Results like this couldn’t have been expected, even in her Wildest Dreams. “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” became the first re-recorded album to outsell its original “stolen version.” Within the first week, the album surpassed 375 million streams on music platforms. This made the album the single most streamed album in a single day in 2023, breaking the record held by Swift’s “Midnights.”
The first sixteen tracks are all re-recordings of the tracks on the original album which was released in 2014. They encompass her original songs with an updated sound that better reflects her current voice. After almost ten years, her voice has changed to be stronger and more developed. This is reflected in the re-record and is one of the only distinguishable changes from the “stolen version.”
Most of these tracks sound very similar to the “stolen version” and perfectly encompass the original sound that made pop music history in 2014. Most Swifties may only be able to decipher the slight vocal differences with her fully developed voice and minor changes to the beat that make the song different than the original. The re-recording makes the album much stronger and was a good update on the original album that all Swifties love.
The “Taylor’s Version” re-records give Swift the rights to her previous albums produced with the Big Machine Label Group. The label company owned all rights to the original versions of the music, which inspired Swift to re-record all her tracks to have complete ownership. The “Taylor’s Version” albums simply give her ownership of the music and allow her to add songs that were cut in the original. These songs are called “From the Vault” tracks.
The five vault tracks fit the rest of the album perfectly and it is shown that they were truly written during the original “1989” era in 2014.
“Sl*t!” is the first vault track on “1989 Taylor’s Version” and was long awaited by fans. Many speculated what the song would sound like, whether it would be a super upbeat song or more chill. The song is not at all what I was expecting based on the title. It is more moody and comments on the shame she has received for dating many men within her career. The song is about her rejection of society and her response to the shaming she receives for her dating life.
The next vault track is “Say Don’t Go”. The song opens with Swift’s deep voice and slowly gets higher as it moves towards the chorus. The song is about a relationship that cannot be saved. It shows her ability to convey so much emotion within a song. I think this song is catchy and fun, even though the lyrics are sad. This is one of my favorites of her 1989 vault tracks.
The third vault track is “Now That We Don’t Talk”. This song has a really fun beat and is very catchy, although, it is not one of my favorites from the vault. This song, like many other Swift songs, has become a TikTok trend. The videos poke fun at the creator’s past relationships and what they do not have to pretend to like or do anymore.
“Suburban Legends” is probably my least favorite track from the vault. Although it has a catchy beat, nothing really stands out about it to me. Although it’s not my favorite, it does have a really powerful bridge, in classic Swift fashion. Other than the bridge, there is just nothing special about it that makes it memorable.
The final vault track is “Is It Over Now?”. This is probably my favorite vault track from “1989 Taylor’s Version.” It has a unique beat that brings a sense of fun to a song with really powerful lyrics. The song is about a relationship where both partners cheated and she is trying to figure out when they stopped loving each other. It also incorporates her partner’s type in women and how all of his girlfriends look just like her.
Overall, I think Swift did a great job with the re-records of original songs and encompassing the same vibe that fans love from the stolen version. The songs she chose to bring from the vault fit the vibe of the album but also remind me a little bit of her newest album “Midnights”. I enjoyed this entire album and it might be one of the best ones at keeping the original sound.
