This song finds Swift sending up her image as a heartbreaker who writes all of her songs about former boyfriends. She warns us that she's "got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane" plus she has, "a blank space baby, and I'll write your name."
At the Secret Sessions listening parties that Swift held to preview 1989, she said her intention with this track was to run wild with the way the media portrays how she conducts her romantic life.
At the Secret Sessions listening parties that Swift held to preview 1989, she said her intention with this track was to run wild with the way the media portrays how she conducts her romantic life.
Swift explained the, "boys only want love if it's torture" lyric to UK newspaper The Sun: "I was thinking about this,' she said. "Boys only want love if it's torture and a constant chase. Men want love if it's real, right, healthy and consistent."
Many people admitted to thinking Swift was singing "Starbucks lovers" in the song's chorus, before realizing it's "long list of ex-lovers."
The song's music video was directed by Joseph Kahn (Eminem's " Without Me," Katy Perry's " Waking Up In Vegas") and filmed at September in Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. The clip depicts Swift as an unhinged lovelorn woman who lives alone in a giant mansion with her cat, Olivia Benson. It co-stars male model Sean O'Pry as the singer's generically good-looking love interest. The male model also appeared in Madonna's steamy visual for " Girl Gone Wild."
Kahn told Mashable.com that Swift specifically asked for O'Pry "by name - she had a vision." He explained: "She's highly aware of one particular thing that's happening right now - the idea that if you date her and you break up with her, she's going to write a song about you. She's aware of this. She's not an idiot."
"Taylor wanted to make a video addressing this concept of, if she has so many boys breaking up with her maybe the problem isn't the boy, maybe the problem is her," he continued. "Taylor wanted to make a video addressing this concept of, if she has so many boys breaking up with her maybe the problem isn't the boy, maybe the problem is her."
"Taylor wanted to make a video addressing this concept of, if she has so many boys breaking up with her maybe the problem isn't the boy, maybe the problem is her," he continued. "Taylor wanted to make a video addressing this concept of, if she has so many boys breaking up with her maybe the problem isn't the boy, maybe the problem is her."
Taylor explained the background to the cut. "The song 'Blank Space' is a song I wrote a little bit from a comedic perspective," she said. "I try to stay self-aware about who I actually am and also pretty aware of what the media's depiction of me is, and so I've seen all of the different rumors that have come and gone."
"Over the years, it's developed into this reputation of being this crazy, serial dater [and] this needy, clingy, manipulative person," Taylor continued. "What if I was that girl? What song would I write? And so I wrote 'Blank Space.'"
"Over the years, it's developed into this reputation of being this crazy, serial dater [and] this needy, clingy, manipulative person," Taylor continued. "What if I was that girl? What song would I write? And so I wrote 'Blank Space.'"
Taylor teamed up with American Express to create an interactive app to go along with the video. "We created this 360 degree experience for fans... You essentially get to play around this storyland and explore the mansion [in the video]," she revealed on Good Morning America. "There are all of these hidden little clues. If you click on doorways you go into the next room. If you go to a clock, you can unlock little messages and clues. You can see us acting out these scenes depending on what room you're in or what part of the song."
"It's really fun to actually have fans that care about videos, story lines and lyrics," she added. "And the fact that they're so engaged makes me want to create cool little things for them like this."
"It's really fun to actually have fans that care about videos, story lines and lyrics," she added. "And the fact that they're so engaged makes me want to create cool little things for them like this."
The song dethroned Swift's previous single, " Shake It Off," from the top of the Hot 100. This meant the songstress became the first ever female in the chart's history to succeed herself at #1.
Swift performed this song to open the 2014 American Music Awards. In the very elaborate production, Swift wore an evening gown and a headset microphone as she made her way thought a variety of sets populated by a bevy of dancers portraying the men she was dismissing. At one point, she even handles a flaming rose in a bit of symbolism.
Swift was honored with the Dick Clark Award For Excellence at the ceremony.
Swift was honored with the Dick Clark Award For Excellence at the ceremony.
Michigan post-hardcore band I Prevail charted in the Hot 100 with a punk version of the song. Their interpretation utilizes two vocalists and explosive guitars. Vocalist Brian Burkheiser also tweaked the lyrics including changing Swift's turning "bad guys good for a weekend" to making "good girls bad for a weekend."
In October, 2014, Swift filed to trademark the first two lines of this song, "Nice to meet you. Where you been?" and "Could show you incredible things." This was done in response to a company that applied to trademark lines from her song " Shake It Off." These trademarks give the owners the rights to use the phrases on merchandise, stationary, and various other items.
Some of the video's interior scenes were shot at Winfield Mansion, which was built in 1916 at Glen Cove on New York's Long Island by the family who started the global chain of Woolworth's retail stores. The property was wrecked by a mysterious fire in early February 2015, an event spookily foreshadowed by Swift singing on this song about love going down in flames.