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"Look What You Made Me Do" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...
. It was released on August 24, 2017, by
Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...
, as the
lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...
from her sixth studio album, '' Reputation'' (2017). Swift wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff. Released after a year of her public hiatus, several publications have noted the song as one of pop music's most memorable comebacks, buoyed by its accompanying music video. The single is an electroclash,
dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
, and
electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...
song with lyrics about various events that contributed to the tarnish of Swift's repute. Right Said Fred members (
Richard Fairbrass Richard Peter John Fairbrass (born 22 September 1953) is an English singer, bassist and television presenter, best known as lead singer of the pop group Right Said Fred, which achieved two hits in the early 1990s with the singles "I'm Too Sexy" a ...
, Fred Fairbrass, and Rob Manzoli) received songwriting credits since the hook
interpolates In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has ...
the melody of their 1991 song " I'm Too Sexy". Upon release, the song polarized music critics, some of whom complimented Swift's new direction and praised it as a fierce return, while others were disappointed with her change of style. Breaking a string of records, "Look What You Made Me Do" became Swift's fifth number-one single on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and one of the most dominant number-one hits in the chart's history. It amassed the most plays in a single day on
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...
and topped the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks. It also debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Digital Song Sales and Streaming Songs charts, with 353,000 song downloads and 84.4 million streams. The song debuted and peaked at number-one in several countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Scotland and the UK. The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, premiered at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, three days after the song's release. Upon its release on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, the music video garnered 43.2 million views in its first 24 hours, breaking the record for the most views in its first 24 hours of release, at that time; it also broke the
24-hour Vevo record Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, dig ...
, which is now held by Swift's own 2019 single " Me!". The video garnered critical acclaim, and was ranked by ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
'' and ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' as one of the best music videos of 2017. As of July 2018, "Look What You Made Me Do" is certified 4× Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
for exceeding 4 million units in the US. The song has also received platinum or multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and a diamond certification in Brazil.


Promotion and release

On August 23, 2017, Swift announced that the first single from 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 Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...
release, breaking the record at the time for the highest first-day streaming for a single track. Since then, the record has been surpassed by four songs. "Look What You Made Me Do" was then released the next day onto
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
for digital download through
Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...
and onto Italian
contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
. It impacted American contemporary hit radio on August 29, 2017. A
CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any s ...
release followed in Germany on October 27, 2017. A lyric video heavily based on the
Saul Bass Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...
imagery used in the film ''
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
'' was released through Swift's official
Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
account on August 25, 2017. The video was produced by Swift and Joseph Kahn and directed by ODD. It gained more than 19 million views during its first 24 hours on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, surpassing " Something Just Like This" by
the Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM-pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...
and
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
as the most viewed lyric video within that time period. As of August 2022, the lyric video on YouTube has amassed over 140 million views. Regarded as her comeback, "Look What You Made Me Do" was released after a year of Swift's hiatus from public spotlight, which followed the immense media and internet scrutiny she faced due to her highly publicized disputes. Mainstream media interpreted the song as Swift "claiming her narrative" back. The song, and its release, is considered as one of
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
's most memorable moments, spurred by its
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
and the numerous records that were broken. Prior to the song's release, Swift blacked out her website and her
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
, including
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,
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and
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Two days after blacking out, cryptic and glitchy
snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...
videos were uploaded to her social media, leading to the announcement of the song and her new album, ''Reputation''.


Composition and lyrics

"Look What You Made Me Do" was produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, and runs for 3 minutes and 31 seconds. Music critics have described the track as an electroclash,
dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
,
electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...
,. 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", which was inspired by Arya Stark's kill list in the television series ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...
''. 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 A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: : Changes ...
with a
tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
of 128 beats per minute. Swift's vocals span from G3 to F5. Brittany Spanos of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' noted a "nightmarish aesthetic" present in the song, and believed it to be a continuation of the "
antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, ri ...
ic persona" from " Bad Blood".
Richard Fairbrass Richard Peter John Fairbrass (born 22 September 1953) is an English singer, bassist and television presenter, best known as lead singer of the pop group Right Said Fred, which achieved two hits in the early 1990s with the singles "I'm Too Sexy" a ...
, Fred Fairbrass and Rob Manzoli, the members of the British dance-pop group Right Said Fred, are credited as songwriters because the song
interpolates In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has ...
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 Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of the motives of "others". A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed, gratification, materialism, goals, and opinions that a cynic ...
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

Upon release, "Look What You Made Me Do" received polarizing reviews from critics, with some calling it a fierce return, and some a disappointment. ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' said that the polarizing reaction to the song illustrated Swift's position as a "ubiquitous cultural force". ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'''s Randy Lewis praised the song, deeming Swift and Antonoff's work as "blowing past the production
cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...
s 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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' wrote a positive review of the song, saying: "The reverberating
crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependin ...
builds and ever more delicious is the wickedness of Swift's menacing
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
", praising Swift for her successful embrace of the villain character the media has portrayed her as previous to the song's release. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''s Chris Willman also praised Swift's embrace of a darker-styled pop music and the stylistic conflict between the song's
pre-chorus Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, an ...
and
chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
. Mark Harris, writing for ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'', 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. Maura Johnston of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' wrote a negative review of the song, faulting the "sloppy" lyrics and blaming Swift for not giving a clear context in the lyrics. Lindsay Zoladz of '' The Ringer'' said, "Unleashed on a deeply confused public late Thursday night, the song is a strange collage of retro reference points: mid- aughts '' Gossip Girl'' placement pop, the soundtrack to
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's live-action '' Maleficent'', and — yes, really — Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy', except devoid of the self-effacing humor and wit. Yes, the new Taylor Swift song just made me compliment Right Said Fred." Brittany Spanos of ''Rolling Stone'' believed that the song marked a continuation of the feud between Swift and rapper
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
; the latter had previously name-dropped Swift in his song "
Famous Famous may refer to: Companies * Famous Brands, a South African restaurant franchisor * Famous Footwear, an American retail store chain * Famous Music, the music publishing division of Paramount Pictures * Famous Studios, the animation division ...
" 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 darker and angrier than what Swift had done before. Meaghan Garvey from ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' referred to it in a review as "a hardcore self-own" track. In 2019, '' Slant'' listed "Look What You Made Me Do" as one of the 100 singles that defined the 2010s decade.


Commercial performance

Considered as Swift's comeback after a one-year public hiatus, bolstered by its accompanying music video, the song broke records on several platforms, and became one of Swift's biggest hits. In the United States, "Look What You Made Me Do" debuted at number 77 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 Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
's "
Shape of You "Shape of You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017), along with " Castle on the Hill". The dancehall and R&B-infus ...
". One week later, the song ascended from number 77 to number 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. Ending the record-tying 16-week reign of
Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being "Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...
's "
Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album '' Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fo ...
", "Look What You Made Me Do" became one of the most dominant number-one hits of all time, leading ahead of "Despacito" with more than double the Hot 100 points. The song 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 at the time 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. The song stayed atop the charts for three consecutive weeks, tying with American rapper
Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine (service), Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, ...
's " Bodak Yellow" as the longest-running female at the number one spot on the charts in 2017. With 353,000 copies sold in its first week, "Look What You Made Me Do" opened atop the US
Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally star ...
chart and had the country's biggest sales opening since
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
's " Can't Stop the Feeling!" in 2016 as well as the best weekly sales for a song by a female artist since
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
's " Hello" in 2015. The track also became the country's first number-one song by a female artist since Sia's " Cheap Thrills" (both in 2016). It additionally was the first solo song by a female to top the US charts since "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. That week, it was bumped to number two on the Digital Songs chart by Swift's track " ...Ready for It?", which debuted at number one with 135,000 digital copies sold. 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 did so 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 songs "
Blank Space "Blank Space" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, ''1989''. The song was released to US radio stations as the second single from ''1989'' on November 10, 2014, by Republic Records in partners ...
" and " Shake It Off" respectively were at numbers four and five on the chart. The single also topped the
Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...
chart, becoming Swift's eighth single to do so. However, a week after reaching number one on the Mainstream Top 40, it moved to number 7—the largest fall from the top in the chart's history; and from number 5 to number 20 on the all-format Radio Songs chart. It also spent a total of eight weeks in the Hot 100's top ten. 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
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. It spent two weeks at the top spot. As of April 2019, "Look What You Made Me Do" has sold over 700,000 combined units in the UK. "Look What You Made Me Do" also debuted at number one on the
Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
on September 1, 2017, and became Swift's first song to top the chart in Ireland. "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 The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
. It spent another week at the summit. The song has been certified Platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...
(ARIA) for shipments of 70,000 units. After debuting at number one on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record ...
, "Look What You Made Me Do" was also certified Platinum by
Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It ...
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 4, 2017, becoming Swift's fourth chart-topping single there. In the Philippines, "Look What You Made Me Do" debuted at number seven on the Philippine Hot 100 in its first week. A week later, it ascended to the number one spot, ending the ten-week reign of "Despacito".


Music video


Production and release

Preparation for the music video began in January 2017, while the shooting took place in May. The dance was choreographed by Tyce Diorio, who had previously worked with Swift on the video for her 2014 single "Shake It Off". Swift's makeup as a
zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...
was done by
Bill Corso Bill Corso is a makeup artist. He has worked on over 70 films since his start in 1986. Oscars All three were in the category of Best Makeup *77th Academy Awards – ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (Shared with Valli O'Reil ...
. Post-production of the video lasted until the morning of its release. A 20-second music video teaser was released on ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
'' on August 25. The song's music video premiered on August 27, 2017, at the  2017 MTV Video Music Awards. The 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 A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the r ...
" video. It was viewed at an average 30,000 times per minute in its first 24 hours, with views reaching over three million views per hour. It was also reported that the
diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...
s used in a scene were authentic. The diamonds, loaned from celebrity
jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...
Neil Lane, were said to be worth over $10 million, hence triggering tight security measures. The video, widely considered to be Swift's best and one of pop music's most iconic comebacks, was named the fifth-best music video of 2017 by ''Rolling Stone'' and seventh-best music video of 2017 by ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
''. In 2019, it was ranked as the most iconic pop video of the 2010s by '' PopSugar''. In 2020, ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...
'' ranked the video 20th on the list of 71 Best Music Videos of All Time. As of now, the video has amassed over 1.49 billion views.


Synopsis

Swift has said that part of the premise of the video is rooted in the idea that, "If everything you write about me was true, this is how ridiculous it would look." It is a
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...
send-up of media theories about her true intentions that have little validity. The video begins with an overhead shot of a cemetery before the camera zooms in on a grave with a
headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, ...
that reads "Here Lies Taylor Swift's reputation." After that, a zombie Swift, wearing the dress from her "Out of the Woods" music video, crawls out of the grave before proceeding to dig another grave for her Met Gala 2014 self. The next scene shows Swift in a bathtub filled with diamonds, with a necklace spelling out No next to a ring, supposedly sending up tabloid press rumors of past romantic relationships. She is then seen seated on a throne while snakes surround her and serve tea. Swift later crashes her golden
Bugatti Veyron The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver P ...
on a post and sings the song's chorus holding a
Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
as the paparazzi take photos. She is also seen swinging inside a golden 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. Then, she is seen standing on top of the wing of a plane in an airport hangar, sawing off the wing in half and spray-painting "reputation" in pink on the side of the plane. At the video's climax, Swift is seen standing on a T-shaped throne while clones of herself (from her past music videos, stage performances and red carpet appearances) struggle and fight against each other trying to reach her. The video concludes with a scene of a line up of surviving Swift clones bowing in the hangar while Swift stands and watches on the wing of the plane. The clones bicker with one another, describing each other as "so fake" and "Victim playing, playing the victim". The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, 2009 VMA Swift clone then says "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative", resulting in the other Swifts yelling at her to "shut up!" in unison. Several scenes from the music video were compared to the works of Croatian singer Severina (singer), Severina, particularly the scene with the group of women at "Squad U" and the scene with the T-shaped throne. The former was compared to her 2016 music video for "Silikoni", and the latter was compared to the performances from her 2013 Dobrodošao u Klub Tour.


Analysis

True to Swift's tradition, 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 (song), Out of the Woods" music video—was shown digging a grave for herself in the gown worn to the 2014 Met Gala. A single United States one-dollar bill, 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 Taylor Swift sexual assault trial, sexual assault trial earlier in 2017. Interpretations for the bathtub scene were contrasting. Some believe that it is a response to media statements teasing that she "cries in a marble bathtub surrounded by pearls" with the necklace spelling no next to a ring sending up tabloid media rumors of her relationships. Others speculate that the bathtub scene is a jibe at Kim Kardashian, the then-wife of Swift's long-time feuding partner, Kanye West. Some viewers took the scene as a reference to Kim Kardashian#Paris robbery, Kardashian's 2016 robbery, in which she was robbed of jewelry worth over $10 million while held at gunpoint at a hotel in Paris, France. 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 William Shakespeare's Shakespearean tragedy, drama ''Julius Caesar (play), 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. The scene where Swift's car crashes and is surrounded by paparazzi was speculated by some to be a jab at Katy Perry, as Swift's hairstyle is similar to Perry's in the scene and the car crash itself is reminiscent of the one in Perry's music video for "Unconditionally" (2013). The sports car was also suspected to be a reminder of a car in Perry's "Waking Up in Vegas" (2009) video, which Kahn also directed. However, given the video's theme of mocking the media, the car crash scene likely makes fun of the theory that Swift's real fallout with Perry was a dramatized act for publicity and album material. Swift is ridiculing the idea that she would damage her friendships for business gains, with the car crash being a metaphor for her feud with Perry and the Grammy Award in her hands in the wreckage symbolizing the awards won from the songs "inspired" by the aforementioned feud. Swift's withdrawal of her entire music catalog from streaming media, streaming services and the media's claims that she was doing this for greed and to start her own streaming company were hinted when Swift and her crew robbed a streaming company's money vault in the video. Swift leading an army of tall, skinny, and robotic women at a "Squad U" gathering poked fun at the media's accusations that her close group of friends were artificial and had unrealistic body shapes. During the second chorus, Swift is seen with eight men, each of whom revealed an "I Heart TS" crop top after unbuttoning a jacket at her command. This scene mocks the idea that Swift forced her then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston to wear an "I Heart TS" tank top. During the bridge, Swift stands on a mountain of clones of her past selves, which reiterates that she is leaving behind her "America's Sweetheart" image and embracing her newfound role as an evil "snake". The clones are wearing various noteworthy outfits that Swift herself previously wore. The shirt that her "You Belong with Me" music video clone wears, however, is slightly different from the original one: this time, the names of her current close friends are scribbled on it, including Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Martha Hunt, Lily Aldridge, Lena Dunham (all of whom appeared in Swift's " Bad Blood" music video), Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Haim (band), Haim,
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
and Todrick Hall. The video's ending features an assembly of "old Taylors" in front of a private jet who are talking amongst one another and making snide references to the many false and exaggerated media portrayals of her over the course of her career. These include claims that Swift fakes her classic surprised face at award shows; that her "nice girl" façade masks a truly mean, manipulative personality; accusations that Swift always play the victim instead of taking responsibility for her own actions and decisions; and numerous mentions of her 2016 feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, ignited by the release of his 2016 song "Famous". Examples include the Famous (Kanye West song)#Controversy, "that bitch" line in "Famous" which Swift had disapproved of, and Kardashian illegally recording and editing Swift's phone call with West. In June 2016, discussing the relationship between her and West after the release of "Famous", Swift wrote on Instagram, "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative." The same line is spoken by the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Taylor clone just before the video ends. She is wearing the same outfit Swift had worn during the actual 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, when West infamously interrupted her acceptance speech for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, Best Female Video award and ignited tensions between the two for the first time.


Live performances

Swift performed "Look What You Made Me Do" live for the first time as part of the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball 2017 on December 1, 2017, in Inglewood, California, Inglewood, California. Two days later, Swift returned onstage to perform the song again as part of KMVQ-FM, 99.7 Now!'s Poptopia in San Jose, California, San Jose, California with the same setlist. The next week Swift sang the song on three other occasions; the WBBM-FM, B96 Chicago and Pepsi Jingle Bash 2017 in Chicago, the Z100 Jingle Ball 2017 in New York City and Jingle Bell Ball#2017, Jingle Bell Ball 2017 in London. The song was also a regular part of her setlist for the Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour, Reputation Stadium Tour, with a tilted throne and golden snakes; while there are snakes on the high screen in the back during the part where she sings, "I don't trust nobody and nobody trust me, I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams", a big cobra floating appears on stage with the line from the bridge announcing the death of the "Old Taylor" spoken by comedian Tiffany Haddish.


Accolades


Usage in media

American Broadcasting Company, ABC used "Look What You Made Me Do" in a promotional video for its Shonda Rhimes' Thursday line-up an hour after its release. ESPN used the song in ''Saturday Night Football'' advertisements for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, season-opening game between Alabama Crimson Tide football, Alabama and Florida State Seminoles football, Florida State, which was aired on ABC on September 2 along with her other song "...Ready for It?". In the ''South Park'' episode "Moss Piglets (South Park), Moss Piglets", the water-bears in Timmy and Jimmy's experiment for the science fair dance to the song in response to Swift's singing. The song was used in the trailer for the 2019 comedy film ''Murder Mystery (film), Murder Mystery''. American actress Reese Witherspoon performs the song for the jukebox musical film, ''Sing 2,'' in the role of Rosita.


Jack Leopards & the Dolphin Club cover

A cover version of "Look What You Made Me Do" was recorded by band Jack Leopards & the Dolphin Club, and produced by Antonoff and Nils Sjöberg, the latter being a pseudonym that Swift first used as a co-writer for the song "This Is What You Came For" by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna. The cover was featured in the opening credits of "List of Killing Eve episodes#ep23, Beautiful Monster", an episode of the television show ''Killing Eve'' that aired on May 24, 2020, and subsequently released on digital music platforms. There is no documentation of the band's existence before the release of the cover. Fans also interpreted the cover to be Swift's way of bypassing potential licensing issues with her former label Big Machine Records and its owner Scooter Braun, with whom Swift is involved in a Taylor Swift masters controversy, dispute regarding Braun's acquisition of the label and, subsequently, the master recordings of her back catalogue.


Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Reputation''. *
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...
 – vocals, songwriter, producer * Jack Antonoff – producer, songwriter, Audio programming, programming, instruments *
Richard Fairbrass Richard Peter John Fairbrass (born 22 September 1953) is an English singer, bassist and television presenter, best known as lead singer of the pop group Right Said Fred, which achieved two hits in the early 1990s with the singles "I'm Too Sexy" a ...
 – songwriter, interpolation * Fred Fairbrass – songwriter, interpolation * Bob Manzoli – songwriter, interpolation * Laura Sisk – engineer * Serban Ghenea – mixing * John Hanes – mix engineer * Randy Merrill – mastering * Evan Smith – saxophones * Victoria Parker – violins * Phillip A. Peterson – cellos


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

* List of most-streamed songs on Spotify * List of most-viewed online videos in the first 24 hours * List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2017, List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles of 2017 * List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 2017, List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 singles in 2017 * Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017, ''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017 * List of number-one Billboard Streaming Songs of 2017, List of number-one ''Billboard'' Streaming Songs of 2017 * List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2017, List of ''Billboard'' Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2017 * List of number-one digital songs of 2017 (U.S.) * List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2010s#2017, List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2010s * List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2017 * List of number-one digital songs of 2017 (Canada) * List of number-one singles of 2017 (Australia) * List of number-one digital tracks of 2017 (Australia) * List of number-one streaming tracks of 2017 (Australia) * List of number-one singles of 2017 (Ireland) * List of number-one songs of 2017 (Malaysia) * List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand)#2017, List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand)


References


External links

* {{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Big Machine Records singles Dance-pop songs Electroclash songs Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs written by Jack Antonoff Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff Taylor Swift songs Diss tracks Songs about revenge Songs about the media Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Malaysia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Electropop songs Songs written by Richard Fairbrass Songs written by Fred Fairbrass Songs written by Rob Manzoli