Since its announcement in August, fans have eagerly awaited the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version). When it was finally released on October 27, the opening riff of ‘Welcome to New York’ transported listeners back to the nostalgic feeling of the first time anyone had ever heard it in 2014. 1989 is such a pivotal part of Swift’s career because it solidified her transition from the country genre to pop, as well as it was her most raw work at that point in her career. This album encapsulates what we refer to today as a ‘situationship,’ and how a situationship’s hot-and-cold nature can affect our emotions oftentimes more than a true relationship does. It also takes on the hatred Swift got back then and still gets today. 1989 is also often referred to as the album that “made everyone a Swiftie.” To this day, ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Blank Space’ are among Swift’s most streamed songs and ones that almost everyone knows by heart, whether you are a fan or not. Along with the songs everyone knows and loves, 1989 also holds hidden gems that only true Swifties know, such as ‘You Are In Love,’ ‘Clean,’ ‘I Know Places,’ and more. ‘Style,’ with its famous introductory guitar riff, is loved by all and is rumored to be about Harry Styles and her whirlwind relationship with him. 

As we all know by now, “Taylor’s Version” of her albums are never complete without her vault songs. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) featured five vault songs, the most popular being the final track, “Is It Over Now?” Even almost ten years after she wrote it, listeners can still hear and relate to Swift’s pain in her lyrics, “Did you think I didn’t see you?/There were flashing lights/At least I had the decency/To keep my nights out of sight.” I’m sure many, especially those who dealt with the ending of a relationship being dragged out, resonated with this. When Swift released the tracklist via Instagram post (user @taylorswift) on September 20, the most shocking track title upon initial reading was most definitely “Slut!.” Something Swift has always dealt with is the public’s constant criticism of her dating life. “Slut!” takes this on and defends her choices, serving as an ode to being in love without worry of being shamed or sexualized for it. 

Alternate versions of this re-recording, including 1989 (Taylors Version) (Deluxe Edition) and the “Target Exclusive Vinyl” feature songs that were previously considered singles, such as ‘Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version) [feat. Kendrick Lamar]’ and ‘Sweeter Than Fiction (Taylor’s Version).’ Swift’s inclusion of these songs upped their streaming numbers and introduced them to her not-so-hardcore fans. Though some reviewers complained that her album sounded redundant to its original version, that is the point. This is a re-recording, not an all-new work. More importantly, it is a move at taking back what rightfully belongs to Swift after Scooter Braun sold her original work. The audio is cleaner and her vocals have matured compared to the original 1989, and it is admirable to see how far she has come in her career since releasing the original album in 2014. I guess that you could say that her work is “finally clean.”