Taylor Swift celebrated the end of her first US leg of her Eras Tour by confirming the release date for her next re-recorded album.
The pop megastar took to the stage for her sixth and final night at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium where she announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version) will be released on Friday 27 October, exactly nine years after the original.
Swifties – who are, quite frankly, some of the best detectives on the internet – had long suspected the star would make the announcement at Wednesday night’s gig.
Proving them right, Taylor pointed out one of the biggest clues – the significance of the date, which in the American format was 8/9.
She told the crowd: “Here we are, the last night in the eighth month of the year… And the ninth day of the month.”
“You might have noticed there were some new outfits on the show,” she continued. “There’s something I’ve been doing for a really, really ridiculously, embarrassingly long time.
“I think instead of telling you about it, [I can] just sort of show you…”
A gigantic screen behind her then revealed the cover for 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
A post was then shared on Taylor’s Twitter account, which confirmed that the re-record will include five never-heard-before songs.
1989 saw Taylor shake off her country reputation and position herself as one of the world’s most exciting pop acts.
The album garnered positive reviews from critics and topped the charts of both sides of the Atlantic, as well as winning the Grammy for Album Of The Year.
The new release will be the Shake It Off singer’s fourth ‘Taylor’s Version’ album and follows the rerecords of Fearless, Red and Speak Now.
The US megastar began rerecording her albums when Scooter Braun bought her former record label and with it, acquired her masters.
Recording the albums again gives Taylor new masters which she owns, meaning she also has power over their commercial use.
Just two of her albums released under her old label, Big Machine, are yet to be given the Taylor’s Version treatment; her self-titled 2006 release and 2017’s Reputation.
Taylor is currently midway through her gigantic Eras tour, which will finally arrive in the UK and Ireland in June 2024.