Taylor Swift | You Belong With Me (2009)

Swift wrote the song with Liz Rose and produced it with Nathan Chapman. Swift wrote "You Belong with Me" which was inspired by an argument between a male friend of hers and his girlfriend over the phone. A country pop song with elements of pop crossover, it is about an insecure protagonist's unrequited love for an out-of-reach love interest. Big Machine Records released "You Belong with Me" to radio as the third single from Fearless on April 20, 2009.

Critics lauded the song's radio-friendly appeal and emotional sentiments, though some felt that it demonstrated Swift's formulaic and repetitive songwriting. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, "You Belong with Me" received nominations for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

The single reached the top ten on charts and received sales certifications in Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand. In the U.S., driven by non-country airplay, it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the first country song to reach number one on the all-genre Billboard Radio Songs chart. The single was certified 7× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

"You Belong with Me" was ranked among the greatest songs of the 2000s decade by CMT and VH1. The song's music video, directed by Roman White, features Swift portraying two characters: an ordinary girl (the protagonist and narrator) and a popular girl (the antagonist and girlfriend); Lucas Till portrays the male lead.

The protagonist secretively loves the male lead, who has an unsympathetic girlfriend. The video won Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards; during Swift's acceptance speech, Kanye West interrupted, which caused a controversy widely covered by the media. "You Belong with Me" was included on the regular set lists of four of Swift's world tours: the Fearless Tour (2009–2010), the Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012), the Red Tour (2013–2014), and the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018).