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Taylor Swift has written many of the defining songs of our time. Despite this, not all of the “Love Story” singer‘s tracks are winners. One of her hits is flat-out atrocious. Here’s a look at why one one of her popular songs turned out so poorly.

Taylor Swift’s worst song tries to be several genres at once and fails at all of them

Swift has deftly explored different musical styles throughout her career, including country, pop, folk, electronica, and rock. Electro-reggae might be too much for her to handle. In 2019, she released “…Ready for It?,” a genre-confused behemoth that fused electropop, reggae, trap, and dubstep into a hideous chimera. The beat is abrasive and obnoxious.

Swift’s use of a Jamaican patois is politically questionable at best, but it’s definitely annoying. It’s painfully inauthentic coming from a country singer from New Jersey. Beyond that, the lyrics are just awkward. Swift’s decision to sing about having dirty thoughts isn’t sexy in the slightest. Finally, the line where she raps about her boyfriend being the “Burton to this Taylor” has got to be one of the worst evocations of Old Hollywood ever put into pop music. 

The superstar was feuding with Kanye West when she wrote the song

During a 2019 interview with The Guardian, Swift revealed that the year she wrote “…Ready for It” was not an easy time for her due to her feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. “You can either stand there and let the wave crash into you, and you can try as hard as you can to fight something that’s more powerful and bigger than you,” she said. “Or you can dive under the water, hold your breath, wait for it to pass and while you’re down there, try to learn something. 

“Why was I in that part of the ocean?” the “Cardigan” singer added. “There were clearly signs that said: Rip tide! Undertow! Don’t swim! There are no lifeguards!””

Why was I there?” she added. “Why was I trusting people I trusted? Why was I letting people into my life the way I was letting them in? What was I doing that caused this?” Perhaps Swift made her worst song during this time because she wasn’t in the best frame of mind.

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How Taylor Swift’s ‘…Ready for It?’ performed on the charts

“…Ready for It?” reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. For most other singers, that would be the biggest hit of their career. For Swift, it was just another Tuesday. “…Ready for It?” might not be popular enough to make it on her inevitable greatest hits album.

“…Ready for It?” appeared on one of the most divisive records of Swift’s career: Reputation. In that record, Swift explored electronica and hip-hop more than she ever had before. Some fans appreciated the musical experimentation, while others felt Swift was out of her element.

Reputation reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for four weeks, lasting on the chart for 299 weeks. In the United States, Reputation is Swift’s most popular record besides 1989. While the critics were lukewarm on Reputation, the fans seemed to love it.

“…Ready for It?” is a bit of a mess but it didn’t stop Swift from having one of the best pop careers of all time.

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