Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ Tops Charts and Breaks 54-Year Old Record

Taylor Swift is back atop the charts, with her re-recorded 2008 album Fearless (Taylor’s Version). 

On April 9, Taylor Swift released a new version of her sophomore album, including six never-before-released tracks from the vault. The original version of the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 back in November 2008, and over 12 years later, the newly released album also debuted at No. 1, marking her ninth No.1 album.  

According to Billboard, Fearless became the “biggest first-week debut of any country album in nearly six years with 291,000 equivalent album units sold and is the top overall album release of 2021 so far in the U.S.”

This is just the first of the six albums Swift plans to re-record in the singer’s mission to own the masters to her original music after failing to acquire the rights from impresario Scooter Braun who controversially gained and sold her first six albums without her consent.

So What Changed in 2021’s Fearless?

When Swift announced that she would re-record her first six albums, fans were undoubtedly curious about how the new version would compare to the old. Many of us expected a sort of implied replication and sameness when we think of re-recorded. 

It was not an easy task for Swift to pull off something she did years ago with authenticity. But according to an expert — Michael A. Lee, Professor of Commercial Music at Azusa Pacific University, the album was an identical remake note for note, which is technically challenging to pull off. 

There were intentional tweaks, lyrical additions, slight tempo changes, and many minor alterations, making the album similar and almost impalpably different. 

Lee believes that the new album is “an incredibly, incredibly well-made record.”

Fearless Breaks The Beatles Long-Held Chart Record

The Grammy-winning artist has achieved a lot in her career as a singer, and with Fearless, she earned another feather in her career cap.  

Fearless has reigned over the U.K.’S Official Albums Chart and, in doing so, scored her third chart-topping album in just 259 days, after the success of ‘Folklore’ (July 31) and ‘Evermore’ (December 18). This means that Swift broke a chart record set by The Beatles. 

The Beatles had held the record for 54 years after they secured three number one albums in 364 days between 1965-1966, with Help!, Rubber Soul, and Revolver. Swift now holds the record for the quickest compilation of three No. 1 albums in the U.K. chart.

Swift is not new to setting records, though. The songstress was the youngest person to win 'Album of the Year' and the youngest 'Entertainer of the Year' winner at the Country Music Association Awards. 

At the 2019 American Music Awards, Swift not only took home the 'Artist of the Year' and the 'Artist of the Decade' award, but she also surpassed the King of Pop Michael Jackson’s 24 wins with 29 wins at the fan-voted show.