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Shake It Off Trivia Questions

How much do you really know about Shake It Off? Below are 8 true or false statements. Click each one to reveal the answer and explanation.

1.

Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off' was originally written as a country song before being reworked into pop.

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Easy
✗ FALSE

Swift deliberately wrote 'Shake It Off' as a pure pop song for her transition from country. It was never intended to have country instrumentation or structure.

2.

'Shake It Off' was the first song Taylor Swift released that was entirely produced by Max Martin.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

Max Martin co-produced several tracks on Swift's 'Red' album, including 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,' which predates 'Shake It Off' by two years.

3.

Taylor Swift wrote 'Shake It Off' after reading a fake news story about herself online.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

Swift wrote it after realizing she was letting online criticism get to her, not because of a specific fake story. The song is about ignoring haters in general.

4.

'Shake It Off' was the first song ever to debut at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Pop Songs chart simultaneously.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

Multiple songs had achieved that feat before, including Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' and Katy Perry's 'Part of Me.' Swift's song did debut high but wasn't the first.

5.

Upon its release, 'Shake It Off' was criticized by disability advocates for using the word 'spaz' in the lyrics.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

The controversy was over 'spelling is fun' being removed from the lyrics. 'Spaz' was never in the song; that criticism applied to a different Swift song, 'Our Song.'

6.

The saxophone solo in 'Shake It Off' was performed by a musician who had never played on a pop record before.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Saxophonist Keb' Mo' was primarily a blues artist. Swift's producer Max Martin brought him in specifically for this track, making it his first major pop feature.

7.

The cheerleader chant in 'Shake It Off' was recorded by a real high school cheerleading squad from Nashville.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Swift brought in the cheerleading squad from Harpeth Hall School in Nashville to record the 'haters gonna hate' backing vocals. They received a small fee and a platinum plaque.

8.

The music video for 'Shake It Off' features a professional ballerina who later became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Dancer Sara Mearns, a principal at NYCB, appears in the video's ballet segment. Swift specifically recruited her to add authenticity to the dance scenes.

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