Bejeweled Cover

[Zee Palmer]

Bejeweled" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). She wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff. It is a synth-laden synth-pop and bubblegum pop track with ringing synth arpeggios and elements of disco and electronica. The lyrics are about self-worth; Swift said the lyrics were also a statement of her return to pop music with Midnights after the 2020 folk-oriented albums Folklore and Evermore. The song was released for limited-time download via Swift's website on October 25, 2022.

On August 28, 2022, Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for All Too Well: The Short Film (2021) at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. In her acceptance speech, she announced her tenth studio album and its impending release date on October 21.[1] Soon after, Swift revealed the album's title Midnights and its cover on her social media, but did not immediately release the track list.[2] On a September 6, 2022, video titled "The making of Midnights" on her Instagram, she revealed Jack Antonoff, a musician who had worked with Swift since 1989 (2014), was a producer on Midnights.[3] About a month before the album's release, Swift announced a thirteen-episode series called Midnights Mayhem with Me on the social media platform TikTok. In each episode of the series, Swift revealed the title of one album track.[4] In the seventh episode on October 5, 2022, Swift announced the title of the ninth track as "Bejeweled".[5]

Swift wrote and produced "Bejeweled" with Antonoff; the latter recorded the track with audio engineers David Hart, Evan Smith, and Laura Sisk at Rough Customer Studio, Brooklyn, and Electric Lady Studios, New York. On the song, Antonoff programmed and played instruments including percussion, kalimba, acoustic guitars, bass, and a variety of synthesizers (Juno 6, DX7, OB1, Moog). Additional synths and keyboards were played by Smith and Mikey Freedom Hart, whose performance was recorded by David Hart at Big Mercy Sound, Brooklyn. Serban Ghenea, assisted by Bryce Bordone, mixed "Bejeweled" at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, and Randy Merrill mastered it at Sterling Sound, Edgewater.[6]

On the international Billboard Global 200 chart, "Bejeweled" debuted at number 8, alongside eight other songs from Midnights in the top-10 region.[20] In the United States, tracks from Midnights occupied the entire top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100; "Bejeweled" debuted at number six on the chart with 35.5 million streams, 16,100 digital downloads sold and 1.6 million in radio audience. Swift became the first artist to simultaneously occupy the top 10 spots of the Hot 100; the female artist with the most top-10 songs (40); and the first act to occupy the entire top 10 of the Hot 100, Streaming Songs, and Digital Songs charts simultaneously. Midnights also became the first album in history to contain ten top-10 songs.[21] The song spent a second consecutive week inside the top 10 of the Hot 100, alongside fellow tracks "Anti-Hero", "Lavender Haze" and "Midnight Rain".[22]

Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone dubbed "Bejeweled" an "absolute knockout" of a song, "presenting herself as the ultimate prize".[23] Sheffield said the song is an "anxious dance-floor poseur of 'Mirrorball' grown up, but it also feels like the wife from 'Tolerate It' finally breaking free", featuring both Swift's confidence and vulnerability.[13] Billboard journalist Jason Lipshutz said "Bejeweled" conveys Swift's years of experience as a songwriter. Lipshutz added that song is "a story of refusing to settle into early-thirties ennui".[10] Helen Brown of The Independent wrote, Swift "warns a guy that she has the capacity to light up rooms (and all the boys in the band) if he doesn't pay more attention".[15] Carl Wilson of Slate appreciated the song's lively synths reminiscent of works by Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder and the lyrics about "living well".[11] Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club described it as an unapologetic, "feel-good melody meant to be played loudly".[12] Elise Ryan from the Associated Press was less enthusiastic and deemed "Bejeweled" a weaker track on Midnights for being "a bit too candy sweet".[24] The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica panned the lyrics as underwhelming and the production as "metallic and tense".[25]

Swift's team reached out to Dita Von Teese for her appearance. They talked about Von Teese's influence on performances. Joseph Cassell, a stylist of Swift, studied Von Teese's collection and subsequently made recreations of Catherine D'lish original costumes for the video. Von Teese filmed her scenes in August 2022, and the giant martini glasses used came from her personal performance collection.[32] Swift and her team collaborated with make-up artist McGrath, who also had a cameo as the Queen character, to design the looks for the video.[33]

Media publications pointed out many Easter eggs possibly referencing songs and memorabilia from her 2010 album, Speak Now.[34][35][36] Swift portrays a Cinderella-like character, named "House Wench Taylor". Taylor endures mockery from her wicked stepmother (Dern), and the evil stepsisters (Haim), one of whose vomit Taylor is forced to clean up.[35] As they leave for the ball, House Wench Taylor opens a fob watch and transforms into a cloaked figure. She sings the second verse in a golden elevator on her way to the ball on the third floor of a skyscraper. The elevator contains an Easter egg wherein the color of each elevator button represents every album Swift has released as of the music video's release, with the thirteenth and last button, which is purple, representing Speak Now.[34][36]

Taylor then passes through an environment filled with falling gemstones before taking her cloak off, revealing a black American burlesque-inspired dance outfit. The gems fall into place on her bodysuit and boots, and a bracelet and necklace attach around her wrist and neck. Exiting the elevator on a higher floor, Taylor meets her "fairy goddess" (Von Teese), both wearing silver burlesque-style outfits.[35] After peeling off their stockings, they perform a dance number in a pair of giant martini glasses.[36]

Finally, Taylor reaches the thirteenth floor and takes the stage at the ball in a clockwork-inspired setting surrounded by showgirls, wearing a black jewelled two-piece outfit and silver heels. Her act stuns the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and impresses "Queen Pat" (McGrath). Queen Pat forces Taylor to entertain the Prince Charming (Antonoff), but Swift turns the Prince's marriage proposal down, with a caption specifying that she ghosts him. The music video ends with the Prince shrugging off and accepting Taylor's rejection while she enjoys the view from her newly-acquired castle as three dragons fly around it. The music video features orchestral versions of two Speak Now songs: "Enchanted" in the beginning and "Long Live" at the end.[34]

The highly decorative and equally stunning rear cover presents a cross, the arms of which broaden at the ends, and on which medallions of the four evangelists were added in the late 16th century. Purchased by the financier in 1901, distinguishing it as the oldest jeweled binding in the Morgan, it is thought to have been made around 875 in the court workshop of Charles the Bald, grandson of Charlemagne, and perhaps at the Royal Abbey of St. Denis, where Charles was secular abbot from 867 to his death in 877.

Bindings specially made for royal patrons are also represented, notably a fine example that was done for Judith, Countess of Flanders. In addition to making donations to several religious establishments, Judith commissioned several Gospel Books, which she took with her into exile in England. One of the two bindings, possibly Germanic work done around 1060, sets cast figures representing Christ in Majesty, flanked by seraphim, and the crucifixion, including a mourning Virgin and John, against a delicate filigree background; a translucent green enamel title, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, is above the cross.

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