Taylor Swift fans across the globe have been counting down the days until Oct. 27, the release date for Swift’s 1989 album re-release.
Swift has been re-recording and re-releasing parts of her discography that are owned by her former label manager, Scooter Braun. Braun sold her first six albums to a private equity firm, which Swift was publicly opposed to.
Swift soon left Braun’s label. To gain ownership to her previous works, Swift had to re-record all six albums, leading to the now famous “Taylor’s Version.”
The release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was announced at the Aug. 9 show of the high grossing Era’s Tour. Ever since, Swifties everywhere have been anxiously awaiting the album.
Swift kicks off the album with her hit “Welcome to New York.” an upbeat pop tune that captures the hope Swift felt when first moving to the Big Apple.
While much of the album sticks with Swift’s famous pop beat with famous tracks such as “Style” and “Bad Blood,” songs such as “You Are In Love” slow down to give way to Swift’s songwriting talents.
The most anticipated section of the album were the six “vault” tracks announced by Swift that round off the album.
Swift introduced the idea of vault tracks on her first re-recorded record, Fearless (Taylor’s Version). These tracks are ones that Swift originally wrote with the album, but they were not ever released.
Swift announced the titles of the newest vault tracks by sending fans on a scavenger hunt.
Fans were tasked with solving word puzzles that would help them unlock the vault. Swift partnered with Google to add a vault icon to the bottom right corner of the Google homepage that fans could click on to access the puzzles.
The vault required 33 million puzzles to be solved in order for it to open, a task that Swifties completed in just 19 hours.
The vault track titles were soon announced on Swift’s Instagram account. The tracks are titled “Slut!” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends” and “Is It Over Now?”.
“Slut!” is very reminiscent of Swift’s current relationship with Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, despite being written years before the two started dating.
In the chorus, Swift invites the criticism of her dating life, saying, “But if I’m all dressed up, they might as well be looking at us / And if they call me a slut, you know it might be worth it for once.”
The song features a lightweight voice from Swift and is slower paced than her other vault tracks, giving the song a whimsical and romantic tone.
“Is It Over Now?” is the final track on the album, and many Swifties are convinced that the track is about Swift’s ex, Harry Styles.
The star-studded couple dated for a short time, with rumors of their relationship sparking in late 2012. The relationship came to a quick end in early 2013.
Songs on the record such as “Style” have always been rumored to be about Styles. Aside from the song title, lyrics such as “You’ve got that James Dean, daydream, look in your eye,” and “You got that long hair, slicked back, white T-shirt,” seem to point towards Styles.
“Is It Over Now?” tells the tale of a very messy ending to a relationship, casting blame on both parties. Swift points to infidelity with the lines “Was it over when she laid on your couch? / Was it over when he unbuttoned my blouse?” and seems to tell a story of being unsure where lines have been drawn towards the end of a relationship.
Styles comes into play with the lyrics “When you lost control / Red blood, white snow,” which seem to nod towards the track “Wildest Dreams” that tells the story of an accident that happened on a 2013 ski trip with Styles. “Remember when you hit the brakes too soon? / 20 stitches in a hospital room,” sings Swift on the intense 2014 pop track.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) perfectly captures Swift’s switch to a fully pop sound in 2014 while adding in new tracks that are sure to be hits. With Swift leaning into old rumors about her romantic life, the album is a perfect mix of past and present while still capturing Swift’s songwriting and vocal talents.
