Maroon (song)

"Maroon" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). Written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, it is a dream pop, synth-pop, and trip hop ballad with layered vocals, trap beats, and an oscillating electric guitar creating a sustained note throughout. In the lyrics, the narrator reminisces a past relationship.

This article is about the Taylor Swift song. For other uses, see Maroon (disambiguation).

"Maroon"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Midnights
ReleasedOctober 21, 2022
Studio
Genre
Length3:38
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Taylor Swift
  • Jack Antonoff
Lyric video
"Maroon" on YouTube

The track received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the production and deemed the lyrics poetic, but a few found the theme similar to Swift's previous songs. "Maroon" peaked at number four on the Billboard Global 200, number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, and charted within the top ten in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

Background and release

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift announced her tenth studio album at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2022. She later revealed the name of the album, Midnights, and its album cover on social networks but the tracklist was not immediately revealed.[1] On a video via her Instagram account on September 6, titled "The making of Midnights", Swift revealed that Jack Antonoff, who had worked with her before on her five studio albums since 1989 (2014), was a producer on the album.[2]

On September 21, 2022, exactly a month before Midnights's release, Swift announced a thirteen-episode short series called Midnights Mayhem with Me on the social media platform TikTok.[3] The series' purpose is to announce a song title every episode by rolling a lottery cage that contains thirteen ping pong balls numbered one to thirteen; each ball represents a track.[4] In episode five on September 30, Swift revealed "Maroon" as the title of track two.[5] Midnights was released on October 21 under Republic Records.[6][7] In 2023, Swift performed the track as a "surprise song" on selected stops of the Eras Tour, such as East Rutherford (May 26), Inglewood (August 3), and Mexico City (August 27).[8]

Composition

Music and production

"Maroon" is three minutes and thirty-eight seconds long.[9] Swift wrote and produced it with Antonoff, who provides programming and instruments including percussion, Juno 6, modular synth, piano, electric and bass guitars. Evan Smith plays organ, saxophone, flute, and clarinet, and recorded her performance at Pleasure Hill Recording in Portland, Maine. The track was recorded Antonoff and Laura Sisk at Rough Customer Studio in Brooklyn and Electric Lady Studios in New York City. It was engineered by Antonoff, Sisk, and Smith, with assistance from John Rooney, Jon Sher, and Megan Searl. The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea with assistance from Bryce Bordone at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and was mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey.[10]

"Maroon" is a dream pop,[11][12] synth-pop,[13][14] and trip hop ballad.[15] It has a buzzing electronic drone that dominates the second half.[16] The production incorporates layered, reverbed vocals,[7][17] synthesizers,[18] preset echoing drum patterns,[19] trap beats,[20] and electric guitar played on an EBow which creates a single note that sustains and slowly oscillates up and down throughout the track.[21] Critics called the track's production ambient, moody, and atmospheric.[12][17][22] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described the guitar as "shoegazey".[22] In Paste, Ellen Johnson compared the trap-tinged production and "light rapping" on "Maroon" to the music of "Dress", a track off Swift's 2017 album Reputation.[20]

Lyrical interpretation

In the lyrics, the narrator reminisces a past relationship where she and the lover shared memories together, referencing many imagery found in Swift's older songs such as New York, wine, and scenes of domestic life.[16][23] The refrain recalls the remnants of a neglected long-distance relationship ("And how the blood rushed into my cheeks/ So scarlet, it was (Maroon)/ The mark they saw on my collarbone/ The rust that grew between telephones").[13] After detailing how the relationship derails in the second verse, the narrator contemplates how the relationship still leaves a mark on her in the bridge ("And I wake with your memory over me/ That's a real fucking legacy, legacy").[13]

Some reviewers noted a probable reference to Swift's 2012 album Red as both titles refer to shades of red.[16][24][25] Quinn Moreland from Pitchfork wrote that whereas the lyrics are intensely personal, the production makes it "oddly impersonal, bordering on numb".[7] John Wohlmacher of Beats Per Minute wrote that in addition to Red, "Maroon" references many of Swift's past songs, such as the "flushed cheeks" of "Illicit Affairs" (2020). He added that the New York reference in the lyrics represents "a secret affair and emotionally crushing loss", harkening back to tracks such as "Cornelia Street" (2019) and "Hoax" (2020).[21] Ann Powers from NPR, sharing the same idea, commented that "Maroon" is a sequel to "Cornelia Street", a track about a haunting romance set in New York.[26]

Critical reception

Courteney Larossa and Callie Ahlgrim from Insider hailed "Maroon" as a standout track from Midnights; Lacrossa called the song a "brilliant" play on Swift's color theory about love while Ahlgrim stated that it was a "shimmering" nostalgic rush of her past songs.[27] In a rave review, Wohlmacher labeled it as an "immediate masterpiece" and "the pop song of the year".[21] In Esquire, Alex Bilmes lauded the track with "a killer vocal and lyrics worthy of a Ryan Murphy soap opera".[14] Billboard journalist Jason Lipshutz complimented Swift's songwriting in the song, and said that "their impact hasn't dulled one bit".[11] Pop-culture writer Kenneth Partridge, in an article for Genius, found it to contain some of the most poetic lyrics Swift had written.[13] Moreland said that of all the tracks on Midnights, "['Maroon'] may be the one that keeps me awake at night".[7] Petridis called the track "superb" and deemed it to represent the album's subdued, atmospheric production,[22] and Paul Bridgewater of The Line of Best Fit remarked that it was one of the best album tracks sonically.[28]

On a less complimentary note, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times was not impressed by the production, and said that Swift's vocals are "stacked together to the point of suffocation".[29] Similarly, Paul Attard from Slant Magazine found the production somewhat redundant.[19] In Slate, Carl Wilson considered "Maroon" a decent song on its own but thought it makes the entire album drag, and he said that it relies on many familiar tropes of Swift's songwriting that feel "a bit generic and fan-servicey".[16] Exclaim!'s Megan LaPierre appreciated the first verse and the bridge but found that the rest of the song "stumbles in comparison."[30]

Commercial performance

"Maroon" debuted and peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100; its first-week figures included 37.6 million streams, 2,900 downloads, and 471,000 airplay impressions.[31][32] The song along with nine fellow Midnights tracks made Swift the first act to concurrently occupy the top-10 of the Hot 100 and surpassed Madonna as the woman with the most top-10 entries.[33] It peaked at number four on the Canada and was certified platinum.[34][35] The song reached number six on the United Kingdom's Audio Streaming Chart and received a silver certification.[36][37]

Elsewhere, "Maroon" appeared on many territories worldwide: it peaked within the top 10 on singles charts in Australia (4),[38] the Philippines (4),[39] Malaysia (5),[40] New Zealand (5);[41] and the top 30 in Portugal (11),[42] Vietnam (11),[43] Iceland (12),[44] South Africa (12),[45] Croatia (19),[46] Luxembourg (20),[47] Hong Kong (22),[48] Sweden (26),[49] Norway (30),[50] The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Global 200.[51]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Midnights.[10]

  • Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriting, production
  • Jack Antonoff – songwriting, production, engineering, programming, percussion, Juno 6, modular synth, piano, electric guitars, bass, recording
  • Evan Smith – engineering, organ, saxophone, flute, clarinet, recording
  • Laura Sisk – engineering, recording
  • Megan Searl – assistant engineering
  • John Sher – assistant engineering
  • John Rooney – assistant engineering
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • Bryce Bordone – assistant mixing
  • Randy Merrill – mastering

Charts
Chart performance for "Maroon"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Argentina (Argentina Hot 100)[52] 100
Australia (ARIA)[38] 4
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[34] 4
Croatia (Billboard)[46] 19
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[53] 27
Denmark (Tracklisten)[54] 34
France (SNEP)[55] 100
Germany (Official German Charts)[56] 96
Global 200 (Billboard)[51] 4
Greece International (IFPI)[57] 9
Hong Kong (Billboard)[48] 22
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[58] 32
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[44] 12
India International Singles (IMI)[59] 13
Italy (FIMI)[60] 77
Lithuania (AGATA)[61] 25
Luxembourg (Billboard)[47] 20
Malaysia (Billboard)[62] 7
Malaysia International (RIM)[40] 5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[41] 5
Norway (VG-lista)[50] 30
Philippines (Billboard)[39] 4
Portugal (AFP)[42] 11
Singapore (RIAS)[63] 5
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[64] 29
South Africa (RISA)[45] 12
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[65] 49
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[49] 26
Swiss Streaming (Schweizer Hitparade)[66] 21
UK Audio Streaming (OCC)[36] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[31] 3
Vietnam (Vietnam Hot 100)[43] 11

Certifications
Certifications for "Maroon"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[67] Platinum 70,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[35] Platinum 80,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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