Countdown: How Taylor Swift’s Grammy-nominated ‘Blank Space’ started as a joke

Few, if any, record-of-the-year Grammy Awards during the event’s 57-year history have gone to artists who consciously set out to win what long has been considered the music industry’s most prestigious award.

On the flip side, it’s a safe bet that of the five candidates for that honor going into Monday’s 58th Grammy ceremony, Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” is probably the only one that began as a joke, a song she initially didn’t think would end up on her “1989” album.

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Swift’s cheeky hit, in which the singer salivates at the prospect of reeling in the next victim of her insatiable appetite for romantic conquests, is vying with D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s steamy ballad “Really Love,” Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars’ party anthem “Uptown Funk,” Ed Sheeran’s hyper-romantic confession “Thinking Out Loud” and The Weeknd’s ode to love’s capacity to overwhelm “Can’t Feel My Face.”

Several weeks before “1989” was released, Swift talked about the song at her Beverly Hills home, saying, “I started writing it as a joke, but it ended up being everyone’s favorite.

“I pride myself on being self-aware,” she continued, “but I’ve also noticed there’s this drastic fictionalization of my personal life in the press. They’ll write that I’m needy, that I push people away, then I pull them back. I found this all fascinating.

“I was not happy with false narrative being painted with me in the press,” she said, “and if you have a problem with what’s being written about you, it’s your choice to do something about it.

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Taylor Swfit has risen from country singer/songwriter to pop princess. Here’s a look at her in concert.

  (Jun Sato / Getty Images)

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Taylor Swift took over the Staples Center before a sold-out crowd, performing hit after hit, with special guests who included L.A. Laker Kobe Bryant and “Orange Is the New Black’s” Uzo Aduba.

  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift adds sparkle to the stage as she performs at Louisiana State’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on May 22. She’s making the rounds with her 1989 World Tour.

  (Christopher Polk / Getty Images for TAS)

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Taylor Swift lifts her hand in the air at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 2015.

  (Ross Gilmore / Getty Images for TAS)

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Upon her arrival to Tokyo in May 2015, Taylor Swift literally stopped air traffic. Here, she busts a move onstage as part of her “1989” world tour at the Tokyo Dome.

  (Jun Sato / Getty Images for TS)

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At the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March 2015, Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance when she joined Madonna onstage for a performance of “Rebel Heart.” It was quite the collaboration.

  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

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Taylor Swift strikes a pose amid a confetti rush during the Brit Awards in London in February 2015.  (Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images)

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Taylor Swift joined Kenney Chesney onstage during his Big Revival tour kick-off for a 55-show run. It was at this concert that Swift was spotted in the arms of musician Calvin Harris, sparking rumors the two were dating.

  (Rick Diamond / Getty Images for Kenny Chesney)

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Taylor Swift gets cute for the screaming fans in a stylish two-piece tartan plaid outfit for the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in December 2014 in New York.  (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

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Taylor Swift takes a moment to breathe during KIIS-FM’s Jingle Ball concert at Staples Center in Los Angeles in December 2014.   (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift hits a high note at the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in London. It was Swift’s second time performing at the lingerie extravaganza.   (Joel Ryan / Invision / Associated Press)

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For her second performance of the night at the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion show, Taylor Swift changed into a black lace number. She jammed with the models, including Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio, pictured.   (Leon Neal / AFP/Getty Images)

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Taylor Swift performs “Blank Space” at the American Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles in November 2014. Swift took home the Dick Clark Award for Excellence.   (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

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Taylor Swift belts out a tune onstage during the We Can Survive event at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2014.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images for CBS Radio Inc.)

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Taylor Swift hits all the right notes onstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in September 2014.   (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

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Taylor Swift performs a rendition of her hit single “Shake It Off” at the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2014.   (Matt Sayles / Invision / AP )

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Taylor Swift delivers her song “All Too Well” while playing the piano at the Grammy Awards in January 2014.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift strikes a pose during the first of four sold-out shows at the Staples Center in August 2013.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift dons an outfit splattered with the British flag during the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory.   (Jason Szenes / EPA)

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Taylor Swift puts on a performance replete with circus-like shenanigans at the Grammy Awards in February 2013.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift lifts her arms mid-performance at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, in December 2013.   (Scott Barbour / Getty Images)

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Joined by a bluegrass band, Taylor Swift sings her single “Mean” at the Grammy Awards in February 2012. She took home the awards for country song and country performance that year.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift engages the camera-holding audience during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in September 2012.   (Kevin Mazur / WireImage / Getty Images)

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Taylor Swift at KIIS’ Jingle Ball in December 2012.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift shimmies in her frock at Staples Center in August 2011.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift at Staples Center in April 2010.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Taylor Swift at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “All for the Hall” concert benefit in September 2010.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“So I started thinking, ‘What if I were this girl — this whole [damaged] starlet thing?’ I’m going to write a song as if I were,” and then she punched up “Blank Space,” which features the lyrics “Oh, my God, look at that face, you look like my next mistake. Got a long list of ex-lovers/They’ll tell you I’m insane. But I’ve got a blank space, baby/And I’ll write your name.”

Shortly after the single’s release, it shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, spending seven weeks in the top spot at the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015. The “Blank Space” video, in which she gleefully smashes a suitor’s luxury sports car after a spat, has logged nearly 1.5 billion views on YouTube. (That video came with a whimsical disclaimer: “No animals, trees, automobiles or actors were harmed in the making of this video.”)

The song’s tongue-in-cheek humor allowed Swift both to revel in the genre of women’s don’t-get-mad-get-even revenge fantasies while simultaneously sending them up, something she attributed to the artistic growth process she experienced while making “1989.” The record is Swift’s fifth studio album — and her third consecutive release to sell more than 1 million copies during its first week out.

“I had always had a huge fear concerning the idea of celebrity, and the circus you find yourself in when you’re lucky enough to have some success in the music field,” Swift, 26, told The Times. “I used to worry that the scope of things that inspire me would shrink.

“As a songwriter, that’s your No. 1 fear: that you’ll become less attuned to life itself, that you’ll start challenging yourself less and that you’ll find fewer places to go creatively,” said Swift, who, at 20, became the youngest person to win the album of the year Grammy for 2008’s “Fearless.”

“What’s happened for me is that the scope had broadened,” she said. “Honestly, I can look at someone else’s life and be inspired enough to write a song, to create a narrative to what they must be feeling. That’s been the most incredible realization.”

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