"Fortnight" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

featuring the American rapper and singer

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

. It was written by the artists alongside

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Bleachers, and previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop band Fun and the lead vocalist of t ...

, who produced it with Swift. "Fortnight" is a 1980s-inspired

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

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

, and new wave

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

built around a steady, pulsing

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

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

, leading to a concluding

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

featuring Swift and Malone's

vocal harmonies Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chor ...

. The lyrics describe an emotionally impactful romance that lasts for two weeks: a woman in an unhappy marriage rekindles with a married ex-lover, and the two vow to escape to Florida.

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, 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 ...

released "Fortnight" as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from Swift's eleventh studio album, ''

The Tortured Poets Department ''The Tortured Poets Department'' is the eleventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on April 19, 2024, by Republic Records. Swift developed the album amidst the Eras Tour in 2023, with the resultant, ...

'', on April 19, 2024. Reviews mostly praised the vocal chemistry between Swift and Malone, but some found the composition weak and bland. At the

67th Annual Grammy Awards The 67th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024, as chosen by the members of the Recording Academy, on February 2, 2025. In its 22nd year at Crypto.com Arena in L ...

, "Fortnight" was nominated for Song of the Year and

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 re ...

. The song broke the record for the highest single-day streams on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

and peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart, and the charts in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Swift directed the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Fortnight", whose black-and-white

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

was handled by

Rodrigo Prieto Rodrigo Prieto Stambaugh, American Society of Cinematographers, ASC, AMC (born November 23, 1965), is a Mexican cinematographer and film director. He has collaborated with Martin Scorsese and Alejandro González Iñárritu, among other promine ...

. In the video, Swift plays a mentally deranged patient portrayed in

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

gothic fashion Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the goth subculture. A dark, sometimes morbid, fashion and style of clothing, dress, typical gothic fashion includes black Hair coloring, dyed hair and black clothes. Both male and female go ...

who mourns a past relationship and relives its memories. It stars her and Malone as lovers, and

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...

and

Josh Charles Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American film, television, and theater actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night, '' Will Gardner on '' The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Awar ...

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...

s experimenting on her. Among the accolades that the video received were five wins including Video of the Year at the

2024 MTV Video Music Awards The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 11, 2024. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on September 10, 2024, but was rescheduled to a day later to avoid conflicts with the pr ...

, Best Video at the

2024 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards were held on 10 November 2024 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, United Kingdom. This marks the seventh time the award show is being held in the United Kingdom. British singer Rita Ora hosted the show for a third ...

, Best Music Video at the 32nd Camerimage festival, and a

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. ...

nomination at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.

Background and release

Taylor Swift Eras Tour TTPD Set Fortnight

developed her eleventh original studio album, ''

'', immediately after finishing her previous album ''

Midnights ''Midnights'' is the tenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 21, 2022, by Republic Records. She conceived ''Midnights'' as a concept album about nocturnal ruminations inspired by her sleepl ...

'' (2022). She continued working on ''The Tortured Poets Department'' while embarking on

the Eras Tour The Eras Tour was the sixth concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It began in Glendale, Arizona, United States, on March 17, 2023, and concluded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on December 8, 2024. Spanning 149 sh ...

in 2023, amidst media reports on her personal life including a breakup after a long-term relationship with

Joe Alwyn Joseph Matthew Alwyn (born 21 February 1991) is an English actor. Alwyn made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama '' Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'' and has since played roles in films such as '' The F ...

and a short-lived romantic linking with

Matty Healy Matthew Timothy Healy (born 8 April 1989) is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the pop rock band the 1975. He is recognised for his Lyricist, lyricism, Eclecticism in music, ...

. Swift announced ''The Tortured Poets Department'' at the

66th Annual Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...

on February 4, 2024, and unveiled the track listing via social media the following day. "Fortnight" is the opening track on the album, with

as the featured artist. Swift brought the track to Malone's home studio in Los Angeles, and he recorded his background vocals and additional hooks for the

. During an interview with

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

for

Apple Music 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), a ...

in February 2024, Malone said that he had not heard the full song. "Fortnight" was released as the

of ''The Tortured Poets Department'' on April 19, 2024, concurrently with the album's release; it was released to United States

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

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

radio by

, Italian

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, and Canadian radio airplay by Republic/Universal. Swift unveiled the cover artwork via social media; it is a

grayscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a greyscale (more common in Commonwealth English) or grayscale (more common in American English) image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample (signal), s ...

photograph of Swift resting her cheek on a closed fist and Malone gazing into the camera with his hands clasped. The track was made available for purchase as a limited-time

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

through Swift's online store in the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland. A remix by Blond:ish was released on May 21, and an acoustic version and a remix by

Cults Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ha ...

followed on July 9, 2024. A special

7-inch vinyl In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...

edition was released on April 12, 2025, to commemorate

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

. Starting from the Eras Tour shows in May 2024 in Paris, Swift revamped the set list to include songs from ''The Tortured Poets Department'', including "Fortnight". For the performance of "Fortnight", the stage featured a "TTPD"-emblazoned bed and dancers dressed as nurses. Swift sang the song as she sat on a typewriter, across from a dancer, and the bed, which also resembled an office desk, moved across the stage.

Production and music

Swift and Malone wrote "Fortnight" with

, who programmed the track and played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, the

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), the 2007 film Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, a character in the book ''Juno of ...

, the M1, drums, and percussion. Sean Hutchinson played additional drums, which were recorded by himself and Michael Riddleberger at Hutchinson Sounds in Brooklyn. Malone's vocals were recorded and produced by

Louis Bell Louis Russell Bell (born May 27, 1982) is an American record producer, vocal producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. Bell's work includes production for Post Malone, Camila Cabello, Halsey, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, 5 Seconds of Summer, ...

at Electric Feel Studios in Los Angeles. "Fortnight" was produced by Swift and Antonoff; recorded by Laura Sisk and Oli Jacobs at

Conway Recording Studios Conway Recording Studios is a recording studio in Hollywood, California. People and awards Conway started in the early 1970s as a mastering studio. In 1976, the studio began recording albums, including projects by Elton John and Stevie Wonde ...

in Los Angeles and

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...

in New York City; and mixed by

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

at Mixstar Studios in

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

. "Fortnight" is 3 minutes and 48 seconds long. It is a 1980s-influenced

that incorporates

, and new wave. Its subtle

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

production is instrumented by a pulsing

generated by

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...

synth plucks that repeat every eight bars. Swift sings the verses in a monotone and the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

's lyric, "I love you, it's ruining my life", features her vocals being echoed back by Malone's subdued singing. Towards the concluding bridge, Malone and Swift deliver

. According to

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author and music historian. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio w ...

, Swift sounds "seething and resigned", while Malone adds a sense of longing with his "earnest, buttery-smooth melodic counterpoints". Some critics opined that "Fortnight" was stylistically similar to the music of ''Midnights''. ''Clash'''s Lauren Webb wrote that the track has a 1980s

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

sensibility reminiscent of such artists as

Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...

Cutting Crew Cutting Crew is an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut studio album ''Broadcast'' (1986) and their UK Top 40 hit singles, "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" and " I've Been in Love Before". History 1985� ...

, and

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

, and ''The Guardian'''s Laura Snapes thought that the "burbling synths, booming drums and glazed backing vocals" evoked the music of

the 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...

. There were also multiple comparisons to the music of

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

, which ''American Songwriter'''s Thom Donovan described as "bleak

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

Lyrics and interpretations

The lyrics of "Fortnight" are about the strong impacts of a two-week romance that leaves behind fleeting emotions: Swift's narrator is a woman in an unhappy marriage, and she becomes a neighbor of an ex-lover, who is now married to another woman. They encounter each other on a daily basis in a suburban American town, watering the flowers in their garden and chatting about the weather. That she lives next-door to her ex-lover makes her fantasize about killing the wife and resort to alcoholism to cope with her misery. In the double chorus that follows the second verse, Swift's character finds out about her husband's infidelity and desires to kill him also. In the conclusion, Malone's character, representing the ex-lover of Swift's character, fantasizes about escaping to Florida with her to escape the torturous reality that they are in. Some publications highlighted that the title is a

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

noun meaning two weeks, possibly referencing Swift's previous romances with British men;

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

searches for the definition of "fortnight" in the United States increased by 868% on the song's release day. Swift said that the track features many characteristics that define ''The Tortured Poets Department'', including themes of "fatalism, longing, pining away, lost dreams" and hyperbolic and dramatic lyrics ("I love you, it's ruining my life"). Explaining her songwriting perspective to

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...

, she said that she imagined the setting of "Fortnight" as an American town where one's

American Dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...

never materialized: "You ended up not with the person that you loved and now you just have to live with that every day, wondering what would've been maybe seeing them out." Several journalists suggested that "Fortnight" is autobiographical in nature, but it also blends confessional and fictional elements. The short-lived yet emotionally impactful romance in "Fortnight" becomes the subject of many other album tracks, and its imagery of violence and death (such as the narrator fantasizing about murdering the ex-lover's wife and her own cheating husband) also recur on them.

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 ...

of ''Rolling Stone'' opined that the "1950s bad-marriage theme" of unhappy suburban marriages with cheating husbands and dutiful housewives "on the verge of nervous breakdowns" was reminiscent of Swift's songwriting for her past albums ''Folklore'', ''

Evermore ''Evermore'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the ninth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was surprise-released on December 11, 2020, by Republic Records. Swift conceived ''Evermore'' as a "sister record" to its p ...

'', and ''Midnights''. Donovan described the scenario of "Fortnight" as a "suburban nightmare". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Lindsay Zoladz thought that the track is "chilly and controlled" until it " hawsand lows after the lyric, "I love you, it's ruining my life." ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' Melissa Ruggeri dubbed the lyrics mentioning alcoholism as "darkly funny".

Critical reception

The track was picked as a highlight on ''The Tortured Poets Department'' by Alli Rosenbloom of

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and Mesfin Fekadu of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''. In ''

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, ...

'', Igor Bannikov lauded "Fortnight" as the best opening track of Swift's career for featuring a "delicate and cunning" songcraft with a "buoyant" synth-pop production, Swift's vocal harmonies, and self-referential lyricism. Webb and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''s Laura Molloy thought that the track displayed a new musical direction for Swift, and ''The Irish Times''' Finn McRemmond praised the "impossible catchy hook" despite the dreary theme. Zoladz highlighted the lyrics for portraying "how viscerally Swift can summon the flushed delirium of a doomed romance". Many critics praised the vocal chemistry between Swift and Malone. John Meagher of the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' highlighted Malone's performance as more restrained compared to his usual "melodramatic" tendencies, and Ed Power of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' wrote: "His breathy singing voice dovetails surprisingly with Swift's angsty coo." ''Billboard'''s Jason Lipshutz ranked "Fortnight" fifth out of the 31 tracks on the

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

edition of ''The Tortured Poets Department'', praising how Malone's appearance suits well with Swift's vocals and gives the bridge "subtle power and hangdog charm". Bianca Gracie of Grammy.com also praised Malone's "melancholic harmonies" for giving "more emotional weight" to Swift's storytelling lyrics. Less enthusiastic reviews considered "Fortnight" a compositionally unmemorable song. Callie Ahlgrim of ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

'' deemed it uninventive and argued that it was too similar to Antonoff and Swift's previous collaborations, specifically calling it a derivative of ''Midnights''. Mark Richardson of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' deemed it mediocre, and ''Paste'' and Konstantinos Pappis from ''

Our Culture Mag ''Our Culture Mag'' (stylised ourculture) is a British arts and culture online magazine launched in 2016 by Modestas Mankus, based in Cambridge, England. It covers film, fashion, music, art, photography and literature. History In 2016, Modesta ...

'' criticized the sound as empty and bland. ''Variety'''s Chris Willman regarded the single as a good choice for

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

, but he contended that it was "not much of an indication of the more visceral, obsessive stuff" for the album's remainder. Alex Hudson of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' wrote that he was "genuinely shocked" that "such a dreary, unmemorable song" was released as a single. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' ranked "Fortnight" among their best songs of 2024. ''Billboard'' placed the song at number 10 on their list of the 100 best songs of the year. At the

in 2025, "Fortnight" was nominated for Song of the Year and

Commercial performance

After one day of release, "Fortnight" set the single-day streaming record for any song on Spotify, surpassing the all-time peak previously held by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

's song "

All I Want for Christmas Is You "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fourth studio album and first holiday album, ''Merry Christmas'' (1994). She wrote and produced the song with Walter Afanasieff. It was released a ...

" (1994). This achievement was registered in the ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

''. The single debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Global 200, marking Swift's fifth number-one song and tying her with

Bad Bunny Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (; born March 10, 1994), better known by his stage name Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. Known as the " King of Latin Trap", Bad Bunny is credited with helping Spanish-language rap music achieve m ...

for the most chart toppers among solo acts. It was one of the nine tracks from ''The Tortured Poets Department'' to debut within the top 10, extending Swift's number of top-10 entries to 33. In the United States, "Fortnight" debuted at number 9 on

Adult Pop Airplay The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data System ...

and number 13 on

Pop Airplay Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...

. It tied her own "

Shake It Off "Shake It Off" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her fifth studio album, '' 1989'' (2014). She wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Swif ...

" (2014) as the highest debut on the former chart, and " Bad Blood" (2015) as the second-highest debut on the latter chart. On the Adult Pop Airplay chart dated June 22, 2024, the single reached number one to become Swift's record-extending 13th chart topper and Malone's second. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Fortnight" debuted at number one on the chart dated May 4, 2024. As Swift's 12th number-one single and seventh number-one debut, it tied Swift with

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

for the most number-one debuts for a female artist. "Fortnight" also marked Malone's fifth number-one single and first number-one debut. The single spent two consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100. "Fortnight" debuted at number one and was Swift's fourth number-one single in the United Kingdom and 12th in Australia. The single also topped the charts in Canada, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as ''Billboard''

Hits of the World The Hits of the World is a collection of weekly record charts published by ''Billboard'' magazine. It ranks the top 25 songs in more than 40 countries around the globe based on streaming and digital sales. These charts in 40+ countries joined exist ...

charts for

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, and

the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

. Across other European territories, "Fortnight" reached the top five in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Belgian

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania, and Iceland. The track peaked at number two on the chart for the

Middle East and North Africa The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

(MENA) region. In Asia-Pacific, "Fortnight" peaked in the top five of ''Billboard'' Hits of the World charts for Taiwan and Indonesia. It has been

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

double platinum in Australia and platinum in New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Music video

Development

Swift wrote and directed the music video for "Fortnight", whose cinematography was handled by the Mexican filmmaker

. According to Swift, the music video for "Fortnight" was the visual representation of ''The Tortured Poets Department'': "Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another." Four hours prior to the album's release, Swift posted a teaser for the music video on social media. The music video was released on April 19, 2024. It has a black-and-white cinematography and features Swift and Malone as ex-lovers, and ''

Dead Poets Society ''Dead Poets Society'' is a 1989 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman. The film, starring Robin Williams, is set in 1959 at a fictional elite boarding school called Welton Academy, and tells ...

'' co-stars

and

s carrying out tests on Swift. Malone recalled that Swift had to hide under an umbrella and drapes "over the golf cart so drones and a helicopter couldn't get footage" during filming of the video.

Synopsis

Taylor Swift Songbook Trail Fortnight display 05

The video starts with Swift seen in a white dress and

choker A choker is a close-fitting necklace worn around the neck, typically 14 inch to 16 inch in length. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, plastic, beads, latex, leather, metal, such as silver, gold, or platinum, etc. Th ...

, chained to a bed in a mental facility; the bed is suspended on the wall. After a faceless person gives her a "Forget Him" pill, Swift wipes her face to reveal tattoos. She walks into a room filled with Royal 10 typewriters with black-masked figures typing them, donning a black

mourning dress. She sits and begins typing with Malone across the room. Swift and Malone are then seen lying on top of a pile of papers, reading a book titled ''Us''. They embrace on a lone highway before being caught up in a tornado that causes loose papers to swirl around them. Back at the mental facility, Swift is seen strapped to a gurney, in a laboratory. The doctors (Hawke and Charles) perform

electroshock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequate. Condit ...

on her as Malone watches from the side. In the final scene, Malone calls from a telephone booth that Swift, in a sparkling

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

dress, is on top of in the pouring thunderstorm rain, on an isolated cliff. He comes out of the booth and grabs Swift's hand. The video ends with silent-film credits.

Interpretations and reception

According to many publications, Swift's character in the video evokes the protagonist of the 2023 movie ''

Poor Things ''Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer'' is a novel by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray, published in 1992. It won the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize the same yea ...

'' and the scene of her being experimented on by mad scientists resembled

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's 1818 gothic novel ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

''. In the French film magazine ''Première'', Anthéa Claux compared the black-and-white cinematography and certain scenes to those of early-20th century

German expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

silent films: the close-up scene showing Swift's face and makeup evokes ''Metropolis'' (1927), and the mental facility setting with its bed suspended on the wall and distorted interiors resembles the settings of ''

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' () is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. The quintessential work of early German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypno ...

'' (1920). Analyses of the video identified themes of mourning and reliving memories of a past relationship. Fashion magazines examined Swift's fashion relating to Victorian and gothic styles that channeled poets and writers like Mary Shelley or

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

. Ed Power of ''The Daily Telegraph'' thought that the video portrayed a haunting version of Swift that "gets under our skin like never before" and complimented the acting chemistry between Swift and Malone. According to the literature professor Matthew J.A. Green, the video of "Fortnight" was part of Swift's foray into literary gothic, which was an important artistic endeavor that represented womanhood and critique of the self. At the

, Swift won seven trophies, five of whom were for "Fortnight", becoming the most-awarded artist in a single night in the awards' history. Its trophy for Video of the Year extended Swift's record as the artist with the most wins (five times). "Fortnight" also won Best Video at the

, and for his cinematography work, Prieto won the Grand Prize (Golden Frog) in the Music Videos category at the

32nd International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage The 32nd International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage, also named EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2024 for its sponsorship from Polish power company Energa, took place from 16 to 23 November 2024 in Toruń, Poland, to recognize and rewar ...

Accolades

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''The Tortured Poets Department''. *

– vocals, songwriter, producer *

– vocals, songwriter *

– producer, songwriter, drums,

, M1, percussion, electric guitar, acoustic guitar,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

– vocal producer, vocal engineer *

– mixing * Bryce Bordone – mix engineer * Laura Sisk – recording engineer * Oli Jacobs – recording engineer * Jon Sher – assistant recording engineer * Jack Manning – assistant recording engineer * Lauren Marquez – assistant recording engineer * Sean Hutchinson – drums, drums recording * Michael Riddleberger – recording engineer *

Randy Merrill Randy Merrill is an American mastering engineer who has worked with international artists including Blink-182, DAY6, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, One Direction, Adele, Imagine Dragons, Beck, Liam Gallagher, Jonas Brothers, Muse ...

– mastering #

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Footnotes

References

Sources

* {{Navboxes , title = Awards for "Fortnight" , titlestyle = background: lightblue , list = {{MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video {{MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration {{MTV Video Music Award for Song of Summer {{MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year 2024 songs 2024 singles 2020s ballads Billboard Global 200 number-one singles Billboard Global Excl. U.S. number-one singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Post Malone songs Taylor Swift songs Songs about depression Songs about heartache Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs written by Jack Antonoff Songs written by Post Malone Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff Electropop songs Downtempo songs Male–female vocal duets Music videos directed by Taylor Swift Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in India Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Malaysia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in the Philippines Number-one singles in Singapore Black-and-white music videos American synth-pop songs Synth-pop ballads UK singles chart number-one singles Republic Records singles American new wave songs New wave ballads Electropop ballads