Claim: Taylor Swift writes and sings.

`` Bad Blood '' is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift , from her fifth studio album 1989 -LRB- 2014 -RRB- . The remixed version of the song , featuring American rapper Kendrick Lamar , was released on May 17 , 2015 , by Republic Records as 1989s fourth single . The album version was written by Swift , Max Martin , and Shellback , with Lamar writing his verses on the remixed version . The lyrics of `` Bad Blood '' describe the betrayal of a close friend . The album version is the eighth track of 1989 .   The song reached number one in Australia , Canada , Israel , New Zealand , Scotland , and the United States , becoming the third song from 1989 to do so . The accompanying music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and features an ensemble cast . The video previously held the 24-Hour Vevo Record with 20.1 million views , before being surpassed by Adele 's `` Hello '' . It won Video of the Year and Best Collaboration at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards . The song received a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance while its music video won Best Music Video at the 58th Grammy Awards .   A cover version of `` Bad Blood '' was released as the first promotional single from singer-songwriter Ryan Adams ' interpretation of Swift 's 1989 album , released in September 2015 .