Taylor Swift announces ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’: The clues that hinted it was coming

Our “Wildest Dreams” are coming true, because a new Taylor’s Version is on the way.

During the final night of Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” stop at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the award-winning singer announced that her next re-recorded album will be “1989,” and it’s dropping Oct. 27.

Taylor Swift performs onstage during “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 9, 2023 in Inglewood, Calif.

Kevin Winter/tas23/Getty Images

During her acoustic set, Swift reflected on the past few months and dropped the album news.

“Here we are, the last night of the U.S. leg of the ‘Eras Tour,’ it’s the eighth month of the year on the ninth day of [August],” she said, referencing the date being 8/9. “There’s something I’ve been planning for a really, really [long time]. And instead of just telling you about it, I guess I would just show you.”

The news of her upcoming album also appeared on Instagram moments after she took the stage with the album cover for “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”

“Surprise!!” she began. “1989 (Taylor’s Version) is on its way to you 🔜!”

“The 1989 album changed my life in countless ways, and it fills me with such excitement to announce that my version of it will be out October 27th,” she added. “To be perfectly honest, this is my most FAVORITE re-record I’ve ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane. I can’t believe they were ever left behind. But not for long!”

Swift’s speech on Wednesday night ended with a performance of “New Romantics” from the “1989” album as artwork for the re-recorded album appeared on stage behind her.

The upcoming album will be released nine years after she released “1989” through Big Machine Records.

Some of the hit songs from the album includes “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood,” “Welcome to New York” and “Style.”

All of Taylor’s re-recorded albums so far

The upcoming “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” will be the fourth album that she’s re-recorded. In July, she released “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” which is a re-recording of 2010’s “Speak Now.” Swift first released “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” a re-recording of 2008’s “Fearless,” in April 2021. And in November 2021, she released “Red (Taylor’s Version),” a re-recording of 2012’s “Red.”

Fans spot clues pointing to “1989 (Taylor’s Version)”

Leading up to her announcement, fans on social media speculated that the superstar would be announcing something big on the final night of her tour. Some had a hunch that the announcement would be something related to “1989.”

In true Swift fashion, the singer also dropped hints during her show with new outfits to reflect the theme of “1989.” While taking the stage for her “Folklore” set, fans noticed that Swift had a new blue dress. She also donned a new blue gown for her “Speak Now” performance of “Enchanted” and “Long Live,” a new blue outfit for her “1989” portion of the show as well as a new blue dress for her acoustic set where she sings two surprise songs from her past albums on the guitar and on the piano.

Fans know that all of Swift’s albums are represented by a color, and blue is the color most associated with “1989.”

Eagle-eyed Swifties also noticed a few hints in recent music videos. In the clip for “Bejeweled,” off her “Midnights” album, Swift gets on an elevator and goes to the third floor, representing “Speak Now,” her third album. After this, she goes to the fifth floor, which represents “1989,” her fifth album. Then, in the music video for her From the Vault track “I Can See You” off “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” there’s a sign on a bridge over her car at the end of the clip that says “8.9 tv,” hinting that “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” would be the next re-recording to drop.

“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is the second re-recorded album that Swift announced during her sold-out “Eras Tour.” In May, Swift announced the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” in Nashville, Tennessee.

Swift kicked off her tour on March 17 in Glendale, Arizona.

She will embark on the international leg of her tour on Aug. 24 in Mexico City. She’ll have several stops across Asia, Europe and Australia through August 2024 before returning again to North America in October 2024 for stops in Florida, Louisiana, Indiana and Canada.