Nine years ago, Taylor Swift broke records after releasing her fifth studio album, “1989.” Now, she’s reclaiming her fame with its rerecord, adding five previously unheard tracks and putting a whole new spin on some of the vocals and instrumentals. This album was highly anticipated among the Swiftie community, and is Swift’s fourth rerecorded album, after “Fearless,” “Red” and “Speak Now.” On its release day, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” hit 176 million streams, the most streamed album of 2023 and the second most of all time. 

I immediately started fangirling upon seeing the album cover back in August. This is probably my favorite album cover out of any of Swift’s albums, mostly because of the simplicity of the seagulls and the light blue coloration, and her genuine smile. Swift has talked about her struggles with mental health around the time of when the original 1989 was released, but it’s so exciting that she gets to relive this era truly happy and healthy. Swift has said that this was her favorite rerecord to date, and I was definitely most excited for this rerecord because 2014 was around the time when I first heard of Swift and started liking her music. 

I decided to listen to the vault tracks first since they were completely new. Most of them reminded me of her tenth studio album, Midnights, due to their dreamy and mysterious feel. The first song, “Slut!” was most anticipated, and explored the criticism from the media she received due to her romantic relationships in her 20s. Taylor sang about how no matter what she did in the public eye, she would always receive criticism for it. The song had an upbeat, beachy feel to it, though the lyrics were disheartening, which is something Taylor explores a lot in her music.

“Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk” and “Is It Over Now?” were her other upbeat vault tracks about fading love and reliving relationships. My personal favorite was “Suburban Legends,” which is a slower, more emotional ballad about two star-crossed lovers. 

Swift’s other 16 tracks were rerecords of the original songs off of “1989.” Visible across all tracks were amplified synths, making each track seem a little more electric and carefree. Her voice has audibly matured and I absolutely loved the new versions of “Bad Blood” and “Blank Space.” Both seem a little more naughty and a little more playful, like Swift is singing with a smirk on her face, aware that she’s a girlboss. More controversial are Swift’s rerecords of fan favorites “Style” and “New Romantics,” which definitely feature louder, more amplified instrumentals. I do definitely prefer the original versions of these two, but probably because it’s entirely what I’ve listened to for years and need a little time to warm up to the new versions. 

Whether you like the rerecord or not, Swift’s passion for her music is exceptionally inspiring. It’s only been three months since the rerelease of “Speak Now”, and a year from the release of “Midnights.” On top of all of that, her Eras Tour spanned for five months across the US this year, making hundreds of millions of dollars, and will be set for an international leg next year, garnering hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. Not to mention the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” movie, which was phenomenal, breaking the record for highest ticket sales for AMC in a single day. Taylor is a busy gal and still managed to drop this extraordinary rerecord. Looks like Taylor’s influence isn’t gonna be over for awhile now.