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Taylor Swift's Re-Recordings: A Timeline

By Jennifer Derise '24 and Ellie Miller '24


Eleven Grammys. Nine studio albums. Five record-breaking concert tours. Named the 2010s Artist of the decade, Taylor Swift is one of the most recognizable superstars on the planet. Last year Taylor Swift released two surprise albums, Folklore and Evermore, while teasing the indefinite release of five re-recorded albums. This year those albums are coming, starting with a re-recorded version of her 2nd studio album, Fearless. Fearless was originally released in 2008, featuring nineteen songs in the platinum edition, and won Album of the Year at the Grammys.


So if Fearless was so successful the first time around, why is Taylor Swift releasing a re-recorded version?


This question actually applies to the first six of Taylor's nine studio albums. Here's a brief timeline. In 2004, fourteen-year-old Taylor Swift signed a contract with her first record label, Big Machine. Under this company, she released Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. Taylor parted ways with Big Machine in 2018. In June of 2019, Scooter Braun purchased Big Machine and, with it, the masters to Swift's first six albums. Rightfully, Taylor was not happy with this. Alongside her legal team, she attempted to get her music back without being silenced by Barun's.


On August 22nd of 2019, Swift announced her plan to reclaim her music on Good Morning America. Taylor Swift had planned on re-recording her first five studio albums as early as November of 2020. Her sixth studio album reputation would have to wait just a little longer. Despite fans believing this was the end of the game of hot potato with Swift's music, it was not. In November of 2020, her master's switched hands once again. This time landing in the pocket of Shamrock Holdings with a string leading right back to Braun. Initially, Taylor was open to working with Shamrock. However, once revealed Braun was still profiting off her music, Taylor opted to continue re-recording her music.


The first of the re-recorded albums to be released is Fearless (Taylor's Version). It is scheduled for April 9th, 2021. This version will feature twenty-six songs, nineteen from Fearless Platinum Edition, six unreleased songs, and Today was a Fairytale, a song Taylor originally recorded to be a part of a movie. The first glance we have gotten at re-recorded Taylor is Love Story (Taylor's Version). It was released shortly after Taylor announced the release of Fearless (Taylor's Version).


While we wait for Fearless (Taylor's Version), many Taylor Swift fans have been speculating about the release of re-recorded Speak Now, Taylor's third studio album. And when we say there's speculation, we mean a lot of speculation. As anyone who is a Taylor Swift fan will tell you, the number 13 has a special place in Taylor's heart. We see it everywhere, from her clothes to album art, and this definitely wouldn't be the first time 13 alluded to the release date of something. So it's no mystery why July 9th, exactly 13 weeks from when Fearless (Taylor's Version) is set to be released, has been marked by many Taylor Swift fans as the day Speak Now will be released.


If that seems like a stretch, we don't blame you. But there's one more piece of evidence that solidifies it for many: July 9th is referenced in a song off the original Speak Now, released in 2010. The song is called Last Kiss. It contains the lyric "That July 9th, the beat of your heart." There's no way to know for sure that this will be the release date, as Taylor has said absolutely nothing. But it's still a ton of fun to speculate.


Since news of the re-recordings broke, a question on the minds of fans: are these re-recorded albums eligible for Grammys? In short, yes, they can be nominated for non-song writing awards. She would not be the first to have re-recorded work nominated. It is unknown if Taylor will be submitting her songs for another chance at the Grammys. But for all the die-hard fans, there is a chance to see her win awards that she may not have gotten the first time around.

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