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"How You Get the Girl"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album 1989
ReleasedOctober 27, 2014
Studio
Genre
Length4:07
LabelBig Machine
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback
"How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album 1989 (Taylor's Version)
ReleasedOctober 27, 2023
Studio
  • Kitty Committee, New York
Length4:07
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Lyric video
"How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)" on YouTube

"How You Get the Girl" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). It was written by Swift and the Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback. An electropop and bubblegum pop ballad, "How You Get the Girl" is about a woman giving her ex-boyfriend a guide on how to get back together after their breakup.

Critics praised the song's production and melody as catchy, although some of them criticized its theme as immature. The track charted in Canada and on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in the United States. "How You Get the Girl" was used in a Diet Coke commercial and was part of the set list of the 1989 World Tour (2015), with a choreography inspired by the musical film Singin' in the Rain (1952). Swift performed the song on certain dates of the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and the Eras Tour (2023–2024).

Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, Swift re-recorded the song as "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)" for her fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor's Version) (2023). Produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe, the re-recording was received positively for its sonic similarity to its original version and Swift's matured vocals. It peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Global 200 and reached the top 40 on the national charts of Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.

Background and releases

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Taylor Swift had identified as a country musician until her fourth studio album, Red (2012).[1][2] Red incorporates eclectic pop and rock styles beyond the country stylings of Swift's past albums,[note 1][4][3] which led to journalists questioning her country-music identity.[5][6][7] Swift began writing songs for her fifth studio album in mid-2013 while touring on the Red Tour (2013–2014).[8][9] Inspired by 1980s synth-pop,[10] Swift named the album 1989 after her birth year to signify an artistic reinvention, describing it as her first "official pop album".[11][12] Big Machine Records released "How You Get the Girl" on October 27, 2014, as the album's tenth track.[13][14]

Swift ended her contract with Big Machine and signed with Republic Records in November 2018.[15] She began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[16] The decision followed a public dispute in 2019 between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine including the masters of Swift's albums which the label had released.[17][18] By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters.[19] The re-recording of "How You Get the Girl", subtitled "Taylor's Version", was released as part of Swift's fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor's Version), on October 27, 2023.[20] Released through Republic Records, "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)" was produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe, who had produced her previous re-recordings.[21][22]

Production and composition

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"How You Get the Girl"
An electropop and bubblegum pop song, "How You Get the Girl" finds Swift giving instructions to an ex-lover on how to apologize and get her back again.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Max Martin and Shellback produced seven of the thirteen tracks on 1989's standard edition, including "How You Get the Girl". Swift co-wrote "How You Get the Girl" with Martin and Shellback, who both programmed the track and played electronic keyboards on it. The track was recorded by Sam Holland at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and by Michael Ilbert at MXM Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. It was mixed by Serban Ghenea at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound Studio in New York. "How You Get the Girl" is four minutes and seven seconds long.[13]

Music journalists identified "How You Get the Girl" as a midtempo electropop and bubblegum pop ballad with a "dreamlike" atmosphere.[note 2] It incorporates acoustic guitar strums, a heavy disco-styled beat, and a beatboxing vocal percussion.[27][28] The Quietus' Amy Pettifier likened the song's "metaphorical distance" and "melancholy" to the music of Cyndi Lauper, the Bangles, and Stevie Nicks.[25]

In the album's physical booklet, Swift provided a secret message for each track which collectively tell a short story that reflects the album's theme of self discovery, inspired by Swift's personal life. The secret message for "How You Get the Girl" was "Then one day he came back".[29][30] The lyrics find Swift giving instructions on how to get her affections to an ex-lover, six months after the end of their relationship.[31][32] Swift stated that she wrote the song about the moment when someone realizes they want a "good relationship" back after taking it for granted and letting it go. Swift sings in the opening verse, "Stand there like a ghost / Shaking come the rain / She'll open up the door / And say, are you insane". In the chorus, Swift sings, "Then you say / I want you for worse or for better / I would wait for ever and ever", telling the ex-lover how to apologize. She continues, "Broke your heart, I'll put it back together / I would wait for ever and ever".[33] MusicOMH's Shane Kimberlin and PopMatters' Corey Beasley praised the chorus, with the latter considering it one of Swift's "sing-song" and "indelible" choruses.[24][34] Mikael Wood, in his review for the Los Angeles Times, found the song's lyricism "clunky and bland at the same time".[35]

Critical reception

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Upon 1989's release, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone selected "How You Get the Girl" as one of the three best tracks on the album and thought that it combines the best of Swift's "old and new tricks"; Swift's acoustic arrangements and Martin's disco-heavy production.[27] In a retrospective ranking of Swift's entire catalog in 2024, Sheffield ranked "How You Get the Girl" at number 107.[28] On a less positive side, John Caramanica of The New York Times regarded "How You Get the Girl" as ineffective, elaborating that Swift sounds the "least jaded" in the song, alongside her 2014 song "Welcome to New York".[36] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described "How You Get the Girl" as "a knowing checklist of the kind of love-song platitudes that Swift's peers might easily punt out with a straight face".[37] Marah Eakin from The A.V. Club found the song's "mediocre" midtempo balladic production similar to Swift's other works and inconspicuous compared the rest of the album, stating that it seemed "out of place".[23] Spin's Andrew Unterberger considered "How You Get the Girl" one of the "holdouts" from the albums 1980s pop sound, decribing it as an "breezy-but-slight acoustic romp".[38] Courteney Larocca of Business Insider called it a "bathroom break" song with a bad message in the name of "girl code". In 2019, Larocca considered "How You Get the Girl" one of Swift's 17 worst songs in her discography.[32] In a 2024 ranking of Swift's entire catalog, Vulture's Nate Jones placed the song at number 126, dubbing it the "breeziest and least complicated" song out of her "guy-standing-on-a-doorstep" songs.[39]

Reviewing "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)", Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe applauded the increase in heft in the re-recording.[40] Mark Sutherland of Rolling Stone UK said "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)" sounds like a "monster hit", praising the "irresistible groove" of the song.[41] In a less enthusiastic review, Business Insider's Callie Ahlgrim compared the song to Radio Disney songs, describing it as "cloying", "juvenile", and "straightforward". Ahlgrim considered the song one of 1989 (Taylor's Version)'s five worst songs.[42]

Commercial performance

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In the United States, "How You Get the Girl" reached number four on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[43] In July 2018, it received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[44] It reached number 81 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.[45] "How You Get the Girl" was certified silver in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)[46] and platinum in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[47] "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)" charted in Canada and New Zealand, with peaks of 34 and 31, respectively.[48][49] In the United States, the song debuted at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[50] extending Swift's record for the most top-40 chart entries by a female artist.[51] "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version) reached number 29 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.[52]

Live performances and usage in media

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A young white woman singing on a microphone, wearing a polka-dot pink two piece dress
The performance of "How You Get the Girl" on the 1989 World Tour was accompanied by a Singin' in the Rain-inspired choreography.

In 2014, "How You Get the Girl" was used in a Diet Coke advertisement, where more and more cats appeared whenever Swift took a sip from a can of Diet Coke. The advertisement featured Swift's cat, Olivia Benson.[53][54] "How You Get the Girl" was part of the permanent setlist of the 1989 World Tour (2015), where Swift performed it wearing a pink two-piece light up dress, accompanied by choreography inspired by the musical film Singin' in the Rain (1952). Backup dancers performed the choreography with neon umbrellas.[55][56] Swift performed "How You Get the Girl" on acoustic guitar during the second Dublin show of the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and the first Sydney show of the Eras Tour (2023–2024).[57][58] She performed the song on piano during the final Atlanta and New Orleans shows of the Eras Tour; the latter performance in a mashup with the fellow album track "Clean" (2014).[59][60] During the final Stockholm show of the Eras Tour, Swift performed "How You Get the Girl" on acoustic guitar as part of a medley with her singles "Message in a Bottle" (2021) and "New Romantics" (2016). She dedicated the performance to Martin, who was in the audience watching the show.[61][62]

Personnel

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"How You Get the Girl" (2014)[13]

  • Taylor Swift – vocals, background vocals, songwriter
  • Max Martin – producer, songwriter, programmer, keyboards
  • Shellback – producer, songwriter, programmer, bass, drums, guitars, keyboards
  • Michael Ilbert – recording engineer
  • Sam Holland – recording engineer
  • Cory Bice – assistant recording engineer
  • Serban Ghenea – mixer
  • Tom Coyne – mastering engineer

"How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)" (2023)[21]

  • Taylor Swift – vocals, background vocals, co-producer
  • Mike Meadows – synthesizer, acoustic guitar
  • Amos Heller – bass guitar
  • Dan Burns – drum programming, synth bass, synthesizer
  • Matt Billingslea – drum programming, drums
  • Max Bernstein – electric guitar, synthesizer
  • Derek Garten – programming
  • Brian Pruitt – drum programming, drums
  • Paul Sidoti – electric guitar
  • Randy Merrill – mastering
  • Ryan Smith – mastering
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • Derek Garten – engineering, editing
  • Christopher Rowe – vocal engineering
  • Bryce Bordone – mix engineering
  • Dan Burns – additional engineering

Charts

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Chart performance for "How You Get the Girl"
Chart (2014) Peak

position

Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[45] 81
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[43] 4
Chart performance for "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)"
Chart (2023) Peak

position

Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[48] 34
Global 200 (Billboard)[52] 29
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[49] 31
US Billboard Hot 100[50] 40

Certifications

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Certifications for "How You Get the Girl"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47] Platinum 70,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[44] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Namely, Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), and Speak Now (2010).[3]
  2. ^ Attributed to The A.V. Club's Marah Eakin,[23] PopMatters' Corey Beasly,[24] The Quietus' Amy Pettifier,[25] and Annie Zaleski.[26]

References

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  1. ^ McNutt 2020, p. 78.
  2. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (October 27, 2023). "Taylor Swift: 1989 (Taylor's Version)—Our Critic Changes His Mind on the Pop Star's Magnum Opus". Financial Times. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Bream, Jon (June 20, 2023). "Our Music Critic Ranks Taylor Swift's Albums From Worst to Best". Minnesota Star Tribune. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  4. ^ McNutt 2020, p. 77.
  5. ^ Sclafani, Tony (November 6, 2013). "'Red' alert: Is Taylor Swift country enough for the CMAs?". Today. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  6. ^ Lewis, Randy (October 18, 2012). "Taylor Swift makes a grown-up move on Red". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  7. ^ Wisnicki, Nathan (October 29, 2012). "In Defense of Taylor Swift and Gen-Y Pop Music". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Talbott, Chris (October 13, 2013). "Taylor Swift Talks Next Album, CMAs and Ed Sheeran". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  9. ^ Rosen, Jody (November 17, 2013). "Why Taylor Swift Is the Reigning Queen of Pop". Vulture. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
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  12. ^ Sisario, Ben (November 5, 2014). "Sales of Taylor Swift's 1989 Intensify Streaming Debate". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Taylor Swift (2014). 1989 (CD liner notes). Big Machine Records. BMRBD0500A.
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  26. ^ Zaleski 2024, p. 265.
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  49. ^ a b "Taylor Swift – How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)". Top 40 Singles.
  50. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
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  52. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard.
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Sources

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