Taylor Swift’s hotly anticipated re-recording of her 2008 album, "Fearless (Taylor’s Version)," is finally here. Here are five fascinating facts about the project.
Swift is rerecording her albums because she was famously unable to buy back the master recordings of her first six albums from her former record label. The ownership of those masters then changed hands several times and, after failing to reach a deal, Swift decided to simply rerecord the albums. By offering fans new versions of those songs, she's literally taking money out of the pockets of the executives who now have the rights to her old work.
MORE: Taylor Swift debuts 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' exclusively on 'GMA'"Fearless (Taylor’s Version)" features 27 tracks: Rerecordings of the original album’s 13 songs, six songs from the "Fearless Platinum Edition," the movie soundtrack-only song "Today Was a Fairy Tale," six never-before-released “From the Vault” songs and a remix of "Love Story (Taylor's Version)."
Swift had her original duet partner on the song "Breathe," Colbie Caillat, return to rerecord that song for the project. She also invited a few of her country superstar friends, Maren Morris and Keith Urban, to add vocals to a few of the “From the Vault” songs. Swift plans to add "From the Vault" extras to future rerecorded albums.
The original version of "Fearless" has sold more than 10 million copies since its release in 2008, earning it the diamond certification. It features the hits "Love Story," "You Belong With Me," "Fifteen" and "White Horse," among others.
"Fearless" was named Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammy Awards, making Taylor, at age 20, the youngest artist ever to win that award. Her record stood until 2020, when she was dethroned by 18-year-old Billie Eilish for the album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"