Taylor Swift's 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' pulled out from Grammys, CMA Awards
Jul 22, 2021
Washington [US], July 22 : Pop star Taylor Swift has pulled out the recent re-recording of her 2008 sophomore album 'Fearless'from the running at Grammys and CMA Awards.
A representative for Republic Records told Billboard that Taylor Swift's newest album, Evermore, will be submitted to the Grammys for consideration in all eligible categories as the singer had pulled out 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' from the awards.
In a statement to Billboard, a representative for Republic Records recently said, "After careful consideration, Taylor Swift will not be submitting Fearless (Taylor's Version) in any category at this year's upcoming Grammy and CMA Awards."
"Fearless has already won four Grammys including album of the year, as well as the CMA Award for album of the year in 2009/2010 and remains the most awarded country album of all time," the representative added.
For the unversed, 'Folklore' -- which was released in July 2020, less than five months before 'Evermore' -- recently nabbed the 31-year-old singer a history-making third album of the year win at the 2021 Grammys.
'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' dropped in April, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, over 12 years after its original version did the same, back in November 2008.
The more recent record, which features six new tracks, became her ninth album to debut at No. 1, according to Billboard.
Additionally, the outlet reported it was the biggest week for an album so far in 2021, as 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' "is the only re-recorded album in history to reach No. 1. Swift is also the first woman to release three new No. 1 album in a year, with Folklore, Evermore and Fearless (Taylor's Version) spanning eight months and two weeks", as per Billboard.
Reacting to 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' reaching its chart-topping status, the singer spoke with People Magazine in April and opened up about the recreation process and how she ensured that Taylor's Version kept the same essence of its Grammy-winning original.
"In terms of production, I really wanted to stay very loyal to the initial melodies that I had thought of for these songs, and so we really did go in and try to create a 'the same but better' version. We kept all the same parts that I initially dreamed up for these songs. But if there was any way that we could improve upon the sonic quality, we did," she said.
Taylor added, "We just kind of took all the knowledge that we've acquired over decades of playing this music and applied that to it, but yeah, I did go in line by line and listen to every single vocal and think, you know, what are my inflections here? If I [could] improve upon it, I did. But I really did want this to be very true to what I initially thought of and what I had initially written. But better. Obviously."
Swift was legally allowed to re-record her first five albums in November, which Scooter Braun gained ownership of last year following a USD 330 million deal with Big Machine Label Group.
As per People Magazine, since leaving Big Machine, Swift signed with Republic Records and Universal Music Group in an agreement to own the rights to her music going forward. In 2019, she released 'Lover', followed by her two albums, 'Folklore' and 'Evermore', in 2020 during the pandemic.