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Taylor Swift Returns to Country

T

TheBigA

It's been a while since country radio has had a new Taylor Swift single. On Friday, the drought ended. Country radio stations appear to be embracing the new song:

www.usatoday.com

Taylor Swift returns to country with 'Toy Story 5' song 'I Knew It, I Knew You'

Twenty years after "Tim McGraw," Swift leans into harmonica, nostalgia and Nashville storytelling on "I Knew It, I Knew You."
www.usatoday.com

apnews.com

Taylor Swift's 'Toy Story 5' song is a return to pop country

Taylor Swift has released a new song for Disney and Pixar's “Toy Story 5.” The track, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” marks a soft return to her country-pop roots.
apnews.com apnews.com

If you listen to country radio, you've likely heard the song every hour, based on the numbers I see at Mediabase.

As of now, she will have the most added song, beating out Lainey Wilson.
 
There are two versions of the song. One specifically labeled "Country Radio Remix." The pop version has saxophones (done by the band Bleachers) in the chorus. I don't hear them in the country remix. Instead there's a string section. The harmonica (in both versions) is played by Taylor's co-writer Jack Antanoff. One might say it's very "Dylan-esque," whatever that means.

The song will likely debut in the Mediabase country chart around #25 when it's released tomorrow.
 
TheBigA said:
There are two versions of the song. One specifically labeled "Country Radio Remix." The pop version has saxophones (done by the band Bleachers) in the chorus. I don't hear them in the country remix. Instead there's a string section. The harmonica (in both versions) is played by Taylor's co-writer Jack Antanoff. One might say it's very "Dylan-esque," whatever that means.

The song will likely debut in the Mediabase country chart around #25 when it's released tomorrow.
Click to expand...
I heard it on KMXV on Friday, but not sure which version it was.

Taylor released additional versions yesterday (Sunday) digitally, but I found out about them from being on her email list:
store.taylorswift.com

Taylor Swift Official Online Store

Shop the Official Taylor Swift Online store for exclusive Taylor Swift products including shirts, hoodies, music, accessories, phone cases & more!
store.taylorswift.com store.taylorswift.com
 
Huff said:
Mayer gets co-artist credit on the track, but he is only playing the guitar solos on it; all the vocals are Lainey. To the casual listener, this is just a Lainey Wilson song, and no one would know Mayer is playing on it if he weren't credited.
Click to expand...
Noted. I wonder if he told Lainey a few stories about Taylor Swift during their sessions.
 
I don't hear as much hype about Taylor Swift anymore in spite of her still being active. That's always been the indicator a pop star has peaked. It doesn't mean she's fading. But other people are moving into her pop turf (Sabrina Carpenter, charli xcx, etc.) and from both a business, artistic and personal angle, the return to Country makes perfect sense. She's 37, she's been through it all and now she wants come back to her musical roots. A familiar story across the music spectrum.

She's getting older too. And y'all know today's pop charts aren't friendly to anyone over 40. As she settles down into domestic bliss with Travis, the return to Country also ties beautifully with various marketing deals from licensed household products to daytime TV talk shows. A line of microwaveable frozen food, book deals. Go full Oprah. That should net her another $4B over the next 20 years. Swifties are as obsessive as Kardashian watchers. And they're quite known for brand loyalty.

She's got it made in every direction. It's like that when you already have $1B.
 


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