On Oct. 27, Taylor Swift released her fourth re-recorded album, 1989 Taylor’s Version. The album, initially released in 2014, made history yet again with over 110 million streams in the first 24 hours according to Billboard Music Charts. Breaking her own records, Swift took the title of the most streamed artist in a single day on Spotify, making it her biggest debut album of all time.
The album features 16 songs originally included in 1989, 5 additional “Vault” tracks, and a remix of Bad Blood featuring Kedrick Lamar, totaling 22 songs. Swift’s “Vault” tracks have been a new addition to her re-recordings as songs written, but not included at the original time of release. Swift’s Vault Track, “Slut!” took the number 1 spot in the U.S. on Spotify’s charts, with 5.2 million streams upon debuting, and globally held 11.3 million streams.
When 1989 first released in 2014, it was a pivotal switch between Swift’s original country music style to the pop music genre. This re-release falls nothing short of the original success of the record. The album brought back the nostalgic synth pop sound Swift gained so much recognition for in the 2010’s. Along with the recreation of her original sound, Swift was able to successfully approach her old work with more mature vocals and an added depth to the album overall.
Vault tracks, Is it Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)(From the Vault), Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version)(From the Vault), “Slut!” (Taylor’s Version)(From the Vault) are all within the top 5 of the top 50 Global Chart on Spotify, along with the rest of the songs occupying places on the chart as well.
The vault tracks on this album in particular stood out in contrast to her previous vault tracks which often fall short of the original tracks on the albums. The production, lyrics, and overall energy of the songs enhanced the album and solidified 1989 as a game changer in the pop genre and music industry.
Listen to the podcast “Thoughts on Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on The Joust, on Spotify
