Taylor Swift opened up about the process of writing and recording her 2012 hit โI Knew You Were Trouble,โ revealing that it was initially penned as a โreally sad balladโ before she was encouraged to incorporate dubstep.
Swift reflected on the songโs creation during a Q&A at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles last week, moderated by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. The conversation, held as part of the Museumโs Icon Sessions, included Mason Jr. asking Swift how she prefers to build production around her lyrics and storytelling to create the โright mood and vibe.โ
โIt can either be compelling to make a song sound exactly how it feels or to flip it, which the people that really taught me the most about that are Max Martin and Shellback,โ said Swift in a clip from the event. The best example of this, she noted, was โI Knew You Were Trouble,โ which she originally had written as a โsad piano ballad.โ
โI was really excited to bring it in and I played them this really, really sad ballad and I was like I think just no drums and theyโre like, โWhat if itโs dubstep?’โ she recalled. โI was like I donโt know, guys. Letโs give it a run. I donโt know.โ
Swift explained that in the end, it โended up being the best thing for it, and I think as a collaborator, my favorite people to be in the room with are โYes, and?โ people. So why not try it. If they heard it and they thought dubstep, and I came to them specifically because I didnโt want to be making lateral moves creatively, why wouldnโt we go down that path? Why wouldnโt we? I really think that enthusiasm in the studio, it can really make or break what you end up creating.โ
โI Knew You Were Troubleโ was part of a decided shift for Swift, who embraced a more pop-oriented sound on the songโs parent album โRed.โ The experimentation paid off, as โTroubleโ bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and inevitably reached a peak of No. 2.
Watch the full Grammy Museum conversation with Taylor Swift below:
About The Author
