The social media teaser showed a series of jumbled phrases emanating out of a literal vault (get it?), but at least one fan figured out that when you write those it all down, you get what looks like a crossword or hidden-word puzzle loaded with clues about which tracks and special guests will appear on the re-recorded album. Considered her first real transition from the country genre into mainstream singer-songwriter pop, Red was originally released on October 22, 2012. The project was Swift’s fourth studio album with Big Machine Records. It was a massive success, selling over 1 million copies within its first week of release and 8 million copies worldwide as of 2014. The effort was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 2014 Grammys. Red (Taylor’s Version) is her second full-length re-release following Fearless (Taylor’s Version), which she dropped back in April 2021. Swift owns the masters to all of her re-recordings, as well as of the rest of her albums released through Universal Music Group and Republic Records (which, so far, are Lover, folklore and evermore). After the original masters of her first six albums were sold to Scooter Braun—famous for managing Justin Bieber and formerly managing Swift’s even bigger nemesis, Kanye West—Swift revealed that she planned to re-record her first five albums. On Nov. 11, 2021, Swift recreated the photo she shared the day before the original Red dropped. “This is my last day of life before #RedTaylorsVersion,” she wrote. “Midnight. Tonight.” Here’s everything you need to know about Red (Taylor’s Version), including Swift’s lyrical inspirations, song meanings and more.
When does Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) come out?
Red (Taylor’s Version) was originally scheduled to drop on November 19, 2021. Swift made the announcement exactly 22 weeks ahead of the release date (“22” is a song off Red)…and on Braun’s birthday. There are no coincidences when you’re a Swiftie! The timing came as a surprise to her devoted Swifties, many of whom were expecting her to release 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in the summer of 2021 after a re-recording of one of Swift’s hits off that LP, “Wildest Dreams,” was used in the June 2021 animated film Spirit Untamed. Then on Sept. 30, Swift changed her mind, tweeting that Red (Taylor’s Version) would arrive a week earlier than planned with a new release date of Fri., Nov. 12; some speculated that she didn’t want to compete with Adele’s 30, which is scheduled for a Nov. 19 release.
How can I buy Taylor Swift’s album Red (Taylor’s Version)?
You can buy it here!
How many songs are on Red (Taylor’s Version)?
Swift has said that all of the original Red songs will be re-recorded, plus extra songs “from the vault,” for a total of 30 songs.
What songs are on Red (Taylor’s Version)? What is the tracklist for Red (Taylor’s Version)?
Red (Taylor’s Version) will have the following songs: The deluxe edition of 2012’s Red featured “The Moment I Knew,” “Come Back…Be Here” and “Girl At Home,” as well as demo recordings of “Treacherous” and “Red” and an acoustic rendition of “State of Grace” as bonus tracks. “Babe” is a song Swift gave to Sugarlandand sang background on in 2018. You can watch the “Babe” video below, which features Swift as a flame-haired office bombshell: Swift’s song “Better Man” was recorded and released by Little Big Town. The heartwrenching “Ronan,” inspired by four-year-old Ronan Thompson’s cancer battle, will also be featured on Red (Taylor’s Version) after she received permission from the late subject’s mother and the tune’s co-writer, Maya Thompson. Swift reportedly asked for Thompson’s blessing, writing her in a letter (via Thompson’s blog), “I’ve recently completed the re-recording of my 4th album, Red. It’s really exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and one of those ways is that I thought it would be appropriate to add ‘Ronan’ to this album. Red was an album of heartbreak and healing, of rage and rawness, of tragedy and trauma, and of the loss of an imagined future alongside someone. I wrote Ronan while I was making Red and discovered your story as you so honestly and devastatingly told it. My genuine hope is that you’ll agree with me that this song should be included on this album. As my co-writer and the rightful owner of this story in its entirety, your opinion and approval of this idea really matters to me, and I’ll honor your wishes here.” At the time of its original release, “Ronan” was available only on iTunes, and proceeds for the song went to Stand Up 2 Cancer. Swift performed the song on a 2012 Stand Up 2 Cancer special, and even she couldn’t make it all the way through without crying.
Who is featured on Red (Taylor’s Version)?
Swift teased several collaborations for Red (Taylor’s Version), including features from Ed Sheeran"Everything Has Changed" and “Run” on which he performed on the original Red album), Phoebe Bridgersand Chris Stapleton. She also has a song co-written with Mark Foster of Foster the People called “Forever Winter.”
What is Red (Taylor’s Version) about?
Swift says that Red was written during a devastating heartbreak. “I’ve always said that the world is a different place for the heartbroken. It moves on a different axis, at a different speed,” she wrote. “Time skips backwards and forwards fleetingly. The heartbroken might go through thousands of micro-emotions a day trying to figure out how to get through it without picking up the phone to hear that old familiar voice. In the land of heartbreak, moments of strength, independence, and devil-may-care rebellion are intricately woven together with grief, paralyzing vulnerability and hopelessness.” She added, “Musically and lyrically, Red resembles a heartbroken person. It was all over the place, a fractured mosaic of feelings that somehow all fit together in the end. Happy, free, confused, lonely, devastated, euphoric, wild, and tortured by memories past."
Who is Red (Taylor’s Version) about?
The primary inspiration for Red is widely rumored to be Jake Gyllenhaal, who Swift dated off and on from October to December 2010, with Swifties noting that the track widely regarded as her magnum opus, “All Too Well,” paints a picture of their tumultuous autumn romance. However, Swift had several other rumored muses for the album, including exes Conor Kennedy(“Stay Stay Stay” and “Begin Again”) and possibly Harry Styles (“I Knew You Were Trouble”). She also wrote “Starlight” about Bobby and Ethel Kennedy. Next, get to know the true loves of Taylor Swift’s life—her adorable cats!
