Airplay: peak #48
    Japan Hot 100: #27, down from last week #14, up from previous week #20, up from previous week #21, 16 weeks on chart, peak #2 (two)
    Canadian Hot 100: #29, down from last week #22, down from previous week #14, down from previous week #8 (eight), 17 weeks on chart, peak #1 (one)
    YouTube: #12 (twelve), last week #12 (twelve), 12 weeks on chart, peak #2 (two)
    MySpace: #11 (eleven), down from last week #5 (five), 9 weeks on chart, peak #2 (two)
     Billboard information for the week of Dec 22, 2012
     Billboard chart listings courtesy of Billboard Magazine

link to the static song information page for this song:
http://www.thissideofsanity.com/music/songs/we/wearenevergettingbacktoegther.php

    Summary quotation from Wikipedia:

    “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is a song recorded by American recording artist Taylor Swift. It was written by Swift with Max Martin and Shellback. Production was handled by Martin, Shellback and Dann Huff, with Scott Borchetta serving as executive producer. It was released as the lead single from Swift’s fourth studio album Red (2012) on August 13, 2012 by Big Machine Records.

    “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is a pop and bubblegum pop song while the lyrics depict Swift’s frustration at an ex-lover who wants to re-kindle their relationship. The songwriters wrote the song after Swift’s ex-boyfriend’s friend spoke of rumors he heard that Swift and her former boyfriend were reuniting. The song received mixed reviews from music critics; some praised the catchy, radio-friendly hook while others felt the song lacked the thoughtfulness of Swift’s previous, more guitar-based work.

    The song was an instant commercial success. It is the first song in Swift’s career to peak at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and the first song to hold the top spot for more than one week after a huge leap, since Kelly Clarkson’s two-week run of “My Life Would Suck Without You” after the song rocketed from number 97 to the top spot. A music video for the song was released in August 2012. It was the first music video to be presented in 4K resolution and received positive reviews from critics. A CD single was released in September 2012 by Swift’s official store, Amazon.com and US Walmart stores.

Background and release

    After writing Speak Now (2010) entirely solo, she 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” incidentally 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. With the friend gone, 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”. Martin then 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.

    Swift premiered the single on August 13, 2012, during her live chat on YouTube and the song was released on Google Play that day for digital download with it being released to iTunes and Amazon.com the next day, August 14. A lyric video also premiered on Swift’s official Vevo that same day. The song was released to Adult Contemporary radio stations on August 13, 2012 with it being released to mainstream radio stations the next day. The song was later released to country radio on August 21, 2012. 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. The CD single was also able to be bought individually. The CD single was also released exclusively to US Walmart stores the same day.

Composition and lyrics

    “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is a pop and bubblegum pop song of three minutes and 12 seconds that features electronic heavy production and a pop music vocal styling, a musical transition for Swift. An alternate edition was recorded for country radio featuring a different instrumental arrangement. It was written in the key of G Major with a common time signature and a slow tempo of 86 beats per minute, with Swift’s vocals spanning one octave and four notes, from G₃ to D₅. The track features an acoustic guitar (some of its sounds are reversed) and various synthesizers over an electronic drum beat. The song was written by Swift, along with Max Martin and Shellback. The lyrics discuss Swift’s frustration towards an ex-lover who wants to rekindle their relationship.

Music video

    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”. The video was shot like a pop-up book using a Sony F65 Cinealta camera in a continuous take with no edits, and features Swift in five different outfits. It is also the first music video to be featured in 4K resolution. 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.” Prior to the video’s release a fourteen second preview was released by CMT on their official YouTube on August 29, 2012.

    The video 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 screen into the nightclub. It then goes to the two in a truck having an argument 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 of 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 singing the last line of the song.

    James Montgomery of MTV praised the video stating that the video is “truly a treat to watch”. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News comment on the video however 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.” 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?” The Rolling Stone called it “flinging strong-willed sass”. 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.”

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