Mirrorball (song)

"Mirrorball" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, ''Folklore'' (2020). She wrote the song as a tribute to her fans, after she cancelled a planned concert tour to support her seventh studio album '' Lover'' (2019) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Produced by Swift and co-writer Jack Antonoff, "Mirrorball" is a dream pop, jangle pop, and indie folk song with flavors of country music, accompanied by reverbed, gentle guitars, vocal harmonies, and live drums. Lyrically, the narrator likens herself to a fragile disco ball and sings about doing anything to keep her audience entertained.

In reviews of ''Folklore'', critics interpreted the track as a metaphor for female musicians' struggles to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. They lauded the production and emotional sentiments. Many picked it as an album highlight and one of Swift's greatest tracks. "Mirrorball" was listed as one of the best songs of 2020 by ''Slant Magazine'', ''Pitchfork'', and ''Variety''. It peaked at number 26 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was a top 40 chart entry in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and Singapore. Swift recorded the song for the concert documentary '' Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' (2020).

Background and composition

The singer-songwriter Taylor Swift began work on her eighth studio album, ''Folklore'', during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. She recruited Jack Antonoff, who had worked on her three previous studio albums, as a producer on the album. Swift wrote and produced four songs with Antonoff, including "Mirrorball". On the track, Antonoff served as co-writer, programmer, and engineer (with Laura Sisk), and played instruments including acoustic guitar, drums, electric guitar, and Hammond B-3. The track was recorded at Kitty Committee Studio (Swift's home studio) in Beverly Hills, California, and Rough Customer Studio in Brooklyn. Serban Ghenea mixed the song at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

"Mirrorball" runs for 3 minutes and 29 seconds. It is a dream pop and jangle pop song with a dense reverb. Jon Caramanica of ''The New York Times'' remarked that the production borderlines shoegaze, and Jason Lipshutz from ''Billboard'' deemed it an indie folk track. The production incorporates reverbed guitars, a pedal steel, country flavors, breathy vocals, harmonies, and live drums. Swift's vocals are highlighted at the forefront, backed by soft, gentle snare strokes in the background. Spencer Kornharber of ''The Atlantic'' wrote that the song features "warm" and "sparkling" guitar tones yet "snowy" tambourine. Mikael Wood from the ''Los Angeles Times'' compared the song to the music by such 1990s acts as the Sundays and Sixpence None the Richer for displaying a more feminine side, a counterpart to the album's overarching "beardo indie rock" influence. Willman agreed that "Mirrorball" is one of the album's "least folkloric-sounding tracks".

Whereas much of ''Folklore'' explores fictional narratives and departs from Swift's previously well-known autobiographical songwriting, "Mirrorball" is a track that reflects her state of mind during the COVID-19 quarantine. She wrote the track after her planned concert tour for ''Lover'' was cancelled on the outbreak of the pandemic. On it, she channeled her realization of how her fans find "solace on the dance floor", and her struggles with celebrity and how to maintain relevance: "It's a metaphor for celebrity, but it’s also a metaphor for so many people who feel like they have to be different versions of themselves for different people." In the lyrics, the narrator sings about how she would do anything to entertain her audience ("All I do is try, try, try I'm still on that trapeze/ I'm still trying everything, to keep you looking at me") and likens herself to a fragile disco ball. Critics interpreted the track to be about Swift's self-awareness of her public image, and about female celebrities' efforts to remain relevant at large.

Release and live performances

''Folklore'' was released on July 24, 2020, via Republic Records. In the track-list, "Mirrorball" sits at number 6 out of the 16 tracks. The track debuted and peaked at number 26 on the United States's ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, it entered at number six and stayed for 16 weeks. Outside the US, the song reached the countries of Singapore (13), Australia (14), Malaysia (14), Canada (22), and Portugal (103). In the United Kingdom, "Mirrorball" reached number 30 on the OCC Audio Streaming Chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

After the album's release, Swift recorded a stripped-down rendition of "Mirrorball" for the Disney+ concert documentary '' Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' and its live album on November 25, 2020. On March 17, 2023, Swift embarked on her sixth concert tour, the Eras Tour, which contained a segment of "surprise songs" where she perform random songs from her discography. At the tour's opening show in Glendale, Arizona, Swift sang "Mirrorball" as the tour's first "surprise song".

Critical reception

In publications' reviews of ''Folklore'', many critics lauded the production and emotional resonance of "Mirrorball". They picked it as an album highlight or even the best album track. Finn McRedmond of ''The Irish Times'' said the song was "destined to be an instant Swiftian classic". Descriptions of Swift's songwriting include "dreamy", "devastatingly pretty", "ethereal", and "authentic". In ''Slant Magazine'', Eric Mason admired how "Mirrorball" managed to convey both nostalgia and sarcasm with "breathless amazement". Hannah Mylrea of ''NME'' was not as impressed; she deemed the track forgettable and said it dragged the album. "Mirrorball" appeared on year-end lists of the best songs of 2020 by ''Varietys Chris Willman, who placed it at number nine on a list of 40 songs, ''Pitchfork'' (71st), and ''Slant Magazine'' (14th).

Retrospectively, critics have considered "Mirrorball" as one of Swift's greatest tracks. In rankings of Swift's entire catalog, Willman and Rob Sheffield from ''Rolling Stone'' listed it among Swift's five best songs. In 2022 reviews, Spencer Kornhaber from ''The Atlantic'' said that "Mirrorball" was one of the tracks that "both fit in and stood out" on ''Folklore'' and selected it as one of her finest, most distinct works, and Katherine Flynn of ''Consequence'' insisted that "Mirrorball" should have been the lead single from the album and lauded its bridge as "undeniable".

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Folklore.''

* Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriting, production
* Jack Antonoff – production, songwriting, recording, programming, acoustic guitar, drums, electric guitar, Hammond B-3, keyboard, percussion, sleigh bells, background vocals
* Laura Sisk – recording
* John Hanes – engineering
* Serban Ghenea – mixing

Charts

Certifications

Notes

References

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2020 songs
Taylor Swift songs
Jangle pop songs
Dream pop songs
Indie folk songs
Songs written by Taylor Swift
Songs written by Jack Antonoff
Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift
Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff