Taylor Swift Never Goes Out of Style: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) Album Release
Article By Michaela Smith, University Union Productions Board Writer
Taylor Swift has been on all of our news feeds nonstop recently – whether discussing her recent billionaire status, her adorable handshakes shared in the VIP box at Kansas City Chiefs home games, her incredible concert film hitting the box office, or, of course, her process of re-recording all of her stolen albums.
The (Taylor’s Version) re-recordings of Taylor Swift’s first six studio albums to get back the rights to her musical productions have taken the world of music by storm. In addition to simply re-recording and releasing the same titles, lyrics and beats from her first handful of masterpieces, Swift has added vault tracks to each album release. These additional, never-before-heard hits come “from the vault” of her six eras, allowing fans to glimpse each era that didn’t make the cut when choosing which tracks to include on the albums.
Of the six albums that will go from stolen to (Taylor’s Version), the blonde billionaire has re-recorded Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and most recently, 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Light blue, the sound of seagulls and the all too catchy beat in the “Welcome to New York” intro were the vibes of Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, when 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was released.
This fourth re-record of Taylor Swift’s discography included these pop tracks Swifties (and most of the population) are very familiar with:
“Welcome to New York (Taylor’s Version)”
“Blank Space (Taylor’s Version)”
“Style (Taylor’s Version)”
“Out of the Woods (Taylor’s Version)”
“All You Had To Do Was Stay (Taylor’s Version)”
“Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)”
“I Wish You Would (Taylor’s Version)”
“Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version)”
“Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)”
“How You Get The Girl (Taylor’s Version)”
“This Love (Taylor’s Version)”
“I Know Places (Taylor’s Version)”
“Clean (Taylor’s Version)”
“Wonderland (Taylor’s Version)”
“You Are In Love (Taylor’s Version)”
“New Romantics (Taylor’s Version)”
Taylor Swift, commonly referred to as simply “the music industry,” shocked her listeners by including these additional tracks “from the vault”:
“‘Slut!’ (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
“Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
“Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
“Suburban Legends (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
“Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
Along with each album’s assigned color palette and popular songs, re-recording each of her eras also resurfaces her ex of the time period. Unfortunately for Harry Styles, the contents of these newly released songs from their 2014 romance put him in the line of fire from the Swifties.
Fans of Taylor Swift were shocked when, at around 8 A.M. EST on Friday, another song was added to the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) soundtrack – “Bad Blood featuring Kendrick Lamar (Taylor’s Version).” The fans long awaited the re-recording of this popular remix, and even went number one on iTunes in less than 40 minutes.
As a massive Swiftie myself, here is my ranking of each vault track, along with a small blurb that may just entice you to give them a stream yourself:
“Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: This catchy, upbeat track lists all of the hilarious things Swift’s ex liked that now she doesn’t have to pretend to like anymore due to their relationship ending. You’ve probably heard it on TikTok!
“Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: Swifties snooped and discovered this song is absolutely about pop star Harry Styles with the simple inclusion of the lyric “blue dress on a boat” – indeed, the work of the FBI!
“Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: Although the title promises a sad tune (and the lyrics provide that, don’t worry,) this song surprised me with its unexpected upbeat rhythm. Her ability to tell a devastating story of heartbreak over a chorus beat that makes you want to dance is another example of her talent.
“‘Slut!’ (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: As the most anticipated vault track of them all, Slut! was not what I expected. It was, however, a perfect TikTok audio for users filming Halloweekend content over the lyrics, “But if I’m all dressed up, they might as well be looking at us.” It is also impossible to ignore the genius move of this song, where critics googling “Taylor Swift Slut” will now just be met with her music.
“Suburban Legends (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: This final vault track has a catchy outro about the passage of time and how this affects her relationship. Although this wasn’t my favorite, the lyric “I broke my own heart ‘cause you were too polite to do it” deserves recognition.
This long-awaited album release has sparked countless TikTok trends and has put Taylor Swift back on record-breaking status as it reached the second-biggest sales week of the year just three days after its release. (second behind herself re-recording Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), btw!)
Now, all that is left for Taylor Swift fans to do is cross their fingers and hope Swift is scheming to drop Reputation (Taylor’s Version) soon.
