Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart, making it her 13th album to accomplish this. It’s gone on to break many sales records, and even became the most streamed album in a single day of this year on Spotify.
Due to feeling like her voice was silenced, Taylor Swift had conflicts with her labels, which led to the creation of “Taylor’s Version,” a decision that would both allow her to own the music that she created and help her fight for artists to actually own the music they made.
Taylor’s version of 1989 has become Swift’s biggest first week album debut yet. Not only did it feature classics such as “Style (Taylor’s Version),” “Shake it Off (Taylor’s Version),” and more, also brand new songs “From the Vault,” meaning they were not released when the original album debuted. Some of the songs are “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” “Suburban Legends (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” and “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault].”
As of now, Swift has 22 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including the entire 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album, and “Cruel Summer,” from her 2019 album Lover. The album has been at number one since it debuted on October 27, and has been a fan favorite since its original release in 2014. It was the album that signified the superstar’s transition from country to pop, and it continues to be influential today.
The last couple of weeks have proven that the strategic decision to re-release a genre-defining album has worked out in Swift’s favor. It has become the biggest album debut since Adele’s 25, and has gone on to break numerous records; it has been added to Swift’s extensive list of accomplishments. 1989 was an album that helped redefine both Swift and the music industry as a whole; the re-release of the album as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has assisted the artist in redefining herself once more on her journey to owning her masters.
Following the release of the album, the singer has reached multiple milestones. She officially became a billionaire just shortly after the album debuted, and she is now the first person to reach this mark solely because of her music and performances. She was also declared Apple Music’s “Artist of the Year.” Her new concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Film has become the highest grossing concert film in history, and her tour has become one of the highest selling tours of 2023.
Swift has certainly become one of the most influential artists of this generation, and has become an inspiration to people of all ages. This era of her life will certainly be one that people look back on for years to come.