| "Ours" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Taylor Swift | ||||
| from the album Speak Now | ||||
| Released | November 21, 2011 | |||
| Format | CD single, digital download | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | Big Machine | |||
| Writer(s) | Taylor Swift | |||
| Producer | Nathan Chapman, Taylor Swift | |||
| Taylor Swift singles chronology | ||||
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"Ours" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was solely written by Swift, who also was aided by Nathan Chapman in producing the song as a bonus track from her third studio album, Speak Now (2010). It is the sixth single of the album and is the fifth single from Speak Now to be sent to country radio.
"Ours" was performed at the 2011 Country Music Association Awards and immediately appeared on the US iTunes Top 100 and debuted at number five on the Hot Digital Songs chart and number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also charted at number ninety-one on the Australian Recording Industry Association charts.
A music video for the song premiered on E! News and E! Online on December 2, 2011.
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"Ours" was released as an exclusive bonus song on the Target exclusive deluxe edition, as well as the international deluxe edition, of Swift's album, Speak Now.[1] It was released as a promotional single from Speak Now by Big Machine Records on November 8, 2011.[2] The song was released on Swift's first live album, Speak Now: World Tour Live.[3] A CD single was released exclusively to US Wal-Mart stores alongside the live album.[4] The song is the sixth single from the album, Speak Now, and was originally intended to be released on November 28, 2011[5] but was released to country radio on December 5, 2011.[6][7] It is the fifth single from Speak Now to be sent to country radio.[8]
"Ours" is a ballad[9] song of three minutes and fifty-seven seconds.[2] The song is written solely by Swift, who also produced the song along with Nathan Chapman.[10] The song has been described as a "love letter".[11][12] Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush describes the song as "a pretty, slower tempo song that showcases Swift’s strengths, which are her inviting, open journal lyrics and that sweet voice."[9] Karen Goodner of All Access describes the song as being "in love and knowing that they can make it through the rough times."[13]
The song opened to critical acclaim from music critics. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song a 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that "Lyrically, 'Ours' is similar to 'Our Song' in that it’s cheesy and delicious." He added that the lyrics were "sharply written" and that the "production was welcomed respite from the shine and polish Swift has coated previous hit songs with."[12] Liv Carter of Urban Country News gave the song a thumbs up and noted that the songwriting is "superb" where Swift sets the scene beautifully with an expert use of language.[11] Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush praised the song and stated that Swift "saved the best for last."[9] Karen Goodner of All Access called the song "one of my favorites."[13] On the contrary, Erin Thompson of Seattle Weekly stated that "If This Was a Movie", a promotional single off Speak Now is better than "Ours", citing that "I've given it a few listens and it just keeps sounding like a mess of mixed metaphors to me."[14]
The song appeared on the US iTunes Top 100 and debuted at number five on the Hot Digital Songs chart and number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100.[15][16]
Internationally the song appeared at number seventy-one on the Canadian Hot 100,[17] and at number 181 on the UK Singles Chart.[18] The song also charted at number ninety-one on the Australian Recording Industry Association charts.[19]
According to Swift, on November 3, 2011[20] she had finished the second day of shooting for the music video of "Ours".[21] The music video premiered on E! News and E! Online on December 2, 2011 at 7:00pm ET. Swift, herself, came up with the concept for the video. The video is directed by Declan Whitebloom.[8] In an interview with E! News, Swift describes her idea, "I had a very definitive idea of what I wanted this video to be." Whitebloom, who also directed Swift's "Mean" video[22] expresses, "When Taylor says, 'I've got an idea,' you listen to what she's gonna say. And so I did, and it was a great idea—and I loved it!"[23] To promote the video Swift is releasing thirteen behind the scene "webisodes" daily on her official website.[24] [25]
The video begins with, Swift, dressed as a career woman, passes through the lobby to the elevator and greets the people she meets. As the elevator's door closes, Swift begins to sing, looking indolent and slothful, seeing people surrounding her in the elevator. As the elevator reaches the thirteenth floor, people surrounding her start to exit and nudge her. Swift then walks in the office and sluggishly sits at her office desk while a man disturbs her. Swift then wanders in the office to use the office's printer (which is first out of paper, out of toner, and then disappears altogether); waits for a man who is noisily drinking water at a water cooler in the staff room; and eats while there are two women who laugh and talk about her behind her back. Later at her office desk, Swift takes a sticky note written by her and her boyfriend (Zach Gilford) stating that they loved each other first. Swift turns on the computer, watching and smiling at various videos of her and her boyfriend. She takes a look at her watch and leaves the office in a better mood than when she arrived. Swift waits for a bus outside. On the bus, Swift watches more videos on a Sony Tablet S of moments with her boyfriend. The bus stops at the airport. Swift gets off and looks around. Her boyfriend then emerges from the sliding doors of the airport, revealing to us that he was overseas serving in the military. Swift breaks into a smile, drops everything that she is carrying, and runs into her boyfriend's arms. They embrace each other as the video ends.[26]
Idolator described the video as being "the perfect video to end the week with" and "double-dares [viewers] to not get a case of the “aww“s in the video’s heartwarming conclusion."[27]
Swift performed the song at the 2011 Country Music Association Awards on November 9, 2011.[28][29] Amanda Hensel of Taste of Country stated that Swift's performance of the song felt "more personal and less like an arena show."[28] During the performance Swift "donned a simple pink sweater and plopped down on a couch."[30] The Target exclusive of the live album, Speak Now: World Tour Live, contains the bonus performance of "Ours" on the Speak Now World Tour.[31]
| Chart (2010–12) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[19] | 91 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17][32][33] | 71 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[18] | 181 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[34] | 13 |
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[35] | 22 |
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | November 8, 2011[2] | Digital download | Big Machine Records |
| November 21, 2011[4] | CD single | ||
| December 2, 2011[8] | Music video | ||
| December 5, 2011[6] | Country radio |
Ours official music video at YouTube
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