Taylor Swift has finally delivered the re-recorded version of Fearless—her 2008 Grammy-winning sophomore album.
The project, appropriately titled Fearless (Taylor’s Version), features the 19 tracks from the original release and Platinum edition, as well as a grip of “vault” cuts that were written during the Fearless sessions. The additions include “You All Over Me” with Maren Morris, “That’s When” with Keith Urban, “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Don’t You,” and “We Were Happy,” as well as Elvira’s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” remix.
Swift first announced that she would be re-recording her first six albums in August 2019 following the multi-million-dollar acquisition of her original masters by Scooter Braun. Swift and her team reportedly tried to purchase the masters back from Braun; however, the music manager would go on to sell the recordings to Shamrock Holdings for $300 million. Swift addressed the acquisition in a lengthy message posted on social media.
“A few weeks ago my team received a letter from a private equity company called Shamrock Holdings, letting us know that they had bought 100% of my music, videos, and album art from Scooter Braun,” she wrote. “This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge … I will be going forward with my original re-recording schedule and will be embarking on that effort soon. I know this will diminish the value of my old masters, but I hope you will understand that this is my only way of regaining the sense of pride I once had when hearing songs from my first six albums and also allowing my fans to listen to those albums without feelings of guilt for benefiting Scooter.”
Swift has yet to announce when she will drop the rest of her rerecorded catalog. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) arrives less than a year after she released her eighth and ninth studio albums, Folklore and Evermore, respectively.
