Taylor Swift "Eyes Open"

[neverduplicated]

Well, as you said, the lyrics of the song do fit perfectly with the movie, but I think even more generally, the song can be interpreted as... when you're a child, everything's a little fairytale - everything's pretend. But once you get out into the world as an adult, you have to realize that you have to fight for what you want. It won't just magically happen to you. And there will be others who want the same thing as you, and you'll have to compete with them for that. Keeping your eyes open, or seeing the light, has been a metaphorical tool in literature and music for millennia. So the idea is that you have to keep alert to keep up with the world. Nowhere in the song does she say you'll have to kill people to make it through, even though we know that's what's in the movie. Therefore, I think the song can easily be generalized away from the movie without seeming so paranoid.

[Taylor.]

24 TAYLOR SWIFT Eyes Open 2433 1352 14.037

+152 spins
-70 spins
+0.973 AI

[fridayteenage]

People clearly need to transfer from streaming Safe & Sound to this. The former is #18 in streaming, vs. # nothing.

With the whole Bieber thing this week, I realized 2 possible implications for the future:
1) It'll be that much harder for Taylor to get a #1 debut. It is possible that if she gets a YBWM level radio + digital smash it'll be more possible for her to get #1 down the line.
2) Her crazy number of high debuts will probably increase more slowly since her digital singles with one week of big sales will have about nil airplay and nil streams. Her achievements like total top 10 debuts, most charting songs from an album, etc. will be harder to be matched/beaten. I mean, she still will have debuts inordinately higher than others, but they'll have notably lower peaks.

[Taylor.]

26 24 TAYLOR SWIFT Eyes Open 2689 1205 15.994

+137 spins
-41 bullet
+0.998 AI

[BadRomance]

This is the first song from her that I like since... Back to December.

[Felicia]

^ 'Back To December' is her best lyrical work.

[Mark]

Up to #22 today, but JLo is coming up fast.

I really hope this keeps gaining, but I'm not sure what will happen to this when her duet with B.O.B. is released. If it's the smash that it's sounding like, it'll probably kill this song. I'm not sure if Taylor could have a solo song and a feature at the same time. I'd love to be proven wrong, though.

[twentytwo]

I'm pretty sure this song will be dead by the time the song with B.O.B hits radio. It's not the second single anymore, so this song should be okay. Like I said, I'll be happy if it hits top 15. I don't think anybody would have expected that.

[fridayteenage]

I expect it to continue doing well on AC/Hot AC at least. Bob hasn't cracked Hot AC T20 and I'm not sure if he's charted at all on AC.

[ListenToItTwice]

Well "Both of Us" has leaked and it's nothing special.

[Ace]

I'm obsessed with this song...like, on repeat.

[Taylor.]

21 TAYLOR SWIFT Eyes Open 3406 973 19.312

+96 spins
-56 bullet
+0.444 AI

First sub +100 update in a long time.

[B4L]

I'm still heartbroken that this looks like it's going to be a big hit and 'Safe & Sound' went nowhere.

[hitseeker.]

Heard this for the first time today and I really enjoyed it. A cute song

[twentytwo]

Apr 15, 2012 18:13:59 GMT -5 B4L said:

I'm still heartbroken that this looks like it's going to be a big hit and 'Safe & Sound' went nowhere.

I love Taylor like she's my mother but S&S sucks big time. No hook, no melody. It serves a purpose, and that's to be the soundtrack to a big epic, eerie~ yet teen-influenced movie, but that's about it. I get the praise, I really do, especially compared to her previous tracks. Perhaps people were really waiting for that transition, but as a radio single, it never stood a chance. This is a little more mainstream, and definitely more pop sounding than S&S which you'd easily be able to find in any $5 vintage record bin with indie, singer/songwriter type of stuff. It just wasn't marketable.

THAT said, I'm surprised at how great this is doing. While "friendlier" than S&S, it's not particularly a "smash" either, or at least it doesn't sound like one, so I'm pleasantly surprised. I'm proud either way, because I doubt they meant for ANY of these tracks to become successful on radio, the fact that this is on its way to do so is just an added bonus.

[Stefan85]

Apr 15, 2012 18:13:59 GMT -5 B4L said:

I'm still heartbroken that this looks like it's going to be a big hit and 'Safe & Sound' went nowhere.

Well at least it'll most likely be a nominee for Record and Song of the Year.

[twentytwo]

Apr 16, 2012 2:25:49 GMT -5 Stefan85 said:

Apr 15, 2012 18:13:59 GMT -5 B4L said:

I'm still heartbroken that this looks like it's going to be a big hit and 'Safe & Sound' went nowhere.

Well at least it'll most likely be a nominee for Record and Song of the Year.

lmao what?

[Au$tin]

Apr 16, 2012 19:04:46 GMT -5 twentytwo said:

Apr 16, 2012 2:25:49 GMT -5 Stefan85 said:

Well at least it'll most likely be a nominee for Record and Song of the Year.

lmao what?

Why "LMAO"? It actually is one of the big contenders right now. It's critical praise is outstanding. Most critics praise the soundtrack and say "Safe & Sound" is one of the highlights.

[B4L]

'Safe & Sound' definitely does not "suck" it's a beautiful song and the melody is gorgeous. It's like a lullaby, like what real music was years and years ago. It actually sounds like actual music. Just because it isn't "catchy" or suitable for radio doesn't mean that it sucks.

You obviously have the right to think that it sucks and you don't like it but to say it doesn't have a melody is not true because it probably has more of a melody than half of the rapping/half-singing that is on radio.

[aaront]

Didn't get a very good update today

[Living Legend]

I really thought this would be a Top 10 for her on Pop . Maybe they should've released this a month before the movie came out.

Apr 22, 2012 11:48:16 GMT -5 Living Legend said:

I really thought this would be a Top 10 for her on Pop . Maybe they should've released this a month before the movie came out.

It was riding the coattails of the "fanboy/fangirl" phenomenon.

Much as the opening week returns of most blockbusters are going to be heavily front-loaded due to the hype and advertising, it also rubbed over into the initial launching of this single into mainstream consciousness.

Now that the hype is starting to dissipate, the next challenge is harnessing the appeal of this single on its own merit, as opposed to leaning on the "This is that song from that film!" crutch. And it often isn't easy.

The good news is that this is still enjoying robust gains at Adult Top 40 radio, and is maintaining ground digitally. The bad news is it is possible Mainstream Top 40 has already been moving past Taylor Swift's music in its current mold as reflected by disappointing returns with "The Story of Us" and "Sparks Fly", and should this indeed fail to accelerate again, will be an extension of that trend.

Namaste,
lisping HIBISCUS

[Joe1240]

It looks like this is gonna go top 20.

[aaront]

Todays update:

20 +1 TAYLOR SWIFT Eyes Open 3925 [phone] 22.305 +0.080 13

+1 position
+20 spins
-120 bullet
+0.080 in audience

Maroon 5 will jump it either tomorrow or Wed.

[aaront]

I think its peaked.

Will its peak be 20 or 21?

[Devin]

Apr 27, 2012 15:43:49 GMT -5 aaront said:

I think its peaked.

Will its peak be 20 or 21?

#20

[Gravity.]

I kind of expected this to crash after a month or so. This song, while great, is built almost entirely upon Hunger Games hype. I figured that once the movie buzz died down, the song would begin to suffer.

Still, this does show that Taylor can reach the top twenty on pop when the right songs are released. I just wish "Safe and Sound" could have been a big hit on some format. That song is in my top five Taylor songs yet.

[Au$tin]

I find it strange, though, that it is suffering so badly on radio when its digital sales are still quite high.

[Max Ryder]

Safe And Sound needs to get some Grammy love. Maybe Oscar too!

[Joe1240]

The song moved up two spots on the Billboard Hot 100 this week.Sad to this song's run end so fast on Pop radio althrough.