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Taylor Swift, a country-turned-pop star, is currently on the Eras Tour and announced the release of 1989 (Taylor's Version) set for 27 October 2023 during her Los Angeles concert on August 9, 2023. Fans had seen this announcement coming for a long time, since she not only dropped several hints as the Easter Egg expert but made the announcement on 8/9, which is also exactly 3,208 days from the original album's release (27 October 2014).
This number is significant because 3 + 2 + 8 = 13, Taylor's lucky number. The album will consist of the original tracks along with five tracks from the vault.
Taylor made the announcement during the acoustic set of the show, and wore light blue outfits for almost all of her other sets. She performed New Romantics as one of the surprise songs, which was the last of the entire album that hadn't been covered.
About 1989
1989 is Taylor's fourth studio album, released in 2014. It's said to be the album that set her firmly as a pop artist from a country artist. The album won Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album in 2016.
The album covers themes of love, friendship, and Taylor enjoying her life in New York. She also went on tour for this album. Below is a breakdown of some of the most popular songs on the album.
Blank Space
Blank Space was one of the seven singles off the record. It's known for its iconic music video. In an interview, Taylor talked about how the media was building an image of her as an evil serial dater.
She decided to write a song and make a music video depicting this persona. The song is about the story of an attractive woman who can "show you incredible things". She depicts herself as someone insane, as defined by her exes and portrayed by the media. The music video also shows how she's dating a guy in her mansion, but when she's a "crazy jealous girlfriend" she vandalises his car and dramatically throws his belongings from the balcony. The video ends with another man walking into her mansion.
Style
Style, another single, is rumoured to be about her ex-boyfriend, Harry Styles. This speculation comes through because of the song title and lyrics like "you got that long hair, slick back, white t-shirt" which describes Harry's signature look back then. It is public knowledge that Harry and Taylor are now friends through their interactions at the Grammy awards.
Many fans expect Harry to feature on this song for that reason, and AI covers of this collaboration have been going viral on social media. At the same time, other fans don't want this to happen and want to preserve the essence of the original song. However, if not on this song, fans are anticipating a feature on one of the five vault tracks.
Shake it Off
This song was the first single from the album, not only showing fans that this would be an official pop album marking her transition to pop from country music, but also giving a glimpse into the theme of the album. Critics felt like the songwriting on this song was pretty weak, yet it was a hit with many. It's okay for some songs to just be fun without much thought being put into them! The lyrics talk about how Taylor is enjoying herself and doesn't want to take negativity sent her way seriously, by "shaking it off".
Bad Blood
This song is rumored to be about Katy Perry following a feud where she felt like Katy had betrayed her. The music video for Bad Blood features Taylor's "squad", including celebrities like Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Hailee Steinfield, Cara Delevingne and Hayley Williams. Taylor did not name the person she wrote the song about, but the lyrics of this song seem to imply that this unnamed artist was at fault when it came to why they fell out.
Taylor and Katy have now publicly cleared the air and confirmed that they have made peace with each other. The music video is iconic, with an alternative version featuring Kendrick Lamar. When Taylor performs this song on tour, fans chant Lamar's line during the performance every time!
Wildest Dreams
Wildest Dreams is often interpreted to be about a relationship that was set up for failure from the beginning. With lines like "someday when you leave me / I bet these memories follow you around" and "nothing lasts forever", it paints the image of a woman in a passionate relationship with a man that can't be relied on that had to end.
The music video depicts a couple shooting for a film, with their relationship being restricted to just the camera. Most of the video shows how their dynamic seems sultry yet avoidant with great chemistry when the cameras are rolling, ending with her eventually seeing him with someone else at the movie's premier, leaving the venue while he tries to chase her.
Predictions for Taylor's Version
Other than many hoping for a Harry Styles feature, I think there's also a good chance that someone from the Bad Blood squad may make a re-appearance considering that Hayley Williams did have a feature on Speak Now (Taylor's Version). There are also speculations that The 1975 may feature in one of the vault tracks, which arose after Taylor Swift was seen hanging out with Matty Healy during the first few dates of her Eras Tour shows.
Twitter has also been exploring the possibility of Lorde appearing on the album. Overall, the re-records have been an exciting project for Taylor and her fans, and hopes are high, especially since Taylor said that this is her favourite re-record!
