"Everything Has Changed" is a song written and 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 ...

featuring English singer-songwriter

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 ...

, taken from Swift's fourth studio album, '' Red'' (2012). Produced by

Butch Walker Bradley Glenn "Butch" Walker (born November 14, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the glam metal band SouthGang from the late 1980s to early 1990s as well as the lead vocalist ...

, the track was released as the sixth single from the album on July 14, 2013. A music video for the song was released prior, on June 6, 2013. "Everything Has Changed" is a guitar-led

folk-pop Folk-pop is a musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. The lyrics are about wanting to know a new lover better. The single received mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who either complimented or criticized the production. "Everything Has Changed" peaked at number 32 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified double 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/ ...

(RIAA). It reached the top 10 on charts of Ireland, Scotland, and the United Kingdom, and was certified platinum in the lattermost country. Swift performed "Everything Has Changed" with Sheeran on ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

'' on June 8, 2013, and included it in the set list of

the Red Tour The Red Tour was the third concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her fourth studio album, '' Red'' (2012). The tour started on March 13, 2013, at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska and concluded on June 12, ...

(2013–2014). A re-recorded version, "Everything Has Changed (Taylor's Version)", was included on Swift's re-recorded album ''

Red (Taylor's Version) ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' is the second re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Released via Republic Records on November 12, 2021, as a part of Swift's countermeasure against the purchase of the masters of her back cata ...

'', released on November 12, 2021.

Background and composition

Swift released her third studio album, '' Speak Now'', in October 2010. She wrote the album by herself and co-produced it with Nathan Chapman. ''Speak Now'' was similar to Swift's previous album, ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

'' (2008), in its

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

production style. On her fourth studio album, '' Red'' (2012), Swift wanted to experiment with other musical styles. To this end, she approached different producers other than Chapman, beyond her career base in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. Swift wrote "Everything Has Changed" with Sheeran on a

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. People bounce o ...

in Swift's backyard. It was produced by

, a prominent contemporary hip hop producer. Swift initially worked with Walker and Sheeran on separate songs, but brought "Everything Has Changed" to Walker because she "knew he would approach it from an organic place, which is where heerancomes from". She chose Walker as a new collaborator on ''Red'' because she admired his "emotionally charged" production. "Everything Has Changed" is a

midtempo 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 (often ...

driven by guitar. Critics described it as a

song. The track extensively uses

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

at the

sixteenth-note Figure 1. A 16th note with stem facing up, a 16th note with stem facing down, and a 16th rest. Figure 2. Four 16th notes beamed together. In music, a 1/16, sixteenth note ( American) or semiquaver (British) is a note played for half the dur ...

level, which

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

James E. Perone deemed a trademark style of Swift's music and reminiscent of her self-titled debut album (2006). Perone commented that "Everything Has Changed" incorporates hip-hop influences with the deep

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

beats in its production. Lyrically, the song is about two new lovers wanting to get to know each other better. Both Swift and Sheeran provide lead vocals, alternating between the verses.

Critical reception

"Everything Has Changed" received mixed reviews from

. Perone gave the song a positive review, calling it a pleasant track that "should not be overlooked". Mesfin Fekadu of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

considered "Everything Has Changed" a highlight on ''Red'', praising Swift and Sheeran's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

vocals. In 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 ...

'', Randall Roberts called it a "powerful collaboration" and picked it as one of the album's "well-constructed pop songs Taylor-made for bedroom duets". Phil Gallo from ''

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 ...

'' considered the song "Swift at her most plaintive". Another ''Billboard'' article reviewing ''Red'' gave the song a mixed review, criticizing the lyrics as clichéd but complimenting Sheeran's harmony vocals. Jon Caramanica from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' considered Swift's songwriting on "Everything Has Changed" not as strong as on her past songs, but still maintained "her ear for the awkward and tentative rhythms of romantic bonding". Robert Cospey of ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' gave the song a three stars out of five rating, praising the song's musical style as "cutesy" but felt that "their exchanges leave us with a warm and fuzzy feeling that is all too rare these days". Sian Rowe, a writer from '' NME'' was upright critical, deeming it inferior to respective singer-songwriters' material and "disappointing in every way". Bernard Perusse from the ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'' considered it a weak song. Tony Clayton-Lea from ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' deemed the track Swift's "desperate attempt" to reach out to new audiences. Also from ''The Irish Times'', Eoin Butler gave the single a two-out-of-five rating, calling it a "typically slushy ballad".

Release and commercial performance

"Everything Has Changed" is track number 14 on ''Red'', which was released on October 22, 2012, 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 ...

. In April 2013, Swift announced that "Everything Has Changed" would be released as a single in the United Kingdom. It was released in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2013, and in the United States two days later. In the United States, "Everything Has Changed" peaked at number 32 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. On ''Billboard'' airplay charts, it peaked at number eight on the

Adult Pop Songs The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

, number 11 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

, and number 14 on 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 ...

charts. It had sold 1.1 million copies in the United States by November 2017. The

(RIAA) certified the single double platinum for surpassing two million units based on sales and streaming. 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 ...

, the single peaked at number 28. "Everything Has Changed" was a top-ten chart hit in other English-speaking countries, peaking at number five in Ireland, number seven in Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

gold in New Zealand, and platinum in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Accolades

Music video

A music video for "Everything Has Changed" was released on Swift's

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, ...

channel 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 ...

on June 6, 2013. It was directed by

Philip Andelman Philip Andelman is an American music video director and photographer. Andelman has directed music videos for many notable artists, see below. He has received nominations for his works from the MVPA, VMAs, and CMT awards including MVPA Director o ...

and filmed in

Oak Park, California Oak Park is an unincorporated community in Ventura County, California, United States. When developed in the Simi Hills in the late 1960s, a single road provided the only access to the community from Agoura Hills, California, in neighboring Los An ...

at Medea Creek Middle School and

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

. The video begins with two children who initially appear to be Swift and Sheeran when they were much younger, meeting each other on a bus to elementary school. Throughout the video, the two children engage in many activities at school together, including painting their faces with crayons, pretending to be a princess and knight, and dancing with each other in the empty school gym. At the end, Swift and Sheeran appear and are revealed to actually be the parents of their child counterparts, arriving at the school to pick them up and take them back to their respective homes. Jason Lipshutz from ''

'' labelled the video as "impossibly adorable", while Ray Rahman from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' compared the video's synopsis to ''

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson ...

'', but "much more gentle than that". The two actors who starred in the "Everything Has Changed" video appeared together again in the music video of " The Joker and the Queen" (2022), a song by Sheeran featuring Swift. To this extent, some media publications deemed "The Joker and the Queen" a sequel to the "Everything Has Changed" video.

Live performances

On June 8, 2013, Swift and Sheeran performed "Everything Has Changed" together on season finale of the seventh series of ''

''. Swift also sang the song on her Red Tour (2013).

Personnel

Adapted from ''Red'' album liner notes'' Red'' (

Compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

). Taylor Swift. Big Machine Records. 2012. BMR310400A *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

– featured vocals, songwriter *

– producer,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

s, keyboards,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Jake Sinclair Jake Tony Sinclair (born 29 November 1994) is an English footballer who has played professionally for Southampton and Hibernian. He is currently a striker for Mangotsfield United. Career Sinclair joined Southampton at the academy level at ...

–

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals * Justin Niebank – mixing * Drew Bollman – assistant mixing * Hank Williams – mastering * Joann Tominaga – production coordinator * Patrick Warren – string arrangement,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

Gary Lightbody Gareth John Lightbody (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The ...

– background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

"Everything Has Changed (Taylor's Version)"

Swift re-recorded "Everything Has Changed", subtitled "(Taylor's Version)", with Sheeran for her second re-recorded album, ''

'', released on November 12, 2021, through

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 ...

. Prior to the release, on August 23, 2021, Sheeran shared a clip on social media showing him in the studio, re-recording the track and another collaboration with Swift for ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' titled "Run". "Everything Has Changed (Taylor's Version)" charted on the singles charts of Canada and the United States, and peaked at number 59 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart.

Personnel

Adapted from ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' liner notes * Taylor Swift – lead vocals, background vocals, songwriter * Ed Sheeran – lead vocals, background vocals, songwriter, acoustic guitar * Butch Walker – producer, engineer, bass, drums, guitar, keyboard, percussion, background vocals * Christopher Rowe – vocals engineer * Robert Sellens – vocals engineer * Bryce Bordone – engineer *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...

– mixer * Gary Lightbody – background vocals

Charts

References

Source

* {{authority control 2010s ballads 2012 songs 2013 singles American folk songs Taylor Swift songs Ed Sheeran songs Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs written by Ed Sheeran Song recordings produced by Butch Walker Big Machine Records singles Republic Records singles Pop ballads Folk ballads Music videos directed by Philip Andelman