Taylor Swift Preps Ed Sheeran Duet “Everything Has Changed” As Next Single

Taylor Swift is taking a break from sailing her lonesome tugboat around the shores of Westerly to drop a new single from her monolith album Red — and reportedly, it’s her duet with Ed Sheeran, “Everything Has Changed.” It’s great because it’s the kind of song that nobody but Swift could get away with releasing as a single, but it’s also not necessarily single material.

That is to say, we’re of two minds about the song: It’s sweet and lovely, and their voices harmonize gorgeously together, and that whispered “I just wanna know you better” refrain is chill-inducing, and the spareness of the track — just those guitars and drums that sound like they’re playing in a tribal council session miles away — feels like a return to form for Swift, who used to make more music like this. But also, the lyrics are a little threadbare — neither of them are at their sharpest or most visually arresting, detail-wise, in this song — and after the sugar-pop supernova blast of a song like “22,” this feels like a letdown sequel, a concession. 

Ah, well. The video will probably be pretty great, right?

“Everything Has Changed” hits radio in the UK on June 24, according to a recent release schedule; no date has been announced for the US yet, but it’ll likely be soon. Listen below:

Taylor Swift — “Everything Has Changed” (feat. Ed Sheeran)

[via ATRL]