Taylor Swift is on a mission to reclaim her music. To do so she’s re-recording her early albums, beginning with ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version),’ These albums are not just simple re-releases but a whole adventure with easter eggs and clues, left in lyrics, music videos and interviews by Taylor over the years.
These re-releases are captivating fans all over social media, especially on TikTok. When Taylor Swift announced 1989 Taylor’s version to be released on the 27th of October, the Swifties turned into detectives and are now convinced that ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ might be a double album.
It all started in 2019 when Taylor Swift’s previous record label, Big Machine Records, was acquired by Ithaca Recordings, owned by music manager Scooter Braun. Even though Taylor had already transitioned to Republic Records by then, the master recordings of her first six albums remained under the control of Big Machine.
Taylor Swift started her re-recording project in August of the same year, and then released ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ in April 2021, marking the start of her journey.
The albums are not simple re-recordings of the previous ones; Taylor Swift gave them a unique twist. The production is tweaked, some lyrics are changed, and most importantly, Vault Tracks (unreleased Taylor Swift songs) are added.
When the pop star announced the re-release of ‘1989‘ during one of her Eras Tour show, fans had never been more excited – the album being a fan favourite. Taylor Swift herself expressed a great level of excitement for this particular re-record. She said that the ‘From The Vault‘ tracks were “insane” and should never have been left behind.
[Image Creds: Kevin Winter]
So why are fans speculating about ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)‘ being a double album? Here are some easter eggs that could explain the theory.
- The Subway Wall in ‘The Man’ Music Video: In one scene of the music video for ‘The Man,’ Swift stands before a graffiti-covered subway wall. Albums not owned by Taylor at the time, including ‘Fearless‘, ‘Red‘, ‘Speak Now,’ ‘Reputation‘, and ‘1989‘ are all written on the wall. The first time the fans analysed the wall the theory was that the wall showed the re-release order of the albums, but interestingly, ‘1989′ appears twice, once written in black and once in white. On the original ‘1989‘ the title was written in black marker, whereas on Taylor’s Version she used a white marker, which got the fans started on the possibility of a double album.
- Numerical Clues: It’s not the first time Taylor Swift uses specific numbers to leave clues to her fans, and Swifties have noticed numerical clues that hint at the possibility of a double album. ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ drops on October 27th (27/10). Fans have pointed out that 27 + 10 equals 37, which, when doubled, gives us 74, matching the number of tracks expected on a potential double album.
- The Absence of Collaborations: Unlike previous ‘Taylor’s Version‘ releases, ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version‘ does not appear to feature any collaborations or guest artists, while the original album did have a featuring on the song Bad Blood with Kendrick Lamar. This was very surprising to fans given the history of Taylor’s high-profile friendships and surprise guests during her 1989 World Tour, which led them to think Taylor was going to surprise them with long awaited featurings.
- Additional Clues: Swifties have also noted other clues, such as cryptic imagery and Taylor’s alternating wardrobe colours, suggesting a possible genre shift or significant change in the re-recorded album. She’s seen wearing black and blue earrings, and black nail polish on one hand and blue on the other which are the colours primarily used in the 1989 album.
On TikTok, Swifties have taken over the platform sharing details about their theories about the ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’, but also the very anticipated release of ‘Reputation‘. They are going to have to wait just a little longer to find out if all their theories were right, and if the long awaited feature between Taylor and Harry Styles is going to finally have a place on the album.
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