‘Cause I don’t know how it gets better than this; Taylor Swift drops ‘Fearless’ re recorded album

     After Scooter Braun gained ownership of Taylor Swift’s first six studio albums and refused to sell her back the rights, Swift took things into her own hands and announced that she would be re-recording and releasing her first six albums. On April 9, she dropped Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

     Self proclaimed die-hard Swifie and senior, Lina Goetz, was very excited for the album drop. Goetz says there were two songs she was particularly looking forward to hearing. “I was really excited for Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version).” She then goes on to explain that despite looking forward to those the most, she’s “been listening to Fifteen (Taylor’s Version) and White Horse (Taylor’s Version) on repeat.”

     Since Fearless was originally released in 2008, Swift’s voice has matured in the past 13 years. Most noticeably, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) doesn’t have the same country twang in Swift’s voice. Goetz says that the song she heard the most difference was in Forever and Always (Piano Version) (Taylor’s Version). “Her voice has grown so much throughout the years,” Goetz starts, “in a slow song like that, that focuses on her voice instead of the music, it’s easier to hear how much her voice has changed from when she was younger.”

     Along with the original 13 songs on the Fearless tracklist, Taylor’s Version included the six bonus tracks from Fearless (Platinum Edition), the song Today was a Fairytale from Valentine’s Day (2010), and six “from the vault” songs. This brings Fearless (Taylor’s Version) to a total of 26 tracks, a multiple of 13.

     Goetz says that her favorite vault song is Mr. Perfectly Fine “because it’s so upbeat and catchy and just a great song to scream cry to.” Despite the love she has for the song. Goetz says she doesn’t think Mr. Perfectly Fine, or any other vault songs, should’ve been included on the original Fearless. “They [the Fearless songs] are all so iconic.” 

     Leading up to the release of Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Swift dropped three full songs and on April 8, she dropped a few clips. Artists Conan Gray and Olivia Rodrigo posted clips of You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version) and White Horse (Taylor’s Version) using reels on Instagram, a snippet of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was played on Good Morning America, Tumblr was given a clip from Breathe (Taylor’s Version), and Twitter heard 20 seconds of Hey Stephen (Taylor’s Version).

     Goetz shares her opinion on these sneak peaks. “Her releasing the little snip was nice because it got me excited for the album,” she starts, “but she released so many it was almost spoiling it.”

     Fearless was Swift’s second studio album, but it was the first to be re-recorded. This left fans speculating the order albums would be released. The most popular theory is that she’s dropping her Album of the Year winning albums first, so that they don’t compete with Evermore at the 2022 Grammy’s. This theory suggests that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) will be the next album to be dropped, and fans on TikTok have wasted no time diving into conspiracies.

     Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version) was featured in the trailer for the animated movie Spirit Untamed, getting fans extra excited for the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version). The most popular theory regarding the release date is that it will be dropped on August 5. This is because 8+5=13 (Swift’s favorite number which she uses for most easter eggs), the fact that she performed August at the 2021 Grammy’s, and Swift’s Grammy caption was eight words followed by a comma and five more words (8/5). 

     That being said, Swift is known for making her fans do the work to decode her plans and can throw a curveball at any time. Until Swift shares any new information regarding her re-releases, fans can listen to Fearless (Taylor’s Version) on all platforms.