For the fourth time, Taylor Swift released a rerecording of one of her albums on Friday (October 27). This time around, she reprised her fan-favorite 2014 album 1989, which took home the Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2016 ceremony.
Videos by American Songwriter
On top of providing updated versions of the entire album’s track list, containing hits like “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off,” and “Bad Blood,” Swift also delivered a fresh rendition of the “Bad Blood” remix. Released in 2015, seven months after 1989 initially came out, the “Bad Blood” remix features more of a hip-hop edge, thanks to the vigorous guest appearance from Kendrick Lamar.
Eight years later, Lamar was able to rerecord his timeless contribution for 1989 (Taylor’s Version), as it was used as a bonus track for the LP. Taking to Twitter the morning afterward, Swift thanked Lamar for his kind gesture and reminisced on making the hit remix.
“Watching @kendricklamar create and record his verses on the Bad Blood remix was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life,” she wrote. “I still look back on this collaboration with so much pride and gratitude, for the ways Kendrick elevated the song and the way he treats everyone around him. Every time the crowds on The Eras Tour would chant his line ‘you forgive, you forget, but you never let it… go!’, I smiled. The reality that Kendrick would go back in and re-record Bad Blood so that I could reclaim and own this work I’m so proud of is surreal and bewildering to me. I’m overjoyed to say that the Bad Blood Remix (featuring Kendrick Lamar) is available everywhere on the 1989 Deluxe Edition.”
In American Songwriter’s review of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), written by Alex Hopper, she noted that this was one of the first re-recorded albums from Swift that wasn’t used as a vehicle for new original music.
“The only letdown from 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the fact that we did not (or at least haven’t yet) gotten a double album release,” Hopper wrote. “The fans were so sure that a collaborative sister record to this release was on the way.”
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However, Swift’s inclusion of the “Bad Blood” remix, on top of already repackaging her nearly decade-old hits, will surely be enough to earn her fans’ appreciation, especially considering how she’s been busy with The Eras Tour for the last several months.
Photo by JC Olivera/WireImage
