Since Taylor Swift first began releasing her "Taylor's Version" re-recordings in the spring of 2021, I've been looking forward to Taylor Swift (TV) more than any of the other five albums on the list.
This is a much more complex discussion now that Swift has reclaimed ownership of her master recordings, which was the whole reason for her "Taylor's Version" albums to begin with. Of course, most of us were rooting for her to finally own all her original music again, and even many Swifties who didn't end up liking the new versions still bought and streamed them anyway to support her efforts. But I've been looking forward to the re-recording of her debut album for years -- and still am, even if we never end up hearing it.
In her letter to fans, Swift suggested she might at the very least release the vault tracks from her debut album and Reputation, even if she never finishes the entirety of the latter, if we might want them. Of course we do, why would you even say that? She also said she's recorded Taylor Swift (TV) in full. We're more likely to get that one than the other, and it's fairly understandable why. I'd be legitimately disappointed if we didn't, though.
I've always imagined that "Debut" (this name for her first album has really caught on, whether you like it or not) would be her final re-recording. It would be extremely poetic and on-brand, having her first album be her final effort to fully reclaim her art. She doesn't need to release it now -- not for that reason. Which is why it would be so much more special if she did.
This era of Taylor Swift was her first. It was her literal coming-of-age soundtrack, her bold teenage entry into the music scene through the country genre pipeline. She did exactly what any girl of that age would do: She showed up to impress in the faux authentic way she knew would captivate the masses. She emphasized her curls. She played up the expected Tennessee twang that, for a time, remained her signature sound. Pennsylvania vowels? Never heard of 'em.
Over time she would evolve into the Taylor Swift more have become familiar with since the days of The Eras Tour and its around-the-clock publicity. But she couldn't have sustained her fame into her mid-30s without starting where she did. Whether or not she's still proud of every song on that first album, nostalgia is a powerful drug. We've been craving it. Perhaps even she couldn't resist the urge. She's recorded all of it -- now, she has the potential to release it as a symbolic celebration of where it all began for her. A true "how it started/how it's going" moment. A viral social media post nearly 20 years in the making.
And maybe that's what she'll wait for -- the 20th anniversary of the album's release in October 2026. Swift can't resist a good anniversary. Maybe she'll release it in pieces. Maybe she won't release it at all.
If she did, I'd personally zero in on the sound -- not the way she sings those songs decades after they were originally recorded in technical terms, but instead the emotion with which she might deliver those same lyrics. The unforgettable lines, the iconic bridges. Would we be able to hear it -- how much that chapter still means to her? Maybe. Maybe not. I can't review an album that does not yet, at least to my ears, exist.
To be able to support Swift in that moment, to celebrate with her in the comfort and isolation of my living room, would be an unforgettable experience. I'd be beyond grateful to have that moment. But whether or not the opportunity presents itself is up to the owner of the music, and at the very least, we can finally say Taylor Swift, after all this time, has finally -- and rightfully -- reclaimed her history.