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On This Day: Taylor Swift ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ Music Video Debuts on MTV in 2012

Not only is it the legendary pop artist and “folklore” singer’s birthday today, but it is also an anniversary of a special Taylor Swift video release.

On this day in 2012, Swift released the music video for her song “I Knew You Were Trouble” for the first time. It was on “MTV First: Taylor Swift.”

The song would go on to win the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video in 2013.

In 2012, Swift was celebrating her 23rd birthday, now she is turning 31. It is a reflection of just how much time Swift has spent actively creating music in the industry.

Taylor Swift Releases Hit Video

According to an article from MTV, Swift had a weeklong celebration of her birthday. It started with an exclusive photo gallery from the video shoot, then a video chronology of her 22 other videos at the time, then an in-depth interview, and finally a premiere of the video.

Taylor Swift claimed that the video and song were unlike her regular music. The song had entered an almost EDM and party-sounding portion of the artist’s career. Now, Swift continues to break the barriers of what she considers her sound and image to be.

“As soon as I started writing this song, I knew it was different from anything else on the record, so I knew I wanted the video to be different from anything we’d done ever done … I wanted to tell the story of a girl who falls into a world that’s too fast for her, and suffers the consequences,” Swift said regarding the video.

Inspiration for the Song

At the time of the video, many fans were shocked to hear the news that the song was about Harry Styles. The two dated briefly before breaking up in January.

According to Los Angeles Times, Swift performed the song at the Brit Awards and it was a bit awkward.

“Well, it’s not hard to access that emotion when the person the song is directed at is standing by the side of the stage watching,” Swift said in an interview.

The song is all about being hooked on a guy that just isn’t ready for that level of commitment. At the Grammy awards, she sings in a British accent and rips off her wedding dress costume.

This is seemingly a reflection of the failed commitment and him wanting to “take a step back” and “that he never loved her … or anyone or anything.”

Styles at the time did little regarding the information. Sources said the relationship was “a bit of fun” for him at the time, before turning into a nightmare.

He reflected on her songs about him in March of 2020. No hard feelings are there and both have moved on from the situation. He also commended her songwriting.

“I mean, I don’t know if they’re [“Out of the Woods” and “Style”] about me or not, but the issue is, she’s so good, they’re bloody everywhere. I write from my experiences; everyone does that,” Styles said in a 2017 interview.

While Swift received a lot of criticism for writing about her ex-boyfriends during her career, she is also one of the most successful artists of this generation. So, it worked out for her.