On October 27, 2014, Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album, 1989, and now, nine years later, she is re-releasing it as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on October 27, 2023. After years of not being able to own her masters, Swift is re-releasing many of her albums. These releases are differentiated from the original album by the phrase “(Taylor’s Version)” in the album title.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) is her fourth out of six rerecords and not only does it have more mature vocals, clearer production and a new cover, but it also has five new songs that were written during the era. It is expected to be successful since all previous re-records have sold more album units in the same period of time than their older version and have more streams.

The announcement came on August 9, 2023, during the last show of the US leg of The Eras Tour. Prior to the announcement, Swift debuted four new outfits during the Los Angeles show to hint at the album. All outfits followed the light blue colour theme that defines the 1989 album.

Swift is known for releasing clips of a vault opening to hint at the track titles. The clips would show a vault opening and scrambled words flying out of it. The fans would then have to unscramble them to know the names of the new tracks (referred to as vault tracks) for the re-record. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) had a slightly different way of revealing it, but the premise was the same. On September 20, 2023, Google had an interactive puzzle where if fans searched “Taylor Swift,” a vault would appear. Fans then had to unscramble various words that had to do with the era. There were a total of 89 puzzles that were quickly solved by the fans. Only after all puzzles were solved were the vault tracks officially announced.

The tracklist features all of the songs from 1989, plus five new songs (“From the Vault”). That means all of its original hits, including Shake It Off, Out Of The Woods, Style, Blank Space, Wildest Dreams, and Bad Blood.

1. “Welcome To New York (Taylor’s Version)”
2. “Blank Space (Taylor’s Version)”
3. “Style (Taylor’s Version)”
4. “Out Of The Woods (Taylor’s Version)”
5. “All You Had To Do Was Stay (Taylor’s Version)”
6. “Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)”
7. “I Wish You Would (Taylor’s Version)”
8. “Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version)”
9. “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)”
10. “How You Get The Girl (Taylor’s Version)”
11. “This Love (Taylor’s Version)”
12. “I Know Places (Taylor’s Version)”
13. “Clean (Taylor’s Version)”
14. “Wonderland (Taylor’s Version)”
15. “You Are In Love (Taylor’s Version)”
16. “New Romantics (Taylor’s Version)”

From The Vault

1. “‘SL*T!’” (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
2. “Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)’
3. “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)’
4. “Suburban Legends (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
5. “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”

+ “Sweeter Than Fiction (Taylor’s Version)” [Tangerine Vinyl Exclusive Only]

The album aesthetic has been revamped while still paying homage to the 2014 era. Many fans were confused about why the CD and vinyl alternate covers have a beach theme, when 1989 is an album about living in New York. This is likely due to the beach motif that was already present. This Love mentions “clear blue waters”, Wildest Dreams has the lyric, “He said, ‘Let’s get out of this town / Drive out of the city, away from the crowds'”, Clean mentions, “Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you / The water filled my lungs”, and the Style music video has a cave/sandy beach setting.

Regardless of what imagery Swift decides to use, the album will still have its signature 90s synths, incredible bops, insanely groovy melodies, witty lyrics, and most excitingly, five never-before-heard songs! Stay tuned for its release on the 27th!