You Belong with Me

"You Belong with Me"
"You Belong with Me"
Single by Taylor Swift
from the album Fearless
Released	April 20, 2009
Recorded	2008
Studio	Blackbird (Nashville)
Genre	Country pop; power pop; pop rock;
Length	3:52
Label	Big Machine
Songwriter(s)	Taylor Swift; Liz Rose;
Producer(s)	Taylor Swift; Nathan Chapman;
Taylor Swift singles chronology
Music video
	"You Belong with Me" on YouTube

"You Belong with Me" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and is the third single from her second studio album Fearless (2008). Big Machine Records released the song to radio on April 20, 2009. Swift was inspired to write "You Belong with Me" after overhearing a telephone call between a touring band member and his girlfriend; she and Liz Rose wrote the lyrics, which discuss an unrequited love. Swift and Nathan Chapman produced the track, which has a banjo-led country pop production and incorporates fiddle, mandolin, and rock-influenced bass and electric guitars. Although the single was promoted on country radio, some critics categorized it into 1980s pop subgenres such as pop rock and power pop.

Early reviews of the song generally praised its radio-friendly production and the emotional engagement of the lyrics, although a few deemed the songwriting formulaic. Some feminist critics took issue with the lyrics as slut-shaming but retrospective opinions have considered "You Belong with Me" one of Swift's signature songs. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, the song was nominated in three categories, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The single reached the top 10 on charts and received certifications in Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand. In the United States, it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the first country song to reach number one on both the Hot Country Songs chart and the all-genre Radio Songs chart. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single seven-times platinum.

Roman White directed the song's music video, which stars Swift as both the antagonist—an unsympathetic, popular brunette cheerleader, and the protagonist—a sympathetic, blonde girl next door who yearns for the antagonist's boyfriend. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, rapper Kanye West interrupted Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video, which caused a controversy the media widely covered. Following a 2019 dispute about the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she rerecorded the song as "You Belong with Me (Taylor's Version)" for her album Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021). As of 2023^[update], "You Belong with Me" has been included on the set lists of five of Swift's six headlining tours.