When most artists announce an album release, it’s completely new content and something fans haven’t heard yet. However, this is not the case for Taylor Swift.
After a year of swirling recordings and surprising fans by releasing two albums. Swift has announced that she will be releasing her own version and re-recording her 2008 album “Fearless”. It is said to be released in April and is called “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)”. While these are mostly songs that many fans and non-fans alike have heard with hits like “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story”, she will also be releasing six unreleased songs from “the vault”.
Big Machine Records, a record company, signed Taylor Swift in 2004 where she recorded six albums and spent 14 years of her life. After her contract ended in 2018, she signed with Republic Records and Universal Music Group. The drama followed the sale of Big Machine Records, which also included the sale of Swift’s Masters, which included all of the songs she wrote with Big Machine Records. Swift claimed she asked for a chance to get and own her own work, but said Big Machine only offered her the chance to get her albums back after each new recording she made with them. She declined and instead, in November 2020, was able to start re-recording her albums one to five that she had recorded with Big Machine.
On February 12, Swift released the first single from the album which was a re-recording of “Love Story” titled “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)”. The intro, hearing it for the first time, brings back a sense of youthfulness, akin to dancing in a childhood bedroom with J-14 posters of 2008 bands hanging on the wall. It’s familiar but looks slightly different. The country twang, although still present, sounds a bit calmer, with a bit more emphasis on the percussion. When Swift sings her opening line, “We were both young when I first saw you / I close my eyes and the flashbacks begin / I stand there,” the recognizable melody brings a sense of awareness to there. at thirteen. However, the difference in his voice is somewhat noticeable. She looks older, but the vision of an 18 year old girl is still there. The new version sounds similar to the original, but its voice sounds more powerful and mature.
Announcing “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” she also gave a preview of the cover in an Instagram post. She even had a hidden message in her post stating APRIL 9th. This indicated to some fans that the release was due on that day. Fans also took it a step further and pointed out the differences in her new cover, although it still has the same golden hue as “Fearless.” They pointed out that Swift wore a long silk sleeve, similar to the one worn by “Romeo” in her original “Love Story” music video. This led to the belief that Swift says she is now “her own knight in shining armor.”
Swift’s album will not only spark excitement for new unreleased songs, but a sense of nostalgia for her fans and even for those who aren’t.
This story was written by Ariana Madson. She can be reached at [email protected]
