After Swifties solved 33 million puzzles overnight, Taylor Swift has unleashed the back covers and vault track titles for “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”
The five vault tracks are titled “Slut!”, “Say Don’t Go”, “Now That We Don’t Talk”, “Suburban Legends”, and “Is It Over Now?” While fans rejoiced at the reveal, many were surprised that the numerous theories went unproven–there are no features on the album. Swift has featured several artists on vault tracks for previous re-records.
It’s a new soundtrack ???? Here are the back covers and vault track titles for 1989 (my version) I can’t wait for this one to be out, seriously. Thank you for playing along, sleuthing, puzzling and making these reveals so much chaotic fun (which is the best kind of fun, after all… pic.twitter.com/s3QrxGpXhP
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) September 20, 2023
Notably Marren Morris and Keith Urban appeared on “You All Over Me” and “That’s When” for “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” the first re-recorded album. Next, Chris Stapleton appeared on “I Bet You Think About Me” and Phoebe Bridgers on “Nothing New” for “Red (Taylor’s Version).” More recently, Paramore featured on “Castles Crumbling” and Fall Out Boy on “Electric Touch” for “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” Given “1989” having been Swift’s first foray into pop music, many listeners were expecting pop and rap collaborations to appear on “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”
The re-record marks Swift’s fourth remake. The singer began this process of re-recording her first six studio albums after her masters were sold without her consent to music tycoon Scooter Braun.
The Theories
Many speculated that “Style” would feature its alleged subject–Harry Styles. Styles and Swift were in a relationship between 2012 and 2013, when Styles was still a member of world famous boy band One Direction. Listeners have long alleged that the pair has each inspired several of each others’ songs.
Styles’ track “Two Ghosts” from his debut eponymous solo album references “same lips red, same eyes blue,” which has long been thought to be a Swift reference. On the other hand, the aptly named “Style” on Swift’s “1989” is rumored to be about the singer’s relationship with Styles, not only because of its name, but because of descriptions. The lyrics describe a man with “long hair, slicked back, white t shirt/and I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt.” Styles’ long hair and Swift’s miniskirts were style staples for each of them during their early 2010s relationship.
ADVERTISEMENT
Swift and Styles never wrote outwardly negative lyrics about their relationship. The pair even reunited at the Grammys for the past two years, with Swift congratulating Styles on winning Album of The Year in 2023. Fans of both artists applauded their friendly interaction.
Given what appears to be a respectful music relationship between exes, fans have long held out hope that Styles would offer vocals to the re-recorded version of “Style.”
me looking for Style (ft Harry Styles) (Taylor’s Version) https://t.co/zcg6uOoaxB pic.twitter.com/YDojq2gZrf
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) September 20, 2023
Additionally, one of yesterday’s Google puzzles spelled out “Sagittarius,” the singer’s astrological sign. Notably, Swift shares the sign with rapper Nicki Minaj. The pair of artists have maintained a friendship over the years, with Minaj recently captioning a photo of them at the MTV VMAs as “sagittarius things,” sparking rumors of a collaboration between them.
Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj could be teasing a collaboration as the latest ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ puzzle on Google spells “Sagittarius.” pic.twitter.com/vCdNZPGxCe
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 19, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite the vault tracks not displaying any featured artists, some are holding out hope for a deluxe version after the initial release. Swift previously did this with “Midnights” when she dropped a “Karma” remix featuring Ice Spice.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” hits streaming on October 27.
