After originally releasing on Oct. 27, 2014, Taylor Swift released 1989 (Taylor’s Version) nine years later on Oct. 27, 2023. The deluxe album consists of 22 songs, including five vault tracks and Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar). Swift announced that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) would be released at The Eras Tour during the last leg of the 2023 U.S. Tour.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the fourth album Swift has re-recorded, following Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Swift released “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” in Sep. 2021, which led fans to believe that she was going to re-record 1989 sooner but she released Red (Taylor’s Version) in Nov. of 2021. Swift also released, “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” in May 2022.
The third track, “Style (Taylor’s Version),” really stood out to me as sounding sonically different. I definitely think that this song resembles the most change in the re-release and I noticed more of the electric keyboard in the re-release. “Style (Taylor’s Version)” reminds me of how Swift sounded when I was able to see her live at The Eras Tour so although the changes in the re-release was hard to get used to at first, I have begun to like this track more.
The 12th track, “I Know Places (Taylor’s Version),” is my favorite re-recorded track on the album as I was able to tell the vocal differences between the 2014 version and the 2023 version. I love how I was able to hear Swift’s growth vocally, especially in the chorus. The song was one of my favorites to listen to when I was younger so it was nostalgic for me to hear Swift’s voice mature.
Out of the vault tracks, my favorite is “Now That We Don’t Talk.” I love how fun it is and when I first listened to it, it reminded me of “Question…?” from her 2022 album, “Midnights.” The energy of the song quickly became addicting and one of my favorite vault tracks she has released from her re-recorded albums.
Swift ends the album off with the vault track, “Is It Over Now?” and I appreciate how she was able to create a fun, pop song while also conveying her regret and how hard it is to get rid of a past love. I think it is a perfect ending to the album as it is essentially, Swift’s last words about the relationship she wrote about years ago. All of Swift’s vault tracks in her re-releases are new to listeners but she wrote them when the albums were originally released, and they were the songs left off the albums.
Ultimately, I think that Swift did a great job of truly encapsulating the pop version of herself through 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and I love that I was able to reminisce on listening to these songs again just like the first time I did when I was nine years old.
*Editor’s note: Hannah Thompson is a student writer. All views expressed in the commentary are her own and are independent of the district, Rouse High School and the publication.