Actually Romantic

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"Actually Romantic"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album The Life of a Showgirl
ReleasedOctober 3, 2025 (2025-10-03)
Genre
Length2:43
LabelRepublic
Songwriters
Producers
  • Taylor Swift
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback
Lyric video
"Actually Romantic" on YouTube

"Actually Romantic" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (2025). She wrote and produced it with Max Martin and Shellback. The track combines alternative rock, indie rock, pop-punk, and guitar pop; its arrangement is characterized by a grunge electric guitar. In the lyrics, Swift's narrator expresses her amazement and enjoyment of another female's attention on her.

Upon its release, various critics and listeners speculated that the track was written as a diss track targeting the British singer Charli XCX and her song "Sympathy Is a Knife" (2024), which was allegedly about Swift. Music critics generally criticized the song's narrative as unmerited and the sound ineffective, although a few complimented it as a standout from the album for its production choices.

Background

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Upon the release of Charli XCX's sixth studio album Brat (2024), fans speculated that "Sympathy Is a Knife" was directed at Swift and Matty Healy of the 1975.[1][2] Charli XCX and Swift had previously collaborated, with Charli XCX joining the 1989 World Tour in 2015 and serving as an opening act for the 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour.[2] The song's lyrics referencing Charli XCX's then-boyfriend and now-husband George Daniel, also of the 1975, including "Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show", were widely interpreted as alluding to Swift allegedly having a brief relationship with Healy.[3]

Prior to the release of "Sympathy Is a Knife", there had been some tension between Charli XCX and Swift. In a 2019 Pitchfork interview, Charli XCX remarked that touring with Swift "kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to five-year-olds", which drew criticism from Swift's fans.[4] Charli XCX later denied that any tracks on Brat were intended as diss songs[5] and stated that "Sympathy Is a Knife" was not about Swift.[3] The week after Brat was released, Swift put out a digital reissue of her album The Tortured Poets Department (2024) exclusively in the United Kingdom, which some observers suggested was a strategic move to prevent Brat from reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart.[5] During a DJ set Charli XCX was playing at in São Paulo during June 2024, the audience chanted "A Taylor morreu!" (Portuguese for 'Taylor is dead!').[6] She later criticized the people who chanted the phrase on her Instagram story, by asking her fans to stop, and saying that she "will not tolerate it".[7]

Furthermore, in an August 2024 interview with Vulture, Charli XCX expressed that "people are gonna think what they want to think" and stated that "Sympathy Is a Knife" is about her anxiety, insecurities, and wanting to avoid situations that make her feel self-doubt. In the same interview, Swift lauded Charli XCX's musical sensibilities, called her writing "surreal and inventive, always", and that she enjoys seeing the results of Charli XCX's hard work. She further praised Charli XCX's ability to "[take] a song to places you wouldn't expect it to go" and the fact that "she's been doing it consistently for over a decade".[8]

Composition

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"Actually Romantic" is an alternative rock,[9] guitar pop,[10] indie rock,[11] and pop-punk song,[12] characterized by a grunge electric guitar.[13] It follows the I–vi–III–IV chord progression.[14] Some critics wrote that the track was melodically reminiscent of the Pixies's song "Where Is My Mind?" (1988).[11][13][15] Consequence's Paolo Ragusa wrote that the song has an alternative rock feel and '90s power pop influences similar to the music by Weezer and Olivia Rodrigo.[16]

Lyrically, "Actually Romantic" addresses an individual whose adversarial fixation on Swift is portrayed as a perverse declaration of love.[17] Multiple critics interpreted the song as a diss track targeting Charli XCX,[16][18][19] as the title is speculated to allude her 2024 song "Everything Is Romantic".[16] The lyric mentioning a song whose author feels "sick [seeing Swift's face]" is viewed as a direct reference to "Sympathy Is a Knife".[20] The line "High-fived my ex and then you said you're glad he ghosted me" is believed to reference Healy.[13]

Critical reception

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Taylor Swift in 2023 during a performance
Charli XCX in 2024 during a performance
Critics interpreted "Actually Romantic" as a diss track from Swift (left) targeting Charli XCX (right).[21]

Music critics generally criticized the track's narrative as misguided and its production as derivative. Walden Green from Pitchfork regarded the track as "mean" and one of the worst songs on The Life of a Showgirl, criticizing its production and considering it a "Kidz Bop version" of "Where Is My Mind?".[11] Jaeden Pinder from the same publication wrote that "Actually Romantic" was reminiscent of Swift's earliest revenge songs, in which she was "too caught up in anger to see straight", and that it stood in contrast to her approach of revising lyrics on Speak Now (Taylor's Version) to avoid anti-feminist interpretations.[18] Slate's Sam Adams criticized it as "petty and small-minded" and a form of "punching down".[13] Chris Richards of The Washington Post thought that the narrative was expressed in a careless manner,[21] and Vulture's Craig Jenkins similarly deemed the song ineffective and a "quirky clapback".[22] Laura Snapes of The Guardian thought that "Actually Romantic" lacked emotional depth, criticizing its lyricism and "queen-bee spite".[15] News.com.au's Joshua Haigh considered the track "at best misguided and at worst, straight-up embarrassing", considering the lyricism insensitive.[23]

Some critics also thought that Swift's criticism of Charli XCX was unmerited. Snapes wrote that Charli XCX's reference towards Swift on "Sympathy Is a Knife" had come from a place of her own "perceived inferiority and her awe at Swift", adding that "it's not about active disdain for Swift, but the gut-punch of poor self-comparison."[15] Similarly, Haigh opined: "The thing is, Charli's track was never meant to be an insult... It pains me that Taylor, someone who's written such thought-provoking and nuanced songs like 'Peace' from Folklore and the surprisingly earnest lead single 'Anti-Hero' from Midnights, opted to go straight for the jugular rather than taking a moment to understand the pain behind Charli's insecurity and jealousy."[23]

A few critics were more complimentary. Wesley Morris of The New York Times enjoyed the "cascading verses", "which are as close as [Swift] may get to pre-brawl earring removal".[9] Also from The New York Times, Lindsay Zoladz wrote that the song "works" because Swift delivers the theme of interpersonal conflict with "the most inspired vocal performance on the album", which turns it into an erotic song and "borders on the exotic".[9] In The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick selected "Actually Romantic" as one of the album's "interesting outliers" for its evocative content,[24] while Poppie Platt considered it a standout because of its "echoes of vengeful bangers like 'Bad Blood' and 'Blank Space'".[25] DIY's Ben Tipple contended that the track contains "arguably the best melody" of the album.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Kile, Meredith B. (June 7, 2024). "Why Fans Think Taylor Swift Is Referenced in Charli XCX's 'Sympathy Is a Knife' Song". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Curto, Justin (June 7, 2024). "Sounds Like Charli XCX Wasn't Rooting for Taylor and Matty". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (October 3, 2025). "On 'The Life of a Showgirl,' Taylor Swift Has a Lust for Love (And Her Foes)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 3, 2025. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  4. ^ Colosimo, Valentina (October 3, 2025). "Did Taylor Swift Diss Charli XCX on The Life of a Showgirl?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Jibril, Halima (June 14, 2024). "Why Do People Think Taylor Swift Is Sabotaging Charli XCX?". Dazed. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Pilley, Max (June 24, 2024). "Charli XCX Criticises Fans for Shouting 'Taylor Swift Is Dead' at Her Gig". NME. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  7. ^ Carson, Lexi (June 23, 2024). "Charli XCX Calls Out Fans Chanting 'Taylor Swift Is Dead' At Her Shows: 'Please Stop'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 23, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  8. ^ Colyar, Brooke (August 26, 2024). "Charli XCX Will Turn Brat Summer Into Brat Fall". Vulture. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "With The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift Keeps Getting Bigger. Can the Music Keep Up?". The New York Times. October 6, 2025. Archived from the original on October 6, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  10. ^ Breihan, Tom (October 3, 2025). "Premature Evaluation: Taylor Swift The Life of a Showgirl". Stereogum. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Green, Walden (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift: 'Actually Romantic'". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  12. ^ McCormick, Neil (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's New Album Is as Sickly Sweet as a Barbara Cartland Fever Dream". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d Adams, Sam (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Is on Top of the World. Why Is She Still Punching Down?". Slate. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  14. ^ Graves, Wren (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Is All Dressed Up with Nowhere to Go: Review". Consequence. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c Snapes, Laura (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's Charli Xcx Hit Job Misses the Point – and Underscores Her Tedious Obsession with Conflict". The Guardian. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  16. ^ a b c Ragusa, Paolo (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Appears to Diss Charli XCX on New Song 'Actually Romantic'". Consequence. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  17. ^ McCluskey, Megan (October 3, 2025). "Is Taylor Swift's 'Actually Romantic' About Charli XCX?". Time. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  18. ^ a b Pinder, Jaeden (October 3, 2025). "5 Takeaways From Taylor Swift's New Album The Life of a Showgirl". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  19. ^ Pilley, Max (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Explains Lyrics to Rumoured Charli XCX Diss Track 'Actually Romantic'". NME. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  20. ^ Murray, Robin (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Explains 'Actually Romantic' - Is It A Charli Xcx Diss Track...?". Clash. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  21. ^ a b Richards, Chris (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Returns with an Album of Mixed Emotions — and Mixed Results". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  22. ^ Jenkins, Craig (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Chooses Chaos". Vulture. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Haigh, Joshua (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Lives up to Her Own Lyrics, Revealing Herself as 'The Problem' as She Takes Aim at Charli XCX in Misguided Clapback". News.com.au. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  24. ^ McCormick, Neil (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift's New Album Is as Sickly Sweet as a Barbara Cartland Fever Dream". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  25. ^ Platt, Poppie (October 3, 2025). "How does The Life of a Showgirl compare to Taylor Swift's other albums?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  26. ^ Tipple, Ben (October 6, 2025). "Taylor Swift - The Life Of A Showgirl". DIY. Retrieved October 6, 2025.