"Bejeweled" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). She wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff. It is an upbeat synth-pop, hyperpop, and bubblegum pop track with ringing synth arpeggios and elements of disco and electronica. The lyrics see a narrator affirming her self-worth upon being unappreciated by her partner; Swift said they were also a metaphorical statement of her return to pop music with Midnights after the 2020 folk-oriented albums Folklore and Evermore. The song was released for limited-time download via Swift's website on October 25, 2022.
Music critics complimented the song's upbeat production and considered the lyrics empowering. Swift wrote and directed the music video for "Bejeweled", influenced by "Cinderella". It stars Swift, Antonoff, Laura Dern, Haim, Dita Von Teese, and Pat McGrath. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Global 200 and within the top 10 on charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United States. It received platinum or higher certifications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and New Zealand. Swift included "Bejeweled" in the set list of her sixth headlining concert tour, the Eras Tour (2023โ2024).
Background and release
Swift performing "Bejeweled" on the Eras Tour in 2023
Taylor Swift announced her tenth original studio album, Midnights, at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28;[1] its title and cover artwork were released shortly after the same day via social media.[2] She conceived Midnights as a collection of songs about her nocturnal ruminations, detailing a wide range of emotions such as regret, lust, nostalgia, contentment, and self-loathing. The standard album was produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, as a result of the two experimenting with music while their partners were both shooting for a film in Panama.[3]
Swift announced the album's track listing via a thirteen-episode video series called Midnights Mayhem with Me on the platform TikTok, where each video contained the title of one track at a time.[4] The title of "Bejeweled" was revealed in the episode posted on October 5, 2022.[5]Republic Records released Midnights on October 21, 2022;[6] its synth-based electropop production was a departure from the indie folk sounds of its immediate predecessors, Folklore and Evermore (2020).[7] "Bejeweled" is track nine on the album;[8] it was released for limited-time download via Swift's website on October 25,[9] and an instrumental version followed two days later.[10] Swift included "Bejeweled" in the set list of the Eras Tour (2023โ2024).[11]
On the Billboard Global 200 chart, "Bejeweled" debuted and peaked at number eight.[12] It was one of the Midnights tracks that helped Swift become the first artist to claim nine spots in the top 10 the same week.[13] In the United States, the song debuted and peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100; Swift became the first artist to monopolize the entire top 10 the same week thanks to the song and other Midnights tracks.[14][15] It spent two consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.[16] The song reached the top 10 on charts in the Philippines (4),[17] Australia (7),[18] Canada (7),[19] Singapore (8),[20] and New Zealand (9);[21] and the top 20 in Vietnam (19)[22] and South Africa (20).[23] It was certified double platinum in Australia;[24] platinum in Brazil,[25] Canada,[26] and New Zealand;[27] and gold in Mexico,[28] Poland,[29] Spain,[30] and the United Kingdom.[31]
The lyrics are about recognizing self-worth and regaining confidence after a heartbreak.[43][44][45] Swift's narrator addresses how her partner takes her for granted when she was "graded on a curve" despite her efforts to maintain the relationship.[46] She tells the partner that she can still "make the whole world shimmer".[45] As she asserts her autonomy and power ("I'm going out tonight"; "I polish up real nice"),[40][44][47] she also reflects on her sadness and grief ("Sapphire tears on my face/ Sadness became my whole sky").[40][48][49]Billboard's Jason Lipshutz thought that the track showcased the complexes of Swift's personality,[50] and Sheffield considered the narrative of "Bejeweled" a continuation of Swift's "Tolerate It" (2020), showing "the wife [...] finally breaking free".[40] Swift stated the song also was a statement for her return to pop music on Midnights: that she was still "bejeweled" enough for pop after "writing folk songs and being in this metaphorical forest that [she'd] created".[33]
Several interpretations thought that "Bejeweled" was relatable to women. PopMatters's Rick Quinn likened the theme of asserting a woman's autonomy to that of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" (1963),[47] and Zaleski summed up the song's mantra as "Fake it 'til you make it" as the narrator stands up for themselves in a relationship and regains confidence.[42] Catherine Robb and Kate Schmidt, academics in philosophy, wrote about how Swift examines the societal perceptions of and discriminations against women from the perspective of a "good girl" and how she can rebuff those remarks, which resulted in an ideal scenario for women at large.[51] According to Alba and Amandas Cercas Curry, also academics in philosophy, "Bejeweled" expresses anger against being undervalued in a personal relationship, but this theme is also applicable to larger themes such as unequal relationships in professional or societal settings, which represents "female rage".[46]
Critical reception
Several critics complimented the production of "Bejeweled". Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone dubbed it an "absolute knockout",[52] and Mark Sutherland of Rolling Stone UK hailed it as Swift's "swaggiest showstopper" since "The Man" (2020).[53]Under the Radar's Andy Von Pip considered "Bejeweled" a catchy song with an earworm that showcased Swift's melodic songwriting,[32] Carl Wilson of Slate appreciated the song's lively synths and the lyrics about "living well".[39] Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club described it as an unapologetic, "feel-good melody meant to be played loudly".[35]
Sheffield said the song is an "anxious dance-floor poseur of 'Mirrorball' grown up", featuring both Swift's confidence and vulnerability.[40] Jason Lipshutz said "Bejeweled" conveys Swift's years of experience as a songwriter. Lipshutz added that song is "a story of refusing to settle into early-thirties ennui".[38] Helen Brown of The Independent wrote, Swift "warns a guy that she has the capacity to light up rooms (and all the boys in the band) if he doesn't pay more attention".[44] Elise Ryan from the Associated Press was less enthusiastic and deemed "Bejeweled" a weaker track on Midnights for being "a bit too candy sweet".[54]The New York Times' Jon Caramanica panned the lyrics as underwhelming and the production as "metallic and tense".[55]
Music video
Release and production
On October 16, 2022, Swift posted onto her social media an itinerary detailing the promotion for the album, titled Midnights Manifest.[56] It showed that in addition to the music video for the lead single "Anti-Hero", a music video for "another track" was scheduled for release on October 25.[57] One day before the release, Swift disclosed that the music video was for "Bejeweled".[58] Excerpts from the video were shown in a teaser trailer for the album's visuals during Amazon Prime Video's broadcast of Thursday Night Football on October 20.[59] Besides Swift, the cast of the "Bejeweled" music videoโAntonoff, the actress Laura Dern, the female pop-rock band Haim (Este, Danielle, and Alana), the burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, and the makeup artist Pat McGrathโalso appeared in the trailer.[60] Written and directed by Swift, the music video for "Bejeweled" premiered on her Vevo channel via YouTube.[61]
Swift's team reached out to Dita Von Teese for her appearance. They talked about Von Teese's influence on performances. Joseph Cassell, a stylist of Swift, studied Von Teese's collection and subsequently made recreations of Catherine D'lish original costumes for the video. Von Teese filmed her scenes in August 2022, and the giant martini glasses used came from her personal performance collection.[62] Swift and her team collaborated with make-up artist McGrath, who also had a cameo as the Queen character, to design the looks for the video.[63]
Synopsis
Media publications pointed out many Easter eggs possibly referencing songs and memorabilia from her 2010 album, Speak Now.[64][65][66] Swift portrays a Cinderella-like character, named "House Wench Taylor". Taylor endures mockery from her wicked stepmother (Dern), and the evil stepsisters (Haim), one of whose vomit Taylor is forced to clean up.[65] As they leave for the ball, House Wench Taylor opens a fob watch and transforms into a cloaked figure. She sings the second verse in a golden elevator on her way to the ball on the third floor of a skyscraper. The elevator contains an Easter egg wherein the color of each elevator button represents every album Swift has released as of the music video's release, with the thirteenth and last button, which is purple, representing Speak Now.[64][66]
Taylor then passes through an environment filled with falling gemstones before taking her cloak off, revealing a black American burlesque-inspired dance outfit. The gems fall into place on her bodysuit and boots, and a bracelet and necklace attach around her wrist and neck. Exiting the elevator on a higher floor, Taylor meets her "fairy goddess" (Von Teese), both wearing silver burlesque-style outfits.[65] After peeling off their stockings, they perform a dance number in a pair of giant martini glasses.[66]
Finally, Taylor reaches the thirteenth floor and takes the stage at the ball in a clockwork-inspired setting surrounded by showgirls, wearing a black jewelled two-piece outfit and silver heels. Her act stuns the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and impresses "Queen Pat" (McGrath). Queen Pat forces Taylor to entertain the Prince Charming (Antonoff), but Swift turns the Prince's marriage proposal down, with a caption specifying that she ghosts him. The music video ends with the Prince shrugging off and accepting Taylor's rejection while she enjoys the view from her newly acquired castle as three dragons fly around it. The music video features orchestral versions of two Speak Now songs: "Enchanted" in the beginning and "Long Live" at the end.[64]
^"ฤNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparรกda โ Digital Top 100 Oficiรกlnรญ. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 43. tรฝden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
^"Tรณnlistinn โ Lรถg" [The Music โ Songs] (in Icelandic). Plรถtutรญรฐindi. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
^"ฤNS IFPI". IFPI ฤR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202243 into search. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
Curry, Amanda Cercas; Curry, Alba (2024). "I'm Fine with My Spite: The Philosophy of Female Anger in the Work of Taylor Swift". In Robb, Catherine M.; Mills, Georgie; Irwin, William (eds.). Taylor Swift and Philosophy: Essays from the Tortured Philosophers Department. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 154โ162. ISBN978-1-394-23859-0.
Robb, Catherine M. (2024). "Is Taylor Swift a Philosopher?". In Robb, Catherine M.; Mills, Georgie; Irwin, William (eds.). Taylor Swift and Philosophy: Essays from the Tortured Philosophers Department. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN978-1-394-23859-0.
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