On November 12, Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated album ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’. The album consists of 30 tracks, including re-recordings of her original ‘Red’ album and a 10-minute version of “All Too Well”.  As Taylor Swift is primarily a pop artist, she has many fans in Downey that have been waiting for this album since she first announced its release in June.

However, many people don’t know why Swift is re-recording her songs. In June of 2019, Swift’s first six albums were sold to music executive Scooter Braun, meaning any money made from her music would go directly to his company. This being done without her knowledge, Swift has decided to re-record her music so that fans can enjoy her music and she can still make money off of it. Being a successful woman, Swift has become an example for young girls, one of them being freshman Naomi Chavez.

“I really admire Taylor as an individual because she knows that people in the music industry will try to undermine her, but she doesn’t see it as a challenge because she knows her worth, which she proved again with the Scooter Braun situation,” Chavez said. “I’ve been a fan of her since I was in elementary school, and I grew up watching her interviews and speeches. Something I learned from her was that no matter how much people underestimate you, you can still be the bigger person by turning their doubts into motivation to succeed”.

The inclusion of “(Taylor’s Version)” means that Swift owns the album, meaning she can alter her songs however she wants. This has fans excited because old songs have new alterations to lyrics or rhythm. Junior Brielle Madrigal shares why she was anticipating the release of this album. 

“I was really looking forward to listening to how Taylor wanted the songs to be originally, because now the songs are truly hers,” Madrigal said. “This album was especially exciting to finally hear because of how far Taylor has come with her music knowing that this is how she actually wanted the album to come out. ”

On this album, Swift has included 8 new tracks that were supposed to be in the original Red album. Songs that she wrote but wasn’t allowed to release went to “The Vault”, but now that she is under her own management she has the liberty to release all of these songs after many years.  Junior Stephanie Vallejo, who’s been a Swiftie since she was in first grade, shares what this album means to her as a whole. 

“Red is a very powerful album, once again it embodies all the emotions of heartbreak, yet the gratefulness of healing and beginning new love again after something so tragic,” Vallejo said.  “So just being able to hear her new stronger vocals and the difference between 21/22 year old Taylor and 31 year old is something we have all been anticipating for.”

Red (Taylor’s Version) broke multiple records within the first week of its release. The album broke Spotify’s records for the most streamed album in a day by a female, and being the most streamed female in one day. She also broke her own record for the record for the largest sales week for a vinyl album in the modern era. Fans have speculated what things she will include in her next re-recording, but for now, Swifties will enjoy this latest release.