On October 27, 2014, the pop album that changed my life came out. 1989 has been one of my favorite albums ever since it was released. It was THE album to define my childhood with the fun but meaningful songs that pushed me to become who I am today. As an eleven year old, I didn’t quite understand the lyrics or what Taylor Swift was singing about, but as I grew older I began to resonate with them more. Now exactly nine years later, Taylor Swift is redefining 1989 with five songs from the vault. I think that it is absolutely iconic that Taylor Swift is able to release 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on the same day that the original album was released.
One of the first reasons as to why 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is so important to me is because 1989 was the first pop album that I really loved as a whole. 1989 was such a big moment for me and so many others because it was Taylor’s first genre change. We were all so used to her country music that we had no idea what to expect for 1989. Taylor has said before that she wrote a lot of songs for 1989, but many were cut out. I feel like a lot of us are not prepared for what the vault songs will sound like. I remember listening to Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) vault tracks for the first time and being so surprised. I’m so excited to hear the five vault tracks from 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Another reason as to why this album is so important to me is because these songs mean so much to me and I am so excited to hear my favorite songs for the first time all over again. My favorite songs from 1989 have definitely changed from the time I was eleven. At eleven years old, I thought “Shake It Off” and “Style” were the best songs to ever exist because I loved singing and dancing to them. Don’t get me wrong, I still do love singing and dancing to those, but as I got older some of my favorites became “You Are in Love” and “Clean”. These songs along with many others have really helped shape my personality. I got the opportunity to go to the Eras Tour this past May and luckily with my surprise songs being from 1989. Our first song was “Welcome to New York” on the guitar and it was so good. I absolutely loved the acoustic version of and I’m hoping she releases an acoustic album from The Eras Tour. Our second song was “Clean” and it was so beautiful on the piano. “Clean” is one of my favorite songs from 1989, so it was extremely special to hear that live.
This album is so important to me because I get to relive a part of my childhood. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) will heal a part of my inner child that has been waiting. This album came out when I was a child and Taylor wrote about living somewhere new with her greatest friends which I can relate to right now. Coming to Blacksburg was scary at first because it was somewhere new, but I have met my greatest friends here. With Taylor now owning 1989, she will finally be able to reclaim her birth year. Now all she has left to reclaim is her reputation and her name.