Musical icon Taylor Swift has been breaking records left and right with her newly released Red (Taylor’s Version). The album marks Swift’s second re-release and includes 30 songs in total, nine of which are brand-new tracks “from the vault.” One of those songs is the 10-minute version of Swift’s heartbreaking song “All Too Well,” which recently broke a 50-year record first set by Don McLean’s “American Pie.” And after hitting the milestone, she sent the singer a sweet gesture.
“All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) (10 Minute Version) (From The Vault)” broke the record for the longest song to hold a number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The "Willow" singer's newly released song is a total of 10 minutes and 13 seconds long, whereas Don McLean's is 8 minutes and 37 seconds. Upon breaking the record, Taylor Swift sent flowers to McLean, who then took to Instagram to thank her for the them and the note that accompanying note, calling her a “class act.” In her message, via CNN, Swift talked about McLean’s impact and how important his music has been to her:
I will never forget that I'm standing on the shoulders of giants. Your music has been so important to me. Sending love one writer of LONG SONGS to another.
After news first broke that the record had been broken, Don McLean released a statement and said that while no one wants to lose that #1 spot, “I sure am glad it was another great singer/songwriter such as Taylor.” It’s definitely nice to know there are no hard feelings between the two musicians amid this recent development.
Red (Taylor’s Version) comes nine years after the original album was released and, upon hearing it, many fans were quickly taken back to 2012. Even though “All Too Well” was never an official single, the Grammy winner previously said that the song was one of her favorites. The 10-minute version also came with a short film that starred Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink, and it was heartbreakingly beautiful. Swift even performed the song on Saturday Night Live, a first for the series as it was a single performance that ran over 10 minutes.
Due to Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta’s purchase of Taylor Swift’s masters, the singer-songwriter has been forced to re-record her first six albums. Though when Swift announced the news in 2019, she expressed excitement over the thought of owning her music, as it's something she's desired for a while.
Having been a Swiftie since the songstress' debut album, I am definitely looking forward to what she re-releases next. There are plenty of theories from fans as to which album will follow. At the moment, there are three that she can redo, Taylor Swift, Speak Now and 1989, since Reputation is still subject to a five-year contract. So let's get to speculating about the future releases -- and the musical potential records that can still be broken.
