"Mr. Perfectly Fine"[a] is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her first re-recorded album, Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021). It is one of the album's "From the Vault" tracks that was intended for but excluded from her second studio album, Fearless (2008). The song was released for limited-time download via Swift's website on April 7, 2021. She wrote "Mr. Perfectly Fine" in 2008, a track that incorporates wordplay and sees the narrator's heartbreak and fallout with a lover she presumed was the ideal figure for her.
Produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, "Mr. Perfectly Fine" has an upbeat and midtempo production and acoustic instrumental. Critics described its genre as pop rock and country pop. They gave the song generally positive reviews, deeming it a classic from Swift and an example of her growth as a musician. It has been highly ranked among her "From the Vault" tracks. Commercially, "Mr. Perfectly Fine" peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 19 on the Billboard Global 200. It reached the top 50 in several countries and received certifications in Australia, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Swift performed the song during a Pittsburgh concert of her Eras Tour (2023–2024).
After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Taylor Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[2][3] The decision followed a public dispute in 2019 between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of her albums which the label had released.[3][4] By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters.[5]
On February 11, 2021, Swift announced the first of her re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor's Version), a re-recording of her second studio album Fearless (2008).[6] In addition to re-recordings of the original album's tracks, Fearless (Taylor's Version) contained six previously unreleased "From the Vault" tracks, which are songs written for the original album that did not make the cut.[6][7] Swift explained that these songs were left out of Fearless for various reasons and that including them on the re-recorded album proved that "the artist is the only one who really knows that body of work".[8] One such song was "Mr. Perfectly Fine", which Swift wrote in 2008, but she ultimately excluded it from the final track-list.[9]
On April 4, 2021, "Mr. Perfectly Fine" was confirmed to be one of the "From the Vault" tracks after Swift teased it in a clip containing the title in scrambled anagram the day before.[10] The song was released for download via Swift's website on April 7.[11][12] It was the third song issued preceding the release of Fearless (Taylor's Version), following "Love Story (Taylor's Version)" and "You All Over Me".[13] The song is listed as track number 22 on the album, which came out on April 9, 2021.[12] In the following weeks, "Mr. Perfectly Fine" was featured on the Fearless (Taylor's Version)-themed streaming compilations The Halfway Out the Door Chapter[14] and The From the Vault Chapter.[15] On June 16, 2023, Swift performed the song at a Pittsburgh show as part of her Eras Tour (2023–2024).[16]
An acoustic pop rock and country pop song, "Mr. Perfectly Fine" features wordplay that differentiates the narrator's turbulent emotions from her ex-lover's indifference.
"Mr. Perfectly Fine" has an upbeat and midtempo production with an acoustic instrumental.[17][18]NME,[19]Spin,[20] and The Telegraph categorized the song as a pop rock tune,[21] while American Songwriter[13] and The New Yorker wrote that it featured a "pop-country" production.[22] Other publications believed that the song was pop.[b] Several critics commented that it combined or evoked styles of country, pop, and rock. In Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer wrote that the track mixed country and pop with elements of rock.[27]The Line of Best Fit's Horton Ross said that it featured a little bit of both country and rock and roll.[28] Lipshutz stated that the song had similarities with Fearless and Speak Now (2010), highlighting the country pop-styled drums.[23] For The Independent, Alexandra Pollard thought it evoked "late-Noughties country-pop".[29] Jordan Moreau from Variety said the song recalled the country pop aesthetic of Fearless.[30]
In the lyrics, a narrator experiences heartbreak after a fallout with a lover she thought was the ideal figure for her. The song uses wordplay with the ex-lover addressed as "mister" while the narrator is labeled as "miss". The first verse recounts the ex-lover's seemingly perfect personality: "Mr. perfect face. Mr. here to stay. Mr. look me in the eye and told me you would never go away".[27][30][31] The wordplay is also utilized to describe the contrasting emotions between the two characters. In the chorus, the narrator recalls the tumultuous feelings the former lover gave her ("I've been Miss Misery since your goodbye") and displays him as indifferent to the situation ("And you're Mr. 'Perfectly fine").[27][30][32] Later in the song, she discovers that he has a new lover and tries to ignore it, but she ultimately says that he will miss her and be too late when he realizes.[18] Many critics noted the line "casually cruel" to be the second time Swift used it, after the song "All Too Well" (2012).[c]
Many critics considered "Mr. Perfectly Fine" a classic track from Swift and attributed it to the songwriting and production.[d] A few thought that the song revived the scornful side of Swift.[e] Zoe Haylock of Vulture wrote that it was "a 2008 time capsule".[41] Curto said that the song is one of the more "cheekier takes" of Swift's breakup tracks and believed that the "lyrical formula that could be cheesy in someone else's hands" created its well-made catchiness.[26] Lipshutz wrote that the track "pay homage to some of Swift's grandest breakup songs".[23] In less enthusiastic reviews, The Telegraph's journalist Neil McCormick felt that it was a bit "too aggressive for [Swift's] teenage image",[21] and Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine thought the song's use of the "casually cruel" line was inferior compared to how it was utilized on "All Too Well".[42]
Some critics deemed "Mr. Perfectly Fine" reminiscent of the original Fearless but with Swift's growth as a musician. Harbon stated that it was "a perfect collaboration between her old and new self" that blends her early songwriting with the more complex compositions from her indie works.[24] Crone thought the song "reflects [Swift's] roots" with an evolved musicianship.[13]Kitty EmpireofThe Guardian believed that it had the "brighter, more direct songcraft" of Fearless that complements the "watercolor production" of her album Folklore (2020).[39] Also from The Guardian, Alexis Petridis thought the song took "new resonances" and highlighted the "relish" in Swift's voice expressed a satisfaction that mitigates her anger.[43]
Other reviewers only focused on the track's content. Hannah Mylrea of NME deemed it a "bop" laden with "swooning melodies and typically Swiftian lyrics".[19] Bobby Olivier from Spin wrote that the song is "deviously addictive" and believed that the music evoked "the best of Kelly Clarkson and Shania Twain" and the subject matter refreshing.[20] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times considered the song to have sharp-witted lyrics.[44]Variety's Chris Willman thought it contained a "sheer zipiness" in its theme of "teen heartbreak".[31] Dani Blum of Pitchfork called the song a "delightful, strumming takedown"[45] and Jess Cohen from E! News opined that the lyrics "don't disappoint".[33] In a mid-year list of the 50 best songs of 2021 by a Billboard staff, where "Mr. Perfectly Fine" was featured, they commended the sharp lyrics and catchy production and viewed the song as "vintage Taylor Swift that still feels fresh in 2021."[46]
Critics have included "Mr. Perfectly Fine" in their lists of Swift's "From the Vault" tracks. It was ranked among her ten best vault tracks by Lipshutz,[47] Jack Viswanath of Bustle,[48]Nylon,[49]Time,[36] and Josh Kurp of Uproxx.[50] Viswanath lauded the song as one of the "most clever, witty, and catchy songs Swift has ever written".[48]Time wrote that it was "Swift at her best, enraged, snarky, and not for a moment taking herself too seriously".[36] Kurp along with Rolling Stone'sRob Sheffield believed that the song proved that they were not excluded from the original's track-list because they were not good enough.[50][51]
With 14.2 million streams, "Mr. Perfectly Fine" reached atop the US Billboard Country Streaming Songs and marked Swift's fifth number-one entry.[53][54] The song rose to its peak of number two on Hot Country Songs from its opening week at number 30 and became her 26th top-10 chart entry. The song along with 18 tracks from Fearless (Taylor's Version) extended her record of the most entries in one week, surpassing her own 12 with the album Red (2012).[55][54] On the overall Billboard Hot 100, "Mr. Perfectly Fine" climbed and peaked at number 30, when it began at number 90. The song became Swift's 80th top-40 entry on the chart and extended her record for the most top-40 entries among women.[56][54] It peaked at number 11 on the Rolling Stone Top 100 when it garnered 12.7 million streams and sold 106,800 units.[57]
