You're Not Sorry

"You're Not Sorry"
Promotional single by Taylor Swift from the album Fearless
Released October 28, 2008
Format
Recorded 2007
Genre Country rock
Length 4:21
Label Big Machine
Writer Taylor Swift
Producer

"You're Not Sorry" is a country rock song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was solely written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on October 28, 2008 by Big Machine Records as a promotional single from Swift's second studio album, Fearless on iTunes, though it is no longer available. A remix version for the television episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in which Swift made an appearance was later released. Swift wrote "You're Not Sorry", inspired by an ex-boyfriend who was revealed to be opposite of what he appeared to be. The song is a power ballad with country and rock music influences.

Contemporary critics gave "You're Not Sorry" average to favorable reviews. In North America, the song achieved commercial success. It peaked at number 11 on Canadian Hot 100. In the United States, "You're Not Sorry" also peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Swift performed the song in several venues, including on her first headlining tour, the 2009 and 2010 Fearless Tour. During the tour, Swift performed a mashup of a cover version of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around" and "You're Not Sorry".

Background

"You're Not Sorry" was written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman alongside Swift. It was inspired by an ex-boyfriend who was later revealed to be opposite of what Swift had originally thought. Swift recalled that, at first, "He came across as prince charming."[1] As the relationship continued, Swift was informed of numerous secrets about her boyfriend she was not aware of. "And one by one, I would figure them out. I would find out who he really was," she said.[1] She wrote "You're Not Sorry" in an emotional state, which she described as "the breaking point", where she thought to herself, "'You know what? Don’t even think that you can keep on hurting me.'" The circumstances reached a point where she felt she had to walk away.[1] "You're Not Sorry" was first released as a promotional single from Fearless on October 28, 2008 as part of Countdown to Fearless, an exclusive campaign by the iTunes Store.[2] The song was reissued on March 5, 2009, as remix, the same day she made her guest appearance on the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the episode "Turn, Turn, Turn".[3] The remix was featured in the episode.

Composition

"You're Not Sorry"
A sample of Swift's "You're Not Sorry", featuring the electric guitar-backed chorus after the song's soft piano introduction.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

"You're Not Sorry" is a country rock song with a length lasting four minutes and 21 seconds.[4] Todd Martens of The Los Angeles Times felt the track was an old-fashioned power ballad, rather than country.[5] Jordan Levin of The Miami Herald agreed and described its genre as a "rebellious rock tune."[6] The song is set in common time and has a slow tempo of 67.5 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E♭ minor and Swift's vocals span two octaves, from G♭3 to C♭4.[7] The musical arrangement contains a prominent hook during its chorus, according to Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine.[8] "You're Not Sorry" commences with piano and, mid-song, progresses toward backing electric guitars, which eventually reach a solo.[5] Martens believed Swift's vocals were not the strongest because the existence of the electric guitar solo was meant to prevent too many high notes.[5] It follows the chord progression E♭mC♭G♭D♭.[7] Rob Sheffield of Blender magazine noted the lyrics to "You're Not Sorry" had many "tingling pheromones".[9]

Critical reception

"You're Not Sorry" received moderately positive reviews from critics. Rob Sheffield of Blender magazine received "You're Not Sorry" negatively and used the word "drippy" to describe it. Sheffield added that, in the song, by comparison, "she reminds you what a smart job she normally does of keeping the tempo jumping."[9] Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine believed "You're Not Sorry" was one of the songs on Fearless that expanded on the success of Swift's eponymous debut album, Taylor Swift (2006), because of how prominently its hook stands out.[8] Craig Rosen of The Hollywood Reporter said "You're Not Sorry" was ostentatious in regards to Swift's crossover potential.[10] Nick Catucci of New York magazine read an article posted in The New York Times, which stated Swift "quickly established herself as the most remarkable country music breakthrough artist of the decade", and opted his own opinion, based on the song. Catucci said, "And indeed, we think we got a little fairy dust in our eyes listening to 'You're Not Sorry' [... It] isn't the stuff of redneck women but earnest suburban princesses," despite that he had listened to better songs in the past decade.[11] Scott Mervis of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette compared "You're Not Sorry" to a "chanteuse a la Tori Amos".[12]

Chart performance

As it was not released as a double-single, "You're Not Sorry" did not receive airplay, thus its chart appearances consisted mainly of digital downloads. The song entered Billboard's Hot Digital Songs Chart at number two, which led to an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending November 15, 2008.[13] "You're Not Sorry" debuted and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the week's top debut and narrowly missing Swift's top ten debut of 2008.[14] In the succeeding week, the song descended to number 35 and then fell off the chart.[15] Upon the release of the CSI remix, it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 67.[16] "You're Not Sorry" is one of 13 songs from Fearless charted within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record for the most top 40 entries from a single album.[17] "You're Not Sorry" spent a total of five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.[13] Also in the United States, "You're Not Sorry" peaked at number 21 on the now-defunct Pop 100 Chart.[18] It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of 500,000 units.[19] The song debuted and peaked at number 11 on the Canadian Hot 100.[13] As of December 2011, "You're Not Sorry" has sold 653,000 copies in the USA.[20]

Live performances

Swift performing "You're Not Sorry" on the Fearless Tour.

Swift performed "You're Not Sorry" on all venues of her first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour, which extended from April 2009 to June 2010. During each performance, Swift donned a black cocktail dress with sparkly ornaments along the stomach.[21] She begun the performance by sitting on a bench, playing black grand piano. Midway through "You're Not Sorry", Swift ceases playing the piano and commences to sing a cover version of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around" while whipping her hair, maintaining on the bench. Throughout the remainder of the performance, she intermingled between the two songs as smoke swirled and lightning was projected on the stage.[21][22] Jon Pareles of The New York Times referred to the performance as one of the night's highlights at the August 27, 2009, concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[21] Reed Fischer of Miami New Times attended the March 7, 2010, concert at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida and, of the cover of "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around", said, "That, and some extended beating on an oil drum sculpture, made for the only unsavory moments of the night."[23] Alice Fisher of the United Kingdom magazine The Observer believed the performance at the May 7, 2009, concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England "was undermined by the way Swift writhed on her stool and awkwardly thumped the piano lid in one of the most unconvincing displays of passion I've seen since Footballers' Wives finished."[24] Swift also performed the song at an exclusive performance, hosted by 95.8 Capital FM,[25] the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards,[5] and the 2009 CMA Music Festival.[26] During her Speak Now World Tour, she used elements of "You're Not Sorry" and "Apologize" while performing "Back To December". She also performed the song twice on the Red Tour.

Track listings

  1. "You're Not Sorry" (CSI Remix) 4:22

Official Versions

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] 11
US Billboard Hot 100[28] 11
US Billboard Pop 100[18] 21

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[29] Platinum 1,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 3 Swift, Taylor. "Cut By But". Bigmachinerecords.com. Big Machine Records. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  2. "Countdown to Fearless". iTunes Store. Apple, Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "You're Not Sorry (CSI Remix) - Single". iTunes Store. Apple, Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  4. "Fearless > Overview". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Martens, Todd (April 5, 2009). "Grading the ACMs: Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Miranda Lambert and more. Who got an A?". The Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  6. Levin, Jordan (May 17, 2010). "Review: A calculated Taylor Swift thrills the screaming girls in Sunrise". The Miami Herald. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  7. 1 2 "Digital sheet music - Taylor Swift - You're Not Sorry". Musicnotes.com (Alfred Publishing).
  8. 1 2 Keefe, Jonathan (November 16, 2008). "Taylor Swift: Fearless". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  9. 1 2 Sheffield, Rob (November 11, 2008). "Fearless". Blender. Alpha Media Group. Archived from the original on February 28, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  10. Rosen, Craig (May 26, 2009). "Taylor Swift at Staples Center -- Concert Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Global Media. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  11. Catucci, Nick (November 11, 2008). "Is Taylor Swift Really All That?". New York. New York Media Holdings. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  12. Mervis, Scott (October 2, 2009). "Concert Review: Taylor Swift proves to be the real thing". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Block Communications. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 "You're Not Sorry - Taylor Swift". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  14. Cohen, Jonathan (November 6, 2008). "T.I. Replaces Himself Again Atop Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  15. "Taylor Swift - You're Not Sorry - Music Charts". aCharts.us. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  16. Caulfield, Keith (March 12, 2009). "Miley Cyrus' 'Climb' Debuts High On Hot 100". Billboard. Los Angeles: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  17. Pietroluongo, Silvio (November 12, 2009). "Rihanna's 'Roulette' Lands In Hot 100's Top 10". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  18. 1 2 "Taylor Swift > Charts & Awards > Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  19. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". RIAA.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  20. http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/464778/ask-billboard-what-are-your-2011-favorites
  21. 1 2 3 Pareles, Jon (August 28, 2010). "She’s a Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Angry". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  22. McDonnel, Brandy (April 1, 2010). "Concert review: Taylor Swift brings "Fearless" show to Ford Center". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma Publishing Company. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  23. Fischer, Reed (March 8, 2010). "Concert Review: Oscar-less Taylor Swift Still Wins Over BankAtlantic Center on March 7". Miami New Times. Village Voice Media. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  24. Fisher, Alice (May 10, 2009). "Enough to make you scream". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  25. "See Taylor Swift at Capital". 95.8 Capital FM. Global Radio. February 13, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  26. "Taylor Swift "Belongs" on GAC". Great American Country. Scripps Networks Interactive. June 15, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  27. "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Taylor Swift.
  28. "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Taylor Swift.
  29. "American single certifications – Taylor Swift – You're Not Sorry". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 14, 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

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