Eyes Open (song)

"Eyes Open" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for The Hunger Games movie soundtrack, The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond, though the song is not included in the film itself. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, it was released as the second single from the album and was sent to mainstream radio on March 27, 2012. A lyric video consisting of animation was released on Vevo in May 2012.

This article is about the song by Taylor Swift. For other songs, see Eyes Open.
"Eyes Open"
Cover artwork of "Eyes Open"
Single by Taylor Swift
from the album The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond
ReleasedMarch 27, 2012 (2012-03-27)
GenreAlternative rock
Length4:04
Label
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"Ours"
(2011)		 "Eyes Open"
(2012)		 "Both of Us"
(2012)
Lyric video
"Eyes Open" on YouTube

A re-recording of the song, titled "Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)", was released on March 17, 2023, via Republic Records. The re-recording is part of Swift's plan to re-record her back catalog, following the dispute over the ownership of the masters of her first six albums.

Background

The song was one of two songs that Swift wrote and recorded for the soundtrack to the film, The Hunger Games, the other song being "Safe & Sound". Swift first premiered the song during a performance in Auckland for her Speak Now World Tour, before launching into the song she told the crowd: "I'm really excited about it...but, I mean, you don't think I'd get in trouble if I played it now? Probably not, right?".[2] The song was leaked before its official release date of March 20, 2012.[3] A music video comprised as a lyric video was released on May 17, 2012, on Swift's Vevo account.[4][5] The video consists of animation with the song's lyrics.[6]

Composition

"Eyes Open" is four minutes and four seconds in length. Critics described the song's genre as alternative rock.[7][8] Billboard said that it "[exists] more in the modern rock vein than [Swift's] usual country-pop oeuvre".[9] According to Swift, she wrote the song about Katniss's "relationship" with the Capitol. Swift describes the song as the opposite of the melancholic "Safe & Sound," stating that "[it is] more frantic and fast-paced, a completely different shade of music."[10]

Critical reception

The song garnered general critical acclaim from contemporary critics - most of whom favorably noted the song's more rock-oriented tone as compared to her previous releases. While reviewing The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond, Matt Bjorke named "Eyes Open" as one of the "standouts" on the record.[11] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard also found the same description of the song - stating that it "[exists] more in the modern rock vein than her usual country-pop oeuvre."[12] In June 2022, Insider ranked "Eyes Open" as Swift's third best soundtrack song, only behind "Safe & Sound" and "I Don't Wanna Live Forever".[13]

Awards and nominations
Year Organization Award/work Result Ref.
2012 Teen Choice Awards Choice Single by a Female Artist Won
[14]

Lyric video

A lyric video for the song was released on Swift's YouTube channel on May 17, 2012. As of January 2020 the video has over 20 million views.[15]

Commercial performance

Upon the soundtrack's release, "Eyes Open" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 19 with 176,000 digital copies as the week's highest debut.[16] After it was sent to mainstream radio, the song debuted on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart at number 28 and was Swift's highest debut to date; it would reach number 20 on the chart.[17][18] On December 2012, "Eyes Open" received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA);[19] it became Swift's sixteenth million-seller and her second from the soundtrack after "Safe & Sound".[20] By November 2017, the song had sold 1.4 million units in the United States.[21]

Elsewhere, "Eyes Open" peaked on the charts in various Anglophone territories, at number 17 in Canada,[22] number 47 in Australia,[23] number 65 in Ireland,[24] and number 70 in the United Kingdom.[25] In New Zealand, the song debuted and peaked at number six on the RMNZ's Top 40 Singles chart and was certified gold by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).[26][27]

Charts
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[23] 47
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[22] 17
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[28] 34
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[29] 23
Ireland (IRMA)[24] 65
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 6
UK Singles (OCC)[25] 70
US Billboard Hot 100[30] 19
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[18] 20
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[31] 50
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[32] 11
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[33] 21

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[27] Gold 7,500*
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Country Date Format Label
United States March 27, 2012[1] Mainstream radio

"Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)"
"Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)"
Promotional single by Taylor Swift
from the EP The More Red (Taylor's Version) Chapter
ReleasedMarch 17, 2023 (2023-03-17)
Length4:03
Label
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Audio
"Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)" on YouTube

A re-recorded version of "Eyes Open", titled "Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)", was released by Swift on March 17, 2023, via Republic Records.[34] The song is part of Swift's re-recording plan following the dispute over the ownership of the masters of her older discography.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal[35]

Charts
Chart performance for "Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[36] 9
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[37] 15
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[38] 18
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[39] 18
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[40] 9
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[41] 6
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[42] 48

Release history
Country Date Format Label
Various March 17, 2023[43]
Republic

References
  1. Archived 2012-04-19 at the Wayback Machine Archived by WebCite from the original on March 21, 2012.
  2. Josh, Grossman (March 19, 2012). "Taylor Swift Unveils Hunger Games Song "Eyes Open"". E! Online. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  3. Bell, Crystal (March 15, 2012). "'Hunger Games': Taylor Swift's 'Eyes Open' And Kid Cudi's 'The Ruler And The Killer' Leak (LISTEN)". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  4. "Music Videos". Taylor Swift. Archived from the original on 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
  5. "Taylor Swift - Eyes Open (Lyric Version)". TaylorSwiftVevo. YouTube. 2012-05-17. Archived from the original on 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
    • Note: In the description of the video it clearly states: Music video by Taylor Swift performing Eyes Open. (C) 2012 Big Machine Records, LLC. making this the official music video.
  6. "Taylor Swift, 'Eyes Open' – Lyric Video (Watch)". Erin Duvall. TheBoot.com. 2012-05-18. Archived from the original on 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  7. Petridis, Alexis (April 26, 2019). "Taylor Swift's singles – ranked!". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  8. Jones, Nate (August 13, 2020). "All 162 Taylor Swift Songs, Ranked". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  9. Lipshutz, Jason (15 March 2012). "Taylor Swift Keeps 'Eyes Open' on New 'Hunger Games' Tune". Billboard. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  10. Cooper, Brittany Joy (20 March 2012). "Taylor Swift Spills About Writing 'Eyes Open' for 'The Hunger Games' Soundtrack". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  11. "Various Artists - The Hunger Games Soundtrack". Archived from the original on 2012-05-29.
  12. Lipshutz, Jason. "Taylor Swift Keeps 'Eyes Open' on New 'Hunger Games' Tune". Billboard. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  13. Ahlgrim, Callie; Larocca, Courteney (2022-06-26). "All 8 of Taylor Swift's soundtrack songs, ranked". Insider. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  14. "Teen Choice Awards 2012: Complete Winners List". MTV. July 22, 2012. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  15. "Taylor Swift - Eyes Open (Lyric Version)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2020-02-09. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  16. Trust, Gary (March 28, 2012). "Fun. Notch Fourth Week Atop Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 9, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  17. "Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez Storm Pop Songs". Billboard.com. April 2, 2012. Archived from the original on August 9, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  18. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  19. "American single certifications – Taylor Swift – Eyes Open". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  20. "Week Ending July 15, 2012. Songs: Blow Me (One More Hit)". yahoo.com. 18 July 2012.
  21. Trust, Gary (November 26, 2017). "Ask Billboard: Taylor Swift's Career Album & Song Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  22. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  23. "Taylor Swift – Eyes Open". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  24. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Taylor Swift". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  25. "Taylor Swift: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  26. "Taylor Swift – Eyes Open". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
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  29. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  30. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  31. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  32. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  33. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  34. MacCary, Julia (2023-03-16). "Taylor Swift Is Dropping Four Unreleased Songs Ahead of Her Eras Tour Start". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  35. "'Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)' / Taylor Swift". Tidal. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
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  42. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  43. Aniftos, Rania (2023-03-17). "Taylor Swift Drops Four New Songs Ahead of 'The Eras Tour' Launch: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
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