Fifteen (song)
Encyclopedia
"Fifteen" is a country pop
song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift
. Swift self-penned the song and co-produced it along with Nathan Chapman
. "Fifteen" was released on September 1, 2009 by Big Machine Records
, as the fourth single
from Swift's second studio album, Fearless
(2008). The song was inspired by Swift's freshman year of high school at Hendersonville High School
, where she first encountered heartbreak, along with her best friend Abigail Anderson. After writing it, Swift asked Anderson for authorization to record the song; Anderson affirmed and it was ultimately included on Fearless. "Fifteen" is a ballad
, which has Swift reminiscing on events that occurred to her and her best friend at the age of fifteen and cautioning young girls to not fall in love easily.
The song received much critical and mild commercial acclaim. "Fifteen" peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100
and sold over a million digital downloads in the United States. The music video
for "Fifteen" was directed by Roman White
. It was filmed using a green screen
and is heavily accentuated with special effects. The video features Swift walking through a garden, where she relives many memories with Anderson. It received a nomination for the Best Female Video
category at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
, but lost to Lady Gaga
's "Bad Romance
". "Fifteen" was promoted with live performances, including many that were part of Swift's first and second headlining tours, the Fearless Tour
(2009—10) and the Speak Now World Tour
(2011). Swift partnered with electronics retailer Best Buy
for @15, a program that allowed teens to help decide how funds would be distributed among various charities.
, and continued writing everything else in a backwards manner. The song was written about Swift's freshman year
of high school at Hendersonville High School
, where she met her best friend Abigail Anderson. "I just decided I really wanted to tell that story about our first year of high school because I felt in my freshman year, I grew up more than any year in my life so far", Swift stated. The events it focused on were how both Swift and Anderson fell in love for the first time, but both suffered of heartbreaks. Aside from reminiscing on the events she and Anderson experienced, Swift wrote cautionary lyrics, intended to target teenage girls entering or already in their freshman year of high school. She described it as incorporating things she wished someone would have told her in a song when she was younger. "The thing about high school, you don't know anything. You don't know anything, but you think you know everything", Swift said.
After the completion of composing "Fifteen", Swift became very nervous to show Anderson the song, for she did not know how her friend would respond. "It was a really personal song, especially from her angle of it." However, when Swift performed the song for Anderson and asked whether she was comfortable with the song, Anderson confirmed: "She said, 'Does it bother you that your name is in a song that's so personal?' And it really doesn't just because of the way Taylor and I feel about it. If one girl can kind of learn from it or connect to a song like that, it's totally worth it." With Anderson's consent, Swift recorded "Fifteen" with producer Nathan Chapman
, who produced all but one track on Swift's 2006 eponymous debut album
, Taylor Swift. Recording the highly personal track caused Swift to cry. Swift attributed the event to the fact that she is most likely to cry over when her loved ones undergo pain, as she witnesses it, rather than her own experiences. She went to say "Fifteen" usually gets her every time.
song with a length of four minutes and fifty-five seconds. It is set in common time
and has a moderate tempo
of 96 beats per minute. The track is categorized as a ballad. It is written in the key
of G major
and Swift's vocals span two octave
s, from G3 to C5. It follows the chord progression
Gsus2–Csus2–Em–Csus2. It concludes with an outro
that consists of Swift singing "la la la" and rephrasing the song's opening lines.
The lyrics of "Fifteen" have Swift narrating about multiple events. In the first verse
, Swift details first entering high school with intentions of merely staying out of her peers' way. The second verse bears Swift meeting Anderson and gossiping about the school's queen bee
s with her. Successively, Swift describes first dates and falling in love for the first time. However, Swift and Anderson become heartbroken, revealing that Anderson "gave everything she had" to someone who later changed his mind. The song's refrain
s have Swift cautioning young girls to not fall in love easily and acknowledging that she came to the realization of being able to accomplish more than dating a football team member.
of Rolling Stone
believed "Fifteen" was exemplary in that "Swift is a songwriting savant with an intuitive gift for verse-chorus-bridge architecture". Rosen compared her songwriting in the track to that of producers Dr. Luke
and Max Martin
, who he referred to as "Swedish pop gods". He continued, "Her music mixes an almost impersonal professionalism — it's so rigorously crafted it sounds like it has been scientifically engineered in a hit factory — with confessions that are squirmingly intimate and true." Jonathon Keefe of Slant Magazine
considered the bridge one of the nicer moments of Fearless, but was unimpressed with Swift's singing, particularly in the outro. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic found "Fifteen", in which Swift portrayed the role of a big sister instead of a big star, to be one of the best and the most personal song on Fearless. Ken Tucker of Billboard
magazine believed "Fifteen" could appeal with teenagers looking for hope and adult women reminiscing the past. Leah Greenbelt of Entertainment Weekly
stated, "When she sings about sexuality, she sounds like a real teen, not some manufactured vixen-Lolita".
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
said "Fifteen" was one of Swift's best-written songs. James Reed of The Boston Globe
believed "Fifteen" was one of Fearlesss most interesting songs and stated he could visualize the lyrics of the song scribbled in a diary that chronicled Swift's freshman year in high school. Sean Dooley of About.com
named it the best track on Fearless and said it showcased Swift's growth as a songwriter. Josh Love of The Village Voice
called the song a "standout" on the album and found it a refreshing contradiction to typical, idealistic country songs, such as Carrie Underwood
's "All-American Girl
" (2007). Prior to its single release, Kate Kiefer of Paste
magazine suggested for the song be released as a single from Fearless, adding that she loved it. Alexis Petridis
of The Guardian
called the track a fantastically good song that broadened "her potential market from teenage girls to anyone who used to be a teenage girl". Petridis continued, "You applaud her skill, while feeling slightly unsettled by the thought of a teenager pontificating away like Yoda
." Aidan Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle
ranked it last on his top twelve singles of 2009 list, commenting, "Damn it if this song isn't too sweet, too vulnerable and just too real to ignore."
Its appearance, along with six other songs, on the chart tied Swift with Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus
) for the female act to have the most songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same week, a record later surpassed by Swift herself when she charted eleven songs at once in 2010. It re-entered at number ninety-four on the week ending October 3, 2009, after its single release. On the week ending December 19, 2009, "Fifteen" reached its peak at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100, and, on the week ending February 6, 2010, spent its last week at number forty, after twenty-one weeks on the chart. The song is one of thirteen songs from Fearless charted within the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record for the most top forty entries from a single album. "Fifteen" also peaked at number seven on Hot Country Songs
and number ten on Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) for the shipment of over 1,000,000 copies. As of February 2011, "Fifteen" has sold over 1.1 million copies in the United States. On the week ending January 23, 2010, the song peaked at number nineteen on the Canadian Hot 100
. It was certified gold by Music Canada
for sales of 40,000 digital downloads. On the week ending December 13, 2009, "Fifteen" peaked at number forty-eight on the Australian Singles Chart
.
for "Fifteen" was directed by Roman White
, who previously directed Swift's music video "You Belong with Me
". White began with the intention of creating a video different than others Swift did in the past. To do so, he believed he needed to set the video outside of high school. White explained, "Well, I think I really wanted this video to kind of be an evolution for Taylor [...] I actually said to her, 'I don't think we should shoot in a high school.' And I don't think she wanted to either." White conceptualized the video's setting by taking into account the literal meaning of the song and transforming into something new. He conceptualized the setting to be new world where Swift could revisit her memories, as they manifest around her. "Let's take the literal meaning of this song and watch it evolve in front of us ... almost as a memory in your head. And create this world, sowhere you walk in on this desolate desert and you start to sing about all these great memories you have... of everything you love blooming around you, and so we literally grew this garden around her", White said. The world moved from one situation to the next. White decided to annex surreal elements to create a cross between a garden and the heart of the memories. He intertwined Swift's emotions with the growth of the garden. The garden grew when Swift felt happy, but at the sight of pain and negative emotions, clouds appear and the garden dies, which also symbolized Anderson's broken heart.
Swift's friend, Anderson, portrayed herself in the video. The love interests of both Swift and Anderson were cast by Swift after she received images of them via e-mail. The video was filmed in two days. The first day consisted of actors, including Swift and Anderson, filming before a green screen
. On the set, White presented Swift with caricature drawings depicting the music video, in order to guide herself. Swift was impressed by Anderson's acting skills, considering her lack of experience, and called it "prolific". On the second day, scenes at a high school were filmed; artificial rain
was made. Afterward, White and a team of visual effect artist
s created the setting. "If you watch just the offline edit of this video, it's just green. It's just Taylor walking around a giant green screen. And to think that every single thing in that video was created is amazing, 'cause a lot of people worked really hard on it", White said. The visual effects team were at work for the video for some time, sometimes staying overnight in the office to produce the video. The direction was to make the video seem "magical". Some of the props used when filming were recreated using digital animation, such as the door and the desks. Because extras were filmed separately, White was meticulous to find the right shots to make the scene more cohesive. White believed the finished product had a sense of innocence.
The video begins with Swift, barefoot and clad in a white sundress, approaching a tall, arched doorway which materializes in the middle of a barren landscape. Swift looks at a photograph of herself and her friend tucked into the arch and, then, passes through the doors. On the other side of the arch, animated flowers and vines grow across the scenes. People and objects from a high school fade in and out of view. Swift walks through the memories and begins to play an acoustic guitar beneath a tree. Afterward, Anderson appears, sitting at a desk before a chalkboard in the field of flowers. Swift sits down beside her and two begin to whisper and laugh to each other. In the next scene, Swift plays guitar while Anderson goes on her first date; she kisses her date, but pushes him away when he tries to go further. Her love interest and all surroundings dissolve to show Anderson sitting alone on a stone bench. Swift approaches her and hugs her tightly as the field around them turns dark and stormy. The video then alternates between Swift singing in the rain and hugging her friend. After the landscape deteriorates, the video transitions to reality, where Swift, wearing a black trench coat, stands in the rain, across the street from a high school. Swift then sees a student at the entrance; the two make eye contact and the video concludes.
. Peter Gicas of E!
thought the video was "sweet" and said, "And while the visuals here—Taylor walking in and out of various animated scenes—are certainly nice to look at, they nevertheless take a back seat to the country star's cuteness." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
graded the video a B. Greenblatt believed the video was reverential and painterly, but criticized it by saying "Fifteen"'s most powerful lyrics were outdone by the dreamy design. Jocelyn Vena of MTV
wrote, "Taylor Swift is 'Fifteen' all over again in the new music video for her song of the same name." At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
, the video was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video
, but lost to Lady Gaga
's video for "Bad Romance
" (2009).
, at the 51st Grammy Awards
. The duo sat on wooden stools for the acoustic
performance, with Swift wearing a baggy beige dress layered over a tight black outfit and playing an acoustic guitar. Swift has also performed the song at We're All for the Hall, a benefit concert organized by Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
, the 2009 CMA Music Festival
, the 2009 V Festival
, the Australian charity concert Sydney Sound Relief
, and the Country Music Association Awards
. In the United Kingdom, Swift performed "Fifteen" on Later... with Jools Holland and The Paul O'Grady Show
. Swift performed the song on all venues in 2009 and 2010 of her first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour
. The performances of "Fifteen" set on a small platform located at the opposite end, parallel to the stage in the arena. Swift, dressed in a pastel sundress, sat on a wooden stool while performing with wooden 12-string acoustic guitar strapped to her shoulder. Nicole Frehsee of Rolling Stone
favored Swift's performance of "Tim McGraw" at the August 27, 2009 concert at Madison Square Garden
in New York City
. Frehsee described the entire concert as an "elaborate spectacle that doesn't slow down, even when the singer hauls her acoustic guitar into the audience to play a sweet, stripped down set of tunes including 'Fifteen'." "Fifteen" served as a performance on the setlist of Swift's second concert tour, the Speak Now World Tour
(2011); the performances featured Swift sitting and playing an acoustic guitar, wearing a blue cocktail dress.
for @15, a program that allowed teens to help decide how Best Buy's "@15 Fund" would be distributed among various charities. Swift taped a Public Service Announcement
(PSA), called a "Teen Service Announcement" by Best Buy, for @15. Within the PSA, which was released on on February 9, 2009, scenes of Swift reminiscing on high school and encouraging originality and uniqueness were inter-cut with scenes of her singing "Fifteen". In June 2009, @15 became a partner for Swift's Fearless Tour. The announcement was shown at each stop during the North American leg of the tour. In fifteen tour stops, @15 donated forty concert tickets and a guitar autographed by Swift to local teen-oriented charity groups, such as chapters of Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters
.
Country pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
. Swift self-penned the song and co-produced it along with Nathan Chapman
Nathan Chapman (record producer)
Nathan Chapman is an American record producer who works in the field of country music. He is known primarily for working with Taylor Swift, having produced her albums Taylor Swift, Fearless and Speak Now. The former was also the first album that he produced...
. "Fifteen" was released on September 1, 2009 by Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records is an Independent American record label specializing in country music artists. It was launched in 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta. The label was part of a joint venture between Borchetta and country singer Toby Keith, although Keith dropped his...
, as the fourth single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from Swift's second studio album, Fearless
Fearless (Taylor Swift album)
Fearless has been well-received by music professionals, with many praising Swift for her introspective lyrics, as well as her mature sound. According to the music review aggregator Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an...
(2008). The song was inspired by Swift's freshman year of high school at Hendersonville High School
Hendersonville High School
Hendersonville High School is one of two public high schools located in Hendersonville, Sumner County, Tennessee. The principal is Joni Worsham, a former assistant principal at the school...
, where she first encountered heartbreak, along with her best friend Abigail Anderson. After writing it, Swift asked Anderson for authorization to record the song; Anderson affirmed and it was ultimately included on Fearless. "Fifteen" is a ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
, which has Swift reminiscing on events that occurred to her and her best friend at the age of fifteen and cautioning young girls to not fall in love easily.
The song received much critical and mild commercial acclaim. "Fifteen" peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and sold over a million digital downloads in the United States. The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Fifteen" was directed by Roman White
Roman White
Roman White is a music video director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and more...
. It was filmed using a green screen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
and is heavily accentuated with special effects. The video features Swift walking through a garden, where she relives many memories with Anderson. It received a nomination for the Best Female Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Year, and it awarded the artist's whole body of work...
category at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year...
, but lost to Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's "Bad Romance
Bad Romance
"Bad Romance" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the lead single from her third extended play , and second major release The Fame Monster . Written by Lady Gaga and produced by RedOne, the track was inspired by Gaga's fear of negative love relationships and the...
". "Fifteen" was promoted with live performances, including many that were part of Swift's first and second headlining tours, the Fearless Tour
Fearless Tour
The Fearless Tour was the first concert tour by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The tour was in support of her second studio album, Fearless. On the tour, she was joined by guests Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Teen singer, Justin Bieber joined her for the tour when she went to...
(2009—10) and the Speak Now World Tour
Speak Now World Tour
Speak Now World Tour is the second concert tour by American country singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift, in support of her third studio album, Speak Now. The tour visited Asia, Europe, North America and Australasia...
(2011). Swift partnered with electronics retailer Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
for @15, a program that allowed teens to help decide how funds would be distributed among various charities.
Background
Swift began writing "Fifteen" with the lyric "And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy/ Who changed his mind/ We both cried", which eventually became the song's bridgeBridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
, and continued writing everything else in a backwards manner. The song was written about Swift's freshman year
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
of high school at Hendersonville High School
Hendersonville High School
Hendersonville High School is one of two public high schools located in Hendersonville, Sumner County, Tennessee. The principal is Joni Worsham, a former assistant principal at the school...
, where she met her best friend Abigail Anderson. "I just decided I really wanted to tell that story about our first year of high school because I felt in my freshman year, I grew up more than any year in my life so far", Swift stated. The events it focused on were how both Swift and Anderson fell in love for the first time, but both suffered of heartbreaks. Aside from reminiscing on the events she and Anderson experienced, Swift wrote cautionary lyrics, intended to target teenage girls entering or already in their freshman year of high school. She described it as incorporating things she wished someone would have told her in a song when she was younger. "The thing about high school, you don't know anything. You don't know anything, but you think you know everything", Swift said.
After the completion of composing "Fifteen", Swift became very nervous to show Anderson the song, for she did not know how her friend would respond. "It was a really personal song, especially from her angle of it." However, when Swift performed the song for Anderson and asked whether she was comfortable with the song, Anderson confirmed: "She said, 'Does it bother you that your name is in a song that's so personal?' And it really doesn't just because of the way Taylor and I feel about it. If one girl can kind of learn from it or connect to a song like that, it's totally worth it." With Anderson's consent, Swift recorded "Fifteen" with producer Nathan Chapman
Nathan Chapman (record producer)
Nathan Chapman is an American record producer who works in the field of country music. He is known primarily for working with Taylor Swift, having produced her albums Taylor Swift, Fearless and Speak Now. The former was also the first album that he produced...
, who produced all but one track on Swift's 2006 eponymous debut album
Taylor Swift (album)
Taylor Swift is the eponymous debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The album was released on October 24, 2006 by Big Machine Records. Swift wrote songs for the album during her freshman year of high school and has writing credits on all of the albums' songs including those...
, Taylor Swift. Recording the highly personal track caused Swift to cry. Swift attributed the event to the fact that she is most likely to cry over when her loved ones undergo pain, as she witnesses it, rather than her own experiences. She went to say "Fifteen" usually gets her every time.
Composition
"Fifteen" is a country popCountry pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
song with a length of four minutes and fifty-five seconds. It is set in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
and has a moderate tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 96 beats per minute. The track is categorized as a ballad. It is written in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
and Swift's vocals span two octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s, from G3 to C5. It follows the chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
Gsus2–Csus2–Em–Csus2. It concludes with an outro
Conclusion (music)
In music, the conclusion is the ending of a composition and may take the form of a coda or outro.Pieces using sonata form typically use the recapitulation to conclude a piece, providing closure through the repetition of thematic material from the exposition in the tonic key...
that consists of Swift singing "la la la" and rephrasing the song's opening lines.
The lyrics of "Fifteen" have Swift narrating about multiple events. In the first verse
Song structure (popular music)
The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional, repeating forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and the twelve bar blues...
, Swift details first entering high school with intentions of merely staying out of her peers' way. The second verse bears Swift meeting Anderson and gossiping about the school's queen bee
Queen bee
The term queen bee is typically used to refer to an adult, mated female that lives in a honey bee colony or hive; she is usually the mother of most, if not all, the bees in the hive. The queens are developed from larvae selected by worker bees and specially fed in order to become sexually mature...
s with her. Successively, Swift describes first dates and falling in love for the first time. However, Swift and Anderson become heartbroken, revealing that Anderson "gave everything she had" to someone who later changed his mind. The song's refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
s have Swift cautioning young girls to not fall in love easily and acknowledging that she came to the realization of being able to accomplish more than dating a football team member.
Critical reception
Jody RosenJody Rosen
Jody Rosen is an American journalist and author. He is the music critic for the online magazine Slate, and the author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song....
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
believed "Fifteen" was exemplary in that "Swift is a songwriting savant with an intuitive gift for verse-chorus-bridge architecture". Rosen compared her songwriting in the track to that of producers Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
and Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
, who he referred to as "Swedish pop gods". He continued, "Her music mixes an almost impersonal professionalism — it's so rigorously crafted it sounds like it has been scientifically engineered in a hit factory — with confessions that are squirmingly intimate and true." Jonathon Keefe of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
considered the bridge one of the nicer moments of Fearless, but was unimpressed with Swift's singing, particularly in the outro. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic found "Fifteen", in which Swift portrayed the role of a big sister instead of a big star, to be one of the best and the most personal song on Fearless. Ken Tucker of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine believed "Fifteen" could appeal with teenagers looking for hope and adult women reminiscing the past. Leah Greenbelt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
stated, "When she sings about sexuality, she sounds like a real teen, not some manufactured vixen-Lolita".
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said "Fifteen" was one of Swift's best-written songs. James Reed of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
believed "Fifteen" was one of Fearlesss most interesting songs and stated he could visualize the lyrics of the song scribbled in a diary that chronicled Swift's freshman year in high school. Sean Dooley of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
named it the best track on Fearless and said it showcased Swift's growth as a songwriter. Josh Love of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
called the song a "standout" on the album and found it a refreshing contradiction to typical, idealistic country songs, such as Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
's "All-American Girl
All-American Girl (song)
"All-American Girl" is a song composed by country pop singer Carrie Underwood, Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace. It is the second single from Underwood's second studio album, Carnival Ride, released in the United States on December 17, 2007...
" (2007). Prior to its single release, Kate Kiefer of Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
magazine suggested for the song be released as a single from Fearless, adding that she loved it. Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for UK newspaper The Guardian, as well as a regular and contributor to the magazine GQ.Petridis began his career writing for Varsity whilst a student at the University of Cambridge...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called the track a fantastically good song that broadened "her potential market from teenage girls to anyone who used to be a teenage girl". Petridis continued, "You applaud her skill, while feeling slightly unsettled by the thought of a teenager pontificating away like Yoda
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
." Aidan Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
ranked it last on his top twelve singles of 2009 list, commenting, "Damn it if this song isn't too sweet, too vulnerable and just too real to ignore."
Chart performance
Following the release of Fearless, on the week ending November 29, 2008, "Fifteen" debuted at number seventy-nine on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
Its appearance, along with six other songs, on the chart tied Swift with Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
) for the female act to have the most songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same week, a record later surpassed by Swift herself when she charted eleven songs at once in 2010. It re-entered at number ninety-four on the week ending October 3, 2009, after its single release. On the week ending December 19, 2009, "Fifteen" reached its peak at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100, and, on the week ending February 6, 2010, spent its last week at number forty, after twenty-one weeks on the chart. The song is one of thirteen songs from Fearless charted within the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record for the most top forty entries from a single album. "Fifteen" also peaked at number seven on Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
and number ten on Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart...
. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) for the shipment of over 1,000,000 copies. As of February 2011, "Fifteen" has sold over 1.1 million copies in the United States. On the week ending January 23, 2010, the song peaked at number nineteen on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
. It was certified gold by Music Canada
Music Canada
Music Canada was a Canadian music television miniseries which aired approximately monthly on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.-Premise:This series featured various special productions of music and dance, from classical to modern styles.-Scheduling:...
for sales of 40,000 digital downloads. On the week ending December 13, 2009, "Fifteen" peaked at number forty-eight on the Australian Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Fifteen" was directed by Roman White
Roman White
Roman White is a music video director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and more...
, who previously directed Swift's music video "You Belong with Me
You Belong with Me
"You Belong with Me" is a country pop song performed by American recording artist Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Big Machine Records as the third single from Swift's second studio...
". White began with the intention of creating a video different than others Swift did in the past. To do so, he believed he needed to set the video outside of high school. White explained, "Well, I think I really wanted this video to kind of be an evolution for Taylor [...] I actually said to her, 'I don't think we should shoot in a high school.' And I don't think she wanted to either." White conceptualized the video's setting by taking into account the literal meaning of the song and transforming into something new. He conceptualized the setting to be new world where Swift could revisit her memories, as they manifest around her. "Let's take the literal meaning of this song and watch it evolve in front of us ... almost as a memory in your head. And create this world, sowhere you walk in on this desolate desert and you start to sing about all these great memories you have... of everything you love blooming around you, and so we literally grew this garden around her", White said. The world moved from one situation to the next. White decided to annex surreal elements to create a cross between a garden and the heart of the memories. He intertwined Swift's emotions with the growth of the garden. The garden grew when Swift felt happy, but at the sight of pain and negative emotions, clouds appear and the garden dies, which also symbolized Anderson's broken heart.
Swift's friend, Anderson, portrayed herself in the video. The love interests of both Swift and Anderson were cast by Swift after she received images of them via e-mail. The video was filmed in two days. The first day consisted of actors, including Swift and Anderson, filming before a green screen
Green Screen
The Green Screen international wildlife film festival is held annually in Eckernförde, Germany. The festival shows full-length and short nature documentaries about animals in their natural habitat. It is the only festival of its kind in Germany...
. On the set, White presented Swift with caricature drawings depicting the music video, in order to guide herself. Swift was impressed by Anderson's acting skills, considering her lack of experience, and called it "prolific". On the second day, scenes at a high school were filmed; artificial rain
Rainmaking
Rainmaking refers to the act of attempting to artificially induce or increase precipitation, usually to stave off drought.In the US, rainmaking was attempted by traveling showmen. It was practiced in the old west but may have reached a peak during the dust bowl drought of the American West and...
was made. Afterward, White and a team of visual effect artist
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
s created the setting. "If you watch just the offline edit of this video, it's just green. It's just Taylor walking around a giant green screen. And to think that every single thing in that video was created is amazing, 'cause a lot of people worked really hard on it", White said. The visual effects team were at work for the video for some time, sometimes staying overnight in the office to produce the video. The direction was to make the video seem "magical". Some of the props used when filming were recreated using digital animation, such as the door and the desks. Because extras were filmed separately, White was meticulous to find the right shots to make the scene more cohesive. White believed the finished product had a sense of innocence.
The video begins with Swift, barefoot and clad in a white sundress, approaching a tall, arched doorway which materializes in the middle of a barren landscape. Swift looks at a photograph of herself and her friend tucked into the arch and, then, passes through the doors. On the other side of the arch, animated flowers and vines grow across the scenes. People and objects from a high school fade in and out of view. Swift walks through the memories and begins to play an acoustic guitar beneath a tree. Afterward, Anderson appears, sitting at a desk before a chalkboard in the field of flowers. Swift sits down beside her and two begin to whisper and laugh to each other. In the next scene, Swift plays guitar while Anderson goes on her first date; she kisses her date, but pushes him away when he tries to go further. Her love interest and all surroundings dissolve to show Anderson sitting alone on a stone bench. Swift approaches her and hugs her tightly as the field around them turns dark and stormy. The video then alternates between Swift singing in the rain and hugging her friend. After the landscape deteriorates, the video transitions to reality, where Swift, wearing a black trench coat, stands in the rain, across the street from a high school. Swift then sees a student at the entrance; the two make eye contact and the video concludes.
Video reception
The music video premiered on October 9, 2009 on CMTCountry Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
. Peter Gicas of E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
thought the video was "sweet" and said, "And while the visuals here—Taylor walking in and out of various animated scenes—are certainly nice to look at, they nevertheless take a back seat to the country star's cuteness." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
graded the video a B. Greenblatt believed the video was reverential and painterly, but criticized it by saying "Fifteen"'s most powerful lyrics were outdone by the dreamy design. Jocelyn Vena of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
wrote, "Taylor Swift is 'Fifteen' all over again in the new music video for her song of the same name." At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year...
, the video was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Year, and it awarded the artist's whole body of work...
, but lost to Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's video for "Bad Romance
Bad Romance
"Bad Romance" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the lead single from her third extended play , and second major release The Fame Monster . Written by Lady Gaga and produced by RedOne, the track was inspired by Gaga's fear of negative love relationships and the...
" (2009).
Live performances
Swift first performed "Fifteen", as a duet with pop singer Miley CyrusMiley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
, at the 51st Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
. The duo sat on wooden stools for the acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
performance, with Swift wearing a baggy beige dress layered over a tight black outfit and playing an acoustic guitar. Swift has also performed the song at We're All for the Hall, a benefit concert organized by Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum identifies and preserves the evolving history and traditions of country music and educates its audiences...
, the 2009 CMA Music Festival
CMA Music Festival
The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered around country music hosted each June by the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee...
, the 2009 V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
, the Australian charity concert Sydney Sound Relief
Sound Relief
Sound Relief was a multi-venue rock music concert held on 14 March 2009, which was announced by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby on 24 February 2009...
, and the Country Music Association Awards
Country Music Association Awards
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...
. In the United Kingdom, Swift performed "Fifteen" on Later... with Jools Holland and The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
. Swift performed the song on all venues in 2009 and 2010 of her first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour
Fearless Tour
The Fearless Tour was the first concert tour by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The tour was in support of her second studio album, Fearless. On the tour, she was joined by guests Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Teen singer, Justin Bieber joined her for the tour when she went to...
. The performances of "Fifteen" set on a small platform located at the opposite end, parallel to the stage in the arena. Swift, dressed in a pastel sundress, sat on a wooden stool while performing with wooden 12-string acoustic guitar strapped to her shoulder. Nicole Frehsee of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
favored Swift's performance of "Tim McGraw" at the August 27, 2009 concert at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Frehsee described the entire concert as an "elaborate spectacle that doesn't slow down, even when the singer hauls her acoustic guitar into the audience to play a sweet, stripped down set of tunes including 'Fifteen'." "Fifteen" served as a performance on the setlist of Swift's second concert tour, the Speak Now World Tour
Speak Now World Tour
Speak Now World Tour is the second concert tour by American country singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift, in support of her third studio album, Speak Now. The tour visited Asia, Europe, North America and Australasia...
(2011); the performances featured Swift sitting and playing an acoustic guitar, wearing a blue cocktail dress.
@15
Swift partnered with electronics retailer Best BuyBest Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
for @15, a program that allowed teens to help decide how Best Buy's "@15 Fund" would be distributed among various charities. Swift taped a Public Service Announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
(PSA), called a "Teen Service Announcement" by Best Buy, for @15. Within the PSA, which was released on on February 9, 2009, scenes of Swift reminiscing on high school and encouraging originality and uniqueness were inter-cut with scenes of her singing "Fifteen". In June 2009, @15 became a partner for Swift's Fearless Tour. The announcement was shown at each stop during the North American leg of the tour. In fifteen tour stops, @15 donated forty concert tickets and a guitar autographed by Swift to local teen-oriented charity groups, such as chapters of Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....
.
Track listings
- CD singl / Digital download
- "Fifteen" (Album Version) – 4:54
- "You Belong with MeYou Belong with Me"You Belong with Me" is a country pop song performed by American recording artist Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Big Machine Records as the third single from Swift's second studio...
" (Radio Mix) – 3:50
Charts
| Chart (2009–10) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
48 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
19 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
23 |
| US Adult Contemporary | 12 |
| US Country Songs | 7 |
| US Pop Songs | 10 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
|---|---|
| Canada Music Canada Music Canada was a Canadian music television miniseries which aired approximately monthly on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.-Premise:This series featured various special productions of music and dance, from classical to modern styles.-Scheduling:... |
Gold |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Platinum |
External links
- "Fifteen" music video on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
(posted by Swift's VevoVevoVevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
)