Meaning of “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift

“Bad Blood” is one of singer Taylor Swift‘s most successful songs. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine Swift said “Bad Blood”, as the name suggests, is a song about the bad blood between she and a fellow female singer. FYI, many suspect this person to be fellow American singer Katy Perry.

According to Swift, the problem between she and the other female singer arose after the unnamed female singer tried to “sabotage” her tour by attempting to hire a number of people whom Swift was working with on the tour. The betrayal by the unidentified female musician, who was once close to Swift, is what motivated this song’s lyrics. Swift said she hoped that anyone who has ever been betrayed before could relate to the song.

Despite Swift never revealing the identity of the unnamed female singer and exactly what the singer did to her, many believe the singer is none other than Katy Perry who fell out with Swift over an unknown issue. It is worth noting that prior to the release of “Bad Blood”, during one of Swift’s arena tours, a number of her backup dancers abandoned the tour to join Perry’s tour. If indeed the subject of the song is Perry (which we strongly suspect), then it is highly likely that Swift’s dancers abandoning her and joining Perry’s tour was likely what contributed to the bad blood between the singers.

Writing Credits for “Bad Blood”

Taylor Swift co-wrote the song with three other songwriters. They are:

•  Swedish songwriter and music producer Shellback
• Swedish songwriter and music producer Max Martin
• American rapper Kendrick Lamar (who also featured on the song)

Release Date

The song was released on 17th May, 2015 as the fourth single from Swift’s massively successful fifth studio album 1989.

Grammy Award Victory

The song was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2016, winning the Grammy for Best Music Video.

Kendrick Lamar was not featured in the original version of “Bad Blood”

The original version of the song did not feature rapper Kendrick Lamar, and that version wasn’t well received by music critics. It was the remixed version, featuring Lamar that gained worldwide praise and commercial success.

One of 2015’s most successful Songs

Having sold over 2.5 million copies in America alone, Bad Blood was the tenth most successful single of 2015.

Number 1 on the Charts

In addition to reaching number 1 in the United States, the song also reached number 1 in several other countries including Canada and Australia.