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That's When

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"That's When"
Song by Taylor Swift featuring Keith Urban
from the album Fearless (Taylor's Version)
ReleasedApril 9, 2021
Studio
Genre
Length3:09
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Lyric video
"That's When" on YouTube

"That's When"[a] is a song by Taylor Swift featuring Keith Urban. It was released as part of Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021), a re-recording of Swift's second studio album Fearless (2008). She wrote the track with the Warren Brothers at age 14 and handled the production with Jack Antonoff. "That's When" is an acoustic country pop and indie folk ballad about the end and aftermath of a relationship: Swift's and Urban's characters contemplate how to reunite with one another.

Critics received "That's When" with generally positive reviews, several of whom praised the collaboration and songwriting. Some commented on the production, while others deemed it underwhelming and derivative. Later reviews of the song were featured in rankings of Swift's repertoire. Commercially, "That's When" peaked at number 130 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Background and release

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After departing from Big Machine Records and signing a new contract with Republic Records in 2018, Taylor Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[2][3] The decision followed a public dispute in 2019 between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine, including the masters of her albums that the label had released.[4][3] By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters.[5]

Keith Urban performs at the 2020 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song concert at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.; Urban is playing a guitar and singing into the microphone.
Keith Urban is featured on "That's When".

On February 11, 2021, Swift announced the first of her re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor's Version), a re-recording of Swift's second studio album, Fearless (2008).[6][7] In addition to re-recordings of the original album's tracks, Fearless (Taylor's Version) additionally contained six previously unreleased "From the Vault" tracks, which are songs written for the original album that did not make the cut.[6][8] Swift explained that these songs were left out of Fearless for various reasons and that including them on the re-recorded album proved that "the artist is the only one who really knows that body of work".[9]

One such "From the Vault" track was "That's When",[10] which Swift wrote with the Warren Brothers—a country music duo composed of Brad and Brett Warren—when she was 14 years old. Swift contacted the Warren Brothers 17 years later to inform them of her intention to release the song, and they responded that it was "the longest hold [they have] ever had".[11] Reflecting back on her unreleased tracks, Swift believed that "That's When" would work better as a duet and could only imagine Keith Urban as the duet partner.[12] Swift previously performed as an opening act at his Escape Together World Tour (2009) when promoting Fearless, and both of them collaborated on Tim McGraw's single "Highway Don't Care" (2013).[10][13] After that, Swift asked him via text during his Christmas shopping to contribute vocals to the song and the fellow album track "We Were Happy". Urban enjoyed the songs after listening to them in a food court and agreed to include vocals.[14]

On April 3, 2021, "That's When" was confirmed to be one of the "From the Vault" tracks after Swift teased it in a clip containing the title in scrambled anagram the day before.[7][15] The song was released as the 24th track on Fearless (Taylor's Version) on April 9.[16] It peaked at number 130 on the Billboard Global 200[17] and entered the countries of Australia (81)[18] and Canada (63).[19] In the United States, "That's When" charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100, with respective peaks of number thirty[20] and number three.[21] It also reached number 76 on the Rolling Stone Top 100.[22] On May 26, 2021, "That's When" was included in the streaming compilation, Fearless (Taylor's Version): The From the Vault Chapter, which consists of the album's "From the Vault" tracks.[23]

Composition and lyrics

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"That's When"
An acoustic country pop and indie folk ballad, "That's When" finds Swift's and Urban's characters singing about rekindling their relationship.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"That's When" is three minutes and nine seconds long.[16] Swift produced the track with Jack Antonoff, who recorded it with Laura Sisk at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Electric Lady Studios in New York City, and Rough Customer Studio in Brooklyn. Christopher Rowe recorded Swift's vocals at Kitty Committee Studio in London and Nick Rowse recorded Urban's vocals at Forbes Street Studios in Sydney. Antonoff played acoustic, bass, and electric guitars, drums and percussion, Urban played a 12-string guitar, Evan Smith played flutes and saxophones, Mikey Freedom Hart played bass, electric, and pedal steel guitars, Celeste, drums, Hammond B-3, keyboards, piano, Michael Riddleberger played percussion, and Sean Hutchinson played drums. The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach and was mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater.[1]

"That's When" is an acoustic[24] country pop[25] and indie folk[26] ballad[27] about the end and aftermath of a relationship.[28][13] Featuring a pop hook,[29] Swift sings the song's first verse while Urban sings the second, and they harmonize with each other during the chorus.[30][26] The lyrics discuss whether they should rekindle their relationship: Swift's character wonders if he would come back to her ("When can I come back?") and expresses forgiveness for breaking up with him.[b] Both Swift's and Urban's characters agree to take a break from their relationship to make amends for their mistakes and head towards a brighter future.[26] In Billboard, Jason Lipshutz described the production as "unfussy pop".[34] Bobby Olivier of Spin opined that the song was a "peek into an alternate universe" in which Swift never left Nashville and remained in her trajectory of having a career similar to that of Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert.[24]

Critical reception

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"That's When" received generally positive reviews from critics, with several of whom praised Swift's and Urban's collaboration and the songwriting. Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club wrote that the collaboration "hits all the right soothing notes".[35] Kelsey Barnes from Gigwise wrote that Swift's collaboration with Urban "fit perfectly alongside her other collaborations".[36] Heather Taylor-Singh of Exclaim! selected "That's When" as exemplary of the "From the Vault" tracks as "a fun treat for fans who can't get enough of Swift's vivid storytelling".[31] In a ranking of the album's "From the Vault" tracks, Billboard's Jason Lipshutz placed the song at number five and opined that the song "offers a dose of levity" although being a breakup track.[34] Slate's music critic Carl Wilson was impressed with Urban's part and described the track as a "lite-country-FM duet".[37] Joseph Hudak of Rolling Stone called "That's When" an "introspective retelling of a romance at the brink".[30]

Some critics commented on the production. Jonathan Bernstein from Rolling Stone opined that "That's When" was one of the "From the Vault" tracks that were "revelatory glimpses into Swift's working process" and that Swift enlisted Antonoff as its producer to "tackle her buttoned-up mid-aughts Nashville country pop".[38] Olivier considered it an album highlight and a catchy duet that gives a glimpse into Swift's early career in country music.[24] Hannah Mylrea of NME also viewed it as a highlight from the album and said it was a "woozy" song containing a "layer of slick 1989-style production" and "euphoric layered vocals".[25] Erin Browne from Vulture commended how Antonoff kept the song "twangy and country", which he thought those aspects made "That's When" faithful to the music of the original Fearless while also being equal to the album's re-recording.[39]

Others were more reserved in their praise. Jackson Langford of MTV ranked "That's When" fifth of the six "From the Vault" tracks and praised Urban's presence on the track, but believed that the song "still falls just short of greatness" and that it would have been better with Swift's early southern twang.[40] The Observer's writer Kitty Empire considered "That's When" one of the "mixed bag[s]" of the album's "From the Vault" tracks.[41] Chris Willman of Variety wrote that while "it's lovely to hear [Swift and Urban] together", the song does not feel as immersive in comparison to the other songs that made it into the original album, and he dubbed the track and the chords as "a slightly more balladic version" of the fellow album track "You Belong with Me" (2009), which he deemed superior to it.[42] In a similar sentiment, Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that Swift left the song out of the album due to the chorus having a similar melody to "You Belong With Me", which he believed that it "perfectly" utilized.[43]

Later reviews of "That's When" were featured in lists and rankings of Swift's discography. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield and Vulture's Nate Jones ranked it at 234 and 224, respectively, in worst-to-best lists of Swift's catalog.[32][44] Billboard writers believed that the song was the ideal "country post-breakup duet" and thought Swift and Urban had "magnificent" harmonies with each other.[45] Sheffield wrote that the song's theme of forgiving someone for breaking their heart without reason was in the style of her tracks "Afterglow" (2019) and "Back to December" (2010).[32] Jake Viswanath of Bustle believed that "That's When" was an "immediate country ditty that proves Swift can come up with pop hooks in seconds".[29] Annabel Gutterman from Time found it had "wistful and remorseful turns".[33] Steffanee Wang of Nylon said that the song had a "pretty" instrumentation and a catchy hook and thought Swift's and Urban's vocals worked well with each other, but opined that it did not have "the deeper substance in the songwriting that we've come accustomed to".[46] Josh Kurp from Uproxx felt that "That's When" was a "fine song that fails to leave much of an impression",[47] while Jones believed that it was similar to "You Belong with Me" and that Urban added "a bit of country verisimilitude but not much interest".[44]

Credits and personnel

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Credits are adapted from liner notes of Fearless (Taylor's Version).[1]

Charts

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Chart performance for "That's When"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 81
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19] 63
Global 200 (Billboard)[17] 130
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[21] 3
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[20] 30
US Rolling Stone Top 100[22] 76

Notes

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  1. ^ Subtitled as "(From the Vault)" on physical releases and as "(Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)" on digital releases[1]
  2. ^ As described by Heather Singh of Exclaim!,[31] Joseph Hudak[30] and Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone,[32] and Annabel Gutterman of Time.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Fearless (Taylor's Version) (liner notes). Taylor Swift. Republic Records. 2021.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Melas, Chloe (November 16, 2020). "Taylor Swift Speaks Out About Sale of Her Masters". CNN. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Finnis, Alex (November 17, 2020). "The Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun Feud Explained – and the Latest Updates". i. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  4. ^ "Taylor Swift Wants to Re-record Her Old Hits After Ownership Row". BBC News. August 22, 2019. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  5. ^ Shah, Neil (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Releases New Fearless Album, Reclaiming Her Back Catalog". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (February 11, 2021). "Taylor Swift Announces Re-Recorded Fearless Album, 'Love Story' Single Drop". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 14, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Willman, Chris (April 2, 2021). "Taylor Swift Reveals Track List for Fearless (Taylor's Version); Keith Urban Delighted to 'Join the Band'". Variety. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  8. ^ Espada, Mariah (July 6, 2023). "Taylor Swift Is Halfway Through Her Rerecording Project. It's Paid Off Big Time". Time. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Savage, Mark (February 11, 2021). "Taylor Swift Has Finished Re-recording Fearless – and It Could Be Out in April". BBC News. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Benitez-Eves, Tina (April 5, 2021). "Taylor Swift Reveals 27-Song Tracklist of Upcoming Fearless Rerelease, Keith Urban Featured Tracks". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Minsker, Evan (September 20, 2022). "Taylor Swift Named Songwriter-Artist of the Decade by NSAI: Read Her Speech". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Swift, Taylor (2021). "Taylor Swift on 'That's When'". Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021 – via iTunes.
  13. ^ a b Dailey, Hannah; Pascual, Danielle; Weatherby, Taylor; Dailey, Hannah (April 19, 2024). "Taylor Swift's Top Collaborations, Ranked: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  14. ^ Clarke, Patrick (April 15, 2021). "Keith Urban Says He Was Christmas Shopping When Taylor Swift Enlisted Him for Fearless (Taylor's Version)". NME. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  15. ^ Gariano, Francesca (April 4, 2021). "Taylor Swift Confirms Keith Urban Will Sing on Her Next Album After Speculation from Fans". Today. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Swift, Taylor (April 9, 2021). "Fearless (Taylor's Version)". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 19 April 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1624. Australian Recording Industry Association. April 19, 2021. p. 4.
  19. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Top 100 Songs, April 9, 2021 - April 16, 2021". Rolling Stone. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  23. ^ Swift, Taylor (May 26, 2021). "Fearless (Taylor's Version): The From The Vault Chapter". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  24. ^ a b c Olivier, Bobby (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift's Fearless Re-recording Is Thrilling". Spin. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  25. ^ a b Mylrea, Hannah (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift – Fearless (Taylor's Version) Review: A Celebration of the Star's Breakout Album". NME. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  26. ^ a b c Zaleski 2024, p. 48.
  27. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift: Fearless (Taylor's Version) Review — Sweet, Nostalgic and As Wholesome As Apple Pie". The Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  28. ^ Nhien-Nguyen, Giselle Au (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift's Re-recorded Fearless Gives Old Favourites a New Life". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Viswanath, Jake (February 20, 2024). "Ranking All 26 of Taylor Swift's Vault Songs, Including 1989 (TV)". Bustle. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  30. ^ a b c Hudak, Joseph (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Duets With Keith Urban on 'From the Vault' Track 'That's When'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  31. ^ a b Taylor-Singh, Heather (April 12, 2021). "Taylor Swift Reclaims Her Past on Fearless (Taylor's Version)". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  32. ^ a b c Sheffield, Rob (April 25, 2024). "All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked: 'That's When' (2021)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  33. ^ a b Cooney, Samantha; Gutterman, Annabel; II, Moises Mendez; Sonis, Rachel (October 25, 2023). "The Best Taylor Swift Vault Songs, Ranked". Time. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  34. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (April 9, 2021). "Every 'From the Vault' Song Ranked on Taylor Swift's Fearless (Taylor's Version): Critic's Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  35. ^ Gajjar, Saloni (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Forged Ahead with a Dreamy Throwback in Fearless (Taylor's Version)". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  36. ^ Barnes, Kelsey (April 9, 2021). "Album Review: Taylor Swift - Fearless (Taylor's Version)". Gigwise. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  37. ^ Wilson, Carl (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift's Fearless Redux Is Both Business Stunt and Conceptual Art". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  38. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Carefully Reimagines Her Past on Fearless: Taylor's Version". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  39. ^ Browne, Erin (April 10, 2021). "Wait, What Are Taylor Swift's Fearless Songs About Again?". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  40. ^ Langford, Jackson (April 15, 2021). "Every Taylor Swift 'From The Vault' Song, Ranked". MTV. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  41. ^ Empire, Kitty (April 10, 2021). "Taylor Swift: Fearless (Taylor's Version) Review – A Labour of Revenge, but Also of Love". The Observer. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  42. ^ Willman, Chris (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Turns On a Facsimile Machine for Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Its Ingenious Recreations: Album Review". Variety. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  43. ^ Caramanica, Jon; Coscarelli, Joe; Pareles, Jon; Sisario, Ben; Zoladz, Lindsay (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Remade 'Fearless' as 'Taylor's Version.' Let's Discuss". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  44. ^ a b Jones, Nate (May 20, 2024). "All 245 Taylor Swift Songs, Ranked". Vulture. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  45. ^ Dailey, Hannah; Pascual, Danielle; Weatherby, Taylor (April 19, 2024). "Taylor Swift's Top Collaborations, Ranked: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  46. ^ McCarthy, Lauren; Wang, Steffanee (February 20, 2024). "All of Taylor Swift's From the Vault Songs, Ranked". Nylon. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  47. ^ Kurp, Josh (October 27, 2023). "Every Taylor Swift 'From The Vault' (Taylor's Version) Song, Ranked". Uproxx. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2024.

Source

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