Anti-Hero

"Anti-Hero" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 21, 2022, as the lead single from her tenth studio album, Midnights. Written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, the track was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, Rough Customer Studio in Brooklyn, and Sound House Studios in Lakeland, Florida. It was released under Republic Records. Musically, the song is a blend of pop rock, synth-pop, and electropop, built on a 1980s-inspired drum loop generated with a LinnDrum and featuring retro synthesizers. The lyrics offer an unusually candid exploration of Swift's insecurities, self-doubt, and the psychological toll of fame, with the narrator portraying herself as her own worst enemy. The bridge includes a surreal nightmare about her daughter-in-law killing her for the inheritance.

The song achieved massive commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In doing so, Swift became the first artist in history to occupy the entire top 10 of the chart in a single week, with all tracks from Midnights. "Anti-Hero" spent eight weeks at number one on the Hot 100, becoming Swift's longest-running number-one single at the time, surpassing "Blank Space" (seven weeks) and "Shake It Off" (four weeks). It also debuted atop both the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. During its sixth week at number one, the song tallied 68.9 million radio airplay audience impressions, 20.9 million streams, and 13,000 copies sold in the U.S. By its eighth week, it accumulated 88.5 million radio airplay audience impressions, 16.8 million streams, and 7,000 sold.

Multiple versions and remixes of the song have been released, including an acoustic version (3:16), an instrumental version (3:21), a version featuring the band Bleachers (3:48), an Illenium remix (4:27), a Kungs remix (3:14), a Roosevelt remix (4:59), and a Jayda G remix (3:35). Some of these were made available in Swift's webstore at a discounted price to boost sales. The official music video, released on YouTube on October 21, 2022, has garnered over 242 million views. It visualizes Swift's anxieties in a playful, exaggerated manner and sparked the "#TSAntiHeroChallenge."

Critical reception was overwhelmingly positive. Critics praised the track for its infectious melody, strong vocal performance, and raw, introspective songwriting, viewing it as a high point of Midnights and one of the best songs of 2022. The song won several major awards. At the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, it won Video of the Year, Best Pop, Best Visual Effects, and Best Direction. It also won Song of the Year at the same ceremony. At the 2024 Gold Derby Music Awards, it won Best Music Video. It was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards. [edit]