Many fans of Olivia Rodrigo are currently criticizing Taylor Swift for her new song, “imgonnagetyouback,” which features lyrics and themes that are similar to Rodrigo‘s 2023 track, “Get Him Back!” Both songs share the lyrical phrase “get him back,” with a dual meaning of either wanting to reunite with or seek revenge against an ex.
Countless devotees of Rodrigo, 21, have taken note of this, and have pointed out the irony of Swift, 34, being credited on Rodrigo’s 2021 hit, “Deja Vu.” Several years back, fans noticed similarities in the chord progression from Swift’s 2019 song, “Cruel Summer.”
X (previously known as Twitter) is now buzzing with Rodrigo’s supporters defending her and calling out Swift’s supposed “hypocrisy,” as they compare the “many similarities” between both tracks. This comes after rumors of a feud between both Grammy winners emerged last summer.
Did Taylor Swift 'Copy' Olivia Rodrigo With Her New Song Off 'Tortured Poets Department?' Here's Why Fans Think So
On April 19th at the stroke of midnight, Swift dropped her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. The synth-pop/ folk-pop record featured 16 tracks.
Then, two hours later, the "Anti-Hero" hitmaker shared 15 additional songs as part of the "surprise double album."
Soon after many fans heard the record's 18th track, "imgonnagetyouback" (and second off the 2 a.m. batch), they were quick to point out how much it resembled Rodrigo's "Get Him Back!," the 8th song off her 2023 sophomore album, Guts.
Taylor Swift’s “imgonnagetyouback” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “get him back” sound frighteningly similar, but Olivia’s is much better and was first.
Not cool at all. pic.twitter.com/Q91w6bSnIa — kathleenlayton (@kathleenlala) April 19, 2024
Fans headed to X to share their thoughts on the matter. "Taylor Swift's "imgonnagetoyouback" and Olivia Rodrigo's "get him back" sound frighteningly similar, but Olivia's is much better and was first. Not cool at all," one tweeted with screenshots of their similar lyrics.
Another added: "taylor swift accepting a royalty from olivia rodrigo for a line in deja vu that sounds a little cruel summer, when she's just released a song called 'imgonnagetoyouback' which has the exact same concept and similar lyrics to olivia's "get him back" is insane hypocrisy."
Rodrigo And Swift's Alleged Feud And Songwriting Credits Drama: A Timeline
Many fans referred back to May 2021, when Rodrigo released her debut record, Sour. Just a day before the release, Billboard reported that Swift and her producer, Jack Antonoff, received writing credits on "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back."
Rodrigo confirmed that she integrated and interpolated Swift's "New Year's Day" from 2017 into her song, and deemed herself to be a fan of Swift.
In July of that year, Variety also reported that Swift was granted another writing credit for the Sour album after its release.
This particular credit was attributed to Swift, Antonoff, and St. Vincent, although it was given for a non-collaborative effort on the part of Swift.
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In other words, the "Bejeweled" artist did not sing or participate in the creation of the song in any way. However, it is unclear as to why Swift received this credit.
It remains uncertain whether she requested it herself, someone on her team did, or if there were legal matters involved.
As noted by Variety at the time: "Reps for Swift and Rodrigo did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment, but what seems likely is that the matter was settled quietly behind the scenes, as is often the situation with potential copyright-infringement cases."
The section of the Rodrigo's song "Déjà Vu" in question was the bridge, as some believed it sounded like the bridge of Swift's chart-topping track "Cruel Summer."
There was a particular focus on the segments featuring a more intense or "yelling" vocal delivery.
As one fan recently tweeted after hearing Swift and Rodrigo's newer similar songs: "so olivia can’t scream in a bridge because that’s taylor’s concept. but taylor can use the whole double meaning of getting them back and it’s a common concept? NEWS FLASH they’re both common and olivia shouldn’t have had to give up 50% royalties on deja vu."
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Another fan took to X to point out that Fiona Apple (who Rodrigo has credited as a musical inspiration in the past) released a song like Rodrigo's "Get Him Back!" and Swift's "imgonnagethimback" way before all this drama ensued in 2005, titled, "Get Him Back."
Even as many on social media pit Rodrigo and Swift against each other or accuse both pop stars of "copying" each other's music from time to time, Rodrigo stressed in September 2023 that she and Swift were not feuding at the time.
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"I don’t have beef with anyone," she dished to Rolling Stone last fall. "I’m very chill. I keep to myself. I have my four friends and my mom, and that’s really the only people I talk to, ever. There’s nothing to say."
Rodrigo expressed a level of vagueness when discussing the credits she distributed following the release of Sour, yet she still clearly conveyed her message. "I was a little caught off guard," she said, adding: "At the time it was very confusing, and I was green and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Is that the phrase?"
@livbedumb #greenscreen ♬ olivia rodrigo used this sound -
The singer continued: "It’s not something that I was super involved in." Regarding the Swift crediting deal, Rodrigo noted: "It was more team-on-team. So, I wouldn’t be the best person to ask."
Upon being questioned, she expressed her reluctance to claim writing credits for a song that bears resemblance to another. Rodrigo went on: "But who’s to say where I’ll be in 20, 30 years. All that I can do is write my songs and focus on what I can control."
That same month, Rodrigo sat down for an interview with The Guardian and denied that her 2023 hit "Vampire" was about Swift, as some fans theorized. She shared that she was "very surprised" that some fans thought this.
"I never want to say who any of my songs are about. I’ve never done that before in my career and probably won’t," Rodrigo explained. "I think it’s better to not pigeonhole a song to being about this one thing."
While neither Rodrigo or Swift have responded to additional feud rumors in the months since, Swift was memorably spotted at the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony cheering Rodrigo on and giving her a standing ovation after her performance of "Vampire."
Maybe they don't have Bad Blood after all?
