Everyone knows the key to a pop hit is keeping it short and sweet — unless you’re Taylor Swift. Today, the long-awaited, recently released 10-minute version of fan-favorite Swift track “All Too Well” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, setting the record for the longest song ever to do so.
The original recording of “All Too Well,” from Swift’s 2012 album Red, ran for five and a half minutes, but that version was cut down from what she originally wrote. The release of Red (Taylor’s Version) saw the full track come to light in all its post-breakup, maybe-Jake-Gyllenhaal-is-a-creep glory, and with the addition of such revelatory lyrics as “I’ll get older but your lovers stay my age,” we can see why the track is shifting units. “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” replaces Don McLean’s eight-minute 1972 song “American Pie” as the lengthiest No. 1 hit of all time.
The success of “All Too Well” was no doubt aided by a run of high-profile media appearances surrounding its release. After promoting the 10-minute version on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Swift performed the song on Saturday Night Live.
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She also directed a short film to coincide with the extended cut, which stars 19-year-old Sadie Sink and 30-year-old Dylan O’Brien in some meticulous, pointed casting of the couple. The songwriter even recorded a new spin on the 10-minute song, entitled “All Too Well (Sad Girl Autumn Version).”
The lengthiest No. 1 song isn’t the only title Swift claimed this week. With Red (Taylor’s Version) debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart, Swift became her just the second woman with 10 or more No. 1s in chart’s 65-year history. Barbra Streisand has the most No. 1s among women with 11. Additionally, Red (Taylor’s Version) broke the Spotify record for the most-streamed album by a female artist in one day, topping folklore — another Swift release.
