Shake It Off (Annabel Fay Song)
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"Shake It Off" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, ''
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''. Swift wrote the lyrics and composed the melody with producers Max Martin and Shellback. An uptempo
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 ...
song featuring a saxophone line in its production, it is about Swift's indifference to her detractors and their negative view of her image. The song was the lead single from ''1989'', which Swift marketed as her first
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...
album. It was released for digital download worldwide on August 19, 2014, by Big Machine Records. Contemporary critics found the song's dance-pop production catchy, but some believed the lyrics were weak. Retrospectively, critics have considered "Shake It Off" an effective opener for the ''1989'' era, which transformed Swift's sound and image from country to pop. The song featured on 2010's decade-end lists by '' NME'' and '' Consequence''. In the U.S., the single spent 50 weeks–including four weeks at number one–on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and received a
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from 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/o ...
(RIAA). "Shake It Off" also topped charts in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Mexico, New Zealand, and Poland. The single was supported by a music video directed by Mark Romanek. The video, in which Swift portrays a clumsy person attempting to practice several dance moves without success, attracted accusations of
cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...
for featuring dance routines associated with people of color such as twerking. To promote the song, Swift performed on televised live events including the
MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
and the iHeartRadio Music Festival. She included "Shake It Off" on the set lists for two of her world tours, the 1989 World Tour (2015) and
Reputation Stadium Tour The Reputation Stadium Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her sixth studio album ''Reputation'' (2017). The all- stadium tour began on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona, and concluded on ...
(2018). The song has received numerous accolades, including Favorite Song at the 2015 People's Choice Awards and three
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 pre ...
nominations at the
2015 Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive tim ...
.


Background

Taylor Swift had been known as a primarily country singer-songwriter until her fourth studio album '' Red'' (released in October 2012), which incorporates various
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...
and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
styles, transcending the country sound of her previous releases. The collaborations with Swedish pop producers Max Martin and Shellback introduced straightforward pop hooks and new genres, including electronic and dubstep, to Swift's discography. Swift and her label, Big Machine, promoted it as a country album. The album's diverse musical styles sparked a media debate over her status as a country artist, to which she replied in an interview with '' The Wall Street Journal'', "I leave the genre labeling to other people." Swift began recording her fifth studio album, ''
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
'', while touring to support ''Red'' in mid-2013. Inspired by 1980s
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
, she conceived ''1989'' as her first "official pop" record that would transform her image from country to pop. Martin and Shellback produced seven out of thirteen tracks for the album's standard edition, including "Shake It Off".


Music and lyrics

Swift wrote the lyrics to "Shake It Off" and composed the song's melody with Martin and Shellback. The track was recorded by Sam Holland at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles and by Michael Ilbert at MXM Studios in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden. It was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound Studio in New York City. Musically, "Shake It Off" is an uptempo
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 ...
song that incorporates a saxophone line. Jonas Thander, the song's saxophone player, based his part on Martin's pre-recorded MIDI
horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
sample, using a tenor horn. It took Thander over ten hours to edit the saxophone part, which he completed over the following day. "Shake It Off" follows a ii–IV–I chord progression; it employs a
verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...
prechorus 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, 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 ...
form to begin with a loose verse, tighten for the prechorus, and loosen again for the chorus. The song's upbeat production is accompanied by a looping drum beat, a handclap-based bridge, and synthesized saxophones. The lyrics of the song were inspired by the media scrutiny that Swift had experienced during her rise to stardom. In an interview with '' Rolling Stone'' in August 2014, Swift said about the song's inspiration: "I've had every part of my life dissected ... When you live your life under that kind of scrutiny, you can either let it break you, or you can get really good at dodging punches. And when one lands, you know how to deal with it. And I guess the way that I deal with it is to shake it off." Discussing the song's message with NPR in October 2014, Swift said that "Shake It Off" represented her more mature perspectives from her previous single " Mean" (2010), which was also inspired by her detractors. According to Swift, if "Mean" was where she assumed victimhood, "Shake It Off" found her in a proactive stance to "take back the narrative, and have ... a sense of humor about people who kind of get under erskin – and not let them get under erskin". In the first verse of the song, Swift references her perceived image as a flirtatious woman with numerous romantic attachments: "I go on too many dates / But I can't make 'em stay / At least that's what people say." The lines in the chorus are arranged rhythmically to produce a catchy hook: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate / Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake." The spoken-word bridge opens with Swift asserting, "You could have been getting down to this sick beat," amidst the "dirty cheats of the world". The lyric "this sick beat" is trademarked to Swift by the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...
.


Release

On August 13, 2014, Swift appeared on '' The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'', where she announced she would hold a live stream via Yahoo! on August 18, 2014. During the live stream, Swift announced the details of the album ''1989''. She debuted "Shake It Off" as the album's lead single and premiered the song's music video simultaneously. "Shake It Off" was released digitally worldwide by Big Machine on August 19. The same day, Big Machine, in partnership with
Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...
, released the song to US radio. A limited CD single edition was available on September 11. In Europe, "Shake It Off" was added to a BBC Radio playlist on August 25, Italian radio on August 29, and was released as a CD single in Germany on October 10. The release of "Shake It Off" and its parent album ''1989'' had been highly anticipated, given Swift's announcement that she would abandon her country roots to release an "official pop" album. The magazine ''
Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...
'' described the single as "undoubtedly ... the most significant cultural event" since
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
's 2011 album '' The King of Limbs''. While noting that "Shake It Off" was not Swift's first "straight-up pop" song, ''
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 advertise ...
'' Jason Lipshutz considered it a sign of a "bold foray into the unknown", in which Swift could experiment beyond her well-known formulaic country pop songs that had been critically and commercially successful.


Critical reception

"Shake It Off" received mixed reviews from music critics. While some deemed the production catchy, others found the song repetitive and lacking substance compared to Swift's previous album ''Red'', which was perceived to be her artistic peak. Critic Randall Roberts from the '' Los Angeles Times'' lauded the song's energetic production, which they described as "perfect pop confection". Roberts, however, found the lyrics shallow, calling the song insensible to the political events at the time: "When lives are at stake and nothing seems more relevant than getting to the Actual Truth, liars and cheats can't and shouldn't be shaken off." '' The Guardian'' Molly Fitzpatrick lauded the song's music, but felt that the lyrics fell short of Swift's songwriting abilities. Giving the song a three-out-of-five-stars score, Jeff Terich from '' American Songwriter'' regarded Swift's new direction as "a left-turn worth following". While Terich agreed that the lyrics were dismissive, he felt that critics should not have taken the song seriously because it was "pretty harmless". In a positive review, Jason Lipshutz from ''Billboard'' wrote, "Swift proves why she belongs among pop's queen bees ... the song sounds like a surefire hit." In a review of the album ''1989'',
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...
praised the lyrics for "twisting clichés until they sound original". In the words of Andrew Unterberger from ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'', while "Shake It Off" was musically a "
red herring A red herring is a figurative expression referring to a logical fallacy in which a clue or piece of information is or is intended to be misleading, or distracting from the actual question. Red herring may also refer to: Animals * Red herring (fis ...
" that feels out of place on the album, it thematically represents Swift's new attitude on ''1989'', where she liberated herself from overtly romantic struggles to embrace positivity. Swift herself acknowledged the song as an outlier on ''1989'', and deliberately released it as the lead single to encourage audiences to explore the entire album and not just the singles. Retrospectively, Hannah Mylrea from '' NME'' considered "Shake It Off" an effective opener for Swift's ''1989'' era, which transformed her image to mainstream pop. While saying that "Shake It Off" was not one of the album's better songs, Rob Sheffield from '' Rolling Stone'' applauded it for "serving as a trailer to announce her daring Eighties synth-pop makeover". Nate Jones from '' Vulture'' agreed, but described the song's bridge as "the worst 24 seconds of the entire album". In his 2019 ranking of Swift's singles, Alexis Petridis ranked "Shake It Off" third—behind "
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 ...
" (2014) and "
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" (2008), lauding its "irresistible" hook and "sharp-tongued wit". Jane Song from '' Paste'' was less enthusiastic, placing "Shake It Off" among Swift's worst songs in her catalog, writing: "Swift has a pattern of choosing the worst song from each album as the lead single."


Commercial performance

After one day of release to US radio, "Shake It Off" gained an audience of nine million. The song debuted at 45 on the ''Billboard'' Radio Songs chart with 29 million in all-format audience after two days of release. After its first week of release, the single debuted at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Adult Top 40 chart, and number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Top 40, setting the record for the highest debut on both charts. On the Mainstream Top 40 chart, it tied with
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
's " Dreamlover" (1993) for the highest first-week chart entry. Although not officially released to
country radio Country radio refers to radio stations that play country music. Most country radio stations are commercial radio stations. Most country radio stations usually play only music which has been officially released to country radio by record labels. The ...
, the single debuted and peaked at number 58 on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart, where it stayed for one week. "Shake It Off" debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated September 6, 2014, the 22nd song to do so. After two consecutive weeks at number one, it dropped to number two, where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks. "Shake It Off" returned to number one in its tenth charting week, and spent a further week at number one, totaling four non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100. It also topped ''Billboard'' airplay-focused charts including Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, and Adult Contemporary. The song sold 3.43 million digital copies in 2014 in the U.S. "Shake It Off" was one of the best-selling singles of the 2010s decade in the U.S., selling 5.4 million digital copies as of January 2020. As of July 2020, the single remains Swift's biggest chart success on the Hot 100, where it spent nearly six months in the top ten and 50 weeks in the top 100. The song was certified Diamond 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/o ...
(RIAA), which denotes 10 million units. With this achievement, Swift is the first female artist to have both a song and an album (''
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'') certified Diamond in the U.S. "Shake It Off" also topped the charts in Australia and Canada, where it was certified thirteen times platinum and six times platinum, respectively. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and was the eleventh-best-selling song of 2014. It had sold one million pure copies by December 2022 and was certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of 2,400,000 units. In Japan, "Shake It Off" peaked at number four on the
Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...
and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). The single also topped
record charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
in Hungary, New Zealand and Poland. It was a top-five hit in other European countries, peaking at number two in Spain; number three in Ireland, Norway and Sweden; number four in Denmark and Israel; and number five in Germany and the Netherlands.


Music video


Concept

The music video for "Shake It Off", directed by Mark Romanek, was released on August 18, 2014, the same day as the song's release. It was shot over three days in June 2014 in Los Angeles. Swift conceived the video as a humorous depiction of her trying to find her identity: "It takes a long time to figure out who you are and where you fit in in the world." To this end, the video depicts Swift as a clumsy person who unsuccessfully attempts dance moves with professional artists, including ballerinas, breakdancers, cheerleaders, and performance artists. She summed up the video: I'm putting myself in all these awkward situations where the dancers are incredible, and I'm having fun with it, but not fitting in ... I'm being embarrassingly bad at it. It shows you to keep doing you, keep being you, keep trying to figure out where you fit in in the world, and eventually you will." The dances were choreographed by Tyce Diorio. The video's final scenes feature Swift dancing with her fans, who had been handpicked by Swift through social media engagement. The video contains references to other areas of popular culture. For instance,
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noted the following resemblances: the ballerinas to the 2010 film ''
Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...
'', the breakdancers to the 2010 film '' Step Up 3D'', the "sparkling suits and robotic dance moves" to French electronic musicians
Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
, the twerking dance moves to Miley Cyrus, the cheerleaders to Toni Basil's 1981 video " Mickey", and Swift's black turtleneck and jeans to the outfits of
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...
during an audition scene in the 1957 film '' Funny Face''. Publications including the ''Los Angeles Times'' and '' The Sydney Morning Herald'' also noted references to Lady Gaga and Skrillex.


Analysis and reception

Molly Fitzpatrick of ''The Guardian'' considered Swift "a little too skilled a dancer" for the video's concept, writing: "The incongruent blend of modern dance, ballet, and breakdancing is fun, but the conceit falls flat." Peter Vincent from ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' called the video "unoriginal", citing the many popular culture references, and doubted Swift's success in transforming her image to pop. Media professor Maryn Wilkinson noted "Shake It Off" as a representation of Swift's "zany" persona during the ''1989'' era. Wilkinson noted that as Swift had been associated with a hardworking and authentic persona through her country songs, her venture to "artificial, manufactured" pop required intricate maneuvering to retain her sense of authenticity. As observed by Wilkinson, in the video, after failing every dance routine, Swift laughs at herself implying that she will never "fit in" to "any commercially viable image, and prefers to embrace her natural zany state instead". In doing so, Swift reminded the audience of her authenticity underneath "the artificial manufacture of pop performances". "Shake It Off" attracted allegations of racism and
cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...
for perpetuating
African American stereotypes Stereotypes of African Americans are misleading beliefs about the culture of people of African descent who reside in the United States, largely connected to the racism and discrimination which African Americans are subjected to. These beliefs ...
such as twerking and breakdancing. Its release coinciding with the race relation debates revolving the Ferguson unrest was also met with criticism. Analyzing the video's supposedly "racializing surveillance" in a
post-racial Post-racial United States is a theoretical environment in which the United States is free from racial preference, discrimination, and prejudice. Origins of the term One of the earliest uses of the term "post-racial" to describe the United State ...
context, communications professor Rachel Dubrofsky noted the difference between Swift's depiction of conventionally white dance moves—such as ballet and cheerleading; and conventionally black dance moves—breakdancing and twerking. She argued that while Swift's outfits and demeanor when she performs ballet or cheerleading fit her "naturally", she "does not easily embody the break-dancer's body nor does the style of dress
hile twerking Hile ( ne, हिले) is a hill town located in the Eastern Development Region, Nepal, Eastern Part of Nepal, 13 km north of the regional center of Dhankuta Bazar. At an elevation of 1948 meters, it is the main route to other hilly distri ...
fit her seamlessly". Dubrofsky summarized the video as Swift's statement of her white authenticity: "I'm so white, you know it, I know it, which makes it so funny when I try to dance like a person of color." '' The Washington Post'' noted the video's depiction of dance moves associated with people of color, such as twerking, was another case of an ongoing debate about white pop singers embracing black culture. Romanek defended his work: "We simply choose styles of dance that we thought would be popular and amusing ... If you look at
he video He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
carefully, it's a massively inclusive piece. And ... it's a satirical piece. It's playing with a whole range of music video tropes and cliches and stereotypes".


Accolades

"Shake It Off" appeared on many publications' lists of the best songs of 2014. It featured in the top ten on lists by ''
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'' (third), '' PopMatters'' (fourth), '' The Village Voice'' Pazz & Jop critics' poll (fourth), and '' Consequence'' (eighth). The track featured on 2014 year-end lists by ''Drowned in Sound'' (14th), '' Dagsavisen'' (16th), and ''NME'' (27th). It was ranked by ''NME'' and ''Consequence'' as the 19th and 38th best song of the 2010s decade, respectively. '' USA Today'' listed "Shake It Off" as one of the ten songs that defined the 2010s. "Shake It Off" has received many industry awards and nominations. It was honored by the 2015
Nashville Songwriters Association International The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) is a 501(c) not-for-profit trade organization that works to help songwriters in three ways: through legislative advocacy, through education and advice about the actual craft of songwrit ...
, where Swift was the Songwriter of the Year. The song received an award at the 2016 BMI Pop Awards, where Swift also earned the distinction of Songwriter of the Year. At the
57th Annual Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...
in 2015, "Shake It Off" was nominated in three categories: Record of the Year,
Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to: * Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year * Dove Award for Song of the Year * Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year * Grammis Song of the Year * Grammy Award for Song of the Year * Latin Grammy Awa ...
, (both categories lost to "
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" by Sam Smith) and Best Pop Solo Performance but lost to "
Happy Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...
" by
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
. At the 2015 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, "Shake It Off" received three nominations, winning Top Streaming Song (Video). "Shake It Off" won Song of the Year at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Favorite International Video at the 2015 Myx Music Awards (Philippines), and Favorite Song at the 2015 People's Choice Awards. The song was nominated for the
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, Teen Choice Awards, Rockbjörnen Awards (Sweden), Radio Disney Music Awards, and
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(Spain).


Live performances

Swift premiered "Shake It Off" on television at the
2014 MTV Video Music Awards The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It was the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé and Iggy Azalea led the nominees with eight nominations each, while Eminem followed them ...
on August 24, 2014. She performed the song at the
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'' on October 12, '' The X Factor Australia'' on October 20, ''
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'' on October 23, and ''
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'' on October 29. On October 27, 2014, the day of ''1989'' release, she performed the song as part of a mini-concert titled the "''1989'' Secret Sessions", live broadcast by Yahoo! and
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming Computing platform, platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbr ...
. She also played "Shake It Off" on music festivals including the iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 19, the We Can Survive benefit concert at the
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on October 24, and the
Jingle Ball Tour 2014 The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour 2014 was a national holiday tour by iHeartMedia that began on December 5, 2014 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center hosted by Ryan Seacrest and special guest host Nick Jonas. The tour celebrates the holiday sea ...
on December 5. At the after party for the 40th anniversary of '' Saturday Night Live'', Swift performed the song in an impromptu performance with host
Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...
on backing vocals and Paul McCartney on backing vocals and bass guitar. "Shake It Off" was included on the set list on two of Swift's world tours— the 1989 World Tour, where the song was the final number, and
Reputation Stadium Tour The Reputation Stadium Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her sixth studio album ''Reputation'' (2017). The all- stadium tour began on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona, and concluded on ...
, where Swift performed the song with Camila Cabello and Charli XCX as supporting acts. On April 23, 2019, she performed an acoustic version of the song at the ''Time'' 100 Gala, where she was honored as one of the "100 most influential" people of the year. She again performed the song on the finale of the eighth season of ''The Voice'' France on May 25, on the Wango Tango festival on June 1, at the City of Lover one-off concert in Paris on September 9, and at the We Can Survive charity concert in Los Angeles on October 19, 2019. At the 2019 American Music Awards, where she was honored as the Artist of the Decade, Swift performed "Shake It Off" as part of a
medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...
of her hits. Halsey and Camila Cabello joined Swift onstage during the song. She again performed the song at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball 2019 in London and at iHeartRadio Z100's Jingle Ball in New York City.


Controversies


2014 Triple J Hottest 100

Following a January 13, 2015 article on
BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
titled "Why Isn't Everyone Voting For 'Shake It Off' In The Hottest 100?", the #Tay4Hottest100
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...
campaign on social media emerged during the voting period for the
Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the ...
, an annual poll selecting the 100 most prominent songs by Australian radio station Triple J. The campaign led to a significant amount of media coverage as Australian music fans debated the merits of Swift's inclusion in the poll. One criterion for eligibility is being played on air by Triple J at least once in 2014; Swift's "Shake It Off" did not receive airplay, but a cover of the song by the folk group Milky Chance did. According to those critical of the campaign, the Hottest 100 is reserved for non-mainstream artists who were "discovered or fostered by Triple J" and provides valuable exposure for artists in the outer circles of the music industry. Those defending the campaign criticized Triple J's practice of favoring "masculine 'rockist' " and "
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
" artists for perpetuating cultural elitism and sexism. '' Guardian Australia''s Elle Hunt wrote, "the virulent response to #Tay4Hottest100 has revealed the persistence of a
dichotomy A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simulta ...
I'd thought we'd thrown out long ago: that of high art versus
low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...
." On January 20, 2015, ''Guardian Australia'' submitted a freedom of information request to the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
in regard to the station's response to the campaign and the eligibility of "Shake It Off" for the Hottest 100 contest. Triple J's manager Chris Scaddan told the website ''Tone Deaf'': "We don't comment on voting campaigns while Hottest 100 voting is open. It draws attention to them and may influence the results of the poll." On January 23, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' citing University of Queensland reported that the #Tay4Hottest100 campaign had overwhelmed the Hottest 100 for 2014—over 7,341 Hottest 100 posts over the past 30 days related to Swift, compared to 230 related to Chet Faker, the current leader of the contest. "Shake It Off" was eventually disqualified by Triple J on January 26, 2015. In the announcement, Triple J acknowledged Swift's music and career but highlighted that her entry—which had not received airtime—would not reflect their spirit. They subsequently introduced two new rules that prohibited "trolling the poll"-type campaigns for the proceeding Hottest 100 polls. Glen Fuller, a scholar in communications, described the #Tay4Hottest100 campaign as an example of "connective action" in the age of social media. As noted by Fuller, the emergence of personalized "action frames" expressing personal viewpoints intertwining with a larger framework of information created by media publications resulted in fragmented arguments that failed to result in a definite outcome.


Lawsuits

In November 2015, Jessie Braham, an R&B singer known by the stage name Jesse Graham, claimed that Swift plagiarized his 2013 song "Haters Gonna Hate", citing his lyrics "Haters gone hate, playas gone play. Watch out for them fakers, they'll fake you everyday." He stated that Swift's "hook is the same as mine" and that there would be no "Shake It Off" if he "hadn't written 'Haters Gonna Hate' ". In the lawsuit, he alleged that 92% of Swift's "Shake It Off" came from his song, and demanded $42 million in damages from Swift and the distributor Sony. On November 12, 2015, the lawsuit was dismissed by
U.S. District Court Judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
Gail Standish, who ruled that Braham did not have enough factual evidence but could file a new complaint "if his lawsuit deficiencies are corrected". Standish quoted lyrics from Swift's songs " We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", " Bad Blood", "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off":
At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them. As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space – one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court's explanation ... Braham may discover that mere pleading BandAids will not fix the bullet holes in his case. At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.
In September 2017, songwriters Sean "Sep" Hall and
Nate Butler Nate Butler is an American songwriter, music producer, vocal producer, and recording artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a part of 45 plus million records sold worldwide at last count. Butler has worked with multi-platinum artists such ...
sued Swift for copyright infringement. They alleged that the lyrics of "Shake It Off" plagiarized those of " Playas Gon' Play" (2001), a song they wrote for girl group
3LW 3LW (initialism of "3 Lil Women") was an American girl group formed in 1999 by Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Naturi Naughton. Jessica Benson later replaced Naughton after she left the group in 2002. 3LW was signed to the label Epic Recor ...
, citing their lyrics, "Playas they gon' play, and haters they gonna hate / Ballers they gon' ball, shot callers they gonna call." U.S. District Judge
Michael W. Fitzgerald Michael Walter Fitzgerald (born July 11, 1959) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Early life and education Fitzgerald was born in Los Angeles, California, on July 11, ...
, in February 2018, dismissed the case on the grounds that the lyrics in question were too "banal" to be copyrighted; but U.S. Circuit Judges
John B. Owens John Byron Owens (born 1971) is an American judge and lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Early life and education Owens was born in Washington, D.C. in 1971, and grew u ...
,
Andrew D. Hurwitz Andrew David Hurwitz (born October 1, 1947) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He served as a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court from 2003 to 2012. Education and clerkships Hur ...
, and
Kenneth K. Lee Kenneth Kiyul Lee (; born August 30, 1975) is a South Korean-born American lawyer and jurist who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Early life and education Lee was born in 19 ...
of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
, in October 2019, reversed the ruling, holding that the district court had "constituted itself as the final judge of the worth of an expressive work", and sent the case back to the district court. Swift's legal team filed new documents for dismissal of the suit in July 2020, and in July 2021, filed for a summary judgment, arguing that the
discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
phase of the lawsuit has turned up evidence in their favor. On December 9, 2021, Fitzgerald refused Swift's request for a summary judgement. Swift's legal team filed a second motion to dismiss the case on December 23, claiming the Fitzgerald's ruling was "unprecedented and cheats the public domain" if the plaintiffs could sue everyone who uses the phrases in any songwriting, singing or says it publicly. On January 14, 2022, Hall and Butler's legal team filed a response stating, "The rules simply do not provide defendants with vehicles for rehashing old arguments and are not intended to give an unhappy litigant one additional chance to sway the judge." On December 12, 2022, the lawsuit was dropped with no final verdict.


Cover versions and usage in media

"Shake It Off" has been covered by other musicians. English singer Labrinth performed a cover of the song at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge September 20, 2014. English singer Charli XCX delivered a punk rock-inspired version at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in February 2015. Her version was nominated for Best Cover Song at the 2015 mtvU Woodie Awards. Rock singer Ryan Adams covered "Shake It Off" on his track-by-track cover of Swift's ''1989'', released in September 2015. The cover incorporates acoustic instruments and a thumping drum line which critics compared to that on
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
's 1985 song " I'm on Fire". The song has featured in parodies and homages. In an April 2015 episode of ''
Lip Sync Battle ''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...
'', actor Dwayne Johnson lip synced to "Shake It Off" and
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...
' 1977 song " Stayin' Alive" in a battle against Jimmy Fallon, and won. The title of " Chris Has Got a Date, Date, Date, Date, Date", a ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'' episode featuring a fictionalized character of Swift aired on November 6, 2016, is a pun on the lyrics of "Shake It Off". Actress Reese Witherspoon and comedian Nick Kroll covered the song with
EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstra ...
crossover elements for the soundtrack to the musical animated film ''
Sing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
'' (2016). "Shake It Off" was also sung by Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o on a ukulele in the 2019 film '' Little Monsters''. A cover of the song by the cast of the 2020 television series '' Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'' was featured in the final episode of its second season.


Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''1989''. * Taylor Swift – vocals, background vocals, songwriter, clapping, shouts * Cory Bice – assistant recording * Tom Coyne – mastering * Serban Ghenea – mixing * John Hanes – engineering for mix * Sam Holland – recording * Michael Ilbert – recording * Jonas Lindeborg – trumpet * Max Martin –
producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
, songwriter,
keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
, programming, claps, shouts * Shellback – producer, songwriter,
acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
, bass guitar, keyboard, background vocals,
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, programming, claps, shouts, percussion * Jonas Thander – saxophone * Magnus Wiklund – trombone


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


All-time charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

* List of best-selling singles in Australia * List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number ones singles of 2014 * List of ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary number ones of 2014 * List of ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary number ones of 2015 *
List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2014 This is a list of the Canadian ''Billboard'' magazine Canadian Hot 100 number-ones of 2014. Note that ''Billboard'' publishes charts with an issue date approximately 7–10 days in advance. A Canadian flag denotes a Canadian artist. Chart his ...
*
List of number-one digital songs of 2014 (U.S.) The highest-selling digital singles in the United States are ranked in the Hot Digital Songs chart, published by ''Billboard'' magazine. The data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based on each single's weekly digital sales, which combines sale ...
* List of number-one singles of 2014 (Australia) *
List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand) This is the Recorded Music NZ list of number-one singles in New Zealand during the 2010s decade, starting from Monday 4 January 2010. From 7 November 2014, the chart also included data from audio on demand streaming services. Chart Key : – Nu ...
* List of most-viewed YouTube videos *
List of most-liked YouTube videos __FORCETOC__ This list of most-liked YouTube videos contains the top 30 videos with the most likes of all time, taken directly from the video page. YouTube implemented a like and dislike button on these pages in March 2010, part of a major re ...


Footnotes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{featured article 2014 singles 2014 songs Big Machine Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Dance-pop songs Music videos directed by Mark Romanek Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by Max Martin Song recordings produced by Shellback (record producer) Songs written by Max Martin Songs written by Shellback (record producer) Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs involved in plagiarism controversies Taylor Swift songs Number-one singles in Poland Reese Witherspoon songs Ryan Adams songs