Is Taylor Swift Finally Releasing ‘Reputation (Taylor’s Version)’?: All the Hints and Rumored Tracks

After Swift announced the release dates for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) during two separate “Eras Tour” shows, fans hung on to any crumb of an announcement for Reputation (Taylor’s Version) before her final show in 2023.

However, the singer made no mention of the album during her closing performance in Brazil on November 26 that year.

Leading up to that final concert, fans believed Swift was intentionally hinting at the upcoming announcement through her surprise song selections. For instance, on November 24, she performed surprise songs from 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), followed by songs from Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) the next night.

Swifties speculated that this reverse order indicated an upcoming reveal related to the only song from Reputation she had yet to perform, “I Did Something Bad.”

During a concert in Milan in July 2024, fans were convinced that a staged piano malfunction was actually a ploy to set up an announcement. While Swift struggled with her piano at the San Siro stadium, fans shared theories online about her moment of distress being a clever ploy to hype her upcoming release.

On October 18, 2024, Swift debuted a new look for the Reputation segment of her show — a black bodysuit adorned with striking gold snakes, replacing the previous red designs. Fans took this costume change as a major clue about the upcoming release.

The excitement heated up further when a snippet of “Look What You Made Me Do” appeared in a May 20 episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, showcasing a more mature sound.

In August 2023, Ed Sheeran hinted that he had not yet reset his verse from “End Game.” Coincidentally, a trailer for Prime Video’s Wilderness included the Reputation version of “Look What You Made Me Do.”

Fans have also speculated that “New Year’s Day,” a track on Reputation could signify a late December announcement, but that didn’t happen either. However, on the morning of February 4, 2024, coinciding with the Grammy Awards, Swift changed her social media profile pictures to black and white, similar to the original album cover, stirring up speculation once more.

Swift’s rerecorded albums always include new versions of the original songs — and Reputation is no exception. The upcoming release will refresh all 15 tracks from the 2017 album, alongside a selection of “from the vault” tracks, which were penned during the original era but left off the album.

Among the rumored vault songs, fans are excited about the potential for “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” her 2016 collaboration with Zayn Malik from Fifty Shades Darker.

There’s also speculation that a new version of “This Is What You Came For,” written for Calvin Harris and Rihanna, may be included.

In a December 2023 interview, Swift hinted at the quality of the vault tracks: “It’s a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure,” she shared.

Swift aims to regain the rights to her masters, prompting her to rerecord her first six albums. This began in 2020 after she departed from Big Machine Records, her original label.

Before leaving, Swift attempted to buy back her masters from owner Scott Borchetta but was met with a stipulation to release one new album for each to reclaim her original works. After abandoning the label in 2018, she signed with Republic Records.

After Scott sold the rights to Swift’s records to Scooter Braun for over $300 million, Swift expressed her frustration about her attempts to regain control. Despite her efforts to negotiate, she discovered that Scooter would still profit from her work, leading her to embark on this rerecording journey starting November 2020.