Pop sensation Taylor Swift shared several surprises the past few months, starting with the release of “Folklore,” followed by sister album “Evermore,” and most recently, her announcement of the re-recording of her 2008 album “Fearless.”
Scooter Braun, who manages prominent artists, bought and later sold several master recordings of Swift’s tracks back in 2019. Swift, recently freed from the industry, is starting to reclaim her work.
“Love Story,” re-released on Feb. 12, became the first of Swift’s endeavors to re-record her first six albums after the sale of her early recordings. Swift plans to release “Fearless (Taylor’s Edition)” on April 9. The new album includes six never-released tracks Swift wrote for “Fearless” as a teenager.
In a recent Instagram post, the 31-year-old artist explained how grateful she was to have been able to be a teenager alongside her fan base. For those who came to know her before 2008, Swift said she is ecstatic to experience “Fearless” again. She said she can now “fully appreciate” the album in its entirety.
Some “Swifties,” the name of Swift’s fan base, at Georgia State expressed excitement for the upcoming albums as a feeling of nostalgia emerges from listening to the albums.
Freshman Maddie Bass spent her entire childhood listening to Taylor Swift on a portable CD player, complete with big, bulky headphones. Every time a new Swift album came out, Bass and her father would buy the CD and drive around listening to the album.
“Even today, when Taylor Swift releases new albums, I send them to my dad, and we talk about the music. I’m in college now, obviously, but we still talk about her new albums and our favorite songs from the album. It’s always been a thing we’ve done,” Bass said.
Freshman Gabby Mcquade started listening to Swift in the fifth grade after her parents bought her “Fearless” on a CD. Mcquade listened to the album on her computer, watched all the music videos and fell in love with every song.
“These songs were my childhood, and now that I’m older, I feel like there’s not going to be the same innocence to the songs,” Mcquade said. “I am going to actually realize what she is talking about and the emotion behind all of her songs.”
Freshman Regan Williams, who’s attended every Swift tour since 2008, began listening to Swift because of her mother, who loves country music. Williams found herself sitting farther in the crowd over the years as Swift grew in popularity. As Swift transformed from country to pop, Williams maintained a strong love for her music.
“I remember her first concert I went to. I was so close to the stage. With each concert, we would get farther and farther back,” Williams said. “It was crazy, watching her transform from a country artist to a pop artist and listening to that switch.”
