Betty (Taylor Swift song)

"Betty" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). The fourteenth track on the album, it was written by Swift and William Bowery, and was produced by Swift, Aaron Dessner, and Jack Antonoff. It was serviced to country radio formats on August 17, 2020 by Republic Records as the third single from the album. "Betty" is a country and folk rock song with an intertwining harmonica, depicting the apology of James, one of the core characters of the fictitious love triangle described in Folklore, for his infidelity.

"Betty"
Single by Taylor Swift
from the album Folklore
ReleasedAugust 17, 2020 (2020-08-17)
Recorded2020
Studio
  • Kitty Committee Studio (Los Angeles)
  • Rough Customer Studio (Brooklyn, New York)
Genre
Length4:54
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
  • Taylor Swift
  • William Bowery
Producer(s)
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"Exile"
(2020)		 "Betty"
(2020)
Lyric video
"Betty" on YouTube

Upon release, "Betty" received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the storytelling and welcomed Swift's return to her country roots. It debuted at numbers 6 and 42 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Hot 100 charts, respectively, becoming her twenty-second top-10 hit on the former. Elsewhere, the song reached the top-40 in Australia, Canada and Singapore.

Composition and lyrics

"Betty" is one of three tracks on the album that depict the same love triangle from three different perspectives at different times in their lives (the other two being "Cardigan" and "August"). "Betty" is the tale of the relationship in the perspective of the cheating boyfriend James, who had a "summer fling" with the female narrator of "August". James apologizes about his past mistakes but does not fully own up to them, citing his fear of crowds and Betty's "wandering eye" as excuses, setting forth his irresponsibility. The song is a folk rock and country tune, with an intertwining harmonica.[1][2][3][4] The song is written in the key of C major and has a moderate tempo of 96 beats per minute.[5] The characters in the song, James, Betty and Inez, are named after the daughters of actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. Swift explained the song as follows:

[James] has lost the love of his life basically and doesn't understand how to get it back. [...] This is a song that I wrote from the perspective of a 17-year-old boy. I've always loved that in music you can kinda slip into different identities and you can sing from other people's perspectives. So that's what I did on this one.[6]

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Hannah Myrlea of NME called "Betty" a sweet tune that evokes a nostalgia for Swift's older country sound.[7] In agreement, Time's Raisa Bruner also opined that the song sees Swift returning to her country roots.[8] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone compared the harmonica in "Betty" to that in Bruce Springsteen's 1975 song "Thunder Road".[9] Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes commended "Betty" as "youthful hope of a song" like The Chicks' 1998 single "Wide Open Spaces", but is notably wiser and "queerer" than the high school romances Swift generally wrote about during her teenage.[10] Ellen Johnson of Paste named the track as one of the best country songs of 2020, stating that it proves Swift's empathy "truly knows no bounds", being written from the point of view of a "regretful" teenage boy.[11]

Commercial performance

"Betty" entered several US Billboard charts upon the release of Folklore. It debuted at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100,[12] and at number 6 on the Hot Country Songs chart, the week dated August 8, 2020.[13] It is Swift's twenty-second top-ten hit on the latter and the highest debut for a woman since Bebe Rexha's "Meant to Be" (2017). The song debuted at number 60 on the Country Airplay chart, marking Swift's thirty-sixth entry on the chart and the first since her Sugarland collaboration "Babe" (2018).[13][14] "Betty" also arrived at number-one on the Billboard Country Streaming Songs chart with 14.5 million streams. It sold 3,000 downloads and opened at the fifteenth spot of Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart.[14]

Upon its release as a single to country radio on August 17, 2020, "Betty" debuted as the format's most added single of the week, gaining support from 58 Mediabase-monitored country radio stations. It became Swift's first song to top the add-board since "Red" (2013).[15]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from Pitchfork.[16]

  • Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter, producer
  • William Bowery – songwriter
  • Aaron Dessner – producer, recording engineer, percussion, piano, bass, high string guitar, electric guitar
  • Jack Antonoff – producer, recording engineer, drums, percussion, bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, organ, mellotron
  • Josh Kaufman – recording engineer, harmonica, electric guitar, lap steel
  • Laura Sisk – recording engineer
  • Jonathan Low – recording engineer
  • Serban Ghenea – mixer
  • John Hanes – engineer
  • John Rooney – assistant engineer
  • Randy Merrill – mastering engineer
  • Mikey Freedom Hart – mellotron, pedal steel, Wurlitzer, harpsichord, vibraphone, electric guitar
  • Evan Smith – saxophones, clarinet

Charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[17] 22
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[18] 32
Singapore (RIAS)[19] 22
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 42
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[21] 6
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[22] 49
US Rolling Stone Top 100[23] 19

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Betty"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various July 24, 2020
Republic [16]
United States August 17, 2020 Country radio
[24]

References
  1. Kaplan, Ilana (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift Is at Her Most Emotionally Raw On Surprise New Album 'Folklore'". British Vogue. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  2. Carsom, Sarah (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift, Folklore, review: a dazzling, timeless surprise album". i. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  3. Antar, Adam (July 24, 2020). "Folklore: a review and analysis of Taylor Swift's new surprise eighth album". Medium. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  4. Sheffield, Rob (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift Leaves Her Comfort Zones Behind on the Head-Spinning, Heartbreaking 'Folklore'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  5. "Key & BPM for betty by Taylor Swift". TuneBat. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  6. Mizoguchi, Karen (August 6, 2020). "Taylor Swift on Blake Lively's Daughter in 'Betty': 'I Named the Characters After My Friends' Kids'". People. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  7. Mylrea, Hannah (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift's eighth album 'Folklore' – the NME review". NME. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  8. Bruner, Raisa (July 24, 2020). "Let's Break Down Taylor Swift's Tender New Album Folklore". Time. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  9. Sheffield, Rob (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift Leaves Her Comfort Zones Behind on the Head-Spinning, Heartbreaking 'Folklore'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  10. Mapes, Jillian (July 27, 2020). "Taylor Swift: folklore". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  11. "The 20 Best Country Songs of 2020 (So Far)". Paste. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  12. "Taylor Swift Charts 16 Songs From 'Folklore' on Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. August 3, 2020. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  13. "Big Loud Label at Age 5: HiXTAPES, Hits And Hustle" (PDF). August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  14. Asker, Jim (August 4, 2020). "Taylor Swift Is Back in the Hot Country Songs Top 10 With This 'Folklore' Track". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  15. Cantor, Brian (August 17, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Betty' Ranks As Country Radio's Most Added Song". Headline Planet. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  16. Strauss, Matthew (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift Releases New Album folklore: Listen and Read the Full Credits". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  17. "Australian-charts.com – Taylor Swift – Betty". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  18. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  19. "RIAS International Top Charts Week 31". Recording Industry Association (Singapore). Archived from the original on August 5, 2020.
  20. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  21. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  22. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  23. "Top 100 Songs, July 24, 2020 - July 30, 2020". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  24. "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations | New Music Artist Free Song | AllAccess.com". All Access. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.