Starlight (Taylor Swift song)

"Starlight"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Red
ReleasedOctober 22, 2012 (2012-10-22)
StudioBlackbird (Nashville)
GenreDance-pop
Length3:40
LabelBig Machine
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Audio
"Starlight" on YouTube
"Starlight (Taylor's Version)"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Red (Taylor's Version)
ReleasedNovember 12, 2021 (2021-11-12)
StudioCapitol (Hollywood)
Length3:40
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Lyric video
"Starlight (Taylor's Version)" on YouTube

"Starlight" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her fourth studio album, Red (2012). She was inspired to write the song by the teenage romance of Ethel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy: the lyrics narrate a summer romance in 1945 and depict two characters intruding a yacht club party. Produced by Swift, Nathan Chapman, and Dann Huff, "Starlight" is a dance-pop song with elements of country pop and trance music.

Music critics generally praised the narrative songwriting of "Starlight" and its catchy sound, although reviews have generally regarded it as a lesser entry in Swift's discography. Some critics remarked that the third-person perspective was a showcase of her expanding artistry beyond her usual autobiographical songs. "Starlight" peaked at number 80 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 5 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.

Swift used "Starlight" in a commercial for her fragrance in 2013. Following a 2019 dispute over Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded "Starlight" and released it as "Starlight (Taylor's Version)", as part of her 2021 re-recorded album Red (Taylor's Version). The re-recorded song peaked at number 102 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted in Canada and the United States.

Background and release

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Taylor Swift conceptualized her fourth studio album, Red (2012), as a breakup album that details the complex and conflicting feelings from a lost love, inspired by a real-life relationship of hers.[1] She worked with new producers in addition to Nathan Chapman, who had produced her previous country pop albums. Swift, Chapman, and Dann Huff produced three songs for Red, including "Starlight", which was written by Swift alone.[2][3] Big Machine Records released Red on October 22, 2012,[4] and "Starlight" is number 15 on the standard track listing.[3] Swift used "Starlight" as the soundtrack to a commercial for her fragrance "Taylor by Taylor Swift", which was available at Ulta Beauty stores, in 2013.[5]

Swift playing a red guitar and singing onstag
Swift performed "Starlight" on the Red Tour in 2013.

Swift has occasionally performed "Starlight" during several concerts. On December 3, 2012, she performed an acoustic rendition at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, where she was honored with the Ripple of Hope Award for her humanitarian efforts.[6] On March 27, 2013, as part of the Red Tour concert in Newark, New Jersey, she performed the song on acoustic guitar.[7] She also performed it at the Reputation Stadium Tour concert in Brisbane on November 6, 2018.[8] On the Eras Tour, she sang it twice: in Denver on July 15, 2013, and as part of a mashup with "Mine" in Singapore on March 2, 2024.[9]

After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums, including Red, in November 2020.[10] The decision followed a public 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums which the label had released.[11] Re-recording them would enable her to have full licensing rights of her songs for commercial use.[10] The re-recorded version of "Starlight" was released as "Starlight (Taylor's Version)", as part of Swift's re-recorded album Red (Taylor's Version). Republic Records released Red (Taylor's Version) on November 12, 2021.[12]

Composition and lyrics

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Black and white photo of Robert F Kennedy
Black and white photo of Ethel Kennedy
Swift wrote "Starlight" about the teenage romance of Robert F. Kennedy (left) and Ethel Kennedy (right).

Swift was inspired to write "Starlight" by the teenage romance of Ethel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy;[13] she had become friends with Ethel and other members of the Kennedy family in 2012.[14] In the liner notes of Red, she dedicated the song to Ethel.[15][16] According to Swift, she came across a black-and-white picture of Ethel and Robert dancing, thinking to herself about "how much fun they must have had that night".[17] Her imagination of a whirlwind teenage romance informed the lyrics, which tell of a teenage couple intruding a yacht club party in the summer of 1945. The couple was "17 and crazy",[18] pretended they were "a duchess and a prince",[19] and "[danced] like we're made of starlight".[20][21] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone compared the narrative of "Starlight" to that of a F. Scott Fitzgerald romance,[22] an idea corroborated by The Independent's Roisin O'Connor, who thought that the party setting was "Gatsby-esque".[23] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney from the Financial Times opined that the songwriting evoked Bruce Springsteen's style.[24]

Swift, Chapman, and Huff produced "Starlight", which was recorded by Joe Baldridge at Blackbird Studio in Nashville. Its production was coordinated by Mike "Frog" Griffith and Jason Campbell. On the track, Chapman and Huff both played electric guitars; the former also played piano and synth. Jimmie Sloas played bass guitar, Charlie Judge played synth and strings, and J Bonilla played drums and programmed the percussion.[3] A dance-pop song,[25] "Starlight" has a lively production composed of swirling keyboards, twinkling piano, and dynamic electric guitars.[26] Its opening evokes a trance music song,[27] and the break includes an electric guitar solo, conceived by Chapman and performed by Huff.[3][20] According to Perone, "Starlight" displays a novelty in Swift's melodic songwriting: its verses are more "conventionally tuneful" compared to the melodies built on short motives and pitch ranges of her early songs.[20] He overall described the track as "vaguely contemporary country pop in nature",[20] while The Washington Post characterized it as "Katy Perry-goes-country" with Swift's twangy vocals.[28] For the critic Annie Zaleski, the song's sound resembles that of Fleetwood Mac's 1987 album Tango in the Night.[26]

The re-recording, "Starlight (Taylor's Version)", was produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe, who recorded her lead vocals at Kitty Committee Studio in Belfast. Paul Mirkovich executive-produced the track, and he played piano, synths, and programmed the drum machines with Pete Amato and Nate Morton. The track was recorded by Justin Derrico and Travis Ference at Capitol Studios in Hollywood; the former also played guitars and bouzouki. Morton also played live drums, and Alexander Krivtsov played electric bass guitar. Engineered by Bryce Bordone and Derek Garten at Prime Recording Studio in Nashville, "Starlight (Taylor's Version)" was mixed by Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach.[29]

Reception

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Reviews of "Starlight" were mixed to positive. In lukewarm reviews, Mesfin Fekadu of the Associated Press opined that the song lacks "oomph and feeling" and was derivative of Swift's previous styles,[30] and Sean Daly of the Tampa Bay Times considered it a filler and "midtempo fluff" that "[Swift] can write ... in her sleep".[31] Brian Passey from The Spectrum thought that Swift's songwriting style on "Starlight" evoked the style of Max Martin, which made her lose some trademarks.[32]

More complimentary reviews considered "Starlight" a catchy song. Joseph Hudak of Country Weekly described it as "a dazzler, custom-made for ecstatic nights in the club",[33] Michael Robbins of Spin selected it as one of the Red tracks that "go down like pop punch spiked by pros",[34] and Billboard commented that the song served as a "danceable, fists-in-the-air love anthem".[35] Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette regarded it as one of Red's songs that are "quintessential Swift",[36] and Allison Stewart of The Washington Post selected it as one of the album's tracks that are musically interesting for combining new styles for Swift and her old country sound.[28] MusicOMH's Philip Matusavage wrote that the song "shows that Swift can do brilliant pop all by herself",[37] an idea corroborated by Perone, who thought that Swift could do well as a commercial pop songwriter.[20] Zaleski considered "Starlight" one of Swift's early creative nonfiction songs before fully embracing fictional narratives on her 2020 album Folklore.[38]

Upon the release of Red in 2012, "Starlight" peaked at number 80 on the Canadian Hot 100, number 28 on the US Hot Country Songs chart, and number 5 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[39][40][41] The re-recorded version, "Starlight (Taylor's Version)", peaked at number 73 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2021;[39][42] it additionally peaked at number 102 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.[43]

Personnel

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"Starlight" (2012)[3]

  • Taylor Swift – producer, writer
  • Nathan Chapman – producer, electric guitars, electric guitar solo conceiving, piano, synth
  • Dann Huff – producer, electric guitars, electric guitar solo performing
  • Jimmie Sloas – bass
  • Charlie Judge – synth, strings
  • J Bonilla – drums, percussion programming
  • Mike "Frog" Griffith – production coordinating
  • Jason Campbell – production coordinating
  • Joe Baldridge – recording
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • John Hanes – mix engineering
  • Tim Roberts – mix engineer assistant
  • Tom Coyne – mastering

"Starlight (Taylor's Version)" (2021)[29]

  • Taylor Swift – producer, writer, background vocals, lead vocals
  • Christopher Rowe – producer, lead vocals recording
  • Paul Mirkovich – additional recording, drum machine programming, executive producer, piano, synths
  • Justin Derrico – recording, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, electric guitar
  • Pete Amato – additional recording, drum machine programming
  • Travis Ference – recording, additional recording, editing
  • Nate Morton – drum machine programming, drums
  • Alexander "Sasha" Krivtsov – electric bass
  • Bryce Bordone – engineering
  • Derek Garten – engineering, editing
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing

Charts

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"Starlight"

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Chart performance for "Starlight"
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[39] 80
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[40] 28
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[41] 5

"Starlight (Taylor's Version)"

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Chart performance for "Starlight (Taylor's Version)"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[39] 73
Global 200 (Billboard)[43] 102
US Billboard Hot 100[42] 90
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[40] 33

References

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  1. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (November 18, 2020). "500 Greatest Albums: Taylor Swift Looks Back on Her 'Only True Breakup Album' Red". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  2. ^ Mansfield, Brian (October 17, 2012). "Taylor Swift Sees Red All Over". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e Swift, Taylor (2012). Red (CD liner notes). Big Machine Records / Universal Music Japan. POCS-24004.
  4. ^ Lewis, Randy (October 30, 2012). "Taylor Swift Raises the Bar with a Savvy Red Marketing Campaign". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  5. ^ Sciarretto, Amy (July 2, 2013). "New Taylor by Taylor Swift Perfume Commercial Finds Singer Inviting Summer". Taste of Country. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  6. ^ Miller, Julie (December 5, 2012). "Taylor Swift Reminisces About Her Hyannis Port Boating Trip with 'Great Friend' Ethel Kennedy". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  7. ^ McCall, Tris (March 28, 2013). "Taylor Swift at the Prudential Center: Song by song, again". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  8. ^ Iasimone, Ashley (May 26, 2018). "All the Surprise Songs Taylor Swift Has Performed on Her Reputation Stadium Tour B-Stage (So Far)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Smith, Katie Louise (December 9, 2024). "Every Surprise Song Performed On Taylor Swift's Eras Tour So Far". Capital. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Klein 2023.
  11. ^ "Taylor Swift Wants to Re-Record Her Old Hits". BBC News. August 22, 2019. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  12. ^ Mamo, Heran (September 30, 2021). "Taylor Swift Reveals Red (Taylor's Version) Is Arriving Earlier Than Fans Expected". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  13. ^ Farley, Christopher John (October 18, 2012). "Taylor Swift's Kennedy Inspiration". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  14. ^ Miller, Julie (October 15, 2012). "Ethel Kennedy Explains the Taylor Swift Je Ne Sais Quoi". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  15. ^ Cash, Rachel (August 6, 2023). "The Kennedy Family Members Who Actually Inspired Taylor Swift's 'Starlight'". The List. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  16. ^ Dukes, Billy (October 23, 2012). "Hidden Messages in Taylor Swift's Red Liner Notes Revealed". Taste of Country. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  17. ^ Alvord, Kyler (October 10, 2024). "Taylor Swift Wrote a Love Song Inspired by Ethel Kennedy's Romance with Robert F. Kennedy". People. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  18. ^ "Taylor Swift, Red: Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. October 19, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  19. ^ Lewis, Randy (October 21, 2012). "Taylor Swift's Music School". Los Angeles Times. p. E1. ProQuest 1113852077.
  20. ^ a b c d e Perone 2017, p. 51.
  21. ^ Dolan, Jon (October 18, 2012). "Red". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  22. ^ Sheffield, Rob (April 25, 2024). "'Starlight' (2012)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  23. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (January 31, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 100 Album Tracks – Ranked". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  24. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (November 12, 2021). "Taylor Swift Recreates 2012 Album Red to Foil Former Record Company". Financial Times. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  25. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (October 22, 2012). "Taylor Swift: Red". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  26. ^ a b Zaleski 2024a, p. 93.
  27. ^ Lambert, Molly (October 23, 2012). "Dark Red: The Smart, Sexual, and Suddenly Mature Taylor Swift". Grantland. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  28. ^ a b Stewart, Allison (October 22, 2012). "Taylor Swift's Red Is Another Winner, But She Needs to Start Acting Her Age". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  29. ^ a b Swift, Taylor (2021). Red (Taylor's Version) (digital media liner notes). Taylor Swift / Republic Records.
  30. ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (October 22, 2012). "Music Review: Taylor Swift's Red Is mediocre". Associated Press News. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  31. ^ Daly, Sean (October 23, 2012). "A Whole New Hue". Tampa Bay Times. p. B2. ProQuest 1114332884.
  32. ^ Passey, Brian (October 26, 2012). "Taylor Swift Turns to Pop Song Doctors". The Spectrum. p. 18. ProQuest 1115573750.
  33. ^ Hudak, Joseph (October 24, 2012). "Red by Taylor Swift". Country Weekly. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  34. ^ Robbins, Michael (October 25, 2012). "Taylor Swift, Red (Big Machine)". Spin. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  35. ^ "Taylor Swift, Red: Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. October 19, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  36. ^ Werner, Sam (October 25, 2012). "Swift Firmly in Pop Territory in Red". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. A12. ProQuest 1115292212.
  37. ^ Matusavage, Philip (October 21, 2012). "Taylor Swift - Red". MusicOMH. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  38. ^ Zaleski, Annie (October 2, 2024). "8 Things I Learned from Writing a Book about Taylor Swift". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  39. ^ a b c d "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  40. ^ a b c "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  41. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  42. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  43. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2025.

Sources

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