Taylor Swift Wasn’t the 1st Singer to Have a Hit Called ‘Shake It Off’

Taylor Swift‘s “Shake It Off” is one of the defining songs of her career, helping her transition from country music to the more expansive world of pop. Interestingly, she wasn’t the first pop star to have a hit single with that title. In fact, the earlier song has the same message as Swift’s. 

Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ was part of a larger trend in 2010s pop music

Swift’s “Shake It Off” is a simple self-empowerment anthem. It came at the tail end of a wave of 2010s self-empowerment anthems, such as Katy Perry’s “Firework,” Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” and Pink’s “Raise Your Glass.” Notably, Mariah Carey has been uplifting listeners with her music before Swift or any of her contemporaries recorded a single note of music.

In 2005, Carey put out a single called “Shake It Off.” Her tune has the same basic meaning as Swift’s, as both songs are about ignoring people who don’t deserve your attention. The main difference is that Carey’s “Shake It Off” is rooted in 2000s hip-hop and R&B. Meanwhile, Swift’s “Shake It Off” is vaguely retro but doesn’t evoke any earlier era of pop music in particular.

What Mariah Carey was trying to do when she wrote a song called ‘Shake It Off’

In her 2020 book The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the “Hero” singer explained the origin of her “Shake It Off.” The song was an attempt by her and co-writer Jermaine Dupri to recapture the magic of “Always Be My Baby.” “[Producer] L.A. [Reid] had always loved what I did with Jermaine on ‘Always Be My Baby,'” she wrote. “Even though there were already some very good songs for this album, and I had already worked with a bunch of incredible people, including the Neptunes, Kanye, Snoop, Twista, and Nelly, L.A. was inspired to bring the dream team of me and JD back together to see what our next level would be. I was like, ‘Let’s do it!’

“I called up Jermaine and said, ‘Let’s get to work,'” she recalled. “We sat there on the floor at Southside Studios, Jermaine’s awesome creative oasis, and within a couple weeks we had written ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Get Your Number.’ In a second session at Southside, we made ‘We Belong Together,’ ‘It’s Like That,’ and then, eventually, ‘Don’t Forget About Us,’ which was on the platinum re-release of that album.”

Taylor Swift’s song charted 1 spot higher than Mariah Carey’s

Swift’s “Shake It Off” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for four weeks, staying on the chart for 50 weeks. Ten years later, it’s still one of her biggest songs. The tune appeared on the seminal album 1989. That record reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks, remaining on the chart for 496 weeks.

Carey’s “Shake It Off” only managed to hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 26 weeks. It appeared on Carey’s album The Emancipation of Mimi. That record topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks, lasting on the chart for 74 weeks. 

Regardless of which “Shake It Off” you prefer, we can all agree that Swift and Carey know how to run up the pop charts.