"Karma" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her tenth studio album,Midnights (2022). The song was written and produced by Swift,Jack Antonoff,Sounwave,Keanu Beats;and Jahaan Sweet was a co-writer. Republic Records released "Karma" as the third and final single from Midnights on May 1,2023. A remix featuring the rapper Ice Spice was released on May 26,2023.
"Karma" combines synth-pop,chillwave,disco-pop,and electroclash,with elements of alternative pop,new wave,and techno. It is instrumented by cascading synth and Omnichord notes. In the lyrics,Swift's narrator proclaims how karma helps her attain good things in life,as opposed to her detractors who receive backlash for their wrongdoings. Music critics generally praised the catchy production and playful lyrics of "Karma",with some selecting it as a highlight on Midnights. At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024,the remix received a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
"Karma" peaked at number six on the Billboard Global 200 and charted in the top 10 in Australia,Canada,Ireland,New Zealand,and the Philippines. In the US,it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Swift's record-tying 10th and 11th number-one singles on the Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay charts. Directed by Swift,the music video for "Karma" premiered on May 26,2023;it has a high fantasy concept and features her and Ice Spice as cosmic entities. Swift performed "Karma" as the closing song of the Eras Tour (2023–2024).
Background and release
Ice Spice (pictured in 2022) features on the remix of "Karma".
The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift created her tenth studio album,Midnights,as a collection of songs about her nocturnal ruminations,detailing a wide range of emotions such as regret,lust,nostalgia,contentment,and self-loathing. She produced the standard edition of Midnights with Jack Antonoff.[1] Swift announced the track listing via a thirteen-episode short video series on the platform TikTok;the title of the eighth track,"Karma",was revealed in the episode posted on October 6,2022.[2][3]
Midnights was released on October 21,2022,via Republic Records.[4] "Karma" was released as the third single from the album,following "Anti-Hero" and "Lavender Haze".[5] Republic Records released "Karma" to US hot adult contemporary radio on May 1,and to US contemporary hit radio on May 2,2023.[6][7] On May 24,Swift announced a remix of "Karma" featuring the rapper Ice Spice;the remix was released as part of an extended Til Dawn Edition of Midnights two days later.[8]
According to Swift,Ice Spice's team reached out to her to suggest a collaboration between the two. She contacted Ice Spice personally to ask her to collaborate on "Karma",to which the rapper accepted immediately.[9] Several social media users interpreted the Ice Spice remix as Swift's "damage control" after receiving backlash for her alleged romantic linking with the English singer-songwriter Matty Healy,who had laughed at "racist" jokes about Ice Spice made by the American comedians Adam Friedland and Nick Mullen during their podcast;[10][11][12] Healy later issued a public apology to Ice Spice.[13]
Production and composition
After working together on "Lavender Haze",Antonoff asked Sounwave if he had other materials that they could produce for Midnights. Sounwave had created a track with Keanu Beats,which the former described as "something that was too perfect not to send to [Swift]".[14] After Sounwave played the track to Antonoff,the latter sent it to Swift,who recorded her vocals and completed the song the following day.[15] Sounwave described "Karma" as a "last-minute Hail Mary" and contended that the lyricism was "so cool".[14]
In an interview with Apple Music, Swift said she wrote "Karma" from "a perspective of feeling really happy, really proud of the way your life is, feeling like this must be a reward for doing stuff right".[23] Featuring comical lyrics,[24] the song is about the narrator's confidence in her positive karma, which rewards her with good things in life.[25][26] She does not seek revenge on her enemies and instead lets the universe take its course: while karma makes her detractors suffer for their wrongdoings (as depicted in the verses), it bolsters her for her good deeds.[15][27] In the refrain, she likens the rewards that the universe bestows upon her to things like a "purring", lovable cat, a breeze in her hair on a relaxing day, a boyfriend, and a god.[15]Vulture's Craig Jenkins and The Atlantic's Spencer Kornharber interpreted "Karma" as a diss track.[18][28] CT Jones of Rolling Stone contended that "Karma" was the defining moment for Midnights, citing the lyric, "I'm still here", as Swift's "middle finger to the people who prayed for her downfall".[29]
The remix, featuring additional writing credits from Ice Spice and RiotUSA,[30] features Ice Spice in a new second verse and interjections throughout the song.[31] It is a pop rap track which features trap and dancehall elements in the said verse to accompany her rapping flow.[17][32]
Critical reception
Several reviews praised the production of "Karma" as infectious. John Wohlmacher of Beats Per Minute hailed "Karma" as an "immediate masterpiece", lauding the bright and radiant "singalong" sound.[22] Zaleski contended that it was the album's catchiest song,[15] Paul Nolan of Hot Press deemed it a "banger" and a standout,[33] and Andy Von Pip of Under the Radar complimented Swift's ability to create "huge melodic earworms".[34]The Guardian'sAlexis Petridis deemed the track "kaleidoscopically tuneful", reminiscent of Swift's 2014 album 1989. He commented that the lyrical content about revenge, accompanied by the catchy sound, gave the song a "dish-served-cold poise".[35] In Variety, Chris Willman highlighted "Karma" as the album's "most unusual and sonically transfixing track".[24]
Other positive reviews focused on the lyricism. Ann Powers of NPR opined that the track showcased Swift's "wit and tartness", akin to the writer Dorothy Parker.[36] Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times described the lyrics as full of "vivid metaphors",[37] while Ellen Johnson from Paste wrote that the couplet, "Karma is a cat/ Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me", could become an "iconic" addition to Swift's discography.[38]Rolling Stone named it the fourth best song of 2022; Jones hailed the combination of "sleekest, most flexible production tendencies" with the metaphors and wordplay.[29]American Songwriter listed "Karma" as one of the 24 best songs of 2022; Alex Hopper praised the "lulling verses" and "effervescent chorus", and deemed the lyricism "deeply Swift in nature", symbolizing her "thesis statement" to her stance on the music industry.[39]
On a less enthusiastic side, Stereogum's Tom Breihan argued that the lyrics were bad "in a fun way",[40] while The Sydney Morning Herald's Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen contended that a "juvenile" lyric blemished the song ("Karma is my boyfriend").[20] In The New York Times, Jon Caramanica called it "a largely dim song with an aggressively plastic sound".[41] Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club categorized "Karma" as one of the "glaring misfits" on Midnights, calling the song "leftover from Reputation but doesn't match that album's scathing fury".[42] Writing for Billboard, Jason Lipshutz ranked it the second-worst song of Midnights upon its release, citing some questionable wordplay. In April 2024, he revisited the track, saying that he had ranked it too low and calling it the "purest distillation" of Swift's success.[19][21]
The Ice Spice remix received mixed reviews, with critics commenting that her and Swift's styles did not complement each other.[5] Shaad D'Souza of Pitchfork opined that the collaboration was a "clash of sensibilities" that diminished the appeal of the original version, and he deemed Ice Spice's delivery lacking of the "rat-a-tat velocity" of her contribution to PinkPantheress's "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2".[32]HotNewHipHop's Aron A. described Ice Spice as sounding "out of place" on the song, deeming the remix underwhelming for hip-hop fans.[43] Matthew Dwyer from PopMatters contended on whether Swift had Ice Spice on the remix to remain relevant.[44] However, Billboard and USA Today named the remix one of the best songs of 2023.[45] In Billboard, Andrew Unterberger wrote that while it was not the best single for either Swift or Ice Spice, it could become "genuinely intoxicating" because of its status as the "shared victory lap moment" for both artists.[46]
Commercial performance
Swift performing "Karma" on the Eras Tour in August 2023
Upon the release of Midnights, nine of its tracks entered the top 10 of the Billboard Global 200 chart; "Karma" debuted at number 10. This set the record for the most simultaneous top-10 entries.[47] The track peaked at number six on the Global 200 chart dated June 10, 2023, spending 53 weeks in total.[48]
In the US, upon the album's release, "Karma" debuted at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Together with other Midnights tracks, it made Swift the first artist to monopolize the top 10 of the Hot 100 the same week.[49][50] After its radio release, "Karma" became Midnights's third consecutive top-10 single and Swift's 28th overall top-10 song on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, making her the artist with the most top-10 entries.[51] It ultimately became Swift's 10th number one on Adult Pop Airplay (tying her with Pink for the most number ones for a solo artist),[52] and 11th number one on the Pop Airplay chart (tying her with Maroon 5, Katy Perry, and Rihanna for the most number ones).[53]
Following the release of the Ice Spice remix, "Karma" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] The remix marked Ice Spice's highest-charting single in the US, and "Karma" made Midnights the first album since the Weeknd's After Hours (2020) to have three top-two singles.[54] Unterberger commented that while Ice Spice "covered the one area inside the mainstream that she was no longer really able to touch", she brought to "Karma" a "much-needed freshness", which revitalized its chart performance.[5]
In the English-speaking countries, "Karma" charted in the top 10 and has received platinum certifications in Australia (number two, five-times platinum),[55][56] Canada (number four, platinum),[57][58] and New Zealand (number nine, double platinum).[59][60] It also peaked at number eight in Ireland and number 12 in the UK, and has been certified platinum in the UK.[61][62][63] Elsewhere, the single peaked at number seven in the Philippines,[64] number 12 in Singapore and Slovakia,[65][66] number 18 in Malaysia,[67] and number 20 in Portugal.[68] It has been certified gold in Portugal,[69] and platinum in Mexico.[70]
Live performances and music video
Swift performed "Karma" as the closing song of the Eras Tour. On May 26, 2023, Swift brought out Ice Spice during her Eras Tour at her stop in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for their first live performance of the Karma remix.[71] Beginning with the concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 11, 2023, Swift frequently changed one lyric of "Karma" from, "Karma is the guy on the screen coming straight home to me", to, "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me." It referenced her relationship with the football player Travis Kelce, who was playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.[15][72]
Swift directed the music video for "Karma".[73] She premiered it on May 26, 2023, at the first East Rutherford show of her Eras Tour (2023), where she was joined by Ice Spice as a surprise guest to perform the song. The video was released to YouTube on May 27.[74]
The video features heavy digital effects, incorporating "cosmic or celestial" imagery, and packed with Easter eggs recalling some of Swift's earlier albums. Swift adopts various attires and personifications,[74] in several locations.[73] For example, she appears as a comical "Dorothy" on a yellow brick road featured in a Wizard of Oz-themed storybook; as a woman dressed in turquoise, backed by an enormous photo of her cat Olivia curled up sleeping; and as a green "giantess" covered by forest and mountain, whereas Ice Spice is in a "heavenly cloud formation."[74][73] Ice Spice delivers her rap verse from inside a golden clamshell.[75][76] Swift and Ice Spice climb a staircase from opposite sides and lasso the Moon and Saturn, respectively; this was seen as a reference to a verse from Swift's song "Seven". The final scene shows Swift's hands carrying a cup of coffee, the surface of which shows a foam clock with hands jumping to midnight.
The video received positive reviews. Billboard journalist Katie Atkinson said "the video is packed with stunning visuals".[75] Jennifer Zahn of Vulture called it a "magic-heavy" music video.[76]
12"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 43. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
↑"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 43. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
Somville, Damien; Benoit, Marine (2025). Taylor Swift All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Black Dog & Leventhal / Hachette Book Group. ISBN978-0-7624-8929-9.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
