Hits Different
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"Hits Different" | ||
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Song by Taylor Swift | ||
from the album Midnights[Note 1] | ||
Released | October 21, 2022 | |
Studio |
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Length | 3:54 | |
Label | Republic | |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Music video | ||
"Hits Different" on YouTube |
"Hits Different" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from the deluxe editions of her tenth studio album Midnights. It first appeared on the deluxe CDs released through Republic Records on October 21, 2022, and on streaming platforms on May 26, 2023. Written and produced by Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner, its lyrics reflect on a past relationship, detailing Swift's actions, feelings and thoughts following the breakup. The song was well-received by critics, who praised the vocal delivery, chorus, and bridge.
Contents
Background and release
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift announced her tenth studio album at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2022. She later revealed the name of the album, Midnights, and its album cover on social networks but the tracklist was not immediately revealed.[3] On a video via her Instagram account on September 6, titled "The making of Midnights", Swift revealed that Jack Antonoff, who had worked with her before on her five studio albums since 1989 (2014), was a producer on the album.[4] On October 13, Target Corporation announced their exclusive CD version of the album, dubbed "Lavender Edition", featuring three bonus tracks: "Hits Different", string remix of "You're on Your Own, Kid", and piano remix of "Sweet Nothing".[5][6] Next month, Swift shared a video of her lip-syncing to the song with a caption "'Hits Different' really hits different, plus it's got one of my fav[orite] bridges."[7] On May 24, 2023, the singer announced the "Til Dawn Edition" of Midnights for a digital release two days later, which includes "Hits Different" alongside remixes of "Karma" and "Snow on the Beach".[8][9] At the June 4, 2023 show in Chicago, as part of her sixth headlining concert tour, the Eras Tour, Swift performed "Hits Different" as a "surprise song".[10]
Music and lyrics
"Hits Different" is three minutes and fifty-four seconds long.[2] In an article published in Business Insider, writers Callie Ahlgrim and Courteney Larocca described the soundscape of "Hits Different" as "warm and triumphant like a montage about falling in love, or finding freedom in a big city", although it depicts a reflection over a past relationship.[11] It uses various guitars, synths, pianos, and percussion instruments.[2] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said the song features plenty of "sun-kissed California rock guitar".[12] Larocca described it as a song that evokes the country pop sound of the late 1990s and early 2000s by country crossover acts such as Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, and Faith Hill.[11]
An emotional breakup song, it opens with a line "I washed my hands of us at the club / You made a mess of me".[6][13] Later on, she lists various heartbreak scenarios, such as imagining her past lover with a different partner, throwing up, and being left over from the parties by friends.[6][11] In the chorus and second verse, she reflects that she used to see breakups "freeing as summer", unlike this one, suggested by lyrics like "Movin' on was always easy for me to do / It hits different / It hits different 'cause it's you" and "Now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings".[13] The "tragic" bridge, in which she lists various things relating to her ex,[14] is followed by a third verse where she hears someone turning a key of her door, hoping it is him, before realizing it might be an intervention towards her.[11][13]
Critical reception
Larocca opined that "Hits Different" sounds "unlike anything on Midnights" and dubbed its chorus as one of the "catchiest" on the album. She compared the song to "Death by a Thousand Cuts" from Lover (2019), due to similar "drunken display of heartbreak", as well as to "New Romantics" from 1989 (2014), since both of them first appeared on the physical editions of their respective albums, whilst being one of the "best" tracks.[11] Michele Mendez of Elite Daily described it as an "emotional breakup song perfect for anyone in need of some sonic comfort".[13] Rolling Stone's Larisha Paul wrote that in the song "heartbreak feels fresh" and its bridge depicts "wasteland of all the things that remind the singer of the relationship's end".[14] Alex Hopper from American Songwriter dubbed the track as a "breakup anthem".[15]
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of the "Lavender Edition" of Midnights.[2]
- Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriting, production
- Aaron Dessner – songwriting, production, Prophet X synth, electric guitar, bass guitar, Yamaha synth, MS-20, Juno synth
- Jack Antonoff – songwriting, production, programming, percussion, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synths, piano
- James McAlister – drum kit, synth sequencing
- Sean Hutchinson – drums, percussion
- Evan Smith – synths
- Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett – Prophet X synth, OP-1
Charts
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA)[16] | 16 |
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] | 19 |
18 | |
13 | |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] | 14 |
Philippines (Billboard)[19] | 8 |
Singapore (RIAS)[20] | 15 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[21] | 18 |
US Billboard Hot 100[22] | 27 |
Notes
References
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- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Taylor Swift.
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- ↑ "Archive Chart: 20230602" UK Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Taylor Swift.
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