Begin Again: Who Wins When Taylor Swift Fans Face-Off Against the Algorithm?
Taylor Swift has sound-tracked my life since I was 11 years old and felt the absolute best way to deal with emotional occurrences was blaring “Cold As You” as loudly as I could from my bedroom so the entire household could know I was suffering.
I grew up and grew into a variety of other music tastes, but Taylor truly was like my old cardigan: When the going got really good or really rough, I’d always find myself putting her back on. She had a song to perfectly sum up whatever complex matter of the heart I was going through in the simplest terms, whether it was the butterflies of my middle school crush (“Stay Beautiful”), the awkwardness of figuring out who I was in high school (“Innocent”), falling in love (“Delicate”), or crushing adult heartbreak (“My Tears Ricochet”).
‘That’s kind of cliché to say,’ you might be thinking, because what Taylor listener hasn’t felt like she deliberately ripped their heart to pieces, only to sew them into a beautiful patchwork, somehow more whole than before? To that I say: Exactly. That’s what makes it so powerful—the shared experience that is Taylor Swift.
Oh, so that’s where I left it…
There are a lot of fanbases out there, but there’s no question that Swifties come out on top where it counts. When there are secret messages to decode, online votes to be cast, or video easter eggs to be found, NOTHING slips by Taylor fans, and their dedication and mobilization is unparalleled.
When Taylor said she would be re-releasing her old catalogue so she could gain ownership of her music once again, it wasn’t so much a question of if fans would buy, but how soon she could “Taylor’s Version” everything. As soon as Fearless (Taylor’s Version) dropped earlier this year, fans shot it to #1 not once, but twice, as well as making it the biggest streaming debut of the year up to that point. When “Wildest Dreams” started trending on TikTok, Taylor quickly rerecorded a “Taylor’s Version” and fans buried the original on the app (the re-record also has 66+ million plays on Spotify).
After months of anticipation, it’s now Red season. The album has as much hype as any new album would have, with Taylor herself saying this will be a month of big surprises (SNL and mini-movie: Confirmed, Starbucks collab and release date for 1989 (Taylor’s Version): TBD). However, the ultimate test will be if can fans mobilize enough against faceless algorithms to bury the original Red until Taylor’s Version becomes the only relevant version (Scooter who?).
The infographic below charts the success—and challenges—Taylor and her army of Swifties will face in their quest. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was monumentally successful, yet when you search for the album or certain songs, as we’ve learned, you may not get the album you want forever and always. But, if you’re anything like me, you’ll have stayed up until midnight to at least start trying.
Sources: What Made Red So Special? Rolling Stone: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | Billboard: Hot 100 - Taylor Swift | Platinum: Taylor Swift RIAA Status What Can We Expect from Red: Taylor Swift Teases 'Red' Rerecorded Songs From the Vault | What would it take to beat original Red: Now That Streaming Can Make An Album Platinum, What Counts And What Doesn't?; About the Awards How Did The Fearless Re-Release Do? Charts: Hot 100 - Taylor Swift; Hot Country Songs - Taylor Swift | Dolly: Taylor Swift Ties Dolly Parton’s Chart Record With New “Love Story” Version | Beatles: Taylor Swift beats The Beatles' record | Spotify: Spotify's All Time Top Album Debuts | Stream: Taylor Swift's 'Fearless' Versions: Sales Comparison | Taylor Swift Logs Third No. 1 Album in Less Than a Year With ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ | Radio: Here's How 'Fearless (Taylor’s Version)' Performed in Its First Six Months, Compared to Taylor Swift's Original 'Fearless'