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Mean (song)
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Mean (song)
"Mean" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her third studio album, Speak Now (2010). Big Machine Records released it to country radio in the United States as the album's third single on March 7, 2011. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "Mean" is a banjo-led country, country pop, and bluegrass track that incorporates fiddles, mandolins, hand claps, and multitracked vocals. In the lyrics, Swift addresses her detractors, recognizes her shortcomings, and strives to overcome the criticism and achieve success.
Some music critics saw "Mean" as an anti-bullying anthem and praised the production as airy and catchy, while others considered the narrative ineffective. Several media publications have retrospectively listed it as one of the best country songs. "Mean" won Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards, and also received other industry awards and nominations. The track reached the national charts of Australia, Canada, and the United States, peaking at number two on the country music charts in the latter two countries. It received certifications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The music video for "Mean" was directed by Declan Whitebloom, who wrote its treatment with Swift. Featuring themes of self-empowerment and anti-bullying, the video received a mixed response from critics, who generally criticized its viewpoint on bullying as stereotypical and deemed its concept confusing. The video received nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the Country Music Association Awards. Swift included "Mean" in the set lists of the Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012) and the Red Tour (2013–2014), and performed it on some dates of her later tours.
Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of her back catalog, Swift re-recorded the song as "Mean (Taylor's Version)" for her third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (2023). The track peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Global 200 and reached the national charts of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States.
Taylor Swift began working on her third studio album, Speak Now (2010), two years before its release. She conceived it as a loose concept album about the things she wanted to tell certain people but never had a chance to. Swift described the songs as "diary entries" reflecting the emotions that assisted her in navigating adulthood. The confessional lyrics she wrote for Speak Now were more straightforward and confrontational compared to those on her previous albums. Swift was inspired by her detractors to write the album's sixth track, "Mean", explaining that although she acknowledged constructive criticism, she was bothered by critics who "attack everything about a person" and were "just being mean". She wrote the song by herself and produced it with Nathan Chapman.
"Mean" was released for digital download on October 19, 2010, as part of a three-week iTunes promotional countdown for Speak Now. Big Machine Records released the track to country radio in the United States on March 7, 2011, as the third single from the album.
"Mean" is 3 minutes and 57 seconds long. Music journalists regarded it as the most country-sounding track on Speak Now and in Swift's discography. Set over a tempo of 160 beats per minute, "Mean" is a banjo-led country pop and bluegrass song that incorporates several acoustic instruments associated with country music, such as fiddle and mandolin. The production features an upbeat arrangement, acoustic guitar strums, brush-played drums, hand claps, multitracked vocals, and roots music influences. The music critic Annie Zaleski described Swift's country vocal twang in the song as "overly saccharine". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic thought that the country-leaning composition evoked the music of the Dixie Chicks.
The musicologist James E. Perone deemed "Mean" the only Speak Now track that aligns with Swift's self-identity as a country musician, contrasting with the album's dominant mainstream pop and rock music styles. Analyzing the song structure, Perone noted the instrumental sliding up a whole step in open fifths at the end of each refrain, as well as the whole-step slide up from the lowered-seventh scale-step to tonic, which evokes the Mixolydian mode typically found in Anglo-American folk music. According to Perone, the refrain uses a short melodic motif, which creates its catchiness. Toward the end of the bridge ("drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing"), Swift incorporates a three-note motif in the lyric "I can't sing"; for each word, the three notes descend a short distance (B−G♯) before dropping significantly (G♯−C♯). The musicologists Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding viewed this variation as Swift's signature melodic motif and thought that it captured "the sad cycle of bullying" in "Mean".
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Mean (song)
"Mean" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her third studio album, Speak Now (2010). Big Machine Records released it to country radio in the United States as the album's third single on March 7, 2011. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "Mean" is a banjo-led country, country pop, and bluegrass track that incorporates fiddles, mandolins, hand claps, and multitracked vocals. In the lyrics, Swift addresses her detractors, recognizes her shortcomings, and strives to overcome the criticism and achieve success.
Some music critics saw "Mean" as an anti-bullying anthem and praised the production as airy and catchy, while others considered the narrative ineffective. Several media publications have retrospectively listed it as one of the best country songs. "Mean" won Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards, and also received other industry awards and nominations. The track reached the national charts of Australia, Canada, and the United States, peaking at number two on the country music charts in the latter two countries. It received certifications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The music video for "Mean" was directed by Declan Whitebloom, who wrote its treatment with Swift. Featuring themes of self-empowerment and anti-bullying, the video received a mixed response from critics, who generally criticized its viewpoint on bullying as stereotypical and deemed its concept confusing. The video received nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the Country Music Association Awards. Swift included "Mean" in the set lists of the Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012) and the Red Tour (2013–2014), and performed it on some dates of her later tours.
Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of her back catalog, Swift re-recorded the song as "Mean (Taylor's Version)" for her third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (2023). The track peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Global 200 and reached the national charts of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States.
Taylor Swift began working on her third studio album, Speak Now (2010), two years before its release. She conceived it as a loose concept album about the things she wanted to tell certain people but never had a chance to. Swift described the songs as "diary entries" reflecting the emotions that assisted her in navigating adulthood. The confessional lyrics she wrote for Speak Now were more straightforward and confrontational compared to those on her previous albums. Swift was inspired by her detractors to write the album's sixth track, "Mean", explaining that although she acknowledged constructive criticism, she was bothered by critics who "attack everything about a person" and were "just being mean". She wrote the song by herself and produced it with Nathan Chapman.
"Mean" was released for digital download on October 19, 2010, as part of a three-week iTunes promotional countdown for Speak Now. Big Machine Records released the track to country radio in the United States on March 7, 2011, as the third single from the album.
"Mean" is 3 minutes and 57 seconds long. Music journalists regarded it as the most country-sounding track on Speak Now and in Swift's discography. Set over a tempo of 160 beats per minute, "Mean" is a banjo-led country pop and bluegrass song that incorporates several acoustic instruments associated with country music, such as fiddle and mandolin. The production features an upbeat arrangement, acoustic guitar strums, brush-played drums, hand claps, multitracked vocals, and roots music influences. The music critic Annie Zaleski described Swift's country vocal twang in the song as "overly saccharine". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic thought that the country-leaning composition evoked the music of the Dixie Chicks.
The musicologist James E. Perone deemed "Mean" the only Speak Now track that aligns with Swift's self-identity as a country musician, contrasting with the album's dominant mainstream pop and rock music styles. Analyzing the song structure, Perone noted the instrumental sliding up a whole step in open fifths at the end of each refrain, as well as the whole-step slide up from the lowered-seventh scale-step to tonic, which evokes the Mixolydian mode typically found in Anglo-American folk music. According to Perone, the refrain uses a short melodic motif, which creates its catchiness. Toward the end of the bridge ("drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing"), Swift incorporates a three-note motif in the lyric "I can't sing"; for each word, the three notes descend a short distance (B−G♯) before dropping significantly (G♯−C♯). The musicologists Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding viewed this variation as Swift's signature melodic motif and thought that it captured "the sad cycle of bullying" in "Mean".