Whether you are a fan or not, you're most certainly heard at least one of Taylor Swift’s songs. Taylor has had to re-record all her older albums between her first album, Taylor Swift (otherwise known as Debut) and Reputation, her 6th album. The reason behind this is that in 2018, Taylor left Big Machine Records (where she recorded her first 6 albums), where Scooter Braun obtained control over her master recordings. Braun makes all profit on the streams of the albums and has control over all promotional material and Swift has no say in it. Although Swift no longer owns the master records for her first few albums, she does own her lyrics and compositions. To reclaim her songs, she must re-record everything and release them under the name “Taylor’s Version” or “TV”. As of now, Fearless, Speak Now and Red, but she is soon to release 1989 on October 27th. However, a question has arisen; Could Swift have something up her sleeves with a surprise release of Reputation (TV)?
In 2017, Taylor Swift released her 6th album “Reputation” as a response to her failed cancellation initiated by Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. Started by Kanye West having a defaming lyric for Taylor Swift in his song “Famous”, Swift was angered by what he said and started a feud. Audio of Swift agreeing to the specific lyric was released, and Swift was called a fraud and a liar. In attempts to end Swift’s career, Kim and West started two internet-wide trends, such as the popular “TaylorSwiftIsOverParty” hashtag and the mass spam of the snake emoji throughout the comment sections throughout Swift’s socials. The songs featured in "Reputation" such as “I Did Something Bad”, “Look What You Made Me Do”, and “Delicate” throw shade to the situation and help explain Swift’s side of the story through her genius lyrical storytelling.
Throughout the past few months, snippets from Reputation (TV) have been released as the music for an episode of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and a movie promotion for the upcoming film “Wilderness”. In the episode for “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, a re-recorded version of the Delicate, the 5th track from Reputation, was heard. Like many of the other re-recorded tracks, Swift’s voice sounds refreshing and improved, along with reworked instrumentals that give fans a feeling of nostalgia and excitement. Another snippet was also released, a new Taylor’s Version for the famous song “Look What You Made Me Do”. The track that plays in the trailer for “Wilderness”. The release of this incredibly popular and beloved track broke the internet and made fans worldwide burst in excitement.
These snippets make Swifties ponder the question if Reputation (TV) could be a surprise release or the 5th Taylor’s Version we’ll receive, after 1989 (TV). Oddly enough, Reputation remains as the only album in which she’s released as groundbreaking teasers as these, and the only one in which she releases music snippets for her most popular songs. Knowing her genius plans when it comes to her albums, she could have anything up her sleeves for the fellow Swifties. However, just like Taylor Swift famously said, “There will be no explanation, there will just be Reputation.”
Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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