Taylor Swift’s feud with Scooter Braun reached new heights when it became public that he had sold her music — which he acquired in June 2019 without her knowledge or consent — to a private equity company called Shamrock Holdings.
As Swift herself stated in a post on social media, it was the second instance in which her music was sold without her knowledge. However, unlike what happened the first time, this time Swift was offered the opportunity to buy her music back – so long as she agreed to never say a bad thing about Scooter Braun again.
In the same social media post, Swift told the public that Shamrock Holdings was open to negotiating with her, but that Scooter Braun would still profit off of her songs – something that was off the table for Swift. So, for the second time, Swift’s lifework was sold while she was left out of the conversation
However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Last year — when Swift’s battle with Scooter first went public — she mentioned that, starting November 2020, she would legally be allowed to re-record her first five albums.
To the excitement of many, Swift also mentioned on social media: “I have recently begun re-recording my older music and it has proven to be both exciting and creatively fulfilling. I have plenty of surprises in store.”
Swift’s first album came out in 2006, and since then, Swift has switched music genres and has evolved enormously as a musician. It will be interesting to hear how her older songs will sound over a decade later.
Moreover, even before Swift revealed the surprises she has in store, her fans theorized that she wouldn’t just re-record her albums without including any twists. So, as a lifelong Taylor Swift fan, I have listed the things I’m hoping to see in the re-recordings:
A studio version of “I’d Lie”
“I’d Lie” is an unreleased song that Swift wrote when she was only sixteen. She performed it on “Billboard Live” in 2006, and though it has proven to be a fan favorite, it never made it on her album. I would love if Swift released “I’d Lie” as a bonus track on the re-recording of her debut album, “Taylor Swift.”
“1989 World Tour” version of “Love Story”
Swift’s musical retelling of the story of Romeo and Juliet is one of her biggest hits. It’s a classic.
As much as I love the original version of this song, the version that she performed during her “1989 World Tour” and for “BBC Live Lounge” shows many similarities to her newer songs. Swift managed to make a great song even better, and it would be amazing if she decided to include this version on the “Fearless” re-recording.
Will she change anything about “Better Than Revenge” and “You Belong With Me?”
Both “Better Than Revenge” and “You Belong With Me” are old Swift songs that, if we’re being honest, have misogynistic undertones.
Both songs pit women against each other, which is something that Swift no longer stands by, which she made clear in “You Need To Calm Down” — “And we see you over there/ On the internet/ Comparing all the girls who are killing it/ But we figured you out/ We all know now/ We all got crowns.”
So, we can’t help but wonder if and how Swift will proceed with the re-recordings of these songs. Will she change part of the lyrics? Will she skip the re-recording altogether? I personally can’t wait to find out.
What about “Bad Blood?”
On the same note, I’m curious to see what Swift will change — if anything at all — about “Bad Blood,” a song she wrote about her feud with Katy Perry.
Swift and Perry have since reconciled, and Perry even made a special appearance in Swift’s music video for her song “You Need To Calm Down.” Personally speaking, I think Swift should invite Perry to re-record “Bad Blood” with her. They have clearly grown past their feud, and it would be a great way to show their fans just how close they are now.
The ten-minute version of “All Too Well”
Swift probably regrets telling her fans that “All Too Well” was originally ten minutes long, as they haven’t stopped asking her for the full version since.
She has brought up the original version of “All Too Well” again recently during her participation on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums” podcast, which has renewed the fans’ interest in listening to the full version.
Now that she is re-recording her old music, it would be a great opportunity for Swift to release the full version of the song.
Bonus: An acoustic version of “Dancing With Our Hands Tied”
It is not clear when Swift will be allowed to re-record her sixth album, “Reputation,” as she only mentioned the first five re-recordings for November 2020.
Due to contractual obligations, it is believed that she will be allowed to re-record “Reputation” in 2022. However, I already have something that I wish to see when she finally re-records it: an acoustic version of “Dancing With Our Hands Tied.”
In my opinion, this song is one of the most heartbreaking songs Swift has ever written, though its sentimentality is disguised within an electronic, danceable beat.
During her “Reputation Stadium Tour,” Swift performed the song acoustically, proving how much more emotional the song can become when performed with just a guitar. When she is finally allowed to re-record “Reputation,” I hope she considers including an acoustic version of the song.