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Remember when Harry Styles hit the brakes too soon? Taylor Swift definitely still does — at least, that’s the leading theory surrounding one of Swift’s new 1989 (Taylor’s Version) “From the Vault” tracks, which is basically a sequel to “Out of the Woods.”
Fans almost immediately connected “Is It Over Now?,” the last of Swift’s five new 1989 vault tracks, to the “Anti-Hero” singer’s decade-old breakup from Styles upon its release Friday (Oct. 27). The two stars dated briefly in 2012 and split in early 2013, back when the “As It Was” singer was still a member of One Direction.
The new track is full of references to “Haylor” lore; in fact, the very first lyric in the song sounds like a nod to the pair’s infamous paper airplane necklaces, which were also referenced in “Out of the Woods,” another song widely believed to be about Styles. “Once the flight had flown,” Swift begins on “Is It Over Now?”
Possibly the most compelling piece of evidence tying “Over Now?” to Styles, however, is the whole second verse: “Whеn you lost control/ Red blood, white snow/ Blue dress on a boat/ Your new girl is my clone.”
Lost control? Red blood and snow? Sounds like a callback to the snowmobile accident Swift divulged in her 2014 Rolling Stone cover story, an incident fans have long speculated involved Styles (he was seen with a bandage on his chin around the time it happened). And that “blue dress on a boat” detail? It has to be related to that iconic paparazzi photo of Swift looking sad as she allegedly sailed away from her 2013 Carribbean vacation with Styles, rumors flying that the two had broken up on the trip — right?
And then there’s that “your new girl is my clone” business … sounds pretty similar to Styles’ own “From the Dining Table” lyrics: “Woke up the girl who looked just like you/ I almost said your name.”
Swift has just two more “Taylor’s Version” re-records on the docket now that 1989 has dropped. Having released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, along with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) earlier this year, all that’s left are her 2006 self-titled debut and 2017’s Reputation, the last album she made while with Big Machine Records.
The pop superstar is this year’s leading Billboard Music Awards finalist. You can watch the BBMAs on Nov. 19 on Billboard and the BBMA’s social media channels, as well as here.
See the best fan theories about Taylor, Harry and “Is It Over Now?” below:
I seriously was GUTTED with this parallel “Remember when you hit the brakes too soon?Twenty stitches in a hospital room” – OOTW TV”Whеn you lost control (Uh-huh)Red blood, white snow (Uh-huh)” – Is It Over Now TV FTV#1989TaylorsVersion #ItsANewSoundtrack— Han’s In Love ⸆⸉ (@tisthehanszn13) October 27, 2023
y’all wanted a harry styles collab and we kinda got it… is it over now? (feat. harry styles shredded to pieces) (taylor’s version) (from the vault)— laura ♐︎ (@laurazzalez) October 27, 2023
taylor em is it over now: if she’s got blue eyes i assume as that you probably date herharry em two ghosts: same lips red same eyes blue, same white shirt couple more tattoos but it’s not you and it’s not me pic.twitter.com/himkw34pWJ— nana (@folkfreaky) October 27, 2023
Is it over now is 100% about Harry styles she finally flamed him I’m here for it I’m a child of divorce let mom be bitter for a moment— Kaylin 👻 (@kaylinofthesun) October 27, 2023
Taylor Swift has collaborated with plenty of A-list acts over the years. But in a post on Friday morning (Oct. 27), the singer said that her it meant something extra-special to her that Kendrick Lamar hopped back in the booth to re-record his bars from the remix of Swift’s 1989 single “Bad Blood” for the deluxe edition of her latest Taylor’s Version series.
On the heels of Friday’s release of her fourth catalog revamp, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Taylor also dropped an expanded deluxe edition featuring the refreshed “Blood” remix. “Watching @kendricklamar create and record his verses on the ‘Bad Blood’ remix was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life,” Swift said in an Instagram caption featuring a snap of the dynamic duo in the studio, as well as live footage of Swifties shouting the chorus back to her from a stop on this summer’s Eras Tour and a photo of the deluxe edition cover.
“I still look back on this collaboration with so much pride and gratitude, for the ways Kendrick elevated the song and the way he treats everyone around him,” she added. “Every time the crowds on The Eras Tour would chant his line ‘you forgive, you forget, but you never let it… go!’, I smiled. The reality that Kendrick would go back in and re-record ‘Bad Blood’ so that I could reclaim and own this work I’m so proud of is surreal and bewildering to me.”
The spruced Lamar verse isn’t the only added value on the latest Taylor’s Version, which also features five bonus Vault tracks: “Slut!,” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends” and “Is It Over Now?” A sixth previously unreleased song, “Sweeter Than Fiction,” is available on a Target-only version.
The 1989 re-record follows on the heels of previous Taylor’s Versions of Fearless, Red and Speak Now. Swift celebrated the latest Version with a poetic hand-written message to Swifties in which she wrote, “I was born in 1989, reinvented for the first time in 2014, and a part of me was reclaimed in 2023 with the re-release of this album I love so dearly,” in a note in her the singer’s handwriting.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the magic you would sprinkle on my life for so long. This moment is a reflection of the woods we’ve wandered through and all this love between us still glowing in the darkest hour. I present to you, with gratitude and wild wonder, my version of 1989. It’s been waiting for you.”
Listen to the re-recorded “Bad Blood” remix and see Swift’s post about Lamar below.
The arrival of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was always going to be a big deal: after all, her 2014 album was one of Taylor Swift’s critical and commercial high points, scoring three No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 and winning the album of the year Grammy after fully reinventing the country superstar as a pop […]
It seems safe to assume that not everyone mentioned in Britney Spears‘ The Woman in Me memoir is going to rush out to check the index for their name. But one person who seems pleased with how they are portrayed in the tell-all memoir from the pop princess is her ex-husband Sam Asghari. TMZ talked […]
Jack Black never met a shirt he couldn’t shed. The Tenacious D frontman and comedic whirlwind was bare-chested again on Wednesday night (Oct. 25), but this time it was for a good cause. Black stripped down to his colorful boxers (and matching socks) during the all-star Give Back-ular Spectacular fundraiser at the Orpheum Theatre in […]
Niall Horan must be feeling pretty good about himself right now.
When the members of One Direction inevitably splintered off in their own directions, the Irishman, like his former bandmates, embarked on a solo career. He’s now three albums in, with three consecutive No. 1s on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, and three top 10s on the all-genres Billboard 200 chart, including a No. 1 for his 2017 debut solo effort Flicker.
He’s gone one better in the U.K., where his sophomore album Heartbreak Weather (from 2020) and his third and most recent LP, 2023’s The Show, both spent time at No. 1.
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For the cherry on top, Horan stepped into a full-time coach’s role on season 23 of NBC’s The Voice, and immediately walked away a winner, thanks to 19-year-old contestant Gina Miles.
The luck of the Irish, perhaps.
Horan has more where that came from. After The Show, the Encore: a deluxe edition featuring nine bonus tracks. Slated for release Nov. 3 via Capitol Records, the expanded version of The Show includes a collaboration with “Ceilings” singer Lizzy McAlpine on a new version of “You Could Start A Cult,” which dropped at the stroke of midnight.
When the full package arrives, expect a collaboration with rival The Voice coach John Legend on a reimagined version of the title track, plus live recordings from the Electric Picnic festival and Spotify Studios, along with alternate versions of “Meltdown” and “On A Night Like Tonight” from Horan’s Vevo Extended Play session.
Vinyl and CD editions will follow on April 5, 2024, and a 2-LP vinyl edition of The Show: The Encore, which includes a 72-page hardcover 12” x 12” book, is available to pre-order at his official website.
There’ll be more Horan to go around next year, when the pop singer embarks on an international tour in support of his third LP, playing more than 80 dates, including two shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Before that, he’ll perform at 93.3 FLZ Jingle Ball – Tampa (Nov. 26) and 102.7 KIIS FM Jingle Ball – Los Angeles (Dec. 1).
Stream “You Could Start A Cult” with Lizzy McAlpine below.
[embedded content]
“The Show: The Encore” tracklist:
Heaven
If You Leave Me
Meltdown
Never Grow Up
The Show
You Could Start A Cult
Save My Life
On A Night Like Tonight
Science
Must Be Love
You Could Start A Cult (with Lizzy McAlpine)
The Show (with John Legend)
Heaven (Live from Electric Picnic)
If You Leave Me / Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live from Electric Picnic)
Meltdown (Vevo Extended Play)
Save My Life (Live from Electric Picnic)
On A Night Like Tonight (Vevo Extended Play)
Science (Live from Spotify Studios)
Something In The Orange (Live from Spotify Studios)
Taylor Swift’s fourth and latest “Taylor’s Version” isn’t just a release, it’s a healing process.
The pop superstar’s re-recorded LP dropped at the stroke of midnight, nine years to the day since the original 1989 was released back in 2014.
As Swifties everywhere turned on, tuned in and dropped out of whatever they were doing, TayTay turned to her social channels to share a think-piece, laced with easy-to-find easter eggs.
“I was born in 1989, reinvented for the first time in 2014, and a part of me was reclaimed in 2023 with the re-release of this album I love so dearly,” reads Swift’s message, penned in her own handwriting.
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“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the magic you would sprinkle on my life for so long.”
The fresh release features newly -recorded editions of all 13 original songs, plus three bonus tracks (“Wonderland,” “New Romantics” and “You Are In Love”) and five cuts from the “Vault” (“Is It Over Now?,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Say Don’t Go,” “Suburban Legends” and “Slut!”).
“This moment is a reflection of the woods we’ve wandered through and all this love between us still glowing in the darkest hour,” she writes. “I present to you, with gratitude and wild wonder, my version of 1989. It’s been waiting for you.”
Swift’s latest social post is accompanied with pictures of the pop star frolicking on a beach, eating ice-cream, living life like it’s 1989 all over again.
With the arrival of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Swift has just two more albums to re-record: her 2006 self-titled debut and 2017’s Reputation, the last album she released under Big Machine Records. In 2021, she dropped Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), and in July of this year, she released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Stream 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and see TayTay’s social post below.
Swifties, rejoice! 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is finally here. The re-recorded version of Swift’s fifth studio album dropped at midnight Friday (Oct. 27), exactly nine years to the day after the original 1989 was released in 2014. The revamped set features newly recorded editions of all 13 original songs plus three bonus tracks: “Wonderland,” “New Romantics” […]
Oops … she did it again! Britney Spears left little to the imagination in a new photo she shared to Instagram on Thursday (Oct. 26). In the risqué image, the pop star stands nude on the beach, casting a glance over her left shoulder and revealing her behind as a photographer — whose shadow is […]
J Balvin has nothing but good things to say about Britney Spears, whose long-awaited memoir — The Woman in Me — arrived on Tuesday (Oct. 24).
The Latin pop star gushed to TMZ on Wednesday (Oct. 25) that he’s “really proud of” Spears for being so vulnerable in her book. “I think she’s amazing,” Balvin said. “I think she deserves the best.”
“She’s a woman that we have to have a lot of love and respect [for],” continued the “Mi Gente” musician. “She’s fired [up] the whole world at her peak, and I can’t wait for her to bring new music. I think we need her so much.”
Spears’ memoir dropped not long after she joined J Balvin and Maluma for drinks in New York City. In photos posted afterward on Maluma’s Instagram, the “Toxic” singer cuddled close with a smiling Balvin, who commented, “I can’t get over it.”
“I think she’s super strong,” he added to TMZ of the pop star. “I think she already has a [mental] shield. She knows what she’s doing, and the last time I saw her, she looks in a real, real good place in her mind to deal with everything.”
The “Que Pretendes” artist volunteered a lot less about Bad Bunny, who seemingly dissed his past collaborator on a song from his new album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana. “You’ve seen me, I always walk with the same people/ While you are friends of the whole world like Balvin,” Bunny sings in Spanish on “Thunder Y Lightning.”
Asked for comment about the alleged diss, Balvin simply told TMZ, “I’m all about love. I love the guy,” before getting in a car.
Balvin previously addressed the situation on Instagram Live after Nadie dropped, saying at the time, “The person I know is a great person. We supported each other mutually, we made history, we also created a new story within music. I don’t understand what was going through his head but well, the guy I know is a good person.”