Actually Romantic

"Actually Romantic" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (2025). She wrote and produced it with Max Martin and Shellback.^[1] Upon its release, critics speculated that the track was written as a diss track targeting the British singer Charli XCX and her song "Sympathy Is a Knife" (2024), which was allegedly about Swift. Music critics generally criticized the song's narrative and production as uncompelling and ineffective.

"Actually Romantic"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album The Life of a Showgirl
Released	October 3, 2025 (2025-10-03)
Genre	Indie rock pop-punk jangle pop
Length	2:43
Label	Republic
Songwriters	Taylor Swift Max Martin Shellback
Producers	Taylor Swift Max Martin Shellback
Official visualizer
"Actually Romantic" on YouTube

Background

Upon the release of Charli XCX's sixth studio album Brat, fans speculated that "Sympathy Is a Knife" was directed at Swift and her former partner Matty Healy of the 1975.^[2][3] Charli XCX and Swift had previously collaborated, with Charli XCX joining the 1989 World Tour in 2015 and serving as an opening act for the 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour.^[3] The song's lyrics referencing Charli XCX's then-boyfriend and now-husband George Daniel, also of the 1975, including "Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show", were widely interpreted as alluding to Swift's brief relationship with Healy.^[4]

Prior to the release of "Sympathy Is a Knife", there had been some tension between Charli XCX and Swift. In a 2019 Pitchfork interview, Charli XCX remarked that touring with Swift "kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to five-year-olds", which drew criticism from Swift's fans.^[5] Charli XCX later denied that any tracks on Brat were intended as diss songs^[6] and stated that "Sympathy Is a Knife" was not about Swift.^[4] The week after Brat was released, Swift put out a digital reissue of her album The Tortured Poets Department (2024) exclusively in the United Kingdom, which some observers suggested was a strategic move to prevent Brat from reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart.^[6] During a DJ set Charli XCX was playing at in São Paulo during June 2024, the audience chanted "A Taylor morreu!" (Portuguese for 'Taylor is dead!').^[7] She later criticised the people who chanted the phrase on her Instagram story, by asking her fans to stop, and saying that she "will not tolerate it".^[8]

Furthermore, in an August 2024 interview with Vulture, Charli XCX expressed that "people are gonna think what they want to think" and stated that "Sympathy Is a Knife" is about her anxiety, insecurities, and wanting to avoid situations that make her feel self-doubt. In the same interview, Swift lauded Charli XCX's musical sensibilities, called her writing "surreal and inventive, always", and that she enjoys seeing the results of Charli XCX's hard work. She further praised Charli XCX's ability to "[take] a song to places you wouldn't expect it to go" and the fact that "she's been doing it consistently for over a decade".^[9]

Composition

"Actually Romantic" is a guitar pop,^[10] indie rock,^[11] and pop-punk song^[12] that has been described as having an alternative rock feel and '90s power pop influences similar to Weezer and Olivia Rodrigo,^[13] characterized by a grunge electric guitar.^[1] It follows the I–vi–III–IV chord progression.^[14] Some critics wrote that the track was melodically reminiscent of the Pixies' song "Where Is My Mind?" (1988).^[11][1][15] Lyrically, it addresses an individual whose adversarial fixation on Swift is portrayed as a perverse declaration of love.^[16] Multiple critics interpreted the song as a diss track targeting Charli XCX,^[13][17][18] as the title is speculated to reference her 2024 song "Everything Is Romantic".^[13] The lyric mentioning a song whose author feels "sick [seeing Swift's face]" is viewed as a direct reference to "Sympathy Is a Knife".^[19] The line "High-fived my ex and then you said you're glad he ghosted me" is believed to reference Healy and Daniel.^[1]

Critical reception

Critics interpreted "Actually Romantic" as a diss track from Swift (left) targeting Charli XCX (right).^[20]

Music critics generally criticized the narrative and production of "Actually Romantic". Walden Green from Pitchfork regarded the track as "mean" and one of the worst songs on The Life of a Showgirl, criticizing its production and considering it to be a "Kidz Bop version" of "Where Is My Mind?".^[11] Jaeden Pinder from the same publication wrote that "Actually Romantic" was reminiscent of Swift's earliest revenge songs, in which Taylor was "too caught up in anger to see straight", and that it stood in contrast to Swift's approach of revising lyrics on Speak Now (Taylor's Version) to avoid anti-feminist interpretations.^[17] Slate's Sam Adams criticized it for being "petty and small-minded" and a form of "punching down".^[1] Chris Richards of The Washington Post thought that the narrative was expressed in a careless manner,^[20] and Vulture's Craig Jenkins similarly deemed the song ineffective and a "quirky clapback".^[21] Laura Snapes of The Guardian thought that "Actually Romantic" lacked emotional depth, criticizing its lyricism and "queen-bee spite".^[15] News.com.au's Joshua Haigh considered the track "at best misguided and at worst, straight-up embarrassing", considering the lyricism insensitive.^[22]

Many critics also expressed the view that Swift’s criticism of Charli XCX was unmerited. Snapes wrote that Charli's original reference towards Swift on "Sympathy Is a Knife" had come from a place of her own "perceived inferiority and her awe at Swift". Snapes added: "It's not about active disdain for Swift, but the gut-punch of poor self-comparison."^[15] Similarly, Haigh opined: "The thing is, Charli's track was never meant to be an insult… It pains me that Taylor, someone who's written such thought-provoking and nuanced songs like 'Peace' from Folklore and the surprisingly earnest lead single 'Anti-Hero' from Midnights, opted to go straight for the jugular rather than taking a moment to understand the pain behind Charli's insecurity and jealousy."^[22]