Taylor Swift’s new song “ME!” is the purest strain of bubblegum pop.
Fitting with the first release of her past two albums, Taylor Swift went for a song that she knew would be stuck in everyone’s heads, regardless of whether or not they actually enjoy the song. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco is featured on the track, opening up this song to a whole new audience that would have never dared to listen to a Taylor Swift song.
In addition to dropping the single, the music video premiered at midnight on April 26. Taylor answered questions from the YouTube chat box before the premiere, successfully increasing hype and hits on the music video page. The music video beat the Vevo record, gaining 65.2 million views in just 24 hours. It reached 100 million views in about 48 hours. This single broke both the record for most streams on Amazon Music and most voice requests using Alexa. It charted at number one on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music in both global and U.S. charts.
The music video opens on a startling image of a pink snake sliding over pastel tiles. When the snake bites, echoing the promo videos for “Look What You Made Me Do,” it transforms into a kaleidoscope of butterflies, symbolizing her rebirth.
It then jumps to an odd argument between Taylor and Brendon who are fighting in French. The scene is full of little clues for her more observant fans, though we seem to think that it was only included so she could feature her cats. This is the first time she hints at having a third cat, shouting “un plus!” as the camera pans over her cats Meredith and Olivia.
The song itself opens with a catchy hook, taking full advantage of that vocoder sound that she loved so much on “reputation” (looking at you, “Delicate”).
The first verse is strong, paired with stunning visuals in the music video. The pastel wonderland that Taylor lives in (in the video) perfectly matches with the cheerful tone of the production of the song. She wears a gauzy dress with floral embellishments near the waist, tying into the fun theme and the floral merch she wore before the song dropped (now available online! Yes, I already got a shirt.)
The pre-chorus is incredibly catchy and has been stuck in my head since the second it premiered. Here, Taylor dons a pastel yellow suit as the rest of the dancers wear either pink or blue. This fits with the individuality message that this song celebrates.
The chorus is the strongest part of the song. I honestly really love the lyrics of this part. “I’m the only one of me, baby, that’s the fun of me!” is going to be the most overused Instagram caption, and I’m so excited to see that happen. The video has an excellent dance scene during the chorus. The party on the street is full of pastel colors and joy, clashing with Brendon watching from a window, still angry over the argument from the beginning of the video. We see him decide to leave the anger behind and literally jump into happier times (and a happier suit).
Brendon sings the second verse. Despite this seemingly ambitious genre crossover, his voice harmonizes with Taylor’s seamlessly. Brendon, now in a floral suit, floats Mary Poppins style through the city before landing on a rooftop to join Taylor, now wearing a gorgeous pink dress. The video continues to be absolutely adorable, featuring Brendon winning Taylor over with the new cat, Benjamin Button. Taylor actually adopted this new cat from set, falling in love with him immediately.
The chorus before the bridge starts the epic dancing of Brendon and Taylor. Their many outfit changes fit the different styles of dance that the two perform. They start strong with a 60s feel, looking like they stepped off the set of “Hairspray.”
The bridge itself is the weakest point of the song, I can’t skirt around it. The lyrics are basic, starting with “HEY KIDS! SPELLING IS FUN!” and ending with “you can’t spell awesome without ME!” This however also matches up with her three most recent lead singles. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Shake It Off” and “Look What You Made Me Do” had lyrically weak bridges, but ended up being the best part of the song to scream on tour. These lyrics are simply meant to be fun(ny). However, I would argue that the bridge is the strongest part of the music video. The cotton candy colored marching band outfits are just the right amount of frivolous. Taylor rocks a pink bob wig for this portion of the video, which honestly might be the most exciting detail of the whole thing.
The chorus after the bridge begins the most ridiculous choreography for Brendon and Taylor that makes me smile every time. The two of them are in matching suits with floral embellishments (Brendon’s a full pant, Taylor with a short) doing a carefree dance, clearly having the time of their lives.
From here, there’s a blend between the bridge and the chorus for the rest of the song. The final scene of the video has Taylor in a paint dress with blue streaks in her hair. Brendon seems to be conducting the rainfall, which are, of course, paint splatters. The video ends with the two of them under an umbrella as rainbow paint splatters down around them. A visually appealing scene to an overall incredible video.
I am so excited to see what the rest of the era brings. Taylor and Brendon opened up the BBMAs on May 1 with a stunning performance full of pastel colors and glitter. The theme of this Taylor Swift era is very peace, love and happiness, and who doesn’t need a little more of that?
