Eyes Open (song) explained

Eyes Open
Cover:Eyes Open by Taylor Swift (single cover).png
Alt:Cover artwork of "Eyes Open" featuring Swift in a grassland
Type:promo
Artist:Taylor Swift
Genre:Alternative rock
Label:Big Machine
Producer:
Chronology:Taylor Swift
Prev Title:Ours
Prev Year:2011
Next Title:Both of Us
Next Year:2012

"Eyes Open" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for the soundtrack to the 2012 film The Hunger Games. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "Eyes Open" is an alternative rock song with chiming guitars. Its lyrics are about staying strong during hardships, told from the perspective of the film's protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. The track was released as a promotional single from the soundtrack.

Music critics commented that the song's rock sound showcased Swift's expanding artistry beyond her previous country pop songs. The track won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Single by a Female Artist in 2012. "Eyes Open" charted in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and it received certifications in the first three countries. A re-recording titled "Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)", was released on March 17, 2023, as part of Swift's re-recordings of her back catalog, following the 2019 dispute over the ownership of the masters of her first six albums.

Background and composition

Taylor Swift wrote two songs for the soundtrack to the 2012 film The Hunger Games: "Safe & Sound" and "Eyes Open". She wrote the former with the Civil Wars and the latter by herself.[1] According to Swift, she wrote the song about the Hunger Games protagonist Katniss Everdeen's "relationship" with the Capitol. She described the song as the opposite of the melancholic "Safe & Sound", stating that "[it is] more frantic and fast-paced, a completely different shade of music".[2]

"Eyes Open" is four minutes and four seconds in length. Critics described the song's genre as alternative rock.[3] [4] Billboard said that it "[exists] more in the modern rock vein than [Swift's] usual country-pop oeuvre".[5]

Critical reception

The song garnered general critical acclaim from contemporary critics - most of whom favorably noted the song's more rock-oriented tone as compared to her previous releases. While reviewing , Matt Bjorke named "Eyes Open" as one of the "standouts" on the record.[6] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard also found the same description of the song - stating that it "[exists] more in the modern rock vein than her usual country-pop oeuvre."[7] In June 2022, Insider ranked "Eyes Open" as Swift's third best soundtrack song, only behind "Safe & Sound" and "I Don't Wanna Live Forever".[8]

Release and commercial performance

Swift first premiered the song during a performance in Auckland for her Speak Now World Tour.[9] The song was leaked before its official release date of March 20, 2012.[10] [11]

Upon the soundtrack's release, "Eyes Open" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 19 with 176,000 digital copies as the week's highest debut.[12] After it was sent to mainstream radio, the song debuted on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart at number 28 and was Swift's highest debut to date; it would reach number 20 on the chart.[13] On December 2012, "Eyes Open" received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); it became Swift's sixteenth million-seller and her second from the soundtrack after "Safe & Sound".[14] By November 2017, the song had sold 1.4 million units in the United States.[15]

Elsewhere, "Eyes Open" peaked on the charts in various Anglophone territories, at number 17 in Canada, number 47 in Australia, number 65 in Ireland, and number 70 in the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, the song debuted and peaked at number six on the RMNZ's Top 40 Singles chart and was certified gold by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).

"Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)"

Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)
Type:song
Artist:Taylor Swift
Length:4:03
Label:
Producer:

On March 17, 2023, Swift released "Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)", a re-recorded version of "Eyes Open", via Republic Records.[16] [17] The song is part of Swift's re-recording plan following the 2019 dispute over the ownership of the masters of her older discography, after the talent manager Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums which the label had released.[18] [19] 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.[20]

"Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)" was released for streaming and download as an independent track without appearing on any album.[21] It was included on a streaming-only compilation titled The More Red (Taylor's Version) Chapter.[22]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal.[23]

Charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[24] 9
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[25] 15
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[26] 18

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2012-03-12 . Taylor Swift Talks About Her Hunger to Contribute to The Hunger Games—Exclusive! . 2024-06-27 . Our Country . Yahoo!.
  2. Web site: Cooper . Brittany Joy . 20 March 2012 . Taylor Swift Spills About Writing 'Eyes Open' for The Hunger Games Soundtrack . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120322010604/http://tasteofcountry.com/taylor-swift-talks-eyes-open-hunger-games-soundtrack/ . 22 March 2012 . 2 June 2012 . .
  3. Web site: Petridis . Alexis . Alexis Petridis . April 26, 2019 . Taylor Swift's singles – ranked! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190427062612/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/apr/26/taylor-swifts-singles-ranked . April 27, 2019 . December 9, 2020 . The Guardian.
  4. Web site: All 162 Taylor Swift Songs, Ranked. Nate. Jones. Vulture. August 13, 2020. December 8, 2020. September 13, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190913234630/https://www.vulture.com/article/all-taylor-swift-songs-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html. live. limited.
  5. Taylor Swift Keeps 'Eyes Open' on New 'Hunger Games' Tune. Billboard. Jason. Lipshutz. 15 March 2012. 27 May 2015. 8 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150608122728/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/501236/taylor-swift-keeps-eyes-open-on-new-hunger-games-tune. live.
  6. Web site: Various Artists - The Hunger Games Soundtrack. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120529114440/http://www.roughstock.com/reviews/various-artists-the-hunger-games-soundtrack. 2012-05-29.
  7. Lipshutz . Jason . Taylor Swift Keeps 'Eyes Open' on New 'Hunger Games' Tune . Billboard . 1 October 2018 . 1 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181001225034/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/501236/taylor-swift-keeps-eyes-open-on-new-hunger-games-tune . live .
  8. Web site: Ahlgrim . Callie . Larocca . Courteney . 2022-06-26 . All 8 of Taylor Swift's soundtrack songs, ranked . 2022-06-26 . . en-US . 2023-02-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230207174920/https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-soundtrack-songs-ranked-2022-6 . live .
  9. Web site: Josh . Grossman . March 19, 2012 . Taylor Swift Unveils Hunger Games Song "Eyes Open" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120329034956/http://www.eonline.com/news/taylor_swift_unveils_hunger_games_song/302181 . March 29, 2012 . March 28, 2012 . E! Online.
  10. Web site: Bell, Crystal . March 15, 2012 . 'Hunger Games': Taylor Swift's 'Eyes Open' And Kid Cudi's 'The Ruler And The Killer' Leak (LISTEN) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120327080114/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/hunger-games-taylor-swift-kid-cudi_n_1347337.html . March 27, 2012 . March 28, 2012 . The Huffington Post.
  11. Archived by WebCite from the original on March 21, 2012.
  12. Fun. Notch Fourth Week Atop Hot 100 . . . March 28, 2012 . March 29, 2012 . Trust, Gary . August 9, 2013 . https://archive.today/20130809043616/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/498734/fun-notch-fourth-week-atop-hot-100 . live .
  13. Web site: April 2, 2012 . Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez Storm Pop Songs . live . https://archive.today/20130809043238/http://www.billboard.com/articles/chartbeat/498204/justin-bieber-taylor-swift-jennifer-lopez-storm-pop-songs . August 9, 2013 . March 24, 2013 . Billboard.com.
  14. Web site: Week Ending July 15, 2012. Songs: Blow Me (One More Hit) . 18 July 2012 . yahoo.com.
  15. Ask Billboard: Taylor Swift's Career Album & Song Sales . November 26, 2017 . November 26, 2017 . Gary . Trust . . November 26, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171126192431/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8046939/taylor-swift-career-album-song-sales-ask-billboard . live .
  16. Web site: MacCary . Julia . 2023-03-16 . Taylor Swift Is Dropping Four Unreleased Songs Ahead of Her Eras Tour Start . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230330080403/https://variety.com/2023/music/news/taylor-swift-unreleased-new-songs-eras-tour-1235556815/ . March 30, 2023 . 2023-03-16 . Variety.
  17. Aniftos . Rania . 2023-03-17 . Taylor Swift Drops Four New Songs Ahead of 'The Eras Tour' Launch: Listen . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230317112058/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-four-new-songs-all-of-the-girls-you-loved-before-the-eras-tour-launch-1235288433/ . March 17, 2023 . 2023-03-17 . Billboard.
  18. News: August 22, 2019 . Taylor Swift Wants to Re-Record Her Old Hits . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190822202321/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49432817 . August 22, 2019 . August 22, 2019 . BBC News.
  19. Web site: Finnis . Alex . November 17, 2020 . Taylor Swift Masters: The Controversy around Scooter Braun Selling the Rights to Her Old Music Explained . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210212170953/https://inews.co.uk/culture/music/taylor-swift-masters-scooter-braun-selling-rights-music-rerecording-row-explained-762411 . February 12, 2021 . February 13, 2021 . i.
  20. News: Shah . Neil . April 9, 2021 . Taylor Swift Releases New Fearless Album, Reclaiming Her Back Catalog . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211008111731/https://www.wsj.com/articles/taylor-swift-releases-new-fearless-album-reclaiming-her-back-catalog-11617945524 . October 8, 2021 . September 25, 2022 . .
  21. Web site: Faguy . Ana . March 17, 2023 . Where Are Taylor Swift’s 4 New Songs? Fans Struggle To Find New Tracks On Streaming Platforms . April 19, 2024 . Forbes.
  22. Web site: The More Red (Taylor's Version) Chapter . April 19, 2024 . Apple Music.
  23. Web site: 'Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)' / Taylor Swift . subscription . April 30, 2023 . . May 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230502043401/https://listen.tidal.com/album/282034855 . live .
  24. Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Digital Song Sales). Billboard. March 28, 2023.
  25. Web site: NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. March 27, 2023. March 25, 2023. March 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230325225557/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/hotsingles?chart=5527. live.
  26. Web site: Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 . . March 24, 2023.

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