Not everyone may worship at the altar of Taylor Swift, but Google is definitely "a Swiftie dressed like a search engine". Ahead of the release of 1989 (Taylor's Version) on October 27, the Goddess of all Blank Spaces wanted her fans to master another blank space—the Google Search bar. As has become tradition with Taylor re-recording her albums, 1989 (Taylor's Version) will feature bonus tracks—dubbed Vault tracks—that did not make it onto the initial album. However, instead of simply announcing the tracklist, Swift has launched a puzzle on Google for fans to work out the names themselves. The goal of this Scrabble-esque game is to get the tracks Out of The Woods, err, vaults. It’s a new soundtrack 🩵 Here are the back covers and vault track titles for 1989 (my version) I can’t wait for this one to be out, seriously. Thank you for playing along, sleuthing, puzzling and making these reveals so much chaotic fun (which is the best kind of fun, after all… pic.twitter.com/s3QrxGpXhP — Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) September 20, 2023 If you type ‘Taylor Swift’ on Google’s search bar, an old-school blue banking vault will appear. Clicking on this will take you to a tiled puzzle, one of 89—a play on 1989 (Taylor's Version)—whose mystery must be solved. At the time of writing, fans have completed 33 million of Taylor Swift's puzzles. Their prize? The popstar's own voice, revealing the title tracks to them one by one: • “Slut!” • “Is It Over Now?” • “Now That We Don’t Talk” • “Say Don’t Go” • “Suburban Legends” Why is Taylor Swift remaking her albums? What are the Vault tracks? It was in November 2020 that Swift decided to remake her albums, after the master (original) recordings of her first six were sold by her former label Big Machine Records to music mogul Scooter Braun. Wanting creative control, Swift began to re-record her music in the form of identical tracks, which would grant her complete ownership over her legacy. This has also allowed Swift to enjoy the monetisation that comes with use of the ‘Taylor’s Version’ songs in films, shows and ads. As mentioned earlier, they also include bonus, unreleased music ‘from the vault’. The original 1989 was Swift’s fifth studio album. According to Billboard, the ‘Taylor’s Version’ collection has surpassed Swift's original works in streams, charting and total sold units. Fans collectively rally around the new versions to show solidarity in the ‘battle’ against Braun, which the latter seemingly ‘lost’. The popstar’s emotional lyrics also create a natural base for listeners to make relatable, user-generated content on social media—boosting streams—while her ongoing, smash-hit Eras Tour, 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well’ (centred on ex-flame Jake Gyllenhaal), and lyrically rich albums ‘Folkore’ and ‘Evermore’ have been critically acclaimed for their dynamism and storytelling. Braun reportedly expressed regret over buying Swift’s masters, and sold his holding company, Ithaca, to Hybe America in 2021. The label is under South Korea's Hybe Corporation, which manages K-pop acts BTS, Seventeen, TXT and New Jeans, among others.
