Taylor Swift’s album remakes keep getting better and better.
The 31-year-old superstar is bringing in new talent for her re-recording of 2012 album “Red,” her fourth in the Big Machine Records line-up — and part of her long-term plan to retake ownership of her music after pop music magnate Scooter Braun sold the master recordings for her first six albums in a $300 million deal.
On Thursday, the “No Body, No Crime” singer-songwriter shared a short word-scramble video that revealed several big names in music. Fans who were able to decode the puzzle learned that Phoebe Bridgers, Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton would be upcoming featured collaborators.
British songwriter Sheeran, 30 — who also appeared on the original “Red” — was a given to fans, but the addition of indie rocker Bridgers and country star Stapleton came as a pleasant surprise to many Swifties.
“Taylor swift and phoebe bridgers joining forces to give us the sad girl autumn we deserve sounds about right,” said one follower on social media.
“No but chris stapleton is so on point and perfect she finally made some logical moves im so happy,” added another.
Both singers’ music styles fit the melodramatic vibe and emotional relatability that Swift’s music captures so well.
Four-time Grammy nominee Bridgers, 26, got critical acclaim for her indie rock album, “Punisher.” Stapleton, 43, is a country veteran. His fourth studio album “Starting Over” recently earned him Album of the Year accolades at the 2021 Country Music Awards.
This isn’t the first time Swift has dropped cryptic album details about upcoming music. Ahead of the release of “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” in April — the first of her album revamps — she teased song titles and featured singers with a similar word scramble video.
The update of her 2012 pop-country album will be almost double the length of the original, including unreleased tracks, as well as a 10-minute explicit version of “All Too Well,” a song that diehard fans have speculated is about her breakup with actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
“Sometimes you need to talk it over (over and over and over) for it to ever really be … over,” Swift shared in June. “Like your friend who calls you in the middle of the night going on and on about their ex, I just couldn’t stop writing. This will be the first time you hear all 30 songs that were meant to go on Red. And hey, one of them is even ten minutes long.”
“Musically and lyrically, Red resembled a heartbroken person,” she explained. “Like trying on pieces of a new life, I went into the studio and experimented with different sounds and collaborators. And I’m not sure if it was pouring my thoughts into this album, hearing thousands of your voices sing the lyrics back to me in passionate solidarity, or if it was simply time, but something was healed along the way.”
“Red (Taylor’s Version)” is the fourth of six albums Swift plans on re-recording. After a dispute with Big Machine Records — with whom she was in contract for 12 years — erupted in 2019, leading to a public feud with her high-profile music manager, Scooter Braun, Swift left the label to sign with Universal Music Group. Forced to leave her original recordings behind, she now aims to re-release all her old music in a bid to reclaim her early work — which Braun and Big Machine unloaded for $300 million to an investment firm — and be properly paid for it.
In addition to the new album hype, the 11-time Grammy winner recently showed her support for Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, 24, who briefly withdrew from the games for mental health reasons. Swift recently narrated a new Olympic promo video, celebrating Biles’ return to the competition and her ability to be human.
Touched by her support, Biles tweeted, “I’m crying. how special. I love you @taylorswift13.”
“I cried watching YOU,” she responded to Biles afterward. “I feel so lucky to have gotten to watch you all these years, but this week was a lesson in emotional intelligence and resilience. We all learned from you. Thank you.”
“Red (Taylor’s Version)” is set to release on Nov. 19.
