We were both young when we first heard “Love Story” hit the world in 2009. Times were different back then: Barack Obama became the first Black president to be sworn in office, The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released in theaters, and Silly Bandz was all the rage.
On June 16, 2009, Taylor Swift released the iconic music video for “Love Story,” the lead single to her second studio album Fearless (2008). The single, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, has become one of Swift’s most recognizable songs.
Flash forward to February 12, 2021—the world has taken a different turn. A pandemic continues to affect communities worldwide, forcing everyone to adapt to a distinct lifestyle. Days begin to blur together, and milestones like graduations, weddings, and birthdays are restricted to virtual gatherings. During this time, Swift makes the most of a disastrous situation and releases her recording of “Love Story.”
This is only the beginning of Swift’s journey to re-record all of her masters. Following the sales of her master recordings to Scooter Braun without her consent, Swift expresses the importance of having ownership over one’s work.
On Instagram, Swift posted, “artists should own their own work for many reasons, but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really *knows* that body of work.”
In an interview with Good Morning America, Swift reveals that she has finished re-recording her album Fearless, with her version including 26 songs as opposed to the original 13 tracks because she wanted to give her fans the whole story. This includes music that didn’t make the album because, at that time, the label didn’t want “too many breakup songs, don’t want too many down tempo songs, [and] can’t fit that many songs on a physical cd,” according to Swift’s Instagram post.
In the most Swift fashion, Taylor includes a secret message in her post which reads “APRIL NINTH,” leading fans to believe that is when she will drop the re-recorded album. Until then, we can’t wait to hear what else she has in store for us.
Preorder Fearless (Taylor’s Version) here.