...Ready For It?
Single | reputation (2017)
Background
Taylor released her fifth studio album, 1989, in October 2014. Its synth-pop production transformed her sound and image from country-oriented to mainstream pop. The album was a massive commercial success, selling over five million copies in the U.S. within one year, and spawning three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles. The BBC asserted that the success of 1989 solidified Taylor’s status as a global pop star.
In 2016, when Taylor was at the peak of overexposure, some of her rivals in the industry (including Scooter Braun, Kanye West and Justin Bieber) succeded in launching a worldwide hate campaign against her. As a result, Taylor disappeared from public view for an entire year and thought about quitting music for good. She became increasingly reticent on social media, having previously maintained an active presence with a large following, and avoided interactions with the press. She conceived her sixth studio album, reputation, as an answer to the media commotion surrounding her celebrity.
Release
Lyrical Theme
«It introduces a metaphor you may hear more of throughout the rest of the album, which is this Crime and Punishment metaphor, where it talks about robbers, and thieves, and heists, and all that. And I found that to be a really interesting metaphor, but twisted it in different ways throughout the album. The way that it's presented in '…Ready For It?' is basically, finding your partner in crime, and it’s like ‘Oh my God, we’re the same, we’re the same, oh my God! Let’s rob banks together, this is great!'»
Music Video
«She called me up and pretty much had the idea mapped out in her head. It’s almost like she gave me a gift, because what she was thinking was right up my alley in terms of my fascination with Japanese pop culture and sci-fi.»
Live Performances
Critical Reception
Commercial Performance
In the United States, “…Ready for It?” debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Taylor’s 22nd top 10 song and her fourteenth top 10 debut on the chart, the most among female artists and second most overall behind rapper Drake. It also became her 13th No. 1 song on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart with opening sales of 135,000 copies, entered the Billboard Streaming Songs chart with 19 million streams in its first week of availability, and opened at 35 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart with a radio audience of 13 million. On other Billboard charts, “…Ready For It?” peaked at No. 12 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, No. 10 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, and No. 26 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
In Canada, the song peaked at No. 7. It opened atop the digital sales chart, dethroning the single from reputation, “Look What You Made Me Do”. Likewise in the UK, it also peaked at No. 7, while in Scotland and New Zealand, it peaked at No. 3 and No. 9 respectively.
In Australia, “…Ready for It?” entered at its peak position of No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming her 12th top five entry in the nation.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him
Wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted
But if he’s a ghost then I can be a phantom
Holdin’ him for ransom, some
Some boys are tryin’ too hard, he don’t try at all though
Younger than my exes but he act like such a man, so
I see nothing better, I keep him forever
Like a vendetta-ta
[Pre-chorus]
I, I, I see how this is gon’ go
Touch me, and you’ll never be alone
I-island breeze and lights down low
No one has to know
[Chorus]
In the middle of the night, in my dreams
You should see the things we do, baby
In the middle of the night, in my dreams
I know I’m gonna be with you, so I take my time
Are you ready for it?
[Verse 2]
Knew I was a robber first time that he saw me
Stealing hearts and running off and never saying sorry
But if I’m a thief then he can join the heist
And we’ll move to an island, and
And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor
Every love I’ve known in comparison is a failure
I forget their names now, I’m so very tame now
Never be the same now, now
[Pre-chorus]
I, I, I see how this is gon’ go
Touch me and you’ll never be alone
I-island breeze and lights down low
No one has to know (No one has to know)
[Chorus]
In the middle of the night, in my dreams
You should see the things we do, baby
In the middle of the night in my dreams
I know I’m gonna be with you, so I take my time
Are you ready for it?
Oh, are you ready for it?
[Bridge]
Baby, let the games begin
Let the games begin
Let the games begin
Baby, let the games begin
Let the games begin
Let the games begin
[Pre-chorus]
I, I, I see how this is gonna go
Touch me and you’ll never be alone
I-island breeze and lights down low
No one has to know
[Chorus]
In the middle of the night, in my dreams (My dreams)
You should see the things we do, baby (Baby, hmm)
In the middle of the night, in my dreams (My dreams)
I know I’m gonna be with you, so I take my time
In the middle of the night
[Outro]
Baby, let the games begin
Let the games begin
Let the games begin
Are you ready for it?
Baby, let the games begin
Let the games begin
Let the games begin
Are you ready for it?
| Album | reputation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Released | September 3, 2017 | ||
| Recorded | 2017 | ||
| Genre | Electro Pop Industrial Pop Tropical House | ||
| Length | 3:28 | ||
| Label | Big Machine Records | ||
| Songwriters | Taylor Swift Max Martin Shellback Ali Payami | ||
| Producers | Max Martin Shellback Ali Payami | ||
REPUTATION CHRONOLOGY | |||
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