Red (Taylor Swift album)

Red is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Big Machine Records. Inspired by a breakup that left behind emotional tumult, Swift framed Red as a breakup album that chronicles the aftermath of a failed relationship. The songs on Red depict the complex and conflicting feelings ensuing from lost love. To convey those sentiments through music, Swift enlisted new producers to experiment with styles other than the country pop sound of her past albums. She produced Red with Nathan Chapman, Dann Huff, Max Martin, Shellback, Jeff Bhasker, Dan Wilson, Jacknife Lee, and Butch Walker. Regarded by critics as a primarily pop album, it incorporates eclectic styles of rock, folk, and country, featuring both acoustic instruments and electronic arrangements of synths and drum machines. Swift promoted Red as a country album, although music critics debated its genre classification and questioned her identity as a country artist. Swift supported the album with the Red Tour (2013–2014) and seven singles; "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" peaked at numbers one and two on the Billboard Hot 100 and in the top 10 in several countries; and "Begin Again" and "Red" were US country top-10 singles. Red topped the charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it spent seven weeks atop the Billboard 200—making Swift the first artist since the Beatles to have three consecutive albums with over six weeks at number one—and was certified eight-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Initial reviews of Red mostly praised Swift's songwriting for showcasing mature perspectives and sharp details, although the pop-leaning production divided critics who deemed it either bold or inconsistent. Red was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Retrospectively, critics have regarded it as a career-defining album that reflected Swift's maturity and pushed her songwriting to greater heights. Rolling Stone placed the album at number 99 on their 2023 revision of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she released the re-recorded album Red (Taylor's Version) in 2021, and acquired the original album's master recording in 2025.