Jump to content

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album The Tortured Poets Department
ReleasedApril 19, 2024 (2024-04-19)
Studio
GenreChamber pop
Length5:34
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Lyric video
"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" on YouTube

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024). She and Jack Antonoff produced the track, which incorporates dense echo and strings. The lyrics were inspired by Swift's bitter feelings while reflecting on her teenage rise to stardom, and they compare a narrator to a wicked witch and a trapped circus animal, detailing how her upbringing in an asylum contributes to her callous and viscous nature.

Critical reception of "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" was mixed. Some critics found the tone heavy that makes the track hard to listen to and the lyrics confusing, but some others praised the musical elements and complimented the lyrics as biting and impactful. The song peaked at number nine on the Billboard Global 200 and charted in the top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Swift performed it on the 2024 shows of her Eras Tour.

Music and lyrics[edit]

In a commentary for Amazon Music, Swift recalled that she wrote "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" alone on piano, while being in a bitter state reflecting on how her teenage rise to stardom influenced her self-perception. She said that "the world has this sense of ownership" over public figures, leading them to be easily critiqued for their behaviors; "We put them through hell. We watch what they create, then we judge it. We love to watch artists in pain, often to the point where I think sometimes as a society we provoke that pain, and we just watch what happens."[1] Swift produced the track with Jack Antonoff, who programmed it and played instruments including synths (Juno, Moog, M1, Mellotron), drums, bass, electric guitar, piano, and cello. The song is track 10 on Swift's eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, which was released on April 19, 2024, via Republic Records.[2][3]

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" a chamber pop song[4] that is instrumented by dense echo and strings[5] and infuses elements of Southern Gothic.[6] The bridge incorporates a resonating bass.[7] The lyrics detail Swift's perception of her public image. The song starts with Swift confronting her critics ("If you wanted me dead, you should've just said/ Nothing makes me feel more alive") and, in the chorus, imagines herself as a witch that unleashes her anger onto a town ("So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street/ Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream/ 'Who's afraid of little old me?'/ You should be").[8][9] In the next verse, Swift recounts having been raised in an "asylum" and expresses how she becomes cold-hearted in the face of speculation on her personal life ("I was tame, I was gentle/ Til the circus life made me mean").[8][10] She details how she had to conform herself to a culture in which she was brought up: "You taught me, you caged me, and then you called me crazy."[6]

Several critics compared the song's theme to that of "Anti-Hero" (2022), a track about Swift's self-critique and self-loathing.[6][11][12] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone described "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" as a "luridly comic goth-horror melodrama of girlhood in America" and labelled it an "evil twin" of "Mirrorball" (2020) while also being "filtered through" Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein.[13] Vulture's Craig Jenkins thought that the lyrics portrayed a "thirst for supernatural revenge" that recalls "witch trials and Carrie".[14] Vogue Australia thought that the title is a reference to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a 1962 play about a derailed marriage.[12]

Critical reception[edit]

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" received mixed reviews. Several critics remarked that the song had a heavy tone that made it hard to listen to. Mark Savage of the BBC thought that the theme was "salty and mischievous" and described the sound as "suffocated".[5] Olivia Horn of Pitchfork deemed the lyrical imagery "convoluted" as the track portrays Swift as both a witch and a circus animal,[15] and Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe criticized the lyrics as overwritten, blemishing the song's attempt at showcasing Swift at her "most lacerating".[16] In The New York Times, Jon Pareles lamented that the track lacked the "playful but self-questioning touch" of "Anti-Hero", making it "pretty much just sad or angry" and thus regress into "teenage petulance",[11] and Lindsay Zoladz found it surprising that Swift "doesn't deliver this one with a (needed) wink" despite having "played dexterously with humor and irony elsewhere in her catalog".[17] Beats Per Minute's John Wohlmacher described the composition as being "both too theatric and lo-fi at the same time" and the revengeful lyrics as confusing, given "the respect and adoration [Swift has] gotten from press and audiences".[18]

On a positive side, PopMatters' Jeffrey Davies deemed the track the album's best, writing that it demonstrates a "vicious cycle" of Swift's detractors "still [providing] her with enough ammunition for new material".[19] Laura Snapes from The Guardian thought that the "vengeful wrath" of the song contains some of Swift's most cutting lyrics and deemed it a "deservedly bitter, barbed update of the cutesier and more cloying 'Anti-Hero'".[6] Writing for the Associated Press, Maria Sherman was an amalgam of Swift's past albums, namely the "musical ambitiousness" of Folklore and Evermore (2020) and the sharp "sensibilities" of Reputation (2017), but with more depth and complexities.[7] The Hollywood Reporter's Ryan Fish ranked "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" fourth out of the 31 tracks on the album, deeming the portrayal of Swift's "witchy persona" compelling and saying that the production has a hook "[needing] to be shouted by a crowd in a stadium".[20]

Commercial performance[edit]

When The Tortured Poets Department was released, tracks from the album occupied the top 14 of the US Billboard Hot 100; "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" debut at a peak of number nine on the chart, where Swift became the first artist to monopolize the top 14.[21][22] In Australia, the song reached number nine on the ARIA Singles Chart and made her the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29.[23][24] Elsewhere, "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" peaked at number nine on the Billboard Global 200[25] and reached the top 10 in Canada[26] and New Zealand[27] and the top 25 in Singapore (14),[28] the Philippines (20),[29] Portugal (22),[30] Luxembourg (23),[31] Switzerland (23),[32] and Belgium (25).[33]

Live performance[edit]

Swift included "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" among other tracks from The Tortured Poets Department in the revamped set list for her sixth concert tour, the Eras Tour, starting from the May 2024 shows in Paris.[34][35] She performed the song while standing atop a glass-plated block that moved across the stage.[36] Clash wrote that Swift was "rising and flying around the stage"[37] while The Scotsman described that she "actually [levitated] down our street", ranking it the best number of the concert because it had the "biggest singalong of the night".[38] Billboard considered the track a "live standout" among the newly-added songs, opining that it was exemplary of Swift's description of the act as "Female Rage: the Musical".[39]

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Argentina (Argentina Hot 100)[40] 85
Australia (ARIA)[23] 9
Belgium (Billboard)[33] 25
Brazil (Brasil Hot 100)[41] 60
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[26] 10
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[42] 44
Denmark (Tracklisten)[43] 31
France (SNEP)[44] 90
Global 200 (Billboard)[25] 9
Greece International (IFPI)[45] 16
Lithuania (AGATA)[46] 55
Luxembourg (Billboard)[31] 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 10
Norway (VG-lista)[47] 38
Philippines (Billboard)[29] 20
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[48] 76
Portugal (AFP)[30] 22
Singapore (RIAS)[28] 14
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[49] 70
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[50] 39
Swiss Streaming (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 23
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 9

References[edit]

  1. ^ Richardson, Kalia (April 22, 2024). "Taylor Swift Reveals Meaning Behind Songs in The Tortured Poets Department". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  2. ^ Swift, Taylor (2024). The Tortured Poets Department (liner notes). Republic Records.
  3. ^ "As The Tortured Poets Department drops, here's all Taylor Swift's albums ranked by sales". Music Week. April 19, 2024. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  4. ^ Donovan, Thom (May 14, 2024). "Ranking the 5 Best Songs on Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Savage, Mark (April 19, 2024). "Taylor Swift Tortured Poets Department review: Album finds star vulnerable but vicious". BBC. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Snapes, Laura (April 19, 2024). "Breakups, fantasies and her most cutting lyrics: inside Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Sherman, Maria (April 19, 2024). "Music Review: Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department is great sad pop, meditative theater". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Gonzales, Erica (April 19, 2024). "Taylor Swift Reflects on Her Reputation in 'Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?'". Elle. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  9. ^ Prance, Sam (May 17, 2024). "Taylor Swift Reveals Real Meaning Behind 'Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?' Lyrics". Capital. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  10. ^ D’Souza, Shaad (April 19, 2024). "8 Takeaways From Taylor Swift's New Album The Tortured Poets Department". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Pareles, Jon; Sisario, Ben; Zoladz, Lindsay; Ganz, Caryn (April 23, 2024). "Tortured Poets Has Shifted the Taylor Swift Debate. Let's Discuss". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Miyashita, Nina; Waterhouse, Jonah (April 24, 2024). "All the hidden meanings in Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department album". Vogue Australia. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  13. ^ Sheffield, Rob (April 25, 2024). "'Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?' (2024)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  14. ^ Jenkins, Craig (April 23, 2024). "The Performative Poets Department". Vulture. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  15. ^ Horn, Olivia (April 22, 2024). "Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department / The Anthology". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  16. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (April 22, 2024). "Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department Review". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  17. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (April 19, 2024). "On The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift Could Use an Editor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  18. ^ Wohlmacher, John (April 23, 2024). "Album Review: Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department". Beats Per Minute. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  19. ^ Davies, Jeffrey (April 25, 2024). "Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department Is Ambitious". PopMatters. Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  20. ^ Fish, Ryan (April 22, 2024). "Every Song on Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, Ranked". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  22. ^ Trust, Gary (April 29, 2024). "Taylor Swift Claims Record Top 14 Spots on Billboard Hot 100, Led by 'Fortnight' with Post Malone". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 29, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. April 29, 2024. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  24. ^ Gbogbo, Mawunyo (April 29, 2024). "Taylor Swift's New Album The Tortured Poets Department Smashes Chart Records in the US, UK and Australia". ABC News. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  27. ^ a b "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 29, 2024. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  28. ^ a b "RIAS Top Charts Week 17 (19 - 25 Apr 2024)". RIAS. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Philippines Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Taylor Swift – Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  31. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Luxembourg Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Streaming Top 100". Schweizer Hitparade. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  33. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Belgium Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  34. ^ Bayer, Lili (May 9, 2024). "Taylor Swift Eras tour adds Tortured Poets Department and combines Folklore and Evermore eras – as it happened in Paris". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  35. ^ Rosenbloom, Alli (May 9, 2024). "Taylor Swift debuts revamped Eras Tour setlist with Tortured Poets Department songs". CNN. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  36. ^ Shafer, Ellise (May 9, 2024). "Taylor Swift Plays 'The Tortured Poets Department' Songs Live for the First Time at Paris Eras Tour Show". Variety. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  37. ^ Sinclair, Hannah (June 8, 2024). "Taylor Swift's Murrayfield Show Is An Eras Extravaganza". Clash. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  38. ^ Hepburn, David (June 10, 2024). "Taylor Swift Eras Tour Edinburgh Ranked: All 44 song performances rated - from incredible to merely good". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  39. ^ Levine, Robert (May 10, 2024). "Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Kicks Off European Leg in Paris: 8 Best Moments". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  40. ^ "Taylor Swift – Chart History (Argentina Hot 100)" Billboard Argentina Hot 100 Singles for Taylor Swift. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  41. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Brasil Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  42. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202417 into search. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  43. ^ "Track Top-40 Uge 17, 2024". Hitlisten. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  44. ^ "Top Singles (Week 17, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  45. ^ "IFPI Charts". www.ifpi.gr. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  46. ^ "2024 17-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. April 26, 2024. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  47. ^ "Singel 2024 uke 17". VG-lista. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  48. ^ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 19.04.2024–25.04.2024.) (in Polish). OLiS. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  49. ^ "Taylor Swift – Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  50. ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 17". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Who%27s_Afraid_of_Little_Old_Me%3F&oldid=1228481349"