Singer songwriter Taylor Swift released a re-recording of the album that won Album of the Year titled “1989”. Her fourth re-recorded album release, fans of Swift or “Swifties” have been anxiously awaiting the release “1989 (Taylors Version).” Along 16 original tracks and five new, unreleased songs from the vault, “1989” is considered to be one of the biggest pop albums of this generation.
“1989” was originally released in October 2014 as Swift’s fifth studio album. The album was a surprise to fans as her previous four albums had been considered mostly country music, but “1989” was entirely pop. According to Swift, this genre switch was a decision made because critics said her music had already strained too far from country to call herself a country singer. Swift has been known throughout her career to clap back at critics in her own, usually musical, way. “1989” was her first dip into the pool of entirely pop music and was received very well by the public.
Another factor that played into creating “1989” was the shift of the topics she wrote about in her songs. Before “1989” her albums like “Speak Now” or “Red” were filled with many songs about heartbreak and bad relationships. Swift’s critics complained how she wrote too many breakup songs, specifically noting how her album “Red” had an extreme amount of breakup songs. Though these misogynistic claims about her music were hurtful, Swift took these notes and wrote the songs on “1989” about topics entirely different to try and appease her critics. In her acceptance speech for Woman of the Decade award, Swift spoke up about this change in song topics.
“Now they’re saying my album “Red” is filled with too many breakup songs? Okay, I’ll make one [album] about moving to New York and deciding that really my life is more fun with just my friends,” Swift said.
“1989” ended up doing very well in the charts after its release. Over 1 million copies of her album were sold in the first month and stayed at the top of Billboard 200 for 11 consecutive weeks. Swift won multiple awards for “1989,” most notably including two Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, an American Music Award for Favorite Pop Album, and a Billboard Music Award for Top Billboard 200 Album. “1989” received a critical acclaim that turned Taylor Swift from a country music singer to a pop icon.
In 2019, Taylor Swift’s record label, Big Machine Label Group, had sold six of her albums (“Self Titled”, “Fearless”, “Speak Now”, “Red”, “1989”, and “Reputation”) to a man named Scooter Braun and his media company Ithaca Holdings. This deal was unbeknownst to Swift and caused a media feud between her and Braun, with fans and celebrities now having to take sides. Following this side deal, Taylor Swift announced she would be re-recording her first six albums to be able to own her own music, something that is very important to her. On August 9th, 2023, Swift announced at her last performance of the Eras Tour that “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” would be released October 27th. Fans were ecstatic at the news, though many had already theorized that “1989” would be the next re-recorded album.
Freshman Ella Kessel said that she found out about “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” being released while she was watching a live stream of Taylor Swift’s last show of the Eras Tour. “I was really excited for “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” because there was gonna be new vault tracks and the new versions of her songs,” Ella said.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” became a hit the second it was released onto streaming platforms. The album has a big New York City feel and each song consists of catchy pop lyrics. Compared to the stolen album, Swift’s voice has matured greatly and each line she sings is filled with power and skill. Some fans have spoken out that the production on some of the re-recorded songs, such as “Style” and “New Romantics” doesn’t have the same feel as it did in the original version, but overall the production holds true to the original. Her cover art for the album itself has gotten high praise from fans. The main album cover pictures Swift smiling big as her hair blows in the wind and seagulls fly around her. This change from the original album cover which continued more muted coloring and a non-smiling Swift, really sets the tone for the joyful and carefree vibe Swift has created throughout the album. Fans were most excited about the five new vault songs that Swift released in her re-record of “1989.” These songs include “Slut!”, “Say Don’t Go”, “Now That We Don’t Talk”, “Suburban Legends”, and “Is It Over Now?”. The vault songs have modestly gotten good reviews from fans. They implement the same NYC, carefree feel while also having a sense of irony through the lyrics. For example, in the song “Slut!”, Swift sings about wanting to love someone even though she knows she will get shamed for it. Though the song is known as a love song, the message behind it talks about society and the media shaming women for dating or even talking to men, especially celebrities nowadays.
Social Studies Teacher Tom Kuhn said that he has been a fan of Taylor Swift since her country days. He explained that when listening to the vault songs, “you have to appreciate the lyrics a little bit more to like it, while the earlier songs, it was more about the beat and energy.” Overall, Kuhn’s opinion about “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is that it has changed a lot from the original version, due to the almost ten year gap between the albums. However, “1989” still remains his favorite album of Taylor Swift’s.
Billboard writes that “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” sold over 250,000 copies on the day it came out and after only one day of being released, it had the third largest sales week of 2023. Overall, the re-recorded version of “1989” has done as expected in the charts, and fans are generally more than satisfied with the Taylor’s Version songs and vault songs. With “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” released, now fans wonder which stolen album is going to be re-recorded next, “Reputation” or Swift’s self titled debut album. Whichever album is next to be re-released, fans cannot wait for the next era of Taylor Swift and will continue to theorize until Swift herself makes an announcement.
