Taylor Swift officially announced the re-recording of 1989 (Taylor’s version), which will release on 27th October.
The singer announced the news during the sixth night of her Eras Tour shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The release will also mark the ninth anniversary of the original 2014 album, which features No. 1 hits Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood, and other beloved songs like Out of the Woods, and Clean.
Before the announcement, Swift hinted at the news by wearing different blue dresses during the show, including a blue gown for “Enchanted,” a new blue outfit for the Folklore era, and a sparkling blue dress for her acoustic set – leaving fans theorizing that 1989 would be the next re-recorded album in the series. The album will feature 21 songs including five ‘vault tracks’. Vault tracks are the unheard songs that Swift did not release in the original albums.
In a post on her social media, Swift shared that it was her favourite re-recorded album yet. “To be perfectly honest, this is my most FAVORITE re-record I’ve ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane,” she wrote.
It will be the fourth album she has re-released — following Fearless, Red, and Speak Now — in a bid to own the masters of her first six records. The singer-songwriter has not revealed when she’ll release the re-recorded versions of Reputation or her self-titled debut album. In the last couple of years, Swift has quickly gained immense popularity. In quick succession, she released her 10th studio album, Midnights, in October. She embarked on her worldwide million-dollar Eras Tour in March and announced the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in just July of this year.
At the time of its release, 1989 was a defining moment in Swift’s career as it signalled her evolution from a country singer/songwriter to a prominent figure in the pop genre. Her fifth studio album, 1989 nabbed 10 Grammy nominations, winning Album of the Year, best pop vocal album and best music video for Bad Blood which featured a myriad of guest stars including Selena Gomez, Zendaya, Jessica Alba, and more. Swift made history by becoming the first woman to win the Grammy for Album of the Year twice. She won it for her solo recordings. According to Billboard, 1989 ranked No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent its entire first year in the Top 10, becoming the fifth album ever to accomplish this feat.
On Wednesday, Swift wrapped up the U.S. dates of her current series of Eras Tour concerts with a six-night run at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. She will spend the first half of 2024 touring Asia, Australia and then Europe.
