Releasing one of the biggest pop albums of all time, and debuting as a pop musician, Taylor Swift released 1989 nine years ago. The album broke the charts and cemented Swift’s already prevalent position in the spotlight. Following the process of her rerecording project to claim back all of her masters, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the next album up.
As of October 15, there have been no snippets or singles dropped. With a little more than a week left before its release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has practically sold itself. From her everlasting limelight, Taylor Swift molded her rerecording project from a bluff statement in order to get her master back into a project that has changed the music industry. Primarily, the star’s main form of advertisement for the coming album is via her company’s social media account “Taylor Nation” as well as her own platform. On both of these platforms, merch and physical units of music are advertised but not much else. Using the media as their own advertisement, Taylor Nation may catch on to Tik Tok trends or hashtags circulating media that they will use or change to their own for fans to use promoting albums or work; so far, none has been seen for 1989 TV. This leaves fans anxiously waiting for the week off to see what big things are dropped (if any). Swift’s main form of advertisement was to fall back into her 2014 lifestyle; a public life documenting the carefree joyful lifestyle with friends, family, and her boyfriend. From polaroids to Fourth of July parties the fans are excited to see Taylor Swift taking on this new 1989 era happy and healthier. After a long time out of the public eye during quarantine and her relationship with Joe Alwyn, Swift kept most of her life from her fans and public eye. But as the release date inches closer for 1989 TV those tendencies from nearly a decade ago become more transparent in the media that loves to see it.
The genius mastermind and business woman undoubtedly has more up her sleeve for this career defying album rerecording. Fans wait, ready, my mind spirals with excitement and predictions. With the projects most likely completed months ago, I predict that we will receive two to three music videos, following the trends of the previous re-recording projects. I believe it may be a possibility that the video shown during the performance of “Wildest Dreams” and the Era’s Tour was a sneak peak of the music video (or visual/ lyric video background). Although the world already received the iconic music video for this track back in 2014, the video production was so complete it felt like I was watching a snippet of a music video. Other tracks that have a chance at a music video in my opinion would be “New Romantics” due to the fact it was the surprise song she played when she announced the album. Additionally, we never got a music video for this, only a live concert performance. This could also hint to the fact that this banger of a track could be a single for 1989 (TV). Possible other music videos could be tracks “Welcome to New York” and “Is it Over Now?” Although I do not believe this would happen, “Slut!” would be an interesting music video concept due to the bold title, one that Swift has never experimented with in her entire discography. Hopes rise as nothing can get quite worse than Speak Now TV, I have high hopes for a solid recreation and all around successes for the vault tracks. Here is my personal prediction for my vault track ranking (excluding “Sweeter Than Fiction”): 1.“Slut!” 2.“Suburban Legends” 3.“Now That We Don’t Talk” 4.“Say Don’t Go” 5.“Is it Over Now?” (Check back in Issue 4 for my final album ranking.)
The Taylor Swift experience is not easily escable, as her fame rapidly grows media and music culture forcibly becomes immersed in the world of Swift and her lyrics. The power the rerecording projects has brought to Swit and the music industry is unfathomable.
All she has left to claim is her name and reputation.