"Sweeter than Fiction" 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. Bor ...

for the British film '' One Chance'' (2013), starring British actor

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey''. In the Un ...

. The song was written and produced by Swift and

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead singer of rock band Bleachers, and is the guitarist and drummer in the pop rock band Fun. He was p ...

, best known as the

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

for

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band

Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

, and was released 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 ...

as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

from the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

on October 21, 2013.

Background and release

The song was written and produced by Swift and

. Swift revealed in an interview with country music blog ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' that she viewed the film as a love story in addition to a chronicling of a man's road to success, and approached the songwriting process from that perspective: "I’m very inspired by the concept of love. And this movie is, in a lot of ways, ... a story of the love his wife … has for him," Swift explained. "That was the story that hit me and really affected me. I wanted to tell a story musically from that perspective." The song was released to digital retailers as a

from the ''One Chance'' soundtrack on October 21, 2013.iTunes and Amazon references: * * After its release, Swift admitted she had to fight her label to be allowed to release "Sweeter than Fiction", as she tries to maintain a dormant period between album releases. Big Machine reportedly told Swift "no new music until the next album comes out", but Swift explained that after seeing the film, she insisted "I have to be a part of this."

Composition

"Sweeter than Fiction" is a "

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 ...

-tinged"

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...

song that also contains influences of

synthpop 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 a ...

and

new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...

. Critics have deemed the song reminiscent of 80's pop. The song is musically and lyrically upbeat, with Swift singing from the point of view of a longtime friend or fan who has always believed in a performer's talents. "There you'll stand, ten feet tall", Swift sings in the chorus, "and I will say, 'I knew it all along.'" It was written by Swift along with

and is in the key of

B major B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its ...

for its verses, switching to

D-flat major D-flat major (or the key of D-flat) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. It is enharmonically equivalent to C-sharp major. The D-flat major scale is: : Its r ...

for its choruses and the bridge. With Swift's vocal range between the

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

s of F♯₃ and D♭₅. has a tempo of 135 beats per minute and lasts three minutes and fifty-four seconds.

Critical reception

The song was well received by critics. ''

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 cul ...

'' praised Swift's approach to the subject matter - "The track ... is uplifting without being hokey and sweet without being cloying." - and described the song as "addictive". Rachel Mcrady of ''

US Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...

'' felt "Sweeter than Fiction" possessed "all the makings of another hit" in Swift's career.

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

blogger Jenna Hally Rubenstein summarised "Sweeter than Fiction" as "a masterfully crafted pop song that should do a killer job of soundtracking any and all uplifting moments in ''One Chance''." Carl Williott of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' called the song "pretty great", saying "it's a ... sweet song, but the confident synth-pop/New Wave stylings keep it from being an overly saccharine affair, resultingly in a surprisingly bold offering from Swift." ''

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 ...

'' editor Larry Busacca gave a more mixed review. Though deriding the song for being " otthe least bit groundbreaking", Busacca did admit the song was "too catchy and effortless-sounding to resist." In a retrospective review, music journalist

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at ''Blen ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called it a "warm-up for the synth-pop of ''

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''". In June 2022,

Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

ranked "Sweeter than Fiction" as Swift's sixth best soundtrack song, calling it a "pivotal moment in Swiftian history" due to it being the first collaboration between Swift and Antonoff.

Awards and nominations

"Sweeter than Fiction" was nominated for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

71st Golden Globe Awards The 71st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2013, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 12, 2014, by NBC, as part of the 2013-14 film awards season. The ...

. This was Swift's second consecutive nomination in the category, after " Safe & Sound" the previous year.

Commercial performance

"Sweeter than Fiction" debuted at number 34 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100, her forty-third top forty hit, thus tying with

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

for the second-most Top Forty entries among women in the chart's history. It also Swift's fifth movie song to crack the Top Forty, following " Crazier" from '' Hannah Montana: The Movie'' which reached number 17 in 2009, "

Today Was a Fairytale "Today Was a Fairytale" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, it was released on January 19, 2010, by Big Machine Records as a single from the corresponding soundtrack ...

" from ''

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

'' which reached number 2 in 2010 and two songs from ''

The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set ...

'': " Safe & Sound" with

The Civil Wars The Civil Wars were an American musical duo composed of Joy Williams (singer), Joy Williams and John Paul White. Formed in 2008, The Civil Wars won four Grammy Awards prior to their 2014 breakup. History 2008–2010 Both Williams and White h ...

which reached number 30 in 2012, and " Eyes Open" which reached number 19 in 2012. On Hot Digital Songs, "Sweeter than Fiction" entered at number 6 with 114,000 downloads sold. It is Swift's twenty-eighth song to reach the Top Ten of the Digital Songs chart, thus tying with

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

for the most Top Ten hits among all acts.

Charts

Weekly charts

References

* {{Authority control 2013 singles 2013 songs Big Machine Records singles Bubblegum pop songs Songs written by Jack Antonoff Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs written for films Taylor Swift songs Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift