As reported, Taylor Swift released a new version of her Midnights album last Friday, with new tracks and a remix of “Karma” featuring Ice Spice. I wouldn’t say it’s the most exciting Taylor Swift collaboration and I wouldn’t say that this feature is a creative stretch for Ice or even a showcase of her abilities. But maybe it was never supposed to be about that anyway. 

 

Taylor told Spotify that it was Ice who reached out first. Ice’s producer revealed that this happened months ago. 

That would have been well before the Matty Healy controversy from the Adam Friedland podcast. There are some who think that Taylor – and by extension Matty – are using Ice to save Matty’s reputation. Given Taylor’s popularity and power, that’s definitely a possibility. But as I wrote last week, Ice has agency in this too. 

 

Pitchfork points out that Ice told the New York Times that: 

“I do want to be a mainstream artist. I want diamond records and plaques and Grammys. So I think in order to get that, you do have to surpass just one subgenre.”

Making the move and connecting with Taylor plays into Ice’s career ambition and with the remix of “Karma”, she’s now being introduced to a muuuuuuch wider audience. Ice joined Taylor on tour in New Jersey this weekend. So Ice Spice seems to be getting something out of this mutual exploitation society too. 

 

According to Pitchfork, the “Karma” remix just might become Ice’s first #1 hit. 

 

In other Taylor news, there was also “You’re Losing Me”, another bonus track released with the new version of the Midnights album, and many believe that this is her first Joe Alwyn breakup song. This is a track about a relationship dying over time. It’s also, as many of her fans have noted, a companion song to “exile”, her song with Bon Iver from the folklore album which she co-wrote with Joe. 

 

On “exile”, he’s saying that she never gave him any signs that she was unhappy, while she retorts that there were so many signs but he couldn’t see them. On “You’re Losing Me”, she’s now on her own, and she’s telling him that: 

“Every mornin', I glared at you with storms in my eyes
How can you say that you love someone you can't tell is dyin'?
I sent you signals and bit my nails down to the quick
My face was gray, but you wouldn't admit that we were sick”

Of course Taylor would never confirm, at least not right now, that this is about Joe…but she also knows that everyone will assume it’s about him anyway. Which brings us to the most talked-about lyric on “You’re Losing Me”:

"And I wouldn’t marry me either

A pathological people pleaser 

Who only wanted you to see her"

 

That might explain some of the appeal of Matty Healy. If Joe was the one who wasn’t paying attention, so far Matty seems to be one who’s giving her all of the attention – and enjoying some for himself.