You Belong with Me

"You Belong with Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released to US radio on April 20, 2009, as the third single from her second studio album, Fearless (2008). Inspired by a phone call between a member of her touring band and his girlfriend that she overheard, Swift wrote the song with Liz Rose to depict a narrator's unrequited love for a boy unappreciated by his girlfriend. Swift and Nathan Chapman produced "You Belong with Me", which features a banjo-led production and incorporates fiddle, mandolin, and rock-influenced bass and electric guitars. Although the single was promoted to country radio by Big Machine Records, critics deemed it a pop song that stylistically aligns with 1980s subgenres such as pop rock and power pop. When "You Belong with Me" was first released, critics praised the song's radio-friendly production and emotional engagement that appealed to a broad audience, although some deemed Swift's songwriting formulaic. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, "You Belong with Me" was nominated in three categories, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The single reached the top ten on charts and received sales 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 Hot Country Songs and the all-genre Radio Songs chart. The single was certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Roman White directed the song's music video, which stars Swift as both the antagonist—an unsympathetic, popular cheerleader, and the protagonist—a sympathetic girl-next-door who yearns for the antagonist's boyfriend; some critics took issue with the video's narrative as antifeminist. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where "You Belong with Me" won Best Female Video, rapper Kanye West interrupted Swift's acceptance speech, which caused a controversy widely covered by the media.