Under a drizzling Miami sky — fitting, given Taylor Swift's penchant for rain metaphors — a backlit Swift stomped onto the Hard Rock Stadium stage to the beat of the introductory synths from her song "...Ready For It?" off 2017's Reputation. Jumbotron cameras panned up from her boots until the stage lights came on in a flash. Then, a piercing scream — one that TikTok videos would later reveal could be heard well outside the stadium.
For laymen and the uninitiated, it would be impossible to understand that a piece of clothing could elicit that reaction. But her fans are immersed in a Swiftian cinematic universe of Easter eggs and constant hints about her next musical move. So when the spotlight shone on Swift wearing a bodysuit draped with the design of a snake, bedazzled in gold rather than the red embellishment she'd sported throughout the rest of the tour, Miami Swifties — and the millions of other fans who watched along online — knew exactly what this meant: Reputation (Taylor's Version) was imminent.
Except, now we know that wasn't exactly true. Despite teasing the re-recording of her sixth studio album for literal years — part of a multi-album project protesting the selling of her master recordings to music mogul Scooter Braun, followed by a private equity company — Swift revealed today that she bought back the rights to her music and has scrapped the release of her remaining re-recordings, including the highly anticipated Reputation (Taylor's Version).@techbadger We didn't realize for almost another 30 seconds until our stream cleared up and our friends sent us pictures 😅 #theerastour #erastouroutfits #tstheerastour #taylorswift #erastourmiami #reputation #reptv #reputationbodysuit #goldsnakes #reputationoutfit #finallymadeit #miamin1 ♬ original sound - tech-badger
"I know, I know. What about Rep TV?" wrote Swift in a letter to fans published on her website today. "Full transparency: I haven't even re-recorded a quarter of it."
Swift went on to explain she found the re-recording trickier than those of her other albums. "The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life, and I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it…To be perfectly honest, it's the one album [of the first six] that I thought couldn't be improved upon by redoing it. Not the music, or photos, or videos. So I kept putting it off."
Swift also noted she did complete the re-recording of her debut album, and that she may still release it along with unreleased "Vault" tracks from Reputation.
For what it's worth, her fans don't seem too upset so far — they're already theorizing about whether Swift's letter hints at her twelfth studio album. Decoding — and hitting some dead ends — is all part of the fun in the Swiftie universe. In the meantime, we'll always have that moment in the Miami rain.
