Taylor Swift Fans Erupt Over Surprise Announcement
Taylor Swift fans screamed in unison as she announced the upcoming release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on Wednesday.
The singer-songwriter, in a “style” she’s used in the past, unveiled the album’s artwork and Oct. 27 release date on a massive screen as she wrapped up the first U.S. leg of her Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
“There’s something that I’ve been planning for a really, really, really ridiculously embarrassingly long time,” she told the football stadium full of Swifties. “And I think instead of just telling you about it, I think I’ll just sort of show you something I’ve been excited to show you.”
Swift later shared more about the “surprise” release on X, the social media platform formerly called Twitter.
“The 1989 album changed my life in countless ways, and it fills me with such excitement to announce that my version of it will be out October 27th,” she wrote. “To be perfectly honest, this is my most FAVORITE re-record I’ve ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane. I can’t believe they were ever left behind. But not for long!”
The album is set to include five previously unreleased tracks while physical versions of the album promise to include never-before-seen photos, according to Swift’s website.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” will mark the singer-songwriter’s fourth re-recorded album and will arrive exactly nine years after the original release of “1989,” which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2016.
Fans also noted that the singer-songwriter’s announcement came eight years, nine months and 13 days after the release of “1989,” a span of time that uses the last two digits of the title and Swift’s favorite number, 13.
Swift made subtle nods to the original album on a number of occasions during her six-show stop at SoFi Stadium.
Fans’ tour wristbands flashed blue, a color often associated with the album, after her concert ended on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, she wore a blue dress as she performed “Enchanted” and “Long Live.”
The album’s release will add to her journey of re-recording material from her first six albums, an effort she embarked on to give her control of her music after Scooter Braun purchased her catalog with his company Ithaca Holdings’ acquisition of Big Machine Records.
Ithaca sold the masters to Shamrock Holdings in 2020, a move that Swift said would allow Braun to “continue to profit” off her catalog for many years under the terms of the deal.
The “Taylor’s Version” albums, including Swift’s most-recent re-release for “Speak Now,” have been massive hits on streaming services in the years since.
In July, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2023 before Travis Scott’s “Utopia” took the title late last month.
The album also became the most-streamed country album in a single day in Spotify history, Billboard noted.
