Content warning: Please note this article mentions topics of mental health, eating disorders, and sexual assault.
Taylor Swift once again prompted us to “meet her at midnight” with the release of her album “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” this past weekend. This highly anticipated re-record included five new tracks from the vault and was released at 12 a.m. on Oct. 27, exactly nine years after the original album came out.
The release of this re-record is significant in itself, as it is indicative of Swift’s progress in re-obtaining the rights to all of her music from Scooter Braun. Yet, there are several overlooked reasons as to why “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is so critical for her story.
According to Medium, the original version of the album, released in 2014, marked Swift’s “transition into pop music and the beginning of a new chapter in her life and career.” It catapults her into the genre, demonstrating her ability to completely reinvent herself and reveals the versatility of her musical talent, as she effortlessly crosses genres. She is one of the only artists to have successfully executed this feat and maintains chart-topping tracks in all genres, as reported by Spotify. The release of this re-record is consequently an important moment for Swift and her fans, as it is often considered the album that ramps up the journey of diversifying her discography.
There are also a few emotional reasons that “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” holds so much meaning. The 1989 era was a difficult time for Swift, regarding both her mental well-being and self-image. This was mainly due to the harsh criticism she was receiving about her life, physical appearance, and music. While backlash was nothing new, since it began the moment she started to gain prominence, it was beginning to affect her substantially. This led Swift to experience a significantly low point while she was writing this album and in the time following its release.
Taylor Swift opens up about these struggles in the intimate Netflix documentary “Miss Americana.“ In this emotional film, she talked about her recurring struggle with an eating disorder throughout the span of her career. Swift stated that seeing a comment that criticized her body or seeing a picture she felt didn’t look good would trigger her to “just stop eating.” This was particularly worse during the “1989” era as a result of the suffocating pressure of pop culture and the “impossible beauty standards” of society, as Swift puts it. She stated that it “didn’t end [her] up in a good place.
Swift has since overcome this, but it hasn’t been an easy journey. She revealed in the documentary that she had to shift her thinking and realize that food is something that gives her energy and enables her to do what she loves. She shared that she has gotten to the point where criticism of her body doesn’t affect her like it used to. She stated, “I don’t care as much if someone points out that I have gained weight. It’s just something that has made my life better…[because that wasn’t] the way my body was supposed to be.” The release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” symbolizes her reclaiming this time of her life. It also allows her to relive it, released from the struggle that stole her happiness, and ability to reach her full potential, for so long.
“Miss Americana” revealed another heart-breaking aspect of the “1989” era. The year before the album came out, presumably as she was working on the tracks, Taylor Swift was sexually assaulted by David Mueller. She consequently found herself having to deal with a wide range of struggles that impacted her well-being during this time. These included both the negative effects on a victim’s mental health that follow their assault and the legal repercussions of bringing the incident to light. Mueller retaliated by filing a lawsuit against Swift for accusing him and being the cause of his “defamation,” according to the film and several news sources. Swift revealed the draining legal progress she had to go through simply to have her story heard and believed. While Mueller was finally found guilty years later, Swift stated “You don’t feel any sense of victory when you win, because the process is so dehumanizing.”
The documentary included a clip of a speech Swift gave about this before she performed “Clean” on the 2017 “Reputation Stadium Tour” (as pictured in the cover image of this article). “I don’t know what turn my life would have taken if people didn’t believe me when I said something had happened to me…and I’m so grateful to you guys for being there for me during what was a really, really horrible part of my life,” she admitted teary-eyed. Swift’s opportunity to re-release the album, removed from the traumatizing experience it was previously associated with, gives her a chance to reclaim that part of her life in a way.
Swift also released a set of past diary entries, as a part of the “Lover” Deluxe album, that delved even further into other struggles she faced in the “1989” era. She wrote in one of these entries that when she was choosing a photo to use as the cover art for the original album, she initially picked out one of her smiling. She ended up deciding against it due to insecurities about her smile and a desire to meet outside expectations. But she overcame this notion, too, as indicated by her statement in “Miss Americana” that “I’m a lot happier with who I am.” This is seen on the new cover of “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” which pictures her radiant smile. Fans commented on the significance of this decision and that it is reflective of how far she has come. Not only does she look genuinely happy, but it is also symbolic of the notion that she is now free of the things that used to negatively control her life.
While it is somewhat heart-breaking to reflect on the sad things that happened to Taylor during the original “1989” era, it gives so much meaning to the release of “(Taylor’s Version)” of this album. It leads to the realization that its significance goes beyond her musical achievements, as it is intertwined with her personal life and the obstacles she has overcome. It’s so special that she is getting to relive this era of her life in a better place than she was before, and it’s even more special that we get to be there with her through it all.
This is why the release of this re-recorded album means so much, both to Taylor and to Swifties like me. It helps those of us who can relate to the struggles she faced during this time feel that we are not alone. It shows us that we, too, can reclaim the part of our lives that was taken from us and gives us hope that things get better.
So, maybe, just maybe, we can finally smile with her.