The song premiered in a college football match by
ESPN on September 2, 2017, before being released for digital download the following day. On September 17,
Big Machine released the track to US radio as the second single from Reputation. Music critics generally described the production of "...Ready for It?" as anthemic, but some felt that it was generic and indiscernible from other popular songs on contemporary radio. The single peaked within the top ten on charts and received multi-platinum
certifications in Australia, Canada, and the United States.
The accompanying music video, directed by
Joseph Kahn, features a dark, futuristic aesthetic and references
sci-fi franchises. Swift performed "...Ready for It?" live on the
Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and
the Eras Tour (2023–2024).
Background and release
Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album, 1989, in October 2014. 1989'ssynth-pop production transformed Swift's sound and image from
country-oriented to mainstream pop.[1] Although the album propelled Swift's status to a global pop star,[2] she was a target of
tabloid gossip.[3] Publicized celebrity disputes and short-lived relationships blemished her "America's Sweetheart" reputation,[4][5] making her seclude from interactions with the press.[6] During a self-imposed hiatus, she conceived her sixth studio album, Reputation, as an answer to the media commotion surrounding her celebrity.[7]
The song lyrically revolves around Swift's fantasies about an individual whom she describes as a "killer" who has had multiple relationships and is "younger than her exes" but "acts like such a man". These fantasies include "holding him for ransom", committing a bank heist together, moving to a secret offshore location and being held in jail. Swift uses images of Hollywood romance, islands and going undercover so that "no one has to know". She also addresses the perception of her own romantic history by comparing herself to
Elizabeth Taylor and her lover to
Richard Burton.[29][30][20][31]
Critical reception
"...Ready for It?" received positive reviews from music critics, calling it an improvement from Swift's previous single, "
Look What You Made Me Do".[22][20][24] Tom Breihan of Stereogum said the songwriters "made something ungainly and goofy, something that was probably a terrible idea, and they still made it sound like towering, colossal pop music".[20] Patrick Ryan of USA Today expressed some skepticism concerning Swift's rapping, but noted the contrast between the "anthemic chorus" and "dark", intense verses made for a "promising second glance on her reputation era".[24] Richard He wrote for Billboard that "Swift has never sung more expressively, nor sounded more in tune with the way modern pop production uses the voice as an instrument" and that the song's chorus has "one of the prettiest melodies of her career".[27]
However, Craig Jenkins of Vulture gave it a lukewarm review, stating that the song "doesn't reinvent pop or Taylor, but it does get her name out on a product built to keep pace with current trends".[22] Mike Wass for Idolator dismissed the song as "not good" and called it "equally underwhelming" as "Look What You Made Me Do". He concluded by saying "If you can get past the cringeworthy lyrics and jarring production, a cute chorus awaits. But that's a lot of work for a minor payoff".[32]
Commercial performance
In the United States, "...Ready for It?" debuted and peaked at number four on the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming Swift's 22nd top 10 song and her fourteenth top 10 debut on the chart, the most among female artists and second most overall behind rapper
Drake. It also became her thirteenth number one song on the
Billboard Digital Song Sales chart with opening sales of 135,000 copies, entered the
Billboard Streaming Songs chart with 19 million streams in its first week of availability, and opened at 35 on the
Billboard Pop Songs chart with a radio audience of 13 million.[33] On other Billboard charts, "...Ready For It?" peaked at number 12 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, number 10 on the Billboard
Adult Top 40 chart, and number 26 on the
Adult Contemporary chart.
In Canada, the song peaked at number seven. It opened atop the digital sales chart, dethroning another single from Reputation, "
Look What You Made Me Do". Likewise in the UK, it also peaked at number seven, while in Scotland and New Zealand, it peaked at numbers three and number nine, respectively. In Australia, "...Ready for It?" entered at its peak position of number three on the
ARIA Singles Chart, becoming her twelfth top five entry in the nation.[34]
Music video
Production and release
Lyrics from the then-upcoming Reputation are referenced as graffiti on walls throughout the "...Ready for It?" music video. In the above scene, "they're burning all the witches" is a lyric from "
I Did Something Bad".
An audio for the song was released on September 3, 2017, that has more than 300 million views to date. On October 23, 2017, Swift released a teaser of the music video for the song.[36] The teaser was met with controversy, with many online commentators and media outlets claiming that Swift is physically naked in the music video; many social media users criticized Swift's alleged nudity in the teaser. Subsequently, Swift posted an Instagram story denouncing the nudity claims alongside a selfie of her wearing a bodysuit, captioned "It truly warms my heart that ppl had so much to say about this bodysuit."[37][38][39][40] The full video premiered on October 26. The video features homage references to
sci-fi and
anime, such as Blade Runner, Tron and Ghost in the Shell.[41][42][35][43]
Synopsis
The video starts with Swift dressed in a black cloak walking through an alley, making her way past several guards and typing in a code to access a room where a cyborg clone of Swift in a white bodysuit is being held inside a small cell. Graffiti seen on the walls are lyrics from the Reputation album. The cloaked Swift walks up to the cell walls and watches as the cyborg Swift transforms into several iterations - she wears futuristic armor, rides a white horse, manipulates various flickers of energy, and shoots lightning bolts from her fingertips. Eventually, the cyborg Swift breaks through the cell walls, with shards of glass cutting the cloaked Swift across the face, revealing she is a cyborg as well. The cyborg guards try to contain both of them to no avail, and the video ends with the white cyborg Swift walking away from her demolished cell and moving up an escalator.
Live performances
Swift performing "...Ready for It?" on
the Eras Tour in 2023
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 10. týden 2018 in the date selector. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 36. týden 2017 in the date selector. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201737 into search. Retrieved September 19, 2017.