"I Did Something Bad" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her sixth studio album, Reputation (2017). The song was written by Swift and its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. It features a heavy electronic production that combines electro-trap, grunge and EDM elements, incorporating manipulated vocals and electronic instruments. The lyrics are about Swift's lack of remorse after acknowledging her allegedly wrongful behaviors that caused a sensation, inspired by the female characters Sansa and Arya Stark of the fantasy series Game of Thrones.
The song received mixed reviews from critics, who were either impressed by the production and Swift's self-assertion or critical of the themes of drama and vengeance. "I Did Something Bad" charted at number 14 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, an extension to the US Billboard Hot 100, and at number five on the New Zealand Heatseeker Singles, an extension to the New Zealand Singles Chart. Swift included the song on the set list of her Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and performed it at the 2018 American Music Awards.
Background and writing
Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album, 1989, in October 2014 to commercial success. The album sold over six million copies in the U.S. and spawned three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", and "Bad Blood". Swift continued to be a major target of tabloid gossip during the promotion of 1989. She had short-lived romantic relationships with Scottish producer Calvin Harris and English actor Tom Hiddleston. Her reputation was blemished from publicized disputes with other celebrities, including rapper Kanye West, media personality Kim Kardashian, and singer Katy Perry. Swift became increasingly reticent on social media, having maintained an active presence with a large following, and avoided interactions with the press amidst the tumultuous affairs.
She conceived her sixth studio album, Reputation, as an answer to the media commotion surrounding her celebrity. Describing the album as "cathartic", Swift followed the songwriting for her 2014 single "Blank Space", on which she satirized her perceived image. She said: "I took that template of, OK, this is what you're all saying about me. Let me just write from this character for a second." The final cut of Reputation consists of 15 tracks, all of which Swift co-wrote. Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback co-wrote and produced nine songs, including "I Did Something Bad".
Composition
Swift wrote "I Did Something Bad" with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. The song has a length of three minutes and fifty-eight seconds. Swift initially developed the track on a piano; in an interview with iHeartRadio, Swift explained that the idea for the production came to her in a dream. She described the concept to Martin, who used Swift's voice and pitched it down to create the desired effect in the post-chorus. The track was engineered at MXM Studios in Los Angeles and Stockholm. It was mixed at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and mastered at Sterling Sound Studios in New York City.
"I Did Something Bad" was described by Billboard as "electro-trap". Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield characterized it as 1990s grunge, a sound that recalls the music of Eddie Vedder and Scott Weiland. Hannah Mylrae from NME, meanwhile, called it an EDM cut with a dubstep-tinged refrain. The song is accompanied by a maximalist electronic production, backed by a stomping beat, pulsing synthesizers, manipulated vocals, and an Auto-Tune-modified bridge.
For the lyrics, Swift took inspiration from the season seven finale episode "The Dragon and the Wolf" of the fantasy series Game of Thrones, in which the sisters Sansa and Arya Stark together plot a scheme to murder Littlefinger for his treachery. Media publications interpreted "I Did Something Bad" as Swift's answer to the tumultuous media scrutiny on her personal life and celebrity, affected by the publicized disputes and relationships with other celebrities. In the song, Swift portrays a self-confident character who is unapologetic for her success and defies her detractors. She tells a man who crossed her, "I don't regret it one bit / 'cause he had it coming." She also hints that strong women often get chastised by society: "They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one / Go ahead and light me up." Despite not being listed as explicit on digital and streaming versions of the song, the lyric "If a man talks shit then I owe him nothing" marks Swift's first lyric in which she uses profanity.