Nothing New (song)
"Nothing New" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift featuring American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. Swift wrote the song in March 2012 and produced it with Aaron Dessner for her second re-recorded studio album, Red (Taylor's Version), which was released in 2021 through Republic Records. The track is a guitar-led folk and alternative rock tune about anxieties over romance and growing up. Critics interpreted "Nothing New" as Swift's message about the music industry's treatment of female musicians. They lauded the song's emotional sentiments, Swift's songwriting, and Bridgers's performance. After Red (Taylor's Version) was released, the track peaked at number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the top 40 on national charts in Australia, Canada, and Ireland. "Nothing New" was included on the set list of Swift's the Eras Tour at concerts opened by Bridgers, who performed the song with her. Background

Taylor Swift's fourth studio album Red was released in 2012 by Big Machine Records. It combines country and pop with many genres, which prompted a media debate over Swift's status as a country artist. The album was a critical success, ranking at number 99 on Rolling Stone 2020 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. By June 2021, it had sold over 4.4 million copies in the United States. Swift signed with Republic Records after her contract with Big Machine expired in 2018; the contract granted her rights to the master recordings of her music. In 2019, Big Machine, as well as the master recordings of Swift's first six studio albums, were acquired by businessman Scooter Braun. Swift began re-recording her Big Machine albums in November 2020, as a means to own her master recordings. The first re-recorded album, Fearless (Taylor's Version), was released on April 12, 2021. A re-recording of Swift's second studio album Fearless (2008), the album contains re-recordings of all the original songs, and in addition to that, it features six unreleased tracks subtitled "From the Vault"—they are songs that were written for the original album but were never included. For her next re-recorded album, Red (Taylor's Version), Swift re-recorded all of the original songs from Red and reworked nine "From the Vault" tracks. One of them was "Nothing New", which she wrote on an Appalachian dulcimer in March 2012 when she was 22 years old. Swift later approached Aaron Dessner to produce it with her and Phoebe Bridgers to feature vocals on the track for Red (Taylor's Version). "Nothing New" was recorded by engineers Dessner, Bella Blasko, and Jonathan Low at Long Pond Studios in Hudson Valley. Swift's vocals were recorded by Christopher Rowe at Kitty Committee Studios in Belfast and Bridgers's vocals were recorded by Will Maclellan at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles. The song was mixed by Low at Long Pond Studios and was mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey. Music and lyrics

"Nothing New" is a melancholic guitar-led alternative rock and folk ballad, featuring understated cello and violin. The track is about anxiety over romance and growing up. In the chorus, Swift sings, "How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22?" reflecting on her growing up, and "Will you still want me when I'm nothing new?" In the views of Olivia Horn from Pitchfork, "Nothing New" is not only about romantic anxieties, but also about "the music business' famously fickle relationship to young women". Laura Snapes from The Guardian agreed with this idea, citing the lyric "People love an ingenue" as Swift's internalized pressure to stay in the public eye. In a journal entry dated March 2, 2012, Swift wrote that the song is about "being scared of aging and things changing and losing what you have". Release and reception
"Nothing New" was released as the 23rd track on Red (Taylor's Version) via Republic on November 12, 2021. The song peaked the top 40 on national charts in Australia (31), Canada (22), and Ireland (25). In the United States, "Nothing New" debuted both on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs, with peaks of number 43 and number 11 respectively. On other non-national charts, it reached number 33 on the Billboard Global 200 and number 11 on the United Kingdom's Audio Streaming Chart. After the album's release, Swift embarked on the Eras Tour in March 2023, where she perform various songs across her discography and feature different opening acts at each concert, where Bridgers was one of them. At concerts opened by her, "Nothing New" was added on the tour's set list, in which both Swift and Bridgers performed the track. Critics often lauded "Nothing New" for its emotional sentiments, Swift's songwriting, and Bridgers's performance. They picked it as an album highlight and one of the best "From the Vault" tracks. The New York Times Lindsay Zoladz, Billboard Jason Lipshutz, Variety Chris Willman complimented Bridgers's vocals and the thoughtful lyrics. Carrie Battan of The New Yorker compared "Nothing New" to the "folksy poeticism" of Swift's 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore. Angie Martoccio of Rolling Stone lauded the collaboration: "Swift's adult voice combines with Bridgers' honey-soaked, hushed vocals, melding together in an autumn rush that brushes against your cheek". Some critics praised Swift's double entendre message about the music industry—The A.V. Club editor Saloni Gajjar opined that its "extremely relatable even if you’re not a globally recognized musician." For the Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood highlighted its double entendre lyrics and nostalgic sentiments during the age of internet culture. Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Red (Taylor's Version) album liner notes

 Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriter, producer
 Phoebe Bridgers – lead vocals
 Aaron Dessner – producer, recording engineer, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, guitar, keyboard, piano, synthesizers
 Tony Berg – vocal producer
 Bella Blasko – recording engineer
 Bryce Dessner – orchestrator
 Clarice Jensen – cello, cello recording
 Jonathan Low – recording engineer, mixing engineer
 Randy Merrill - mastering engineer
 Christopher Rowe – vocal recording
 Will Maclellan – vocal recording
 Kyle Resnick – violin recording
 Yuki Numata Resnick – violin

Charts

Notes

References

Journal
 

2021 songs
Taylor Swift songs
Phoebe Bridgers songs
Songs written by Taylor Swift
Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift
Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner
American folk songs
Female vocal duets