Taylor Swift revealed that her hit song "I Knew You Were Trouble" was originally written as a piano ballad before producers Max Martin and Shellback transformed it into the high-energy track fans know today.
In an interview with The Recording Academy’s The Icon Sessions with Taylor Swift, the singer-songwriter recalled bringing the song to the producers and being surprised by the direction they suggested.
"I wrote this really sad piano balad called 'I Knew You Were Trouble.' I was really excited to bring it in and I played them this really, really sad ballad and I was like, 'I think just no drums,' and they were like, 'What if it is dubstep?'" she recalled.
Asked how she initially reacted to the idea, Taylor admitted she was uncertain but willing to experiment. "I was like, 'I don't know guys, let's give it a run. I dont know.'"
She said Max and Shellback also floated the idea of incorporating electric guitar while moving away from the piano-driven arrangement she had originally envisioned.
"[They said], 'What if it is electric guitar or dubstep. We are not putting a piano in this.' But it ended up being the best thing for it," she highlighted.
Reflecting on the experience, Taylor said being open to unexpected ideas has become an important part of her approach to collaboration.
"I think that as a collaborator, my favorite people in the room are the 'Yes, and' people. So why not try it? If they heard it and they thought dubstep and I came to them specifically because I didn't want to be making lateral moves creatively, why wouldn't we go down that path? Like why wouldn't we? I really think that enthusiasm in the studio, it can really make or break what you end up creating," she said.
"I Knew You Were Trouble" was released as the second single from Taylor's Red album in November 2012. The track peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent seven weeks atop the Pop Songs chart in the US.