This article is more than
3 year old"I know some of you thought that would be like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer BUT…you played it good & right," Swift posted on social media Friday, invoking lyrics from title track "Red."
Swift chose to be "casually cruel" with her fans the day prior to releasing the names of the songs and her collaborators.
The three-time album of the year Grammy winner posted a mysterious message on social media Thursday, suggesting she'd soon be announcing the names of new "from the vault" tracks off her upcoming rerecording of her fourth studio album, 2012's "Red."
"*presses post* *cackles maniacally* Level: casually cruel in the name of being honest," she tweeted, referencing lyrics to her objectively finest masterpiece, "All Too Well."
She mentioned Friday several collaborators who would be joining her on "Red (Taylor's Version)," which is slated for a Nov. 19 release. "Congrats pals, you guessed the correct titles and feature artists on Red (my version). The vault tracks will feature @chrisstapleton, @phoebebridgers, @markfoster and the first song @teddysphotos and I ever wrote together the first time we met in 2012."
She continued: "I can’t express my gratitude enough to these artists for helping me bring these songs to life. I can’t wait til we can dust off our highest hopes and relive these memories together. We’ll also be making a bunch of new ones too, since Red (Taylor’s Version) includes so many songs you haven’t heard yet. Til then, I’ll be counting down and picturing it all in my head. In burning red."
Fans will likely not be prepared for a 10-minute version of "All Too Well," the final song on the new album.
A teaser video accompanying Thursday's post showed a bunch of (scrambled) letters escaping from a vault. Of course, fans should never (ever, ever) be surprised when Swift pulls a stunt like this: The singer chose this same method when hinting at what was coming on her re-recorded album "Fearless (Taylor's Version)," which arrived in April.
Last year, Swift released her surprise album, "Folklore," which included a song that shared the same name as Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' daughter, Betty. While appearing on SiriusXM's Town Hall special with Jess Cagle Thursday, Reynolds said it was "an honor" to have his kids' names dropped into the song — even though the lyrics aren't about the real James, 6, Inez, 4 and Betty, 1.
"Obviously the song has nothing to do with our kids other than our kids' names." Reynolds said. "We thought it was pretty, pretty (expletive) amazing. We still do. You know, I still walk down the street and shake my head thinking ‘I can't believe that happened.’ "Reynolds added that the tribute for the couple's children came as a surprise.
"We surprised them with it. Yeah. They didn't know," he said. "They had no idea. We don't tell them anything. We find they’re most compliant if you offer them no access to outside information."
Parenting:Ryan Reynolds jokes 'two thankless' kids who don't sleep are to blame for bags under eyes
Review:'Folklore' is the album Taylor Swift was born to make
Swift is re-recording her music after a public battle with music executive Scooter Braun, who had purchased her masters recordings before selling them for millions in November 2020.
By re-recording her music, she gains ownership over the earlier songs that launched her career – albeit with a more sophisticated, mature twist.
Yas queen:Taylor Swift makes Grammys history with 'Folklore' win, becoming first woman in three-peat club
Swift spoke with Robin Roberts in August 2019 during a Central Park performance promoting her seventh studio album, "Lover," saying she intended to re-record her first five albums – "Taylor Swift," "Fearless," "Speak Now," "Red" and "1989" – the following year.
“Yeah, that’s true," Swift said after Roberts asked about her plans to re-record her music. "And it’s something that I’m very excited about doing because my contract says that starting November 2020, so next year, I can record albums one through five all over again. I’m very excited about it."
"I just think that artists deserve to own their own work," she added. "I just feel very passionately about that.”Important:All the new songs, notable lyrics and biggest changes on Taylor Swift's rerecorded 'Fearless'
Swift knew her fans would do everything they could to guess what these songs would be called and who would be joining her on them. If you were lying on the cold, hard ground trying to decipher these clues on social media, you could have tried your luck on her website.
We were lost in translation, but maybe you had better luck. Plan to take off work Nov. 19, Swifties.
Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff, Sara Moniuszko and Jenna Ryu
We love to see it:Taylor Swift gushes over Simone Biles’ Olympics return: ‘We all learned from you’