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Two Is Better Than One

Love Drunk (Boys Like Girls Album) | 2009

“Two Is Better Than One” is a song by the American rock band Boys Like Girls from their second studio album, Love Drunk (2009). The song features Taylor, who co-wrote it with frontman Martin Johnson. This is the first hit single that Taylor was involved in as a featured rather than the main artist.
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Background and Release

Boys Like Girls is an alternative rock band from Boston that formed in 2005. When the song was released in 2009, both the band and Taylor were on the rise, quickly making a name for themselves in the music industry. Taylor had just had her big breakthrough moment with “Love Story” and the band was successfully touring the US.

Taylor was a fan of Boys Like Girls before their collaboration. In 2008, during an episode of MTV’s short-lived reality series Once Upon A Prom, Taylor and her best friend Abigail wore Boys Like Girls merch: Abigail donning a light-pink graphic tee and Taylor rocking a purple and gold BLG logo zip-up. She used one of the band’s songs in one of her vlogs. Also around that time, she mentioned them in a couple of interviews at the start of the Fearless Era in late 2008. That actually gave the band another significant “pop” boost, as they were already blowing up on the pop punk scene. Martin Johnson spoke about working with Taylor in an interview with ArtisanNewsService in 2010:

«A couple years back, Taylor mentioned that one of her favorite songs at the moment was ‘Hero/Heroine’ in the Wall Street Journal when she was just first nominated for a Grammy. I was obsessed with her record at that time. Her lyrical writing reminded me of how I wrote lyrics — off the cuff and like a journal, just really personal. I was inspired by that, and I was inspired by her record.»

Martin Johnson
Wanting to thank her for the mention, Johnson got in contact with Taylor. The duo ended up writing a couple of songs together, and BLG drummer John Keefe even played on Taylor’s second album, Fearless (2008). The collabs eventually opened the door for BLG‘s next single. On some advanced copies of the album sent to reviewers and members of the press, the song did not feature Taylor. Bassist Bryan Donahue recalled:

«We were done with the song, and [thought] we liked it and it should definitely go on the record, but it didn’t feel like it was done. We knew Taylor for a while — John actually recorded some drums for her on a track or two on Fearless — so we asked her if she would be interested in checking out the song and throwing her voice on there. She said ‘yeah’, so we were ecstatic. She sent the tracks back to us and we just went: ‘Now it feels right.’»

Bryan Donahue
Speaking to Seventeen Magazine in December 2009, Martin Johnson added: “Martin: It was amazing. She’s really such a nice girl. We had known her for a really long time and had been friends for a while. John played drums on Fearless and then she became the biggest star in the universe. It was like shooting for the stars asking her to sing on the record. We were so delighted and fortunate enough to have her on the record.”

Lyrical Theme

The lyrics of “Two Is Better Than One” lament on the realization that life is better when it is spent with another person, rather than alone. It is a rather reflective and sombre piece but has a love story at heart, like many of the other tracks on Love Drunk. This song takes a more vulnerable and delicate approach than many of the band’s other more uptempo songs.

Music Video

Even though Taylor’s vocals can be heard in the music video, she does not appear in it. It was helmed by Irish music video, commercial, and feature film director Meiert Avis. In 1988 Avis won a Grammy Award for his work on U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name” promo.

Live Performances

Boys Like Girls and Taylor performed “Two Is Better Than One” together once, at the Z100 Jingle Ball in New York City on December 11, 2009. Taylor also sang the song solo on acoustic guitar during her “Fearless Tour” show on February 4, 2010, in Brisbane, Australia. She hasn’t performed the song since.

Commercial Performance

The track received large scale commercial success. “Two Is Better Than One” debuted at No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100. It fell off the following week but re-entered at No. 79 and rose the following week to No. 64. After a few weeks, the song then reached its peak at No. 18 on the chart. It has since become Boys Like Girls’ third Top 40 on the Hot 100 as well as Taylor’s twenty-first entry in the Top 40. It is the group’s biggest hit.

Other Collaborations

Taylor and Martin Johnson wrote multiple songs together. Other collaborations between the pair include “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” from the soundtrack of Hannah Montana: The Movie and “If This Was A Movie“, which was released as a bonus track from Taylor’s third album, Speak Now (2010). It was the only co-write on that record. In 2023, Taylor released the re-recording of the song as part of Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Martin Johnson]
I remember what you wore on our first date
You came into my life and I thought,
“Hey, you know this could be something”
‘Cause everything you do and words you say
You know that it all takes my breath away
And now I’m left with nothing

[Chorus: Martin Johnson & Taylor Swift]
So maybe it’s true
That I can’t live without you
Well, maybe two is better than one
There’s so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you’ve already got me coming undone
And I’m thinking two is better than one

[Verse 2: Martin Johnson & Taylor Swift]
I remember every look upon your face
The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste
You make it hard for breathing
‘Cause when I close my eyes and drift away
I think of you and everything’s okay
I’m finally now believing

[Chorus: Martin Johnson & Taylor Swift]
That maybe it’s true
That I can’t live without you
And maybe two is better than one
But there’s so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you’ve already got me coming undone
And I’m thinking two is better than one

[Bridge: Martin Johnson]
I remember what you wore on the first date
You came into my life and I thought, “Hey”

[Chorus: Martin Johnson & Taylor Swift]
Maybe it’s true
That I can’t live without you
And maybe two is better than one
There’s so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you’ve already got me coming undone

[Final Chorus: Martin Johnson & Taylor Swift]
And I’m thinking
Oh, I can’t live without you
‘Cause baby, two is better than one
There’s so much time to figure out the rest of my life
But I figured out when all that’s said and done

[Outro: Martin Johnson & Taylor Swift]
Two is better than one
Two is better than one

Two Is Better Than One by Boys Like Girls (Sony, 2009)
General Information
ArtistBoys Like Girls
FeatureTaylor Swift
ReleasedOctober 19, 2009
GenrePop Rock
Length4:02
LabelSony
SongwritersMartin Johnson
Taylor Swift
ProducerBrian Howes
Single Certification
"2x Platinum" certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. Signifying 2,000,000 units sold in the United States of America.
Taylor & Martin Johnson
Live Performance
Official Audio

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