'SNL': Taylor Swift Breaks With Tradition to Perform Blistering 10-Minute Version of 'All Too Well'

By Alyssa Fikse

Taylor Swift has dominated the cultural conversation this week with the release of her album Red (Taylor's Version), in particular the 10-minute version of her fan-favorite song "All Too Well." The song documents her feelings around her break-up with actor Jake Gyllenhaal following their brief relationship in 2012 and has become a heartbreak anthem for the ages. Swift served as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on Nov. 14 alongside host Jonathan Majors, and she switched up the usual SNL two-song format.

Because of the length of this new version of "All Too Well," it was the only song that Swift performed during her episode outside of a hilarious turn in the "Three Sad Virgins" skit. Swift took the stage in a simple black outfit and signature red lipstick and performed the song with her band. The short film starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien that Swift wrote and directed to accompany the new version played behind her while she sang.

While some non-fans complained about the performance's length, Swifties everywhere, were, of course thrilled. "The vocals, the lyrics, the storytelling, the passion, the direct looks into the camera, the performance…. I'm in awe, Taylor is just incredible," one fan wrote. A second wrote, "It's weird how the universe works. Feels like such a full circle moment," with another person commenting, "She's singing and telling stories, that look, expression,and the emotions in every word when she sang, goes right to my heart."

In an interview on Late Night on Thursday, Swift was asked about the people that she wrote her songs about. "I wonder if there are people who might think that they were the one you were singing about, if it's easier or far, far worse for them 10 years later," Meyers asked. "I haven't thought about their experience, to be honest," Swift admitted. "That's the biggest burn," Meyers laughingly replied. "I think there's nothing they'd rather hear less."

Red (Taylor's Version) might be a rerelease of an older album (plus new bonus tracks from the vault), but that doesn't mean that her fans are any less enthusiastic than they would be for a completely new album. The album is already breaking records, with Spotify announcing that Swift broke two records in just a day. The first was for the most-streamed album in a day by a female in Spotify history, with Red (Taylor's Version) getting over 90.8 million streams on its release day. The previous record-holder was Swift's folklore, which was released in 2020 and got 78.7 streams in a single day. The second record she smashed was the most-streamed female in a single day in Spotify history, earning 122.9 million streams on Friday.

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