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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.
 
Bongwater said:
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.
Click to expand...
Just wait til she gets an Oscar for Best Original Song. She’s not necessarily settling down, Travis is still going to play in the NFL for at least another year. Where’s the talk about Timberlake “settling down”, he’s 45 after all. Double standard.

Speaking of Timberlake, Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” (peaked at #1) and JT’s “Selfish” (peaked at #19) are exceptions to the “no hits by people over 40”.
 
radiofan2023 said:
Just wait til she gets an Oscar for Best Original Song.
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The real question is: Are you going to the wedding? What can you tell us?

Some say it's this Saturday (the 13th, her favorite number). Others say it's July 3.

I think they'll get married on June 19th at the CineramaDome, my favorite theater. And they'll show Toy Story 5.
 
radiofan2023 said:
Just wait til she gets an Oscar for Best Original Song. She’s not necessarily settling down, Travis is still going to play in the NFL for at least another year. Where’s the talk about Timberlake “settling down”, he’s 45 after all. Double standard.

Speaking of Timberlake, Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” (peaked at #1) and JT’s “Selfish” (peaked at #19) are exceptions to the “no hits by people over 40”.
Click to expand...
Says the obsessive Swift watcher.
 
TheBigA said:
The real question is: Are you going to the wedding? What can you tell us?

Some say it's this Saturday (the 13th, her favorite number). Others say it's July 3.

I think they'll get married on June 19th at the CineramaDome, my favorite theater. And they'll show Toy Story 5.
Click to expand...
CTListener said:
Says the obsessive Swift watcher.
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Obsessive? Nope! I haven’t been to any of her concerts and I only have her latest album. Also, I don’t care about the wedding and I think numerology stuff like that is lame.

I admire her talents and how well spoken she is, her business sense in reclaiming her masters, and how willing she is to do things for her fans, the same way I admire(d) Prince (RIP) for doing the same thing with his masters and get togethers at Paisley Park when he was still alive.
 
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kevtronics said:
And Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" became a #1 Rock/Alternative hit in 2022 when the song itself was almost 40 years old.
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Although that song was originally released in 1985 when Kate Bush was 27.

I first heard Bush’s music in the late 1970s and had several of her early albums, but she was an unfamiliar artist to most of the U.S. prior to Stranger Things.
 


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