"Mean" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her third studio album, Speak Now (2010). Big Machine Records released the song to US country radio as the album's third single on March 7, 2011. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "Mean" is a six-string banjo-led country pop and bluegrass track that incorporates hand claps, fiddles, and multitracked vocals. Inspired by critics of Swift, the lyrics narrate a protagonist's self-awareness of her own shortcomings, efforts to overcome the criticism, and ridicule of a "mean" antagonist.
In reviews of Speak Now, many music critics noted "Mean" as the album's only country song congruent with Swift's self-identity as a country musician. Some praised the catchy production and lyrical detail, with some picking it as an album highlight; a few criticized the lyrics as shortsighted. Rolling Stone featured "Mean" in their 2014 list "100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". At the 2012 Grammy Awards, "Mean" won Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song. In the US, the single peaked at numbers 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It reached the top 10 on the Canadian Hot 100, and received certifications in Canada, Australia, and the UK.
The song's music video was directed by Declan Whitebloom, who developed the concept with Swift. With themes of self-empowerment and anti-bullying, it was praised by some media for encouraging a positive attitude, but questioned by others because of its unclear narrative. The video received nominations at the Country Music Association Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the MTV Video Music Awards. Swift performed "Mean" live at two awards shows—the 2011 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2012 Grammy Awards. She included it in the set list of two of her world tours, the Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012) and the Red Tour (2013–2014). A re-recorded version, titled "Mean (Taylor's Version)", was released as part of Swift's third re-recorded album Speak Now (Taylor's Version) on July 7, 2023.
Background
Taylor Swift began working on her third studio album, Speak Now (2010), two years prior to its release.[1] According to Swift, the album is a collection of songs containing confessions she had wanted to but could not make to the people she had met in real life.[2] She was inspired by her critics to write the album's sixth track, "Mean", explaining that although she acknowledged constructive criticism, she was bothered by critics who were "just being mean": "There's a line that you cross when you just start to attack everything about a person."[3][4]
In an interview on 60 Minutes, Swift said that the particular inspiration came from a critical review by Bob Lefsetz, who chastised her following her off-key performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010. He questioned her vocal ability and thought that she "killed her career overnight" and was "too young and dumb to understand the mistake she made."[5][6] Remarking on Lefsetz, Swift said, "The things that were said about me by this dude, just floored me and like leveled me. I don't have thick skin. I hate reading criticisms. You never really, like, get past things hurting you."[5][7]
The musicologist James E. Perone commented that "Mean" is the only album track congruent with Swift's self-identity as a country musician, as opposed to Speak Now's dominant mainstream pop and rock styles. Analyzing the song structure, Perone noted the instrumental sliding up a whole step in open fifths at the end of each refrain, and the whole-step slide up from the lowered-seventh scale-step to tonic, which evokes the Mixolydian mode typically found in Anglo-American folk music. According to Perone, the refrain uses a short melodic motive, which creates its catchiness.[20]
The lyrics address the critics who questioned Swift's vocal ability following her live performances in 2009 and 2010.[26][27] During the verses, she accuses them of pointing out the flaws that she is self-aware of, which makes her walking "with [her] head down" and being "wounded".[20] In the refrain, Swift promises her critics that she would become successful so that their words will no longer affect her and proclaims that she will move to a "big old city" one day, which Perone noted as congruent with a recurring theme of poor people moving to big cities to escape poverty in Appalachian music.[28]
Critical reception
Music critics praised "Mean" for its airy bluegrass and country production;[26][29][30] Mandi Bierly from Entertainment Weekly believed that it rendered Swift's emotions more authentic and emphasized the lyrical narrative.[26] Theon Weber from The Village Voice described the track as "huge, and hugely compassionate, and fearless".[23]Now's Kevin Ritchie picked "Mean" as the best song on Speak Now,[31] and South China Morning Post's Finley Liu considered it one of the album's standout tracks.[32] Several music journalists lauded the song for its message against bullying and deemed it an anti-bullying anthem.[b] Some critics also praised the production as catchy[c] and lauded its "irresistible" hook.[42]
Other critics regarded the concept of "Mean" as ineffective. Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe stated that the song showcased Swift's "lack of self-awareness"; he criticized her for focusing on the people who highlighted her vocal issues rather than improving her vocal pitch.[43] Scott Hansen of the Wausau Daily Herald described the track as "counterproductive" and similarly criticized it for "calling out bullies in a way that makes Swift a bully."[40] "Mean" appeared in rankings of Swift's discography by Variety's Chris Willman (13 out of 75),[37]Vulture's Nate Jones (18 out of 245),[30]NME's Hannah Mylrea (28 out of 161),[34]Rolling Stone'sRob Sheffield (66 out of 274),[44] and Paste's Jane Song (82 out of 158).[45]
After its digital release in October 2010, "Mean" debuted at number two on Billboard'sHot Digital Songs chart. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated October 30, 2010, at number 11 (which became its peak position), the highest chart entry of the week. This made Swift the first artist to have the Hot 100's highest debut in three consecutive weeks. Prior to "Mean", the Speak Now tracks "Back to December" and title track both claimed the week's highest Hot 100 entry.[60] For the week ending November 6, 2010, it debuted at number 55 on Billboard'sHot Country Songs chart, the highest debut of the week.[61][62]
Upon its single release, "Mean" re-entered Billboard Hot 100 at number 90 and number 17 on Hot Country Songs.[63][64] The week of May 14, 2011, Swift made a record when "Mean" jumped from number 12 to number nine on Hot Country Songs, becoming her thirteenth consecutive top ten hit on that chart. It made Swift one of two women (the other being Carrie Underwood) to begin her chart history with 13 consecutive top ten hits since the survey's 1944 launch.[65][66] The song peaked at number two. The week of August 14, 2011, "Mean" became Swift's thirteenth song to sell more than one million copies, which is more than any other country artist in digital history.[67] By the end of 2011, "Mean" sold 1.2million digital copies in the U.S.[68] The song was number 24 on the Billboard Year-end Country Songs chart for 2011.[69] It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA in August 2014.[70] As of July 2019, "Mean" had sold 2.5million digital copies in the U.S., the best-selling Speak Now track.[71] Elsewhere, "Mean" debuted and peaked within the top 10 of the Canadian Hot 100,[72] and it reached number 45 on the Australian Singles Chart.[73]
Swift included "Mean" in the set list of the Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012), where she performed it playing a banjo guitar and danced with a band member playing a fiddle.[86][87] The performance was recorded and released as part of Swift's live video album Speak Now World Tour – Live (2011).[88] She included the song in the set list of the Red Tour (2013–2014) and played it on a banjo.[89] She performed it on acoustic guitar at the 1989 World Tour in 2015 at concerts in Saint Paul,[90] Los Angeles,[91] Seattle,[92] and Houston.[93] Swift sang an acoustic rendition of "Mean" at the first Dublin show of the Reputation Stadium Tour in June2018; Rolling Stone's Andy Greene picked it as one of the ten best acoustic performances of the tour.[94][6] She performed the track on acoustic guitar at the Eras Tour (2023–2024) at the third Tampa show in April2023,[95] and as part of a mashup with her song "Thank You Aimee" (2024) at the second London show in June2024.[96]
Music video
Background and release
The accompanying music video for "Mean" was directed by Declan Whitebloom.[97] It was shot over a two-day period in Los Angeles, with the Orpheum Theatre serving as its backdrop.[97][98] The concept of the video was developed by both Swift and Whitebloom,[99] who praised Swift's commitment and involvement with the production of the music video.[100] In an interview with MTV News, Whitebloom said that "Mean" is very personal to Swift because "it's about a critic who was a little too harsh on her". However, he added that people can relate to its message, saying "we all have similar stories in our life that hit similar emotional cues, and to open it up and make it broader about lots of people and situations .. makes it much more accessible."[101] Whitebloom described the video as sketches that feature scenes from all different time periods, from vaudevillian scenes to scenes resembling O Brother, Where Art Thou?.[100] He also stated that the video was inspired by Swift's performance at the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.[101]
Actresses Joey King and Presley Cash are featured in the video.[102][103] Prior to the release of the video, Jocelyn Vena of MTV predicted that the video of "Mean" would be "a honky-tonk-type performance video, in which [Swift] and her band have a little fun at someone's expense."[104] The music video premiered on Country Music Television on May 6, 2011.[97][99] A behind-the-scenes video of the music video was included on a Target-exclusive edition of Speak Now World Tour – Live.[88]
Synopsis
The video begins with a shot of the inside of an empty theater. As the song begins, the curtains open to reveal Swift, wearing a cream-colored dress and playing a banjo guitar. The stage lights are brightened and Swift is accompanied by her band. They are dressed in vintage-inspired clothing. The stage is set to look like the front yard of a farmhouse. Shots of Swift and her band are alternated with shots that tell several stories about people who are the victims of bullying. One is a boy who is pushed around by members of a football team for reading a fashion magazine. Another is a girl (played by Presley Cash) who is earning money for college by wearing a costume to promote a fast food restaurant. The video shows the girl's peers throwing food at her. One story features Swift herself, who is tied to railroad tracks by a villain. The villain then sits at a table and laughs and drinks wine with his friend. The final story is about a girl (played by Joey King) who is not allowed to sit with a group of other girls at lunchtime, because she is wearing a different colored ribbon around her waist than they are.
At the 3-minute mark, the stage that Swift and her band is on is transformed into a ritzy nightclub. Swift is now dressed in a sparkly flapper dress, and she is performing in the big leagues. For the video's conclusion, each of the different stories resolve themselves, and they all end happily. It is revealed that the boy reading the fashion magazine is now a famous fashion designer, the fast food girl has saved up for college and is now a big-time executive, and Swift effortlessly removes the ropes binding her and walks away from the tracks once the villain and his friend have passed out from drinking heavily. The final scene shows the girl with the unique-colored ribbon sitting as the only audience member in the theater, watching and applauding as Swift finishes her performance.
Reception
The music video was met with mixed reviews from critics. Story Gilmore of Neon Limelight perceived the clip to be "adorable",[105] while Amanda Lynne of Gather.com was not disappointed with the video and thought that Swift delivered once again.[106]The Huffington Post said the video was effective at putting Swift alongside the underdogs and dreamers.[107] Jocelyn Vena of MTV wrote that the video "is the latest entry in an avalanche of empowering clips, which we've seen from artists like Katy Perry ("Firework") and Pink ("Raise Your Glass")."[108] Ashley Lasimone of Taste of Country complimented Swift's looks in the video. She concluded that "it's difficult to not feel as empowered as superstar Swift."[109]
Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly thought that the message in the music video was confusing, writing "is she really equating a professional critic questioning her ability to sing at an awards show to getting bullied because you're different?"[110] Donna Kaufman of iVillage also felt the mixed messages in the video, stating "the video doesn't show Swift being bullied... Instead, she's a kind of savior to the outsider kids, who are all shallow stereotypes."[111] Kyle Buchanan of New York magazine described the video as clichéd, didactic, self-impressed and studiously unrevealing.[112] Drew Grant of Salon.com felt that the video tried to disseminate an anti-bullying message from "a person who has never been bullied by equating it with an evil vision of a fairytale."[113] Sophie Schillaci of Zap2it noticed that the flaw in the video was the assumption that "mean ole' bullies just rot in their hometown," whereas in reality, plenty of successful people are simply mean.[114]
The video's themes of self-empowerment and anti-bullying received positive feedback within the LGBTQ community, specifically with a scene where a young male character sitting in a locker room reading a fashion magazine is harassed by football players; at the end, the said character is seen presenting a runway fashion show with his designs of women's clothing.[28][115] Adriane Brown also noted the song and video resonated with Swift's core audience of teenage girls.[116]
After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[129] The decision came after the public 2019 dispute between Swift and talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums the label had released.[130][131] By re-recording her catalog, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, including the copyright licensing of her songs, devaluing the Big Machine-owned masters.[132]
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