"Bad Blood" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

from her fifth studio album, ''

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

'' (2014). She wrote the song with the Swedish producers

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

and Shellback. It is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song using keyboards and

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

–inspired drum beats, and the lyrics are about betrayal by a close friend. A

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

featuring the American rapper

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

, with additional lyrics by Lamar and production by the Swedish musician

Ilya Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, Ilija, or Illia ( , or ; ; ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/ Jah." It comes from the Byzantine Greek pronunciation of the vocative (Ilía) of the Greek Eli ...

, was released to radio as ''1989'' fourth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on May 17, 2015, by Big Machine and

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, 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 ...

. Music critics gave the album version of "Bad Blood" mixed reviews; some described it as catchy and engaging, but others criticized the production as bland and the lyrics repetitive. The remix version received somewhat more positive comments for Lamar's verses, featured among the best songs of 2015 on lists by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' and ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', and received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination for

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this categ ...

. Critics have retrospectively considered "Bad Blood" one of Swift's worst songs. The single reached number one and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Directed by Joseph Kahn and produced by Swift, the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Bad Blood" features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

consisting of female singers, actresses, and models. Having a production that resembles

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and action movies, it won the

Grammy Award for Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. ...

and

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 honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

for the Video of the Year and Best Collaboration. Swift performed "Bad Blood" on

the 1989 World Tour The 1989 World Tour was the fourth concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014). It began in Tokyo, Japan, on May 5, 2015, and concluded in Melbourne, Australia, on December ...

(2015), the

Reputation Stadium Tour The Reputation Stadium Tour was the fifth concert tour and the first stadium tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her sixth studio album, ''Reputation'' (2017). It began in Glendale, Arizona, United States, on May ...

(2018), and

the Eras Tour The Eras Tour was the sixth concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It began in Glendale, Arizona, United States, on March 17, 2023, and concluded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on December 8, 2024. Spanning 149 sh ...

(2023–2024). Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded both the album version and the Lamar remix for her 2023 re-recorded album ''

1989 (Taylor's Version) ''1989 (Taylor's Version)'' is the fourth re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 27, 2023, by Republic Records, as part of Swift's re-recording project following the Taylor Swift masters disput ...

''; both re-recordings are subtitled "Taylor's Version".

Background and production

had identified as a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

musician, up until her fourth studio album, ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

'', which was released on October 22, 2012. ''Red'' eclectic

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 Wale ...

styles beyond the country stylings of Swift's past albums led to critics questioning her country-music identity. Swift began writing songs for her fifth studio album in mid-2013 while touring. She was inspired by 1980s

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

to create her fifth studio album, ''

'', which she described as her first "official pop album" and named after her birth year. The album makes extensive use of

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s, programmed

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

s, and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

stylings, a stark contrast to the acoustic arrangements of her country-styled albums. Swift and

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

served as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

s of ''1989''. On the album's standard edition, Martin and Shellback produced 7 out of 13 songs, including "Bad Blood". Swift wrote "Bad Blood" with Martin and Shellback, who both programmed the track and played

electronic keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument based on keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio work ...

s on it. The song was recorded by Sam Holland at

Conway Recording Studios Conway Recording Studios is a recording studio in Hollywood, California. People and awards Conway started in the early 1970s as a mastering studio. In 1976, the studio began recording albums, including projects by Elton John and Stevie Wonde ...

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, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. The song was mixed by

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

at Mixstar Studios in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

, and

mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound Studio in New York.

Music and lyrics

"Bad Blood" is a pop song with prominent

stylings. It incorporates prominent keyboard tones, hip-hop beats, and a pulsing

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

. According to

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the "booming drums" of the song evoked the "

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", " My Kinda Love ...

ones often sampled in hip-hop". Jem Aswad of ''

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 advertis ...

'' described the production as "simplistic" and compared it to

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...

's "

Hollaback Girl "Hollaback Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). It is a hip-hop song that draws influence from 1980s hip-hop and dance music. The song was written by ...

" (2005), ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

Kitty Empire Kitty Empire (born 1970) is a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''. Early life Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain in ...

likened the "stark beats" to the music of

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

, and ''

'' Matthew Horton deemed the song a "bitter stomp" that evokes

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

. The lyrics portray resentment and anger that result from betrayal, through lyrics such as, "These kinda wounds, they last and they last," and "Band-aids don't fix bullet holes/ You say sorry just for show." The

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

consists of repeated phrases, "Now we got bad blood/ You know it used to be mad love."

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''. while ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

s Sasha Geffen wrote that she sang "through gritted teeth". Some critics interpreted "Bad Blood" to be about a lost love. In an interview for the September 2014 cover issue for ''

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Swift said that the song was about a fellow female artist whom she had thought of as a close friend; she felt betrayed after this person attempted to "sabotage an entire arena tour" by " iringa bunch of people out from under er. She wanted to make it clear that it was about losing a friend and not a lover because she "knew people would immediately be going in one direction", referring to how the audience interpreted her songs in association with her love life. The media speculated the subject to be

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

, who had a publicized fallout with Swift after being friends for several years. In another interview for '' GQ'' in October 2015, Swift reaffirmed the theme of lost friendship and responded to the speculation: "I never said anything that would point a finger in the specific direction of one specific person." According to

Chuck Klosterman Charles John Klosterman (; born June 5, 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for ''Esquire'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''The New York Times Magaz ...

, by clarifying the inspiration behind "Bad Blood" to divert the media from her love life without disclosing the subject, Swift "propagated the existence of a different rumor that offered the added value of making the song more interesting".

Release and commercial performance

After ''1989'' was released on October 27, 2014, "Bad Blood" first charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks in November 2014 and January 2015, reaching number 78. In May 2015, a remix version featuring the rapper

was released as the fourth single to promote ''1989''. According to Lamar, Swift reached out to him personally and he agreed because they had been fond of each other's music. On the remix, Lamar raps two verses written by himself, and

contributed additional production. Lamar recalled that the collaboration with Swift went smoothly because "the vibe was right"; he finished his verses in a few takes during a studio session in Los Angeles. When ''Rolling Stone'' asked him in 2017 whether he was "taking sides in a pop beef", he responded that he was unaware of it.

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta and ...

released the remix for digital download on May 17, 2015, the same day that the premiere of its music video took place at the ''Billboard'' Music Awards. In the United States, Big Machine and

sent "Bad Blood" to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

on May 19, and to

rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor ...

radio on June 9, 2015.

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

released the song to Italian radio on June 12, 2015. "Bad Blood" re-entered the Hot 100 at number 53 upon its single release and reached number one the following week, on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated June 6, 2015. "Bad Blood" was the third single from ''1989'' to reach number one, after "

Shake It Off "Shake It Off" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her fifth studio album, '' 1989'' (2014). She wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Swif ...

" and "

Blank Space "Blank Space" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the second single from her fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014). Swift wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Sw ...

"; it was Swift's fourth and Lamar's first career number-one Hot 100 single. After one week at number one, it charted at number two for the next five weeks. On ''Billboard'' airplay charts, "Bad Blood" reached number one on

Pop Songs 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 ...

and

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 Syste ...

. On the Pop Songs chart, after it debuted at number 13 and rose to number 9 the following week, the single tied the record for the quickest timeline to enter the top 10. By reaching number one in five weeks, it registered the shortest duration to top the chart since

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

's " Over and Over" (2004) featuring

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on ...

, which spent three weeks before ascending to the top. In the week ending July 12, 2015, the single broke the record for the most single-week plays in the Pop Songs chart's 22-year history, surpassing

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

and

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his cover (music), song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record labe ...

's "

See You Again "See You Again" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa featuring American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth. Produced by Puth, DJ Frank E and Andrew Cedar, who also co-wrote the song with Khalifa, the song was commissioned for the soundtrack of ...

" (2015). According to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...

, "Bad Blood" was the 10th-best-selling song of 2015 in the United States, selling 2.584 million digital copies. 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 ...

certified the single six-times platinum for surpassing six million units based on sales and on-demand streams, and the track had sold 3.2 million digital copies in the United States by July 2019. "Bad Blood" topped the charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Scotland. It peaked within the top five in South Africa, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom; and the top ten in Hungary, Finland, and Ireland. The single was certified multi-platinum in Australia (eight-times platinum), Brazil (double diamond), Canada (triple platinum), and the United Kingdom (double platinum). It was certified platinum in Austria, Norway, Portugal, and gold in Denmark, Germany, Italy, and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, the single had sold 373,000 downloads as of July 2021.

Critical reception

"Bad Blood" received mixed reviews, with many critics deeming it the weakest song on ''1989''. Mike Diver from '' Clash'' described it as "a litany of diary-page break-up clichés set to directionless thumps and fuzzes", while Jay Lustig from ''The Record'' criticized Swift's delivery as "merely petulant, howling" and the beats as "repetitive". Several critics found the song neither engaging nor distinctive; the

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

James E. Perone wrote that listeners would not be able to tell if "Bad Blood" was a "Taylor Swift song" because of its composition and vocals. Andrew Unterberger from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' said that the lyrics were absent of the specificity that had characterized Swift's previous songs, Mikael Wood from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' thought that its beat was reminiscent of that on Katy Perry's "

Roar A roar is a type of animal vocalization that is loud, deep and resonating. Many mammals have evolved to produce roars and other roar-like vocals for purposes such as long-distance communication and intimidation. These include various species of ...

" (2013), and Lindsay Zoladz from ''

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 Nort ...

'' considered "Bad Blood" an "ironic" song to be taken as a Perry

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...

because other album tracks had "the faceless mall-pop" that was "no better" than the worst songs on Perry's album ''

Prism PRISM is a code name for a program under which the United States National Security Agency (NSA) collects internet communications from various U.S. internet companies. The program is also known by the SIGAD . PRISM collects stored internet ...

'' (2013). Retrospective rankings by ''Rolling Stone''

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 ...

and ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' Jane Song both ranked it as the worst song Swift had released. In more positive reviews, several critics considered "Bad Blood" one of the highlights of ''1989''. ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' Amy Pettifier said that it was one of the album tracks "crammed with merit" and called it "all sass and bile", ''

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

'' Adam Markovitz said that the track was a "potential it as a "chant-along fight song", and the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

Ben Rayner Ben Rayner is a music critic and writer for the ''Toronto Star'' since 1998. His commentary on artists is extensively cited across the industry. Indie88 considers him "of the most respected industry professionals around." In 2012, he served on ...

praised it as a "proper keeper on delivery" with its "cheerleader-ish shout-along". ''Consequence of Sound'' Sasha Geffen and '' Drowned in Sounds Robert Leedham found the song to showcase a defiant attitude; the former attributed this to the production elements of hip-hop beats and deep bassline: "they let her slice out her words with real anger, not just passive regret", and the latter wrote that it recalled "iconic hardcore bands you've probably never heard of". Revisiting "Bad Blood" in 2023, Amara Sorosiak of ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' regarded it as a career-defining single for Swift, writing that it exemplified the "shout-able, catchy pop" of her pop albums and solidified her "bold image" as an artist in the 2010s decade. For ''Vulture'' Nate Jones, the song represented the peak of Swift's "Max Martin era", with its melody being expertly crafted but lyrics absent of "humanity". Reviewing the remix version featuring Lamar, August Brown of the ''Los Angeles Times'' expressed confusion towards the rapper's appearance and contended that it was a move to garner a mainstream audience after his "epic" album ''

To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout ...

'' (2015). Brown said that while Lamar's delivery was "not at his most fiery", it proved his artistic versatility "from difficult

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

..to the tightest, glossiest pop out there". ''Slate'''s Chris Molanphy praised Ilya's production for highlighting the refrain's musical highlights and lauded Lamar's "tongue-tripping turns of phrase", but he contended that the rapper was in "accessible, maximum-pop mode" while he was supposed to be held "to a higher standard".

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' dubbed the single "a masterstroke" with "potent and effective" verses from Lamar and an "even more anthemic" chorus compared to the album version. "Bad Blood" featuring Lamar was listed among the best songs of 2015 by ''NME'' (11th) and ''

'' (6th).

Music video

Development and synopsis

The music video of "Bad Blood" was directed by Joseph Kahn and produced by Swift. Filmed in Los Angeles on April 12, 2015, the video premiered on May 17, 2015, at the ''Billboard'' Music Awards. The video features Swift and Lamar alongside an ensemble cast consisting of female singers, actresses, and fashion models who were dubbed by the media as Swift's "squad". Each member of the cast chose their character's name. The cast include, in order of appearance: Catastrophe (Swift), Arsyn (

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

), Welvin da Great (Lamar), Lucky Fiori (

Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...

), the Trinity (

Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...

), Dilemma ( Serayah), Slay-Z (

Gigi Hadid Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid ( ; born April 23, 1995) is an American fashion model and television personality. In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. Throughout her career, Hadid has made at least ...

), Destructa X (

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...

), Homeslice ( Martha Hunt), Mother Chucker (

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and List of award ...

), Cut Throat (

Zendaya Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( ; born September 1, 1996) is an American actress and singer. List of awards and nominations received by Zendaya, Her accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award. I ...

), The Crimson Curse (

Hayley Williams Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and only constant member of the rock band Paramore, which she co-founded in 2004. Williams was born and raised in Meridian, Miss ...

), Frostbyte (

Lily Aldridge Lily Maud Aldridge (born November 15, 1985) is an American model. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2010 to 2018. She also appeared in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'', alongside Chrissy Teigen and Nina Agdal, for the 50th anniver ...

), Knockout (

Karlie Kloss Karlie Elizabeth Kloss (born August 3, 1992) is an American model. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2013 until 2015, when she resigned to study at New York University. By 2019, Kloss had appeared on 40 international ''Vogue (magazine), V ...

), Domino (

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in ''Camp Nowhere'', followed up by ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (both 1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as ...

), Justice (

Mariska Hargitay Mariska Magdolna Hargitay Mariska says her own first name and the name of her father; the interviewer, James Lipton, also says her full name near the start of the show. (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and philanthrop ...

), Luna (

Ellen Pompeo Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances on ''Forbes'' year-end lists. Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award and a ...

), and Headmistress (

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers and runways, as well as fashion campaigns. She subsequently ...

). Set in a fictional London, the video starts with Catastrophe and her partner, Arsyn, fighting off a group of men in a corporate office for a mysterious briefcase. When all of the men are defeated, Arsyn steals the briefcase from Catastrophe's hand and kicks her out of a window, making her fall onto a car. The song then begins, and Catastrophe and her female squad train to exact their revenge. The video concludes with Catastrophe's and Arsyn's two teams facing each other, walking in slow motion as an explosion goes off in the background, blotting out the London skyline.

Reception

"Bad Blood" broke

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

's 24-hour viewing record by accumulating 20.1 million views in its first day of release. Media publications compared the video's production to that of blockbuster movies and opined that it resembled action and sci-fi films and series such as ''

Sin City ''Sin City'' is a series of neo-noir Comic book, comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'' (April 1991), and continued in ''Dark Horse Prese ...

'', ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...

'', ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...

'', ''

Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts action film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a group of assassins ( Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and Michael ...

'', and '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. Erin Strecker of ''Billboard'' commented that there were resemblances to the videos of

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

's "

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

" and "

Womanizer Womanizer may refer to: * "Womanizer" (term), a promiscuous heterosexual man * "Womanizer" (song), a 2008 song by Britney Spears * "Womanizer", a 1977 song by Blood, Sweat & Tears from '' Brand New Day'' * ''Womanizer'', a 2004 album by Absolut ...

", which were both directed by Kahn. ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' Matt Miller said that the video depicted a "sci-fi Taylor", and ''Rolling Stone'' described it as "futuristic neo-noir". In '' Consequence'', Mary Siroky deemed it the most memorable music video of the ''1989'' singles and called it "''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'' of music videos". Spencer Kornhaber of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' thought otherwise that it did not succeed on a cinematic level because "the editing becomes so hectic that even the barest bones story here is indiscernible". Some journalists analyzed the video with regards to Swift's celebrity. According to ''Time'''s Daniel D'Addario, with "Bad Blood" and the music videos for other ''1989'' singles, Swift abandoned the "appropriately lo-fi" videos of her country songs to use videos "as a tool to explore various sides of her personality, and create others", accompanying her artistic reinvention to pop music. D'Addario wrote that Swift followed

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

by " aringvisual aesthetics with entirely unrelated songs, giving the viewer a whole new thing to talk about", and thus succeeded in promoting herself as "2015's all-around-perfect pop star". In ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Emily Yahr commented that by enlisting high-profile celebrities for the video, Swift proved that she was "the most powerful women in show business" who had "access, status and power" to mobilize a big number of celebrities to go against her adversaries. Several critics commented on the video in the context of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. Websites like ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'' and ''

Deadspin ''Deadspin'' is a sports blog owned by Lineup Publishing. Founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and originally based in Chicago, it was then sold to Gawker Media, Univision Communications and G/O Media. Lineup Publishing acquired it in March 2024, t ...

'' criticized the "supposed hypocrisy", citing the alleged feud with Katy Perry. The "squad" was a point of contention: Kornhaber applauded the video as an imagining of an all-female action movie, but Jennifer Gannon from ''

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

'' considered Swift's "squad" as a means to build a

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

rather than embody female empowerment, an idea corroborated by Eve Barlow of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', who described it as "an exclusive, ''

Mean Girls ''Mean Girls'' is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Fey. The film follows Cady Heron (Lohan), a naïve t ...

''-style clique of perfect, stalk-limbed and shiny-haired clones". Judy L. Isaksen and Nahed Eltantawy, scholars in popular culture and journalism, and Hannelore Roth, a scholar in literature, argued that Swift's idea of feminism was only applicable to famous and wealthy women. According to Isaksen and Eltantawy, fans of Swift were critical of the supposed "embodiment of privilege" despite her efforts to promote a

postfeminist Postfeminism (alternatively rendered as post-feminism) is an alleged decrease in popular support for feminism from the 1990s onwards. It can be considered a critical way of understanding the changed relations between feminism, femininity and po ...

"girlfriend culture". Roth added that by casting Lamar as the ringleader behind the female squad, the video was "just a violent, pre-modern copy of the patriarchal structures at the office".

Awards and nominations

At the

2015 MTV Video Music Awards The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015. The 32nd installment of the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Miley Cyrus. Taylor Swift led the nominations with a total of ten, followe ...

, "Bad Blood" was nominated in eight categories and won in two: Video of the Year and Best Collaboration; it was Swift's first Video of the Year win. The song was nominated for

and won

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. ...

at the

58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...

in 2016. It was recognized as one of the biggest songs of the year at both the ASCAP Pop Music Awards by the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

(ASCAP) and the 64th Annual BMI Pop Awards by

Broadcast Music, Inc. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 22.4 milli ...

"Bad Blood" won fan-voted categories at the

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

( Choice Music – Collaboration), the

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

( Best Song), and the

Radio Disney Music Awards The Radio Disney Music Awards (RDMA) are a discontinued annual awards show operated and governed by Radio Disney, an American radio network. Beginning in 2001, the show was originally broadcast on Radio Disney only, but it was later televised on ...

(Song of the Year, Best Breakup Song). It received nominations at the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

, the

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the fans and general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls un ...

, the

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in tel ...

, and the

iHeartRadio Music Awards The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a music awards show that celebrates music heard throughout the year across List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia, iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platf ...

. The music video additionally won accolades at Mexico's Telehit Awards (Video of the Year), the Philippines'

Myx Music Award The Myx Music Awards, currently known as the Myx Awards, are accolades presented by the cable channel Myx to honor the biggest hitmakers in the Philippines. The awards ceremony is held annually and occurs most commonly in March, and broadcast ...

(Favorite International Video), and France's

NRJ Music Award An NRJ Music Award (commonly abbreviated as an NMA) is an award presented by the French radio station NRJ to honor the best in the French and worldwide music industry. The awards ceremony, created in 2000 by NRJ in partnership with the televisio ...

(Video of the Year).

Live performances and other use

At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on August 30, Swift and

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

jointly performed "Bad Blood" and " The Night Is Still Young". Swift also sang the song during her concerts at the

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

on October 22, 2016, and the pre-

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

event Super Saturday Night on February 4, 2017. On

(2015), Swift performed "Bad Blood" wearing a black leather suit as dancers performed acrobatics behind her. She included the song in the set list of the

(2018), where she performed it in a mash-up with " Should've Said No" (2008), which incorporated a country-influenced guitar riff. According to ''The Ringer'''s Nora Princiotti, the mash-up improved one of Swift's weakest songs ("Bad Blood") by tweaking its arrangement and using the melody of an "early classic" ("Should've Said No"). On

(2023–2024), Swift performed "Bad Blood" as the screen showed a house on fire and the venue lit up in red flames. "Bad Blood" was

parodied A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can also b ...

in various other mediums. The comedians

Cariad Lloyd Katie Cariad Lloyd (born 21 August 1982) is a British comedian, actress, writer, and podcaster. She is a member of the improvisational comedy group Austentatious, the host and creator of '' Griefcast'', and an improv teacher. Lloyd was nominate ...

and

Jenny Bede Jenny Bede (born 1983) is an English comedian. Trained in musical theatre, she has performed since 2008 with a focus on musical comedy. Early life Bede was born in 1983, and grew up in Pinner, London. Education Bede trained in musical theatre a ...

's parody of "Bad Blood" called for withdrawal of taxation of women's sanitary products in the United Kingdom. The animated web series ''

How It Should Have Ended ''How It Should Have Ended'' (''HISHE'') is an animated web series that parodies popular films by creating alternate endings and pointing out various flaws. Endings for many major films have been presented, using the tagline "Sometimes movi ...

'' in September 2015 created a parody called "Bat Blood", which satirizes the marketing of the 2016 film '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. Kevin McDevitt, a writer and filmmaker, made a parody titled "Good Blood" to encourage viewers become donors for the

bone marrow transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, in order to replicate inside a patient and produce a ...

via the non-profit

National Marrow Donor Program NMDP, formerly known as the National Marrow Donor Program and Be The Match, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1987 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operates a registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and umbilical cord blood ...

. The music video was parodied in the sitcom ''

Great News ''Great News'' is an American sitcom television series created and written by Tracey Wigfield, and executive produced by Wigfield alongside Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment, Little Stranger and Universal Televi ...

'', featuring a "squad" consisting of

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

and

Nicole Richie Nicole Camille Richie (; born September 21, 1981) is an American media personality, fashion designer, and actress. She came to prominence after appearing on the reality television series ''The Simple Life'' (2003–2007), in which she starred al ...

, which aired in October 2017. The rock band Drenge and the singer-songwriter

Alessia Cara Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (), is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploading acoustic covers of songs such as " Love Yourself" and ...

covered the song for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

's live sessions in June and July 2015, and the rapper-singer

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

used a snippet of it in an advertisement for

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

in November 2016. Anthony Vincent, a YouTuber and musician, covered "Bad Blood" to make it sound like it had been sung by 19 diverse acts, including

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

, ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series created by Sheryl Leach targeted at children ages two to five. The flagship production of the ''Barney'' franchise, it originally aired on PBS under the PBS Kids brand from Ap ...

'', and

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...

Ryan Adams cover

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American Rock music, rock and Country music, country singer-songwriter. He has released 30 studio albums and three as a former member of Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left Whiskeytown and released ...

, an American singer-songwriter, covered "Bad Blood" as part of his track-by-track interpretation of Swift's ''1989''. Adams said that Swift's ''1989'' helped him cope with emotional hardships and that he wanted to interpret the songs from his perspective "like it was

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

's ''Nebraska''". His version of "Bad Blood" is an

alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

and

folk-pop Folk-pop is a broad Music genre#Subtypes, musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop music, pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic music, acoustic-based folk music, folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been ...

song that uses acoustic guitar

strum In music, strumming is a way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, or mandolin. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a finger or plectrum brushes over several strings to generate sound. On most stringed instrume ...

s and live drums. Prior to his cover album's release, Adams previewed "Bad Blood" on Apple Music's Beats 1 radio and then released it as a single, on September 17, 2015. Andrew Unterberger from ''Spin'' preferred Adams's version to Swift's, writing that it " trips theoverbearing hyperactivity ... nd removes thesneering obnoxiousness".

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author and music historian. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio w ...

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' complimented the " atercolorhued strings and well-placed percussion thumps". In less enthusiastic reviews, ''Billboard'' Chris Payne deemed it the worst cover on Adams's ''1989'' because he thought it failed to highlight Swift's songwriting strengths, and ''Vulture'' Jillian Mapes thought that by switching the "sinister beats" with "coffeehouse-singer ..strumming and a jangly counter-melody in the chorus", Adams turned "Bad Blood" from a sonically distinctive track into an unoriginal song. His cover peaked at number 25 on the

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

chart of Belgian

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

and number 36 on ''Billboard''

Rock Airplay The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart.

Credits and personnel

Adapted from the

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 cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''1989'' and

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

* Taylor Swift – vocals, backing vocals, songwriter * Kendrick Lamar – featured vocals, backing vocals, songwriter *

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

– producer, songwriter, programmer, keyboards, piano * Shellback – backing vocals, producer, songwriter, programmer, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion, sounds (stomps and knees) *

– backing vocals, producer, programmer, recording engineer * Michael Ilbert – recording engineer * Sam Holland – recording engineer * Ben Sedano – assistant recording engineer * Cory Bice – assistant recording engineer * Peter Carlsson –

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

engineer *

– mixing engineer * John Hanes – mixer * Tom Coyne – mastering engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

"Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)"

Swift departed from Big Machine and signed a new contract with Republic Records in 2018. She began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. The decision followed a 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager

Scooter Braun Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun ( ; born June 18, 1981) is an American businessman, investor, and record executive. Since 2023 he has served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hybe America, the North American subsidiary of South Korean entertain ...

, who acquired Big Machine Records, over the masters of Swift's albums that the label had released. By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to encourage licensing of her re-recorded songs for

commercial use Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

in hopes of substituting the Big Machine-owned masters. She denoted the re-recordings with a "Taylor's Version" subtitle. The re-recording of "Bad Blood" is titled "Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)". A snippet of it featured in the 2022 animated film ''

DC League of Super-Pets ''DC League of Super-Pets'' is a 2022 American animated superhero film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, and Seven Bucks Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Produced and directed by Jared Stern, who co- ...

''. Although Swift had not re-recorded ''1989'', she agreed to re-record "Bad Blood" for the film upon request from Season Kent, its music supervisor. The full re-recorded song is included as part of ''

'', which was released on October 27, 2023. The remix featuring Lamar was also re-recorded as the bonus track of the deluxe edition of ''1989 (Taylor's Version)''. Swift expressed her gratitude towards Lamar on social media, saying that his participation in the re-recording was "surreal and bewildering".

Production and reception

Swift produced "Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)" with

Christopher Rowe Christopher Rowe may refer to: * Christopher Rowe (record producer) * Christopher Rowe (classicist) Christopher James Rowe OBE (born 17 March 1944) is a British classical scholar. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Classics and Ancie ...

, who had produced her previous re-recordings. The track was programmed and edited by Derek Garten at Prime Recording in Nashville, and Swift's vocals were recorded by Rowe at Kitty Committee and

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...

in New York. Musicians who contributed to the track included Mike Meadows (synth, acoustic guitar), Dan Burns (drums, synth bass, synth), Amos Heller (bass guitar), and Matt Billingslea (drums). Serban Ghenea mixed the song at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach. The arrangement of "Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)" remains identical to that of the original version. Some critics commented that there were subtle changes; ''Notion'''s Rachel Martin wrote that Swift made "some dialect tweaks" and sang "with more depth and emotion" in the bridge, which resulted in a more powerful conclusion, while ''The Music'''s Tione Zylstra said that her vocals were "angrier and bitter". Ed Power of the ''i'' described it as a "timeless diss track", and Mark Sutherland of ''

Rolling Stone UK ''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. The magazine was first known f ...

'' commented the track "remains astounding". Commenting on the re-recorded remix, Elizabeth Braaten of ''Paste'' praised Swift and Lamar as "a match made in radio heaven". Giving the track a negative review, ''Pitchfork'''s Shaad D'Souza said that it "sounds more basic, bratty, and boring than ever". On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)" debuted at number seven on the chart dated November 11, 2023, extending Swift's record for the most top-10 singles (49) among women. On the ''Billboard'' Global 200, it debuted at number six; with other ''1989 (Taylor's Version)'' tracks, it helped Swift become the first artist to occupy the entire top six of the Global 200 chart simultaneously. The track also peaked in the top 10 on charts of Canada (7), New Zealand (10), and the Philippines. It was certified gold in Australia and Brazil.

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of ''1989 (Taylor's Version)'' *

– lead vocals, background vocals, songwriting, production *

– production, background vocals, vocal engineering * Mike Meadows – synthesizer, acoustic guitar * Dan Burns – drum programming, synth bass, synthesizer, additional engineering * Matt Billingslea – drum programming, drums * Amos Heller – bass guitar * Derek Garten – programming, engineering, editing * Ryan Smith – mastering *

– mixing * Bryce Bordone – mix engineering *

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

– songwriting * Shellback – songwriting *

– rap vocals, songwriting *

Ilya Salmanzadeh Ilya Salmanzadeh (; ; born 19 September 1986), known mononymously as Ilya, is an Iranian-born Swedish songwriter, producer, and singer. He rose to prominence outside of Sweden after co-writing and producing Ariana Grande's hit single "Problem" ...

– background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Footnotes

References

Sources

* * * * {{authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Kendrick Lamar songs MTV Video of the Year Award Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Ryan Adams songs Song recordings produced by Max Martin Song recordings produced by Shellback (record producer) Song recordings produced by Ilya Salmanzadeh Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Chris Rowe Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs written by Kendrick Lamar Songs written by Max Martin Songs written by Shellback (record producer) Taylor Swift songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Big Machine Records singles Songs containing the I–V-vi-IV progression American pop songs

Background and production

Music and lyrics

Release and commercial performance

Critical reception

Music video

Development and synopsis

Reception

Awards and nominations

Live performances and other use

Ryan Adams cover

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

"Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)"

Production and reception

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

See also

Footnotes

References

Sources