Half of My Heart

"Half of My Heart"
Single by John Mayer featuring Taylor Swift
from the album Battle Studies
Released June 21, 2010[1]
Format Digital download
Recorded 2009–10
Genre
Length
  • 4:10 (album version)
  • 3:52 (pop mix)
Label
Songwriter(s) John Mayer
Producer(s)
John Mayer singles chronology
"Heartbreak Warfare"
(2009)		 "Half of My Heart"
(2010)		 "Perfectly Lonely"
(2010)

"Heartbreak Warfare"
(2009)		 "Half of My Heart"
(2010)		 "Perfectly Lonely"
(2010)
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"Today Was a Fairytale"
(2010)		 "Half of My Heart"
(2010)		 "Mine"
(2010)
Music video
"Half of My Heart" on YouTube

"Half of My Heart" is a song by American singer John Mayer featuring American country pop singer Taylor Swift. It is the third single from Mayer's 2009 album, Battle Studies. Mayer was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 2011 for his solo version of the song.[2]

Music and lyrics

The lyrics of "Half of My Heart" are sung by both Mayer and Swift; Swift sings with Mayer in the chorus and in the song's bridge. The lyrics are about the duo, with half of their hearts saying they should continue to love each other, although the other half says they are not each other's true love, and cannot keep loving each other.

Mayer "tweeted" about wanting to record the song with Swift in March 2009: "Waking up to this song idea that won't leave my head. 3 days straight now. That means it's good enough to finish," he wrote. "It's called 'Half of My Heart' and I want to sing it with Taylor Swift. She would make a killer Stevie Nicks in contrast to my Tom Petty of a song."[3]

In an interview shown on television called John Mayer: On the Record with Fuse (which only aired on the Fuse channel), Mayer's interviewer asked why the singer chose Swift to duet with, since she was only 19 years old, and Mayer was 32. He responded by saying that he was not putting her on the album just to sell more copies for die-hard fans of Taylor Swift that might just get the album for that song.

A new version of the song was made which does not feature Swift. It also features different instrumentation. An alternate edit of this version was set to the music video, and does feature Swift, although the video does not. This version was released as the "Pop Mix" on iTunes and Amazon.

The black acoustic guitar Mayer uses in the official video is a Martin 000-ECHF Belezza Nera.

Chart performance

"Half of My Heart" debuted at number 29 on the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart on the issue date of May 8, 2010. This makes John Mayer's 14th appearance on that chart. The song also debuted at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon the release of Mayer's album Battle Studies. It fell off the Hot 100 within two weeks, however upon its release as a single it re-entered the chart at number 88 and reached number 34.

Track listing

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Half of My Heart"3:52

Credits and personnel

  • John Mayer – vocals, guitars, composer
  • Taylor Swift – vocals, guitars, featured artist
  • Steve Jordan – drums
  • Pino Palladino – bass
  • Waddy Wachtel – acoustic guitars

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2009–10) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 71
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[5] 53
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] 42
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 15
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 25
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[9] 2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[10] 7
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[11] 2
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[12] 22
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[13] 44

Certifications

Country Certifications
(sales thresholds)
United States[14] Gold

References

  1. ↑ "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  2. ↑ "Grammy Awards 2011: Winners and nominees for 53rd Grammy Awards". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ Half of My Heart Songfacts
  4. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing ~ 12 July 2010" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "John Mayer Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  6. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – John Mayer feat. Taylor Swift – Half of My Heart" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  7. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 28, 2010" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  8. ↑ "John Mayer Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  9. ↑ "John Mayer Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  10. ↑ "John Mayer Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  11. ↑ "John Mayer Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  12. ↑ "John Mayer Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  13. ↑ "John Mayer Chart History (Hot Rock Songs)". Billboard.
  14. ↑ RIAA certified Gold & Platinum albums
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