Taylor Swift schedules 1989 (Taylor’s Version) for October
“1989” meets 2023.
Taylor Swift confirmed Wednesday that her 2014 album 1989 will be the fourth record to receive her “Taylor’s Version” treatment — the latest in her effort to reclaim the rights to her first six albums.
Slated for a re-recording in October, the award-winning album was heralded as Swift’s first “official pop album” and featured the inevitable hits “Shake It Off,” “Style,” “Blank Space,” “Wildest Dreams,” and the gossip-laden ” BadBlood”. It also marked a groundbreaking shift from her status as a crossover country darling to a bona fide pop star.
The “Anti-Hero” singer’s spectacular reveal came during her final Eras Tour show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, followed by a formal announcement on social media. Swift also stated that she will be including five “From the Vault” tracks in the re-release this time.
“Surprise!! 1989 (Taylor’s version) is on its way to you 🔜!” she continued Instagram.
“The 1989 album changed my life in countless ways and it fills me with great excitement to announce that my version of it will be released on October 27th,” she added.
The business-minded 33-year-old said “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is her favorite new recording yet because the five Vault tracks are “so crazy.”
“I can’t believe they were ever left behind. But not for long! Pre-order 1989 (Taylor’s version) on my website,” she wrote.
“1989,” co-written and co-produced by hitmaker Max Martin, won the Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Pop Vocal Album at the 2016 ceremony, becoming the first woman to win the Grammy for Album of the Year twice. The success didn’t go unnoticed by Swift, who used her acceptance speech as a platform to confront her critics, particularly her longtime rival, rapper Ye. The “Famous” rapper and the singer fell out again this year after he claimed on the song that he was the one who made her, well, famous.
“I want to say to all the young women out there, along the way there will be people who try to undermine your success or seek credit for your accomplishments or your fame,” she said. “But if you just focus on work and don’t let these people distract you, one day when you’ve reached your goal, you’ll look around and know that it was you and the people who love you who did it have done it. You are there and that is going to be the greatest feeling in the world.”
“1989” was also released as the outspoken artist championed compensation models on streaming services, most notably Spotify and Apple Music. In protest at the platform’s tariffs, she and her (now estranged) former record label Big Machine withheld the album – and all of her music – from Spotify for nearly three years.
So far, the world-shattering superstar has released hugely popular versions of “Red,” “Fearless” and “Speak Now,” the latest of which came out in June, with much talk of six never-before-released tracks and a change from the lyrics to “Better.” Than Revenge”. The remaining albums are her 2006 self-titled debut and 2017’s Reputation.
And there’s still plenty of time to give those albums the space they need: Last week, Swift announced the latest extension to her Eras tour, adding 15 new dates that will take viral production well into 2024.
