Ruin the Friendship

Last updated

"Ruin the Friendship"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album The Life of a Showgirl
ReleasedOctober 3, 2025
Studio
  • MXM Studios (Stockholm)
  • Shellback Studios (Stockholm)
Genre
Length3:40
Label Republic
Songwriters
Producers
  • Taylor Swift
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback
Lyric video
"Ruin the Friendship" on YouTube

"Ruin the Friendship" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (2025). Swift wrote and produced the track with Max Martin and Shellback. It combines teen pop and 1990s country music; the lyrics are about Swift's regret over not pursuing a romantic relationship with a high-school friend, referencing her previous songs like "Fifteen" (2008). Music critics generally praised the emotional songwriting, with some selecting it as one of the album's best tracks.

Contents

Background and composition

On August 13, 2025, Swift announced The Life of a Showgirl as her twelfth studio album during an episode of the podcast New Heights , which was co-hosted by Travis Kelce. [1] "Ruin the Friendship" was revealed on the same day as the album's sixth track. [2]

"Ruin the Friendship"'s production incorporates teen pop and 1990s country. [3] Its lyrics reflects on Swift's friendship with a high school classmate, and her regret over never pursuing a romantic relationship before he died. [4] [5] Swift's fans believe that "Ruin the Friendship" is a tribute to her childhood friend Jeffrey Lang, [6] who overdosed eight days after Swift released her third studio album Speak Now (2010). [7] [8] Lang's mother, Susan, also believes the song is about him and wished she could contact Swift to thank her for "keeping his name alive." [9] The song also mentions Abigail Anderson, Swift's best friend and the central figure behind her 2008 song "Fifteen". [10] [11]

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from critics. Nick Savage of the BBC selected it as the album's best track, [4] and Billboard editor Jason Lipshutz, in his list ranking the album's songs, ranked it first. [12] Caryn Ganz of The New York Times said that "Ruin the Friendship" was the track that immediately captured her attention for its "crisp, lush" soundscape. [13] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised it as "authentically heart-tugging." [14] Similarly, The Independent 's Roisin O'Connor described it as a "disarming, prettily arranged acoustic throwback." [15] However, The Daily Telegraph 's Poppie Platt described the track as "sweet" but added that it "leads to the feeling that Swift is an artist trapped in space and time: still singing about playground crushes at 35." [3] Wren Graves of Consequence was more critical, calling the song "sad and forgettable." [16]

Rapper 50 Cent reacted positively to being mentioned in the song, and congratulated Swift on the album's commercial success. [17]

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes. [18]

Studios

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for "Ruin the Friendship"
Chart (2025)Peak
position
Argentina (Argentina Hot 100) [19] 52
Australia (ARIA) [20] 11
Brazil (Brasil Hot 100) [21] 55
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [22] 11
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) [23] 34
Denmark (Tracklisten) [24] 16
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [25] 42
France (SNEP) [26] 53
Global 200 ( Billboard ) [27] 12
Greece International (IFPI) [28] 11
India International (IMI) [29] 15
Italy (FIMI) [30] 76
Latvia Streaming (LaIPA) [31] 17
Lithuania (AGATA) [32] 40
Luxembourg ( Billboard ) [33] 13
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [34] 12
Norway (IFPI Norge) [35] 25
Philippines (IFPI) [36] 15
Philippines (Philippines Hot 100) [37] 12
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) [38] 58
Portugal (AFP) [39] 14
Singapore (RIAS) [40] 12
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100) [41] 48
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [42] 37
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [43] 12
United Arab Emirates (IFPI) [44] 15
UK Streaming (OCC) [45] 13
US Billboard Hot 100 [46] 11

References

  1. ↑ Dailey, Hannah (August 13, 2025). "Taylor Swift reveals Life of a Showgirl release date, album cover & track list featuring Sabrina Carpenter". Billboard . Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  2. ↑ Bonner, Mehera (August 13, 2025). "Taylor Swift Reveals Tracklist for The Life of a Showgirl". Cosmopolitan . Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Platt, Poppie (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift is settling some scores: The Life of a Showgirl decoded" . The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Savage, Mark (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl Is a Triumphant Pop Victory Lap". BBC News . Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  5. ↑ Smyth, Tom (October 6, 2025). "'Ruin the Friendship' Should Be Track 5" . Vulture . Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  6. ↑ Bailey, Alyssa (October 4, 2025). "Taylor Swift's 'Ruin the Friendship' Lyrics Describe the Romantic Regret That Haunts Her". Elle . Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  7. ↑ Rahbar, Sabba (October 4, 2025). "Taylor Swift's "Ruin the Friendship" Lyrics Explained: Why Fans Think She's Honoring Jeff Lang". E! News . Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  8. ↑ Crabtree, Erin; Pettibone, Kat (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's Ruin the Friendship: Song Meaning Explored". Us Weekly . Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  9. ↑ Shoup, Craig (October 10, 2025). "Why a Tennessee mom believes Taylor Swift's 'Ruin the Friendship' is about her son". The Tennessean . Archived from the original on October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  10. ↑ Bonner, Mehera (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's new song 'Ruin the Friendship' lyrics meaning - A secret school crush who has passed away". Cosmopolitan UK . Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  11. ↑ Huff, Lauren (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's 'Ruin the Friendship' is devastating — but it has nothing to do with Blake Lively". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  12. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl: All 12 Tracks Ranked". Billboard . Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Taylor Swift Keeps Getting Bigger. Can the Music Keep Up?" . The New York Times . October 6, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  14. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl Review – Dull Razzle-Dazzle From a Star Who Seems Frazzled". The Guardian . Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  15. ↑ O'Connor, Roisin (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Review, The Life of a Showgirl: As Compelling as She's Ever Been – the Star, The Ringmaster and the Circus All in One". The Independent . Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  16. ↑ Graves, Wren (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Is All Dressed up with Nowhere to Go: Review". Consequence . Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  17. ↑ Saponara, Michael (October 17, 2025). "50 Cent Says Taylor Swift's 4 Million First Week Sales Is 'Exciting to See' & Reacts to Her Shout-Out". Billboard . Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  18. ↑ The Life of a Showgirl (booklet). Taylor Swift. Republic Records. 2025.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart History (Argentina Hot 100)" Billboard Argentina Hot 100 Singles for Taylor Swift. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  20. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 13, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Brasil Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  23. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Track Top-40 Uge 40, 2025". Hitlisten . Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Taylor-Swift: Ruin the Friendship" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Top Singles (Week 41, 2025)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts − Digital Singles Chart (International) − Εβδομάδα: 41/2025" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on October 15, 2025. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  29. ↑ "IMI International Top 20 Singles for week ending 13th October 2025 | Week 41 of 52". IMIcharts. Archived from the original on October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 41 (dal 03.10.2025 al 09.10.2025)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Teilore Svifta plūc mūzikas topu uzvaras laurus arī Latvijā" [Taylor Swift also tops the music charts in Latvia] (in Latvian). TV Net  [ lv ]. October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  32. ↑ "2025 41-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Luxembourg Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Official Top 40 Singles". Recorded Music NZ. October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  35. ↑ "Singel 2025 uke 41". IFPI Norge . Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  36. ↑ "The Official Southeast Asia Charts – This Week's Official Philippines Chart Top 20 from 10/03/2025 to 10/09/2025". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved October 14, 2025. [Select 2025 Week 41]
  37. ↑ "Billboard Philippines Hot 100 (Week of October 18, 2025)". Billboard Philippines . Archived from the original on October 15, 2025. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  38. ↑ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 03.10.2025–09.10.2025.) (in Polish). OLiS . Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  39. ↑ "Top 200 Singles Semana 41 de 2025" (PDF) (in European Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. p. 8. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  40. ↑ "The Official Singapore Charts Week 41 (3 - 9 Oct 2025)". RIAS. Archived from the original on October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  41. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  42. ↑ "100 Songs Weekly". Promusicae . Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  43. ↑ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 41" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  44. ↑ "The Official MENA Chart | Weekly Chart – Week 41, 2025 – 03/10 to 09/10/2025". The Official MENA Chart (Select year 2025, week 41 and UAE chart to view peak.). Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  45. ↑ "Official Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company . Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
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