I Knew You Were Trouble

"I Knew You Were Trouble" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, from her fourth studio album Red (2012). She wrote the song along with the track's producers, Max Martin and Shellback. A dance-pop, pop rock, and teen pop song with a dubstep refrain, "I Knew You Were Trouble" features electric guitars and synthesizers, with lyrics that talk about self-blame after a toxic relationship. The dubstep production divided music critics, who noted it as a radical move from Swift's previous country pop songs. Big Machine Records, in partnership with Republic Records, released "I Knew You Were Trouble" in the US as the album's second pop-radio single on November 27, 2012. The song peaked within the top five on record charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. In the US, the single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified seven times platinum. Its seven-week run at number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart inspired Swift to transition from country for mainstream pop on her next studio album, 1989 (2014). The song's music video, directed by Anthony Mandler, premiered on MTV on December 13, 2012. The video depicts Swift going through a tumultuous relationship with an unfaithful man, and it won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video and the Phenomenon Award at the YouTube Music Awards in 2013. To promote the song, Swift performed on televised events including the American Music Awards, the ARIA Music Awards, and the Brit Awards. She included "I Knew You Were Trouble" on the set lists of three of her world tours, the Red Tour (2013–2014), the 1989 World Tour (2015), and the Eras Tour (2023). Background and production Swift released her third studio album, Speak Now, in October 2010. She wrote the album by herself and co-produced it with Nathan Chapman. Speak Now was similar to Swift's previous album, Fearless (2008), in its country pop production style. On her fourth studio album, Red (2012), Swift wanted to experiment with other musical styles. To this end, she approached different producers beyond Nashville, Tennessee. She went to Los Angeles to meet with Swedish producer Max Martin, citing his songs for "how [they] can just land a chorus" as an inspiration.