Draft:Actually Romantic: Difference between revisions

 

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| footer = Charli XCX (left) allegedly wrote “‘Sympathy is a Knife” about Swift’s relationship with [[Matty Healy]] (right).

| footer = Charli XCX (left) allegedly wrote “Sympathy is a Knife” about Swift’s relationship with [[Matty Healy]] (right).

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2025 song by Taylor Swift

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“Actually Romantic” is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. “Actually Romantic” was written and produced by Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback.^[1] The song is positioned as the seventh track and as the opening track of side two on the vinyl edition of the album.^[2] Upon its release, fans speculated that the track was written as a diss track responding to British singer Charli XCX‘s “Sympathy Is a Knife” (2024), which is allegedly about Swift.

Upon the release of Charli XCX’s sixth studio album Brat, fans speculated that “Sympathy Is a Knife” was directed at Swift and her former partner Matty Healy of the 1975.^[3][4] Charli XCX and Swift had previously collaborated, with Charli XCX joining the 1989 World Tour in 2015 and serving as an opening act for the 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour.^[4] The song’s lyrics referencing Charli XCX’s partner George Daniel, also of the 1975, including “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show”, were widely interpreted as alluding to Swift’s brief relationship with Matty Healy.^[5]

Prior to the release of Charli XCX’s “Sympathy Is a Knife”, there had been some tension between the two women. In a 2019 Pitchfork interview, Charli XCX remarked that touring with Swift “kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to five-year-olds”, which drew criticism from Swift’s fans.^[6] Charli XCX later denied that any tracks on Brat were intended as diss songs^[7] and stated that “Sympathy Is a Knife” was not about Swift.^[5] The week after Brat was released, Swift issued a reissue of her album The Tortured Poets Department (2024) exclusively in the United Kingdom, which some observers suggested was a strategic move to prevent Brat from reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart.^[7]

The song is described as indie rock,^[8] alternative rock and power pop,^[9] characterized by a grunge electric guitar progression.^[2] Lyrically, it addresses an individual whose adversarial fixation on Swift is portrayed as a perverse declaration of love.^[10] The title is speculated to reference Charli XCX’s 2024 song “Everything Is Romantic“.^[9] Several lyrics are viewed as direct responses to Charli XCX’s “Sympathy Is a Knife”, including the “Boring Barbie” line and the mention of a song where it “makes you sick to see my face”.^[11] The line “High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me” is believed to reference Healy and Daniel.^[2] An alternative critical interpretation, suggested by Jon Caramanica of The New York Times, proposed that the song could potentially be addressed to Olivia Rodrigo, though this view is less prevalent.^[5]

Critically, the track received negative commentary. It has been described by Jaeden Pinder in his article “5 Takeaways From Taylor Swift’s New Album The Life of a Showgirl” as a throwback to Swift’s earliest revenge songs, in which she was “too caught up in her anger to see straight”, commenting that it contrasts with the Swift who revised lyrics on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) to avoid anti-feminist interpretations.^[12] A track review by Walden Green of the same publication characterized the song as “cringey, sour, diet indie rock” and one of the “lowlights” of the album. The production, despite contributions from Max Martin and Shellback, was unfavorably by him, compared to the “Kidz Bop version” of the Pixies‘ “Where Is My Mind?“.^[8] Slate‘s Sam Adams criticized it as “petty and small-minded” and a form of “punching down”, given Swift’s commercial success.^[2]