Fans of Fearless: Hiley & Morgan Discuss Taylor Swift’s First Re-Recording

Fans of Fearless:  Hiley & Morgan Discuss Taylor Swift’s First Re-Recording

HILEY KRESSE & MORGAN SLY

How long have you been a fan of Taylor Swift?

Hiley: I’ve been a fan of Taylor Swift since around 2008. My family and I went to her Fearless tour in 2010, and I’ve kept up with her pretty much consistently since then. 

Morgan: I’m a pretty new fan, but I’ve made up for that by listening to Taylor Swift’s ENTIRE discography. Multiple times. 

What is your favorite Taylor Swift album?

Hiley: Reputation is my favorite Taylor album.

Morgan: 1989 is my favorite. 

Favorites from Fearless (Taylor’s Version)?

Hiley: “Hey Stephen,” “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” “White Horse,” “The Way I Loved You,” and “The Best Day” are probably my favorites.

Morgan: “Mr. Perfectly Fine”, “White Horse”, “Forever and Always”, and “You Belong With Me” would probably be my favorites.

Least favorites from Fearless (Taylor’s Version)?

Hiley: “Change,” and “Today Was A Fairytale”

Morgan:“The Best Day” is my only dislike on this album.

Any changes you noticed?

Hiley: Taylor’s voice has matured a lot and I think that the vocals on “Tell Me Why” really showcase this. Beyond that there are little pronunciation differences, but nothing major.

Morgan: Taylor Swift’s voice has definitely matured and the production is a little smoother. She changed some of her pronunciation of words within songs, but the lyrics mostly stayed the same. 

Opinions on vault songs?

Hiley: “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is wonderful and is probably my favorite vault song, but “Don’t You” is beautiful and overall I really enjoy all the vault songs. I think it was a very interesting choice to work with Jack Antanoff and Aaron Dessner on the production of the vault tracks, and I think it works super well! It creates a nice blend of young Taylor lyrics with the new Taylor sound. 

Morgan: I really like all of the Vault songs, but “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is my favorite too. “Don’t You” sounds more like it belongs on 1989 than Fearless, but it is a great song. 

Overall thoughts?

Hiley: The release of this album feels very personal to me, and it feels a lot like a full circle moment: from being her fan since the beginning and getting to relive that now with re-releases. Being able to hear songs I’ve loved since I was six years old for the first time again is super fun, and getting to hear new songs that Taylor wrote at that age is also super fun. I think there is something very special about music written by teenagers because there isn’t the same pressure for it to be a lyrical masterpiece as there is for more mature artists. That idea really struck a chord for me when listening to vault songs because being able to hear new songs from Taylor that feel so Fearless-esque as someone who has been a fan since the Fearless era is very special. Also, hearing Taylor sing certain songs and knowing how things worked out for her makes me very emotional, like how on “White Horse” she sings, “I might find someone someday who might actually treat me well” and knowing she’s in a relationship with someone she’s in love with enough to write songs like “Paper Rings” about, is a very cute full circle moment.

Morgan: This release made me appreciate Fearless a lot more as an album. Before the re-recordings, I didn’t really like the album, and I didn’t listen to it a lot. The new version coming out caused me to listen to the songs more and I found new appreciation for this album. 

Cover Photo Cred:  Taylorswift.com