"Blank Space" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

and the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from her fifth studio album, ''

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

'' (2014). Swift wrote the song with its producers,

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Swift's love life that affected her

girl-next-door The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a mutual friendship that later ofte ...

reputation, "Blank Space" portrays a flirtatious woman with multiple romantic attachments. It is an

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

track with a minimal arrangement consisting of

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

s, hip hop–influenced beats, and layered vocals. Big Machine in partnership with

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

released "Blank Space" to US radio on November 10, 2014. One of the best-selling singles of 2015, it topped charts in Australia, Canada, Iceland, Scotland, and South Africa. In the United States, it spent seven weeks atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified eight times platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA). Music critics praised the production and Swift's songwriting; some picked it as ''1989'' highlight. The song earned three nominations at the

58th Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...

, including two general categories:

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

and

Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to: * Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year * Dove Award for Song of the Year * Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year * Grammis Song of the Year * Grammy Award for Song of the Year * Latin Grammy Awa ...

. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' placed it at number 320 on their 2024 revision of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

. Joseph Kahn directed the music video for "Blank Space", which depicts Swift as a jealous woman who acts erratically when she suspects her boyfriend's infidelity. The video won Best Pop Video and

Best Female Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Y ...

at the

2015 MTV Video Music Awards The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015. The 32nd installment of the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Miley Cyrus. Taylor Swift led the nominations with a total of ten, followe ...

, and it ranked 67th on ''Rolling Stone'' 100 Greatest Music Videos of All Time. Swift included "Blank Space" in the set lists for three of her world tours:

the 1989 World Tour The 1989 World Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014). Swift announced the tour's first dates in North America, Europe, Japan, and Oceania in November an ...

(2015),

Reputation Stadium Tour The Reputation Stadium Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her sixth studio album ''Reputation'' (2017). The all-stadium tour began on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona, and concluded on No ...

(2018), and

the Eras Tour The Eras Tour (stylized as Taylor Swift The Eras Tour) is the upcoming sixth headlining concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Having not toured for her studio albums ''Lover'' (2019), ''Folklore'' (2020), and ''Evermore'' (2 ...

(2023–2024). The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by several

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musicians. Following the 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song as "Blank Space (Taylor's Version)" for her 2023 re-recorded album ''

1989 (Taylor's Version) ''1989 (Taylor's Version)'' is the fourth re-recorded album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is a re-recording of Swift's fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014), and was released on October 27, 2023, by Republic Records. The a ...

''.

Background

Inspired by 1980s

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

with

drum pad A practice pad or drum pad, is a piece of equipment used by drummers and other percussionists to practice quietly, or to warm up before a performance. Construction A variety of practice pads have been developed to assist percussionists in diff ...

s, and overlapped vocals,

abandoned the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

stylings of her previous releases to incorporate

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

production for her fifth studio album, ''

'', which was released in 2014. Swift began writing songs for the album in mid-2013 concurrently with the start of Swift's headlining world tour in support of her fourth studio album ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

''. On ''1989'', Swift and the Swedish producer

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

served as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

s. Martin and his frequent collaborator Shellback produced seven out of 13 songs on the album's standard edition. Having been known as "America's Sweetheart" thanks to her wholesome and down-to-earth

girl next door The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a mutual friendship that later ofte ...

image, Swift saw her reputation blemished due to her history of romantic relationships with a series of high-profile celebrities. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' asserted in 2013 that her "dating history adbegun to stir what feels like the beginning of a backlash", questioning whether Swift was in the midst of a

quarter-life crisis In popular psychology, a quarter-life crisis is a crisis "involving anxiety over the direction and quality of one's life" which is most commonly experienced in a period ranging from a person's early twenties up to their mid-thirties (although ...

. The ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' observed that until the release of ''1989'', Swift's love life had become a fixed tabloid interest and overshadowed her musicianship. Swift disliked the media portrayal of her as a "serial-dater", feeling that it undermined her professional works, and became reticent to discuss her personal life in public. The tabloid scrutiny on her image prompted her to write satirical songs about her perceived image, in addition to her traditional romantic themes.

Lyrics and music

Talking to '' GQ'' in 2015, Swift said that she envisioned "Blank Space" to be a satirical self-referential nod to the media perception of her image as "a girl who's crazy but seductive but glamorous but nuts but manipulative". She admitted that she had felt personally attacked for a long time before realizing "it was kind of hilarious". She co-wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. "Blank Space" follows the verse–chorus song structure. The lyrics in the verses are clipped, "Magic, madness, heaven, sin", which the

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

Nate Sloan said set a mysterious and dreadful tone. At one point, Swift describes herself as a "nightmare dressed like a daydream". The

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the v ...

alludes to Swift's songwriting practice taking inspiration from her love life: the lyrics, "Got a long list of ex-lovers They'll tell you I'm insane But I've got a blank space, baby", are followed by a brief silence and then a clicking

retractable pen A retractable pen is a type of ink pen that has a spring-loaded ink cartridge which retracts and extends outside a protective housing. By clicking downward on the top of the pen, the tip is extended and locks in place at the bottom of the housi ...

sound, and Swift concludes the refrain: "And I'll write your name." After the song's release, the line "Got a long list of ex-lovers" was misheard by some audience as "All the lonely Starbucks lovers", which prompted internet discussions including a response from

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 ...

themselves. Swift told ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' in 2015 that when "Blank Space" was released, " alfthe people got the joke, half the people really think that

he was He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

really owning the fact that

a psychopath". According to Sloan, the narrator of "Blank Space" is unreliable, and therefore it is open to interpretation whether the song is a true portrayal of Swift's character or not. In contemporary publications, journalists commented that the track represented ''1989'' lighthearted view on failed relationships and departed from the idealized romance on Swift's past albums. Others wrote that Swift made fun of her image and the media discourse surrounding her celebrity, which later served as the foundation for her sixth studio album ''

Reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitou ...

'' (2017), an album exploring her public experiences and the media gossip. Martin and Shellback employed a sparse production for "Blank Space" as Swift wanted the song to emphasize the lyrics and vocals. Musically, "Blank Space" is an

song that is set over minimal hip hop–influenced beats.

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The A.V. Club and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio where she has won f ...

said that the beats resonate like the sounds of a

grandfather clock A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...

. The song incorporates

s, percussioned

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

strum In music, strumming is a way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, or mandolin. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a finger or plectrum brushes over several strings to generate sound. On most stringed instrumen ...

s, and layered backing vocals. Swift sing-speaks the verses and, in the refrain, sings in her higher

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), the ...

as the production

crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer depend ...

s with faster programmed

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

. Some critics compared the song's minimal production to the music of

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and ...

, specifically her 2013 album ''

Pure Heroine ''Pure Heroine'' is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 27 September 2013 by Universal, Lava, and Republic Records. After several unsuccessful sessions with songwriters, Lorde was paired with Joel L ...

''. According to ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

''s Andrew Unterberger, "Blank Space" embraces 1980s pop music authenticity, but with a modern twist.

Release and commercial performance

"Blank Space" was the second single from ''1989''. In the United States, Big Machine and

released the song to rhythmic crossover radio on November 10, and

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

and

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on November 11, 2014.

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

sent "Blank Space" to Italian radio on December 12, 2014, and released a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any s ...

version of "Blank Space" in Germany on January 2, 2015. "Blank Space" debuted at number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated November 15, 2014. The single reached number one in its third week on the chart, supported by the release of its music video. It took the number-one position from ''1989'' lead single "

Shake It Off "Shake It Off" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, ''1989''. Swift wrote the lyrics and composed the melody with producers Max Martin and Shellback. An uptempo dance-pop song featuring a saxop ...

", making Swift the first woman to succeed herself at the top spot. "Blank Space" remained atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks. In August 2023, "Blank Space" re-entered the Hot 100 and reached number 46 after it increased in streams; this was brought by Swift's announcement of the re-recorded album ''

'' and her performances of the song on her

Eras Tour The Eras Tour (stylized as Taylor Swift The Eras Tour) is the upcoming sixth headlining concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Having not toured for her studio albums ''Lover'' (2019), ''Folklore'' (2020), and ''Evermore'' (2 ...

. The

(RIAA) certified "Blank Space" eight-times platinum, which denotes eight million units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams, in July 2018, and the single had sold 4.6 million digital copies in the United States by October 2022. The single also reached number one in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and Scotland. It peaked atop ''Billboard''

Euro Digital Song Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

and the Finnish Download Chart. "Blank Space" charted within the top five of national record charts, at number two in New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, number three in Bulgaria, number four in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Israel, the United Kingdom, and number five in Lebanon. The track received multi-platinum certifications in many countries, including fourteen-times platinum in Australia and four-times diamond in Brazil. It was certified four-times platinum in Canada, Poland, and New Zealand; triple platinum in the United Kingdom; and double platinum in Austria and Portugal. According to the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

(IFPI), "Blank Space" was the eighth-best-selling song of 2015, selling 9.2 million units.

Critical reception

The song received widespread acclaim. Upon the release of ''1989'', Shane Kimberline of ''

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

'' called "Blank Space" one of the album's best songs. ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

'' Corey Baesley lauded it as "easily a candidate for the best pop song of 2014", writing that the minimal production may "sound bright and easy" but was in fact "weapons-grade, professional pop". Sydney Gore from '' The 405'' deemed "Blank Space" the album's highlight, and Aimee Cliff from ''Fact'' labeled it one of Swift's "most enjoyable songs to date" for portraying Swift's love life in a larger-than-life manner. ''

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History '' ...

'' Robert Leedham wrote that Swift succeeded in experimenting with new musical styles on ''1989'', specifically choosing "Blank Space" as an example. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' critic

Kitty Empire Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''. Early life Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain ...

picked "Blank Space" as a song that showcased Swift's musical and lyrical maturity, calling it "an out-and-out pop song with an intriguingly skeletal undercarriage". Writing for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', Mikael Wood selected the track as one of the album's better songs because of Swift's songwriting craftsmanship. ''

'' critic

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree f ...

deemed the song "Swift at her peak" that "serves to assert both her power and her primness". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

''s Andy Gill was less enthusiastic, calling it a "corporate rebel clichéd" song. Retrospective reviews of "Blank Space" have been positive.

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' in 2019 declared "Blank Space" the best single Swift had released, praising its success in transforming Swift's image from a country singer-songwriter to a pop star thanks to its "effortless" melody and witty lyrics. ''

'' reviewer

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at ''Blen ...

wrote: "Every second of 'Blank Space' is perfect." ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, A liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves a ...

'' in 2020 described the song as "remarkably well-made, infectiously catchy, and legitimately funny", and named it the best song on ''1989''. Selja Rankin from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' also dubbed "Blank Space" the best track on the album, praising the over-the-top lyrics and its catchy 1980s pop sound.

The Recording Academy The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

in 2023 picked "Blank Space" as one of Swift's 13 essential songs that represented her songwriting and musicianship.

Accolades

''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Blank Space" sixth on their list of the best songs of 2014, 73rd on their list of the best songs of the 2010s decade, 357th on their 2021 revision of the

, and later at 320 in their 2024 revised list. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' named it as the ninth best song in their year-end list. The song placed at number three on ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

''s annual year-end

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics' poll of 2014. ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awa ...

'' and ''

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audienc ...

'' ranked the song at numbers 49 and 72 on their lists of the best songs of the 2010s decade, respectively. ''Billboard'' named it one of the 100 "Songs That Defined the Decade". Katie Atkinson wrote that the single consolidated Swift's trademark autobiographical storytelling in music while "setting the standard for a new, self-aware pop star" in poking fun at her perceived image. On ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

'' list of the 100 best singles of the 2010s, "Blank Space" ranked 15th. "Blank Space" won

at the

2015 American Music Awards The 43rd Annual American Music Awards was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California on November 22, 2015. It was broadcast on ABC and hosted by Jennifer Lopez. With three awards, Taylor Swift was the big winner of the night. Jared L ...

. At the 2016

BMI Awards The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the awards include the BMI Christian Awards, BMI Country Award ...

, the song was one of the Award-Winning Songs that helped Swift earn the honor Songwriter of the Year. It earned a nomination for International Work of the Year at the 2016 APRA Awards in Australia. At the

58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...

in 2016, "Blank Space" was nominated in three categories—

, and

Best Pop Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guides, the Best Pop So ...

Music video

Development and release

Joseph Kahn directed the music video for "Blank Space". According to Kahn, Swift conceptualized the video to " ddressthis concept of, if she has so many boys breaking up with her maybe the problem isn't the boy, maybe the problem is her". Photography took place at two locations on Long Island: primary shooting took place at

Oheka Castle Oheka Castle, also known as the Otto Kahn Estate, is a hotel located on the North Shore of Long Island, in West Hills, New York, also known as the "Gold Coast," a hamlet in the town of Huntington. It was the country home of investment financi ...

, with a few additional scenes shot at

Woolworth Estate Woolworth Estate is a historic estate located at Glen Cove in Nassau County, New York. It was designed in 1916 by architect C. P. H. Gilbert (1861–1952) for Frank Winfield Woolworth (1852–1919). The estate consists of the main residence, kno ...

. The video was shot over three days in September 2014. The last day was dedicated to film ''American Express Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience'', an interactive

360° A turn is a unit of plane angle measurement equal to radians, 360 degree (angle), degrees or 400 gradians. Subdivisions of a turn include half-turns, quarter-turns, centiturns, milliturns, etc. The closely related terms ''cycl ...

mobile app in collaboration with

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

. Kahn told ''

Mashable Mashable is a digital media platform, news website and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2005. Early iterations of the site were ...

'' that Swift was thorough in choosing the visual devices and imagery: "When you have an artist wanting to test her imaging, it's always great territory to be in." Kahn took inspirations from

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's 1971 film ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'' for the video's symmetrical framing style. The video begins as the male love interest (

Sean O'Pry Sean Richard O'Pry (born July 5, 1989) is an American model from Kennesaw, Georgia. Early life O'Pry reports having Irish and unspecified Native American heritage. He has an elder brother and a younger sister. He attended North Cobb High Schoo ...

) drives an

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towards the mansion of Swift's character. They quickly become a loving couple: they dance together, paint a portrait of the boyfriend, walk along the estate grounds, and ride horses. Halfway through the video, Swift's character notices him texting someone, and the couple begins to fall apart: they begin to fight and Swift's character shows erratic behaviors such as throwing vases, slashing the painted portrait, and burning her boyfriend's clothes, which drives him to end the relationship. Before the boyfriend leaves the mansion, Swift's character smashes her boyfriend's car using a golf club, a reference to

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's 2009 cheating scandal. After he drives away, a new man (

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) approaches, offering Swift a new hope for love. Swift planned to premiere the video on ''Good Morning America'' on November 11, 2014, but Yahoo! accidentally leaked it a day before; Swift posted the video onto her Vevo account quickly afterwards. The interactive app ''American Express Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience'', featuring the 360° video version of "Blank Space", was released for free onto mobile app stores. The user can choose to either follow Swift and her love interest throughout the linear storyline, or leave the storyline to explore other rooms in the mansion and find interactive Easter egg (media), easter eggs, such as Swift's childhood photos. Kahn told ''Rolling Stone'' that the app was created with "superfans" who wanted to "feel even closer to Swift" in mind.

Reception

Some media outlets compared the narrative of "Blank Space" to that of ''Gone Girl (film), Gone Girl'', citing that both Swift's character and ''Gone Girl'' protagonist "[strip] away the romantic sheen she's given all her relationships in the past". Randall Roberts from the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that Swift delivered an "Academy Award, Oscar-worthy" performance. ''Billboard'' praised the video's cinematic quality and aesthetics and found Swift's self-referential portrayal amusing, which served as "icing on the blood-filled cake". ''The Guardian'' columnist Jessica Valenti complimented Swift's portrayal of her perceived image and dubbed the video "a feminist daydream", where "the narrow and sexist caricatures attached to women are acted out for ''our'' amusement, their full ridiculousness on display". ''USA Today'' and ''Spin'' in 2017 deemed "Blank Space" the greatest video Swift had done; the latter praised the aesthetics as glamorous and lauded the hilarious depiction of Swift's reputation. ''

'' in 2020 picked "Blank Space" as the best video among the ''1989'' singles, describing it as "the only music video that can be earnestly described as ':wikt:Kubrickian, Kubrickian. It won Best Pop Video and

at the

and earned a nomination for Best International Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan. The ''American Express Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience'' app won Original Interactive Program at the 67th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. ''Rolling Stone'' placed "Blank Space" at number 67 on its list of the 100 Greatest Music Videos of All Time.

Live performances and other versions

Swift performed "Blank Space" during the "''1989'' Secret Session", live streamed by Yahoo! and iHeartRadio on October 27, 2014. Swift premiered the song on television at the 2014 American Music Awards, where she recreated the narrative of the music video, acting as a psychopathic woman who acts erratically towards her boyfriend. She again performed the song on ''The Voice (U.S. TV series), The Voice'' on November 25, at the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on December 2, and during Capital (radio network), Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball#2014, Jingle Bell Ball 2014 in London, broadcast on December 5. On February 25, 2015, Swift opened the 2015 Brit Awards with a rendition of "Blank Space". At the beginning of the performance, Swift sang the song in front of a white background featuring silhouettes of backup dancers. The song was part of the set lists for three of Swift's concert tours—

(2015),

(2018), and

(2023–2024). On September 9, 2019, Swift performed the song at the City of Lover one-off concert in Paris, France. She performed the song again at the We Can Survive charity concert on October 19, 2019, in Los Angeles. At the American Music Awards of 2019, 2019 American Music Awards, where Swift was honored Artist of the Decade, she performed "Blank Space" as part of a medley of her hits. She again performed the song at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball#2019, Jingle Bell Ball 2019 in London, and at iHeartRadio WHTZ, Z100's Jingle Ball 2019 in New York City. Following the song's debut at the 2014 American Music Awards, the rapper Pitbull (rapper), Pitbull uploaded a remix featuring his rap verse to SoundCloud on December 15, 2014. The Retro style, retro music group Postmodern Jukebox transformed the song into a 1940s-inspired track in their cover, and the

band Imagine Dragons performed a slowed down rendition of the song sampling Ben E. King's "Stand by Me (Ben E. King song), Stand by Me" at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in February 2015. I Prevail, another rock band, released a post-hardcore cover of "Blank Space" as their debut single in December 2014. The cover reached number nine on Hot Rock Songs, ''Billboard'' Hot Rock Songs and number 90 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and received a platinum certification by the RIAA, which denotes one million track-equivalent units. It was also certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in 2024. The rock singer Ryan Adams covered "Blank Space" on his 2015 1989 (Ryan Adams album), track-by-track cover album of Swift's ''1989''. On his rendition, Adams incorporated stripped-down, acoustic string instruments, contrasting the original's electronic production. The Indie rock, indie singer Father John Misty released a cover version of the song in the style of the rock band the Velvet Underground in 2015. The cover is a reinterpretation of Adams's version and is built on the melody of the song "I'm Waiting for the Man".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''1989'' *

– vocals, background vocals, songwriter, shouts * Cory Bice – recording assistant * Tom Coyne (music engineer), Tom Coyne – mastering (audio), mastering * Serban Ghenea – audio mixing (recorded music), mixing * John Hanes (audio engineer), John Hanes – mixing engineer * Sam Holland – recording * Michael Ilbert – Sound recording and reproduction, audio recording *

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

– producer, songwriter, keyboards, programming (music), programming * Shellback – producer, songwriter, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass (instrument), bass, keyboard instrument, keyboards, Percussion instrument, percussion, programming, shouts, stomps

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

"Blank Space (Taylor's Version)"

After signing a new contract with Republic Records in 2018, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. The decision followed a Taylor Swift masters dispute, public 2019 dispute between Swift and the music executive Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the Mastering (audio), masters of Swift's albums which the label had released. By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs for Synchronization rights, commercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters. The re-recording of "Blank Space", subtitled "Taylor's Version", was released as part of ''1989'' re-recording, ''

'', on October 27, 2023. Swift produced "Blank Space (Taylor's Version)" with Christopher Rowe (record producer), Christopher Rowe, who had produced her previous re-recordings. The track was Audio engineer, engineered by Derek Garten at Prime Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee; mixed by Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia; and mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey. Rowe and Sam Holland recorded Swift's vocals at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles and Kitty Committee Studio in New York.

Reception

While giving positive reviews, music critics had different opinions on the re-recording's production. ''The Line of Best Fit'' journalist Kelsey Barnes commented that "Blank Space (Taylor's Version)" sounded like an "exact replica", but ''The Independent'' Adam White wrote that the re-recorded song features Swift's matured vocals that eroded the "raw mania" of the original song. In ''NME'', Hollie Geraghty praised the re-recording for showcasing one of the album's "deliciously polished belters that still feel brand new nearly a decade later". "Blank Space (Taylor's Version)" peaked at number nine on the Billboard Global 200, ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart. On national singles charts, the re-recorded song peaked within the top 20 in Australia (9), Canada (11), New Zealand (12), and the United States (12).

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''1989 (Taylor's Version)'' * Taylor Swift – lead vocals, background vocals, songwriter, producer * Matt Billingslea – drums programming, membranophone, electric guitar, synthesizer * Bryce Bordone – engineer for mix * Dan Burns – synth bass programming, synth programming, additional engineer * Derek Garten – additional programming, engineer, editor * Serban Ghenea – mixing * Sam Holland – vocals recording *

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

– songwriter * Mike Meadows – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizer * Randy Merrill – mastering * Christopher Rowe (record producer), Christopher Rowe – producer, background vocals, vocals recording * Shellback – songwriter

Charts

Certification

References

Sources

* * * {{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles I Prevail songs Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Scotland Satirical songs Song recordings produced by Max Martin Song recordings produced by Shellback (record producer) Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Chris Rowe Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs written by Max Martin Songs written by Shellback (record producer) Taylor Swift songs South African Airplay Chart number-one singles MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video Ryan Adams songs Big Machine Records singles Electropop songs

Background

Lyrics and music

Release and commercial performance

Critical reception

Accolades

Music video

Development and release

Reception

Live performances and other versions

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

"Blank Space (Taylor's Version)"

Reception

Personnel

Charts

Certification

See also

References

Sources