This is Taylor Swift’s worst song and it’s not even close

Taylor Swift has written many of the defining songs of our time. However, not all of the “Love Story” singer’s songs are winners. One of her hits is simply awful. Here’s why one of her most popular songs was so poorly received.

Taylor Swift’s worst song tries to serve several genres at once and fails in all

Swift has deftly explored various musical styles throughout her career, including country, pop, folk, electronica, and rock. Electro-reggae might be too much for her. In 2019, she released “…Ready for It?”, a genre-bending behemoth that fused electropop, reggae, trap, and dubstep into a hideous chimera. The beat is raw and obnoxious.

Swift’s use of a Jamaican dialect is politically questionable at best, but definitely annoying. It’s painfully inauthentic coming from a country singer from New Jersey. On top of that, the lyrics are just plain awkward. Swift’s decision to sing about dirty thoughts isn’t sexy in the slightest. And finally, the line where she raps about her boyfriend being the “Burton to that Taylor” is arguably one of the worst references to old Hollywood to ever make its way into pop music.

The superstar was in dispute with Kanye West when she wrote the song

In an interview with The Guardian in 2019, Swift revealed that the year she wrote “…Ready for It” was not an easy time for her due to her feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. “You can either stand there and let the wave crash into you and try with all your might to fight something that is more powerful and bigger than you,” she said. “Or you can dive underwater, hold your breath, wait for the wave to pass, and while you’re down there, try to learn something.”

“Why was I in that part of the ocean?” the “Cardigan” singer added. “There were clear signs saying: Back current! Undercurrent! Do not swim! There are no lifeguards!”

Why was I there?” she added. “Why did I trust people that I trusted? Why did I let people into my life like that? What did I do that caused this?” Perhaps Swift wrote her worst song during this time because she wasn’t in the best frame of mind.

How Taylor Swift’s “…Ready for It?” performed in the charts

“…Ready for It?” peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the charts for 20 weeks. For most other singers, this would be the biggest hit of their career. For Swift, it was just another Tuesday. “…Ready for It?” may not have been popular enough to make it onto her inevitable greatest hits album.

“…Ready for It?” appeared on one of the most controversial records of Swift’s career: Call. On this record, Swift experimented more with electronica and hip-hop than ever before. Some fans appreciated the musical experimentation, while others felt Swift was out of her element.

Call reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 for four weeks and remained on the charts for 299 weeks. In the United States Call is Swift’s most popular record alongside 1989. While critics were lukewarm Callthe fans seemed to love it.

“…Ready for It?” is a bit of a mess, but that hasn’t stopped Swift from having one of the best pop careers of all time.