Mine (song)
Encyclopedia
"Mine" is a country pop
song performed by American
singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift
. The song was written by Swift alone and produced by Swift along with Nathan Chapman
. It was released as the lead single
from Swift's third studio album, Speak Now
by Big Machine Records
. Following an unauthorized Internet leak
, the song was released on August 4, 2010, two weeks earlier than the intended release date. Swift was inspired to write "Mine" after reflecting on one of her unnamed crushes and explained that the song is about her tendency to run from love
. The song contains elements of pop music and its lyrics speak of the ups and downs of a young love.
Critical reception for "Mine" was mostly positive. Swift was praised for her ability to show a mature perspective on love, although some critics called the song "formulaic" for resonating her earlier works, notably "Love Story
". The song was commercially successful, as well; it became a top ten hit in Australia, Canada and Japan. The single was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA). In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100
at number three, making Swift the second female artist in the history of the Hot 100 to debut multiple tracks in the top five during a calendar year after Mariah Carey
did so in 1995.
The song's accompanying music video was directed by Roman White
. The video chronicles the romantic relationship between Swift and her love interest played by British actor Toby Hemingway
which ends with a marriage. The music video was met with great appraise from contemporary critics who deemed it as "rather sweet," and "heartwarming." The song was performed live at numerous venues to promote Speak Now. The music video was coveted the Video of the Year Award in the CMT Music Awards 2011.
, Swift revealed that "Mine" was inspired by an unnamed crush
in mind, saying "I was reflecting back on a boy I liked at a certain time." She also told MTV
that the song is about what it would be like if she actually let her guard down. During a live Ustream chat with fans on July 20, 2010, Swift explained that the song is about "her tendency to run from love" after seeing many relationships end in goodbye and breakups. She continued, "I think I've developed this pattern of sort of running away when it comes time to fall in love and to stay in a relationship. The song is sort of about finding the exception to that and finding someone who would make you believe in love and realize that it could work out."
"Mine" was one of the fourteen tracks in Speak Now that was written solely by Swift. She also co-produced the song with Nathan Chapman, who co-produced all of Swift's studio albums. It was originally planned to be released on August 16, 2010. However, after the leak of an unauthorized low-quality mp3
file of the song, Big Machine Records decided to ship the song to country radio and iTunes
twelve days earlier than planned on August 4, 2010. Swift commented that "a leak is so out of my comfort zone, but it ended up good in the end. It made me so emotional that I started crying." Within five hours of the official release, the song went to number one the iTunes digital download chart.
described "Mine" as "an uptempo song that's unmistakably Taylor" with "a big chorus and [is] very singable." Blake Boldt of The 9513 explained that the song "is a mishmash of ideas bolted together by a terrific power-pop chorus that will stick in your brain after the second or third listen." The song is set in the time signature of common time
, and has a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. It is written in the key of G major
and Swift's vocals span two octave
s, from G3 to D5. It follows the chord progression
of C2–G5–D5–C2–D5. Bill Lamb from About.com
felt that "Mine" sounded "like a complete retread of previous hits like "Love Story
". His point was echoed by Alan Macpherson of The Guardian
, noting that the song "reprises the joyous rush of Swift's breakthrough hit, "Love Story", but depicts love as an adult process rather than a teenage dream."
Dave Heaton of PopMatters
described the song as a "song of rebirth" with a "fairly complex" narrative
. He summarized the content of the lyrics, writing "[i]t starts in the past, at the start of a relationship, and then lets us know it’s a flashback. They’re sitting on the couch reminiscing. It then jumps back to the beginning and steps us through the couple’s years together, but all the while shifting perspective, jumping between their separate memories." James Dinh of MTV noted that the song "features an uplifting country/pop melody and a big chorus" and it talks about "the wonders of being in a happy relationship after surviving a rocky past." Priya Elan of The Guardian believed that "Mine" depicts "a stop-start relationship between a normal guy and girl". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
interpreted the song's message to be about "young love blossoming — in this specific case, young college love."
praised Swift's lyrical craftsmanship, calling the song's couplets "You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter" as a "brilliant throwaway detail." Bobby Peacock of Roughstock gave the song three-and-a-half stars out of five, lauding its catchy yet melodious hook. However, he pointed out that the song reflects her earlier works in the first two albums and he wished that Swift would "try something a little more out of the ordinary." Nick Levine of Digital Spy
gave the song four stars out of five, commenting that although the song was "formulaic," the formula was executed convincingly. Chrissie Dickinson of the Chicago Tribune
noted that "Mine" is an epitome of Swift's classic song-craft, calling it "simple but honest expressions of emotion." Anthony Benigno of the Daily News said that although the track is reminiscent of Swift's previous hits, he added, "the song's origins are grounded more in failed relationships than storybook ones."
Blake Boldt of The 9513 gave the song a thumbs-down, criticizing Swift's failure to deliver an expected "big payoff" through the song. He contended that this failure proves that "Swift's songwriting skills are still raw, still needing that one last polish in order to shine." Bill Lamb of About.com lauded Swift's lyrical craftsmanship for successfully portraying "the unfolding of a halting romance". However, he was not impressed with the music due to the lack of intricacy and intimacy in the sound, which is "rather pat and familiar."
. On the week ending August 21, 2010, the song debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs
due to 297,000 digital downloads, which led to its appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 at number three. This consequently made Swift the second female artist in the history of the Hot 100 to have multiple tracks debut in the top five during a calendar year (the first being Mariah Carey
). With 297,000 downloads, "Mine" became the eighth-biggest debut sales week ever for a digital song, and the fourth-best of 2010. The song also debuted at number twenty-six on the Hot Country Songs
on the week ending August 21, 2010, where it peaked at number two, having been blocked by Darius Rucker
's "Come Back Song
" at number one on the week ending November 13, 2010. "Mine" also reached number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary, number seven on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs and number twelve on the Billboard Pop Songs. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), for shipments exceeding one million copies. At the end of 2010, "Mine" was ranked at number forty-six on the Hot 100 song of the year. So far, 2,000,000 copies of "Mine" have been sold in the USA.
In Canada, "Mine" debuted number seven on the Canadian Hot 100
with 15,000 digital downloads sold in the week of August 2, 2010. On November 29, 2011, the song was certified double platinum by the RIAA
.
"Mine" achieved moderate success in Australia and New Zealand. On the week ending August 22, 2010, the song entered the Australian Singles Chart and peaked at number nine. It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) for shipments exceeding 35,000 copies. On the week ending August 9, 2010, it debuted at number thirty on the New Zealand Singles Chart, and peaked at number sixteen the following week after its release.
The song debuted and peaked at number thirty on the week ending October 30, 2010, on the UK Singles Chart
. In Ireland, it peaked at number thirty-eight and spent a total of two weeks on the chart. In mainland Europe, "Mine" peaked at number seventy on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
Chart, number forty-eight on Belgian Singles Chart
(Flanders) and number forty-eight on Sweden.
, who had directed Swift's previous music videos such as "You Belong With Me
" and "Fifteen
." White explained that the video features "a lot of time travel, which would explain how those two crazy kids end up with kids of their own in the end." He further added that "the song has a lot of dark elements, but it also has a lot of happy elements" and he praised Swift for her involvement with the production of the music video. Swift chose her friend Jaclyn Jarrett, the daughter of professional wrestler Jeff Jarrett
, to play the younger version of herself in the video. Kyra Angle, the daughter of professional wrestler Kurt Angle
, also made an appearance in the music video. The music video was shot in Kennebunkport, Maine
, where several scenes took place in Ram Island Farm, Cape Elizabeth
, and Christ Church on Dane Street. Christ Church served as the venue for the wedding scene. The video features Swift getting married to a groom, played by British actor Toby Hemingway
, who was cast by Swift after watching "Feast of Love
." She was impressed with Hemingway and thought "it would be perfect to put him in the video." The video premiered on August 27, 2010, on CMT
, in a live half-hour special event which included a behind-the-scenes look of the video. Swift returned to Kennebunkport, Maine to share the premiere with local residents, which attracted approximately 800 people, including former President George H. W. Bush
, who brought his grandchildren to see Swift.
) comes by, just to take Swift's order, who looks up and she infatuates him, resulting in a romantic relationship between the two. After a few dates, he proposes to her, who then cheerfully accepts it. A few nights later, the two are seen arguing, resulting in Swift running away from the house, just like she did when she was younger as she saw her parents arguing. The boyfriend follows her, and the two reconcile the relationship. They get married and have two sons. Throughout the video, there are some scenes of Swift singing the verses of the song while walking barefoot on a green pasture amongst photos of her and her family. The photos are hanging on a white string in between two large trees. Swift is seen with her hair loose and wearing a white dress with a red ribbon around the waist.
lamented the video for its typical fairytale element even though the plot ended with a blissful marriage. She concluded her review by writing, "Swift happens to include dirty diapers and recreating scenes from The Notebook
." Tamar Anitai of MTV
described the video as "a coming-of-age story" where Swift is depicted to endure "many adult life cycle events and major milestones." In a different perspective, James Montgomery of MTV compared the music video with Katy Perry
's "Teenage Dream
," writing that although both videos are "essentially about the same thing: the fantasies of young, thoroughly modern women," the fantasies are "about as different as the women presenting them." The Improper
reviewer also compared the music video with Perry's "Teenage Dream" and noticed that the two music videos presented two contrasting end points, writing "for Swift, it’s a marriage, a home and babies. For Perry, it's independence and the ability to define your own life."
: Country’s Night to Rock on ABC
on September 1, 2010. She also performed "Mine" and "You Belong With Me
" at the 2010 NFL Opening Kickoff
event. On October 5, 2010, Swift performed the song live on the Italian X Factor
. On October 9, 2010, she performed an acoustic version of "Mine" during Grand Ole Opry
's 85th birthday celebration. She later performed the song as well as an acoustic cover of Coldplay
's "Viva la Vida" in the BBC Radio 2
studio on October 21, 2010.
Swift sang "Mine" on several other occasions. On October 24, 2010, Swift appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show
, where she performed the song. On October 25, 2010, Swift sang "Mine" with two other songs from Speak Now on Speak Now: Taylor Swift Live From New York City, a special programme which was streamed live on CMT.com, MTV.com, VH1.com and other MTV Networks websites in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America to celebrate the release of her new album. She performed the song on Today show concert on October 26, 2010. She was scheduled to give a live performance at JetBlue's T5 Terminal at New York
John F. Kennedy International Airport
where she sang "Mine" and several songs from Speak Now.
On October 27, 2010, she visited Scholastic Corporation headquarters to talk about the importance of reading and writing and perform the song to a 200 grade-schoolers and middle-schoolers at the publisher's downstairs auditorium. She later performed the song on Live With Regis and Kelly
. On November 2, 2010, Swift made an appearance on Dancing With the Stars
where she performed "Mine" and "White Horse
" for the show's 200th episode. Swift was invited to perform in BBC Radio 1
's first Teen Awards in London, where she sang "Mine," "Love Story
" and "Speak Now
." On November 19, 2010, she performed the song on the Japanese program Music Station
. "Mine" is the second song on the set for the Speak Now World Tour
.
Country pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
song performed by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
. The song was written by Swift alone and produced by Swift along with Nathan Chapman
Nathan Chapman (record producer)
Nathan Chapman is an American record producer who works in the field of country music. He is known primarily for working with Taylor Swift, having produced her albums Taylor Swift, Fearless and Speak Now. The former was also the first album that he produced...
. It was released as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from Swift's third studio album, Speak Now
Speak Now
Speak Now is the third studio album by American singer–songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 25, 2010 by Big Machine Records. Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2010 at several recording studios, and was handled by Swift and country music producer Nathan Chapman...
by Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records is an Independent American record label specializing in country music artists. It was launched in 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta. The label was part of a joint venture between Borchetta and country singer Toby Keith, although Keith dropped his...
. Following an unauthorized Internet leak
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
, the song was released on August 4, 2010, two weeks earlier than the intended release date. Swift was inspired to write "Mine" after reflecting on one of her unnamed crushes and explained that the song is about her tendency to run from love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
. The song contains elements of pop music and its lyrics speak of the ups and downs of a young love.
Critical reception for "Mine" was mostly positive. Swift was praised for her ability to show a mature perspective on love, although some critics called the song "formulaic" for resonating her earlier works, notably "Love Story
Love Story (Taylor Swift song)
"Love Story" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman, alongside Swift. It was released on September 12, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the lead single from Swift's second studio album Fearless...
". The song was commercially successful, as well; it became a top ten hit in Australia, Canada and Japan. The single was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA). In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number three, making Swift the second female artist in the history of the Hot 100 to debut multiple tracks in the top five during a calendar year after Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
did so in 1995.
The song's accompanying music video was directed by Roman White
Roman White
Roman White is a music video director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and more...
. The video chronicles the romantic relationship between Swift and her love interest played by British actor Toby Hemingway
Toby Hemingway
Toby Michael C. A. Hemingway is a British actor. He is best known for playing Reid Garwin in the 2006 supernatural thriller The Covenant. Hemingway also made appearances in CSI: Miami, Bones and Summerland...
which ends with a marriage. The music video was met with great appraise from contemporary critics who deemed it as "rather sweet," and "heartwarming." The song was performed live at numerous venues to promote Speak Now. The music video was coveted the Video of the Year Award in the CMT Music Awards 2011.
Background and release
In an interview with Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Swift revealed that "Mine" was inspired by an unnamed crush
Puppy love
Puppy love is an informal term for feelings of love or infatuation felt by young people during childhood and adolescence, so-called for its resemblance to the adoring, worshipful affection that may be felt by a puppy. 'Simple infatuation is often called a "crush" or "puppy love"...
in mind, saying "I was reflecting back on a boy I liked at a certain time." She also told MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
that the song is about what it would be like if she actually let her guard down. During a live Ustream chat with fans on July 20, 2010, Swift explained that the song is about "her tendency to run from love" after seeing many relationships end in goodbye and breakups. She continued, "I think I've developed this pattern of sort of running away when it comes time to fall in love and to stay in a relationship. The song is sort of about finding the exception to that and finding someone who would make you believe in love and realize that it could work out."
"Mine" was one of the fourteen tracks in Speak Now that was written solely by Swift. She also co-produced the song with Nathan Chapman, who co-produced all of Swift's studio albums. It was originally planned to be released on August 16, 2010. However, after the leak of an unauthorized low-quality mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
file of the song, Big Machine Records decided to ship the song to country radio and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
twelve days earlier than planned on August 4, 2010. Swift commented that "a leak is so out of my comfort zone, but it ended up good in the end. It made me so emotional that I started crying." Within five hours of the official release, the song went to number one the iTunes digital download chart.
Composition
"Mine" is a country-pop song with a length of three minutes and fifty-one seconds. KILT-FMKILT-FM
KILT-FM is a Houston, Texas-based radio station with a country music format. It is owned by CBS Radio. Its transmitter is located in Missouri City, Texas. The station's callsign is a tribute to the station's former owner, Gordon McClendon, who was known as the "Old Scotchman". It is a sister...
described "Mine" as "an uptempo song that's unmistakably Taylor" with "a big chorus and [is] very singable." Blake Boldt of The 9513 explained that the song "is a mishmash of ideas bolted together by a terrific power-pop chorus that will stick in your brain after the second or third listen." The song is set in the time signature of common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
, and has a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. It is written in the key of G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
and Swift's vocals span two octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s, from G3 to D5. It follows the chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
of C2–G5–D5–C2–D5. Bill Lamb from About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
felt that "Mine" sounded "like a complete retread of previous hits like "Love Story
Love Story (Taylor Swift song)
"Love Story" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman, alongside Swift. It was released on September 12, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the lead single from Swift's second studio album Fearless...
". His point was echoed by Alan Macpherson of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, noting that the song "reprises the joyous rush of Swift's breakthrough hit, "Love Story", but depicts love as an adult process rather than a teenage dream."
Dave Heaton of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
described the song as a "song of rebirth" with a "fairly complex" narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
. He summarized the content of the lyrics, writing "[i]t starts in the past, at the start of a relationship, and then lets us know it’s a flashback. They’re sitting on the couch reminiscing. It then jumps back to the beginning and steps us through the couple’s years together, but all the while shifting perspective, jumping between their separate memories." James Dinh of MTV noted that the song "features an uplifting country/pop melody and a big chorus" and it talks about "the wonders of being in a happy relationship after surviving a rocky past." Priya Elan of The Guardian believed that "Mine" depicts "a stop-start relationship between a normal guy and girl". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
interpreted the song's message to be about "young love blossoming — in this specific case, young college love."
Critical reception
The song received mixed to positive reviews by music critics. Rob Sheffield of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
praised Swift's lyrical craftsmanship, calling the song's couplets "You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter" as a "brilliant throwaway detail." Bobby Peacock of Roughstock gave the song three-and-a-half stars out of five, lauding its catchy yet melodious hook. However, he pointed out that the song reflects her earlier works in the first two albums and he wished that Swift would "try something a little more out of the ordinary." Nick Levine of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
gave the song four stars out of five, commenting that although the song was "formulaic," the formula was executed convincingly. Chrissie Dickinson of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
noted that "Mine" is an epitome of Swift's classic song-craft, calling it "simple but honest expressions of emotion." Anthony Benigno of the Daily News said that although the track is reminiscent of Swift's previous hits, he added, "the song's origins are grounded more in failed relationships than storybook ones."
Blake Boldt of The 9513 gave the song a thumbs-down, criticizing Swift's failure to deliver an expected "big payoff" through the song. He contended that this failure proves that "Swift's songwriting skills are still raw, still needing that one last polish in order to shine." Bill Lamb of About.com lauded Swift's lyrical craftsmanship for successfully portraying "the unfolding of a halting romance". However, he was not impressed with the music due to the lack of intricacy and intimacy in the sound, which is "rather pat and familiar."
Chart performance
Two days after its official release, it was estimated that "Mine" would sell approximately 350,000 digital downloads with a possible debut in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. On the week ending August 21, 2010, the song debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
due to 297,000 digital downloads, which led to its appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 at number three. This consequently made Swift the second female artist in the history of the Hot 100 to have multiple tracks debut in the top five during a calendar year (the first being Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
). With 297,000 downloads, "Mine" became the eighth-biggest debut sales week ever for a digital song, and the fourth-best of 2010. The song also debuted at number twenty-six on the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
on the week ending August 21, 2010, where it peaked at number two, having been blocked by Darius Rucker
Darius Rucker
Darius Rucker is an American musician. He first gained fame as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld and Dean Felber...
's "Come Back Song
Come Back Song
"Come Back Song" is the title of a song recorded by American singer Darius Rucker. The song, co-written by Rucker and Nashville songwriter Chris Stapelton, was released to country radio in early July 2010 as the lead single from Rucker's second album of country music, Charleston, SC...
" at number one on the week ending November 13, 2010. "Mine" also reached number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary, number seven on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs and number twelve on the Billboard Pop Songs. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), for shipments exceeding one million copies. At the end of 2010, "Mine" was ranked at number forty-six on the Hot 100 song of the year. So far, 2,000,000 copies of "Mine" have been sold in the USA.
In Canada, "Mine" debuted number seven on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
with 15,000 digital downloads sold in the week of August 2, 2010. On November 29, 2011, the song was certified double platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
"Mine" achieved moderate success in Australia and New Zealand. On the week ending August 22, 2010, the song entered the Australian Singles Chart and peaked at number nine. It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) for shipments exceeding 35,000 copies. On the week ending August 9, 2010, it debuted at number thirty on the New Zealand Singles Chart, and peaked at number sixteen the following week after its release.
The song debuted and peaked at number thirty on the week ending October 30, 2010, on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. In Ireland, it peaked at number thirty-eight and spent a total of two weeks on the chart. In mainland Europe, "Mine" peaked at number seventy on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,...
Chart, number forty-eight on Belgian Singles Chart
Ultratop 50
Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...
(Flanders) and number forty-eight on Sweden.
Development and release
The accompanying music video for "Mine" was co-directed by Swift and Roman WhiteRoman White
Roman White is a music video director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and more...
, who had directed Swift's previous music videos such as "You Belong With Me
You Belong with Me
"You Belong with Me" is a country pop song performed by American recording artist Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Big Machine Records as the third single from Swift's second studio...
" and "Fifteen
Fifteen (song)
"Fifteen" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Swift self-penned the song and co-produced it along with Nathan Chapman. "Fifteen" was released on September 1, 2009 by Big Machine Records, as the fourth single from Swift's second studio album, Fearless...
." White explained that the video features "a lot of time travel, which would explain how those two crazy kids end up with kids of their own in the end." He further added that "the song has a lot of dark elements, but it also has a lot of happy elements" and he praised Swift for her involvement with the production of the music video. Swift chose her friend Jaclyn Jarrett, the daughter of professional wrestler Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
, to play the younger version of herself in the video. Kyra Angle, the daughter of professional wrestler Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
, also made an appearance in the music video. The music video was shot in Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,720 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area....
, where several scenes took place in Ram Island Farm, Cape Elizabeth
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Cape Elizabeth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The town is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area...
, and Christ Church on Dane Street. Christ Church served as the venue for the wedding scene. The video features Swift getting married to a groom, played by British actor Toby Hemingway
Toby Hemingway
Toby Michael C. A. Hemingway is a British actor. He is best known for playing Reid Garwin in the 2006 supernatural thriller The Covenant. Hemingway also made appearances in CSI: Miami, Bones and Summerland...
, who was cast by Swift after watching "Feast of Love
Feast of Love
Feast of Love is a 2007 American drama film directed by Robert Benton, starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke and Selma Blair...
." She was impressed with Hemingway and thought "it would be perfect to put him in the video." The video premiered on August 27, 2010, on CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
, in a live half-hour special event which included a behind-the-scenes look of the video. Swift returned to Kennebunkport, Maine to share the premiere with local residents, which attracted approximately 800 people, including former President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, who brought his grandchildren to see Swift.
Synopsis
The video begins with Swift entering the coffee shop. As she sits down, she notices that couple, opposite where she is sitting, is arguing, reminding Swift about her parents arguing when she was very young. Then the waiter (Toby HemingwayToby Hemingway
Toby Michael C. A. Hemingway is a British actor. He is best known for playing Reid Garwin in the 2006 supernatural thriller The Covenant. Hemingway also made appearances in CSI: Miami, Bones and Summerland...
) comes by, just to take Swift's order, who looks up and she infatuates him, resulting in a romantic relationship between the two. After a few dates, he proposes to her, who then cheerfully accepts it. A few nights later, the two are seen arguing, resulting in Swift running away from the house, just like she did when she was younger as she saw her parents arguing. The boyfriend follows her, and the two reconcile the relationship. They get married and have two sons. Throughout the video, there are some scenes of Swift singing the verses of the song while walking barefoot on a green pasture amongst photos of her and her family. The photos are hanging on a white string in between two large trees. Swift is seen with her hair loose and wearing a white dress with a red ribbon around the waist.
Reception
The video was met with great praise from critics. Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly felt the video was "rather sweet" and "heartwarming" in a sense that the song "seems to have a happy ending." Leah Collins of the Dose.caDose (magazine)
Dose is a daily Canadian news website and former daily print magazine.Dose was a mixture of standalone features and coverage of daily news, sometimes from an irreverent perspective...
lamented the video for its typical fairytale element even though the plot ended with a blissful marriage. She concluded her review by writing, "Swift happens to include dirty diapers and recreating scenes from The Notebook
The Notebook (film)
The Notebook is a 2004 romance film directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who fall in love during the early 1940s...
." Tamar Anitai of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
described the video as "a coming-of-age story" where Swift is depicted to endure "many adult life cycle events and major milestones." In a different perspective, James Montgomery of MTV compared the music video with Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
's "Teenage Dream
Teenage Dream (Katy Perry song)
"Teenage Dream" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. It was released as the second single from her third studio album of the same name on July 23, 2010 through digital distribution. Perry and Bonnie McKee wrote many songs with a youthful theme in mind, but they were rejected by...
," writing that although both videos are "essentially about the same thing: the fantasies of young, thoroughly modern women," the fantasies are "about as different as the women presenting them." The Improper
The Improper Bostonian
The Improper Bostonian is a glossy lifestyle guide for the city of Boston. The magazine comes out bi-weekly and reports on the area trends in a young and entertaining way.The magazine is a staple of the city, being free to people inside the city, and $14.95 a year for people who live outside Boston...
reviewer also compared the music video with Perry's "Teenage Dream" and noticed that the two music videos presented two contrasting end points, writing "for Swift, it’s a marriage, a home and babies. For Perry, it's independence and the ability to define your own life."
Live performances
On June 11, 2010, Swift performed the song for the first time at a small, intimate concert that aired as a part of CMA Music FestivalCMA Music Festival
The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered around country music hosted each June by the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee...
: Country’s Night to Rock on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on September 1, 2010. She also performed "Mine" and "You Belong With Me
You Belong with Me
"You Belong with Me" is a country pop song performed by American recording artist Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Big Machine Records as the third single from Swift's second studio...
" at the 2010 NFL Opening Kickoff
National Football League Kickoff game
The NFL Kickoff game, and related festivities, mark the start of the National Football League season. The first game of the season is currently scheduled for the Thursday following Labor Day. A single game is held, preceded by a concert and other ceremonies. Since the 2004 season, the defending...
event. On October 5, 2010, Swift performed the song live on the Italian X Factor
X Factor (Italy)
X Factor is a successful TV show airing on prime time in Italy. The singing competition is the Italian version of The X Factor franchise...
. On October 9, 2010, she performed an acoustic version of "Mine" during Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
's 85th birthday celebration. She later performed the song as well as an acoustic cover of Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
's "Viva la Vida" in the BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
studio on October 21, 2010.
Swift sang "Mine" on several other occasions. On October 24, 2010, Swift appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
, where she performed the song. On October 25, 2010, Swift sang "Mine" with two other songs from Speak Now on Speak Now: Taylor Swift Live From New York City, a special programme which was streamed live on CMT.com, MTV.com, VH1.com and other MTV Networks websites in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America to celebrate the release of her new album. She performed the song on Today show concert on October 26, 2010. She was scheduled to give a live performance at JetBlue's T5 Terminal at New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
where she sang "Mine" and several songs from Speak Now.
On October 27, 2010, she visited Scholastic Corporation headquarters to talk about the importance of reading and writing and perform the song to a 200 grade-schoolers and middle-schoolers at the publisher's downstairs auditorium. She later performed the song on Live With Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
. On November 2, 2010, Swift made an appearance on Dancing With the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
where she performed "Mine" and "White Horse
White Horse (song)
"White Horse" is a country music song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman, with Swift's aid. The song was released on December 8, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the second single from Swift's second studio...
" for the show's 200th episode. Swift was invited to perform in BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's first Teen Awards in London, where she sang "Mine," "Love Story
Love Story (Taylor Swift song)
"Love Story" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman, alongside Swift. It was released on September 12, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the lead single from Swift's second studio album Fearless...
" and "Speak Now
Speak Now (song)
"Speak Now" is a country pop track with a length of four minutes and two seconds. It has a predominant pop music composition, intertwined with various country elements. The song is set in common time and has a fast tempo of 120 beats per minute. It is written in the key of G major and Swift's...
." On November 19, 2010, she performed the song on the Japanese program Music Station
Music Station
is a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on tv asahi...
. "Mine" is the second song on the set for the Speak Now World Tour
Speak Now World Tour
Speak Now World Tour is the second concert tour by American country singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift, in support of her third studio album, Speak Now. The tour visited Asia, Europe, North America and Australasia...
.
Track listing
- Digital download
- "Mine" – 3:49
- UK digital download
- "Mine" – 3:49
- "Mine" (Music Video) – 3:55
- Pop Mix digital download
- "Mine" (Pop Mix Version) – 3:50
- German CD single
- "Mine" – 3:49
- "Mine" (US version) – 3:51
Weekly charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 86 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart | 69 |
| Japanese Top 100 RIAJ Digital Track Chart The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads .... |
39 |
| Canadian Hot 100 | 51 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 46 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
Gold |
| Canada Music Canada Music Canada was a Canadian music television miniseries which aired approximately monthly on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.-Premise:This series featured various special productions of music and dance, from classical to modern styles.-Scheduling:... |
Platinum |
| New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
Gold |
| United States | 2× Platinum |