Fans anxiously await and theorize when Taylor Swift will drop her next re-recorded album after Red was released in November 2021. While some heavily lean towards Swift’s clues leading to 1989 being next, others suspect Speak Now. Either way, Swifties won't be disappointed since they’re just excited to hear their old favorite songs for the first time again.
As one of the most successful musicians, Swift has an extensive catalog filled with hits. Some of her most iconic songs are further solidified as legends thanks to their music videos’ popularity.
Love Story – 642M Views
As the lead single from Fearless, “Love Story” set the tone for the hopeful romanticism of the album. This song hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her highest charting hit at the time (via Billboard).
With lyrics that reference Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Swift tie her words to the video’s visuals with her long flowing dress as she sings from a balcony. While the song starts at a high school in the present day, Swift is taken back in time when she dances with her “Romeo” at a ball and sneaks out to see him.
I Don’t Wanna Live Forever – 674M Views
In collaboration with Zayn Malik, the two perform “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” for the film Fifty Shades Darker. The song is not only one of Swift’s best original songs for a movie, but it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written For Visual Media.
In the video, Zayn and Swift walk down hallways to their own hotel rooms. In their rooms, the two trash their places until they are seen together singing a chorus, with the last image being Taylor singing to the camera alone.
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together – 701M Views
The lead single from Swift’s album, Red, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” was catchy long before it was featured in Pitch Perfect 2. The song earned many award nominations, as well as a CMT nomination for Best Music Video.
Filmed in a single continuous shot, the video is bright and colorful, fitting the song as it leans into the pop genre. This video manages to make the situation of trying to be convinced to get back together with an ex something fun and lighthearted, capturing viewers’ and listeners’ attention.
Style – 718M Views
“Style” is a major reason Swifties are most excited for 1989’s re-recorded songs, as the album won the Grammy for Album of the Year. While having a clear narrative in the lyrics, detailing a relationship that may not be the most consistent, but is still real and timeless.
In the video, the song’s narrative is less clear visually, instead capturing more of the feelings of the story through abstracted imagery. Director Kyle Newman captured this new side of “Style” with Swift’s silhouettes framing natural landscapes and weather with some scenes featuring the one with the “James Dean daydream look.”
Wildest Dreams – 826M Views
Originally released on 1989, “Wildest Dreams” has since been one of the few from the album to be re-recorded and released. The “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” gained more streams the day of its release than the original any day (via Variety).
The video for “Wildest Dreams” is set in Africa on the set of a period film in 1950, as it tells the story of two costars falling in love (inspired by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton). Swift donated all proceeds from “Wildest Dreams” to the African Parks Foundation of America (via Africaparks.org).
You Belong With Me – 1.3B Views
Although Swift re-released Fearless, “You Belong With Me” remains a song that fans consider the original to be better than Taylor’s Version. In part, that may be due to the original video being one of Swift’s most recognizable and popular from her earlier albums. Swift plays both the girl next door, crushing on her neighbor, and the video’s antagonist, the brunette cheerleader. The song and video capture the feeling of being a teenager with a huge crush who can’t help but compare themselves to others around them.
Look What You Made Me Do – 1.3B Views
After her year-long hiatus, Swift kicked off her Reputation era with “Look What You Made Me Do.” The video hit 43.2 million views within 24 hours since it was released, breaking the record for most views in a day (via Variety). The song’s lyrics reference situations that stained her reputation, and the video picks up where the lyrics left off, playing into satire. Swift shows the life media portrays her having, with some of Swift’s best video Easter eggs, like when she lies in a bathtub filled with diamonds and a single dollar bill and references her old videos as well.
Bad Blood – 1.5B Views
As a major hit from one of Swift’s most naughty albums, 1989, “Bad Blood” features Swift’s close friends, Selena Gomez, Hailee Steinfeld, Gigi Hadid, and Zendaya, amongst others, helping the video break the record for the highest number of views in a day with 20.1 million (via EW).
The celebrity appearances helped cement this song as one of her most iconic as it depicts Swift and Gomez fighting together for a briefcase until Gomez double-crosses her, so Swift trains to get back at her. The video ends just as the real fight begins between the two of them.
Blank Space – 3B Views
Another hit from 1989 that would be difficult to find someone who hasn’t heard it, “Blank Space” was one of the biggest singles in 2015 as it earned multiple Grammy nominations. At the MTV Video Music Awards, Swift won Best Pop Video and Best Female Video for “Blank Space.”
Swift satirizes the media’s depiction of her as someone who cannot stay in a stable relationship. In the video, Swift believes her boyfriend to be cheating and behaves erratically, villainizing herself according to the way media portrays the ending of every relationship as if it’s her fault.
Shake It Off – 3.1B Views
From her first official pop album, “Shake It Off,” spent 50 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and earned three Grammy nominations. As the lead single, this song perfectly introduced the tone of the album to the masses as it was more upbeat and catchy.
In a more comedic video for Swift, she explores what it was like for her to discover her identity. Swift portrays someone out of place around cheerleaders and dancers like ballerinas and breakdancers, but it doesn’t phase her as she embraces the fun of it all.