1989

Product Information

In addition to the standard, 13-song album, Swift teamed up with Target for this extended deluxe release, featuring three new songs and three voice memos from her writing sessions.

On his rendition, Adams incorporated acoustic instruments, which contrast with the original's electronic production. It became the best-selling album of 2014 in the country with total sales of 6 million as of 2016, while selling 10.Swift credited Martin as co-executive producer because he also recorded and produced the vocals on tracks where he was uncredited, which she deemed important in producing a coherent album. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the album as "a sparkling soundtrack to an aspirational lifestyle" that fails to transcend the "transient transparencies of modern pop". The Guardian featured the album at number 89 on a 2019 list of the 100 best albums of the 21st century. Swift said that the song, which was inspired by a relationship that evoked constant anxiety because of its fragility, "best represents" 1989. Additionally, being released on October 27, 2023, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)’s release date is exactly nine years after the original version of the album came out in 2014, making it Swift’s first re-recorded album to come out on the exact day and month as its first version.

Swift and Big Machine promoted 1989 extensively through tie-ins and media endorsements but pulled the album from free streaming services, which prompted an industry discourse on the impact of streaming on music sales. All You Had to Do Was Stay" laments a past relationship and originated from Swift's dream of desperately shouting "Stay" to an ex-lover against her will. When 1989 was first released, music critics generally complimented what they deemed a catchy production and an emotional engagement in its songwriting.According to Metacritic, it was the sixteenth most prominently acclaimed album on the decade-end lists. This happens multiple times on this album, where Taylor's voice sounds more synthetic and less natural while being accompanied by a booming bassline, and I can't help but dislike this change. The album's standard and deluxe editions were released for download on digital platforms on October 27, 2014. The three voice memos on the deluxe edition contain Swift's discussions of the songwriting process and unfinished demos for three songs—"I Know Places", "I Wish You Would", and " Blank Space". V. Club 's Marah Eakin praised her shift from overtly romantic struggles to more positive themes of accepting and celebrating the moment.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album 9× Platinum, which denotes nine million album-equivalent units.Swift's songwriting retained its storytelling which had been nurtured by her country-music background, [41] [42] but it is more ambiguous and embraces pop-music songwriting prioritizing emotional intensity and general ideas over intricate details. As time went on, I was less and less fond of his production on Red's early singles, most notably "I Knew You Were Trouble" which felt like an overproduced seizure on the ears, particularly at the chorus. During one week leading to 1989's release, music-industry publications predicted the album would sell short of one million copies in its debut week, with estimations from 600,000–750,000 [114] to 800,000–900,000. Now this isn't as serious as I'm making it sound, as every song is still co-written by our Taylor and still have that appeal to them, only to a lesser extent than songs on Fearless or Speak Now in particular. Now, all that being said, I still like the overall direction of the album, but I think it would be better without Max Martin's presence on production and with more songs written by Swift herself; for the record, there were 8 on Fearless, 14 on Speak Now and 9 on Red and here, there's only one.

Her social media posts showcased her personal life, making fans feel engaged with her authentic self and thus cemented their support while attracting a new fan base besides her already large one.We were all sitting in the kitchen and I was playing them all this music, and they were just saying, ‘you know, this is very eighties. The album reached number one on the record charts of various European and Oceanic countries, including Australia, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland.