Posted on Oct 6, 2023 3:45:38 PM
If this was a movie Taylor Swift would be here — but only on her own terms. Though you’d be hard-pressed to find someone on the street who doesn’t know the name Taylor Swift, many probably can’t name a single song of hers from a movie. Well, there’s a reason for that.
The pop icon is even more selective about licensing her music than she is about her cats. (For anyone not in the know, Swift’s cats are trademarked and have their own merch lines.)
It’s no secret to Swifties that the country-turned-pop star takes great pride in writing and owning her own music. Swift’s limited number of soundtrack contributions speak (now) to the level of care she places in deciding how her music is used outside of her albums.
When you have a music catalog as expansive as Swift’s, it makes sense that you’d want everything in its place. For Swift, that means being hyper-specific on what songs fit a particular album and not just throwing something on there because it exists. Fans might notice that Swift has either written most of her soundtrack contributions specifically for the project or used a piece she’d already written that didn’t fit any of her other projects. She also loves being attached to her soundtrack movies — as either a fan or an actress.
So, the list of Swift’s movie soundtrack contributions may not be too long, but that’s veryintentional — and we love a picky queen.
“Crazier” —Hannah Montana: The Movie(2009)
When you ask Taylor Swift to give you a song about falling in love, the singer-songwriter has no shortage of available options. When it came toHannah Montana: The Movie, Swift had one song in mind for the film’s creatives: “Crazier.”
Despite not having released the song prior to the movie, Swift had the song ready to go. Given Swift’s love of cameos in projects with her music, she treated fans to an on-screen performance during the actual movie.
According to the movie’s production notes, Swift said, “When I got an email from Disney saying they wanted a song that was perfect to fall in love to and sort of a country waltz, I sent them ‘Crazier,’ and they loved it.”
However, fans may not realize that Swift also co-wrote the movie’s closer, “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home,” so she’s responsible for two pretty epic numbers.
“Today Was a Fairytale and “Jump Then Fall” —Valentine’s Day(2010)
Everyone’s always ready to jump then fall in love with Taylor Swift — whether it’s on-screen or in real life. Although we consider 2010 to be Swift’s “Speak Now” era, she was living her best “Fearless” life in the movieValentine’s Day. Swift appeared in the film alongside her real-life boyfriend Taylor Lautner during their teenage high school rom-com storyline.
Though Swift’s songs don’t accompany the actual movie, she bookends the movie’s credits with her songs “Today Was a Fairytale” and “Jump Then Fall.” While she didn’t write either song for the film, Swift allowed the movie to use her previously unreleased song “Today Was A Fairytale” and her “Fearless” Platinum Edition album song “Jump Then Fall.” Fans are always grateful when movies give Swift an excuse to release new music she’s had lying in the vault for a while.
“Safe & Sound” and “Eyes Wide Open” —The Hunger Games(2012)
Swift’s eyes were wide open to the success ofThe Hunger Games. There’s no doubt that people constantly knock on the singer’s door for soundtrack requests, but she rarely volunteers as tribute.
Given that Swift’s song “Eyes Open” is one of the most referenced numbers inThe Hunger Games, it’s easy to forget that it isn’t actually in a movie. After the song leaked, Swift performed the song during the New Zealand leg of her Speak Now World Tour. However, Swift’s song “Safe & Sound” does appear in the credits of the film adapted from Suzanne Collins’ book franchise. Of course, both songs are staples in the soundtrack.
So, how did this happen anyway? According to aninterview with MTV, Swift explained that the request for her song contributions came from the studio itself. “I immediately read the book in, like, two days and fell in love with it," Swift noted. "I fell in love with the characters, fell in love with the world that Suzanne Collins had created. I was just so immersed in it.”
Though Swift didn’t ask to be a part of the movie, she entered fangirl status pretty quickly. The songwriter was mostly surprised at the characters’ depth, leading her to write two melancholic songs rather than the upbeat ones she expected to write.
“Sweeter Than Fiction” –One Chance(2013)
Taylor Swift’s songs are sweeter than fiction, tbh. The 2013 British movieOne Chancedefinitely isn’t Swift’s most talked-about movie. However, her song “Sweeter Than Fiction” remains one of her more fun and boppy soundtrack songs. Let’s be honest: No one can deny that Swift loves a good sad soundtrack song.
Instead of having real-lifeBritain’s Got Talentwinner Paul Potts tell (and sing) his own story, the film employed James Corden to play the opera singer in this biopic about Potts’ rise to fame. As it turns out,One Chanceproducer Simon Cowell (and the guy who helped judge Potts into victory), reached out to Swift for a contribution.
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” –Fifty Shades Darker(2017)
The world is divided on how they feel about theFifty Shades of Greytrilogy. But one thing’s certain: “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” serves. Zayn and Swift collaborated for theFifty Shades Darkersong. Unlike many of her soundtrack roles, the song actually plays during a film scene and not just the credits. This particular R&B-infused number accompanies a boating adventure helmed by the franchise’s leads.
Of course, the ball was in Zayn’s court when it came to Swift’s involvement. He told the Morning Mashup Show on Sirius XM that he wanted Swift for the project. He recalled, “I called her up. She'd heard the song already; she liked it. I asked her if she wanted to be on it, and she was like, 'Yeah.'" Of course, Swift came through swiftly, leaving fans to enjoy the song regardless of whether or not they watched the movie.
“Beautiful Ghosts” and “Mcavity” —Cats(2019)
It’s not every day that you get to compose a song with theater legend Andrew Lloyd Webber — and Swift knew it. Not only did she perform “Mcavity” and appear as Bombalurina inCats, but Swift wrote Francesca Hayward’s character Victoria a haunting new number: “Beautiful Ghosts.”
Swift happened upon Webber composing the song and she immediately began penning the lyrics to give the previously silent character a voice. During aninterview with Apple Music, Swift explained that the lyrics just came to her after having an inkling that Webber might need a lyrical assist for the new song.
Swift impressed Webber with her professionalism when she took the time to understand the T.S. Eliot poetry that inspired Cats. In aVariety interviewWebber said, “One of the things I was quite intrigued by, she got to the essence of what T.S. Eliot was about. It wasn’t just a lyric thrown together at all. I did enjoy working with her very, very, very much.”
And though Swift wrote the song for Victoria — which included Hayward’s rendition and Judi Dench’s later reprise — fans didn’t leave the theater without hearing Swift sing theghostbumps-inducing melody during the credits.
“Only the Young” —Miss Americana(2020)
Fans mad about Taylor Swift’s journey into outspoken politics need to calm down. While the songstress had been mum on many important issues before 2018, the year marked a shift in the tide when she endorsed Phil Bredesen for Tennessee Senate. However, Swift brings fans into the fold of what exactly led to the unveiling of Swift’s newly outspoken beliefs.
During the documentary, we discover that Swift’s initial political silence was carefully curated by her team. But she no longer wanted to stifle her voice out of fear of losing support from her original Country base.
Though fans didn’t get to hear Swift’s song “Only the Young” until she released Miss Americana, she actually penned it for 2019’s “Lover,” but held back on the release. Once Swift reached her political era, the singer later licensed the song to the Biden-Harris campaign free of charge after the documentary’s release. The documentary was secretly filmed over a few years, so Swift takes fans on the journey of the impactful behind-the-scenes moments that led up to her taking a stand and the song that forever marks the moment.
“Folklore” —Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions(2020)
Shocker of shocks, Swift’s 2020 docu-movieFolklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessionscontains quite a few “Folklore” songs — all of them, in fact. The Disney+ movie walks fans through Swift’s process from song idea nugget, composition, lyric and melody tweaks, and finally, the actual recording.
The small cabin-like recording studio itself helped inspire Swift’s “Folklore” album, and viewers get a touch of that intimate vibe during the movie. However, fans may notice two familiar faces: Jack Antonoff (her long-time producer) and Aaron Dessner (producer and musician from The National).
The cool thing about this particular film and its soundtrack comes from the fact that Swifties received an entirely separate recording of the full album to go along with the movie. Even better? Swift released a vinyl of the full “Long Pond Studio Sessions” album on Record Store Day (2023).
“Carolina” –Where the Crawdads Sing(2022)
When Taylor Swift wants to write a song for your movie, you find a way to make it work. In 2022, Swift made anInstagram post, where she explained her love ofWhere the Crawdads Singand her desire to contribute musically. Of course, she made it happen. Swift used instruments authentic to the movie’s ‘50s setting when she wrote “Carolina,” which appears in the movie’s credits.
Where the Crawdads Singexecutive producer Reese Witherspoonexplained to E!, “Taylor called and she said, 'I've written a song inspired by the book." The actress added, “It was just this beautiful gift that she gave the production. And it's been incredible to see her beautiful songwriting layered over the cinematography and this film. It's really, truly magical."
TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOURpremieres in theatres on October 13th! See it at Regal.
