Taylor Swift’s 2008 hit “Love Story” told a fairytale-like narrative of young love fit for a Shakespeare novel. The 2020 version? Love blossoming in front of a dumpster fire. Sounds about right.
Now that Swift officially has the go-ahead to re-record her old discography, it seems she's been moving along quickly. And while her collection of songs isn't ready quite yet, the singer just gave fans an unexpected preview.
Swift lent her updated version of "Love Story" to her friend Ryan Reynolds for a Match commercial created by his company Maximum Effort. In the all-too-real ad, Satan gets matched with "2020," a young woman who mirrors his hellish energy. They go on romantic dates, steal toilet paper, and take selfies in front of a literal dumpster fire as the song plays in the background.
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“Okay so while my new re-records are NOT done, my friend @VancityReynolds asked me if he could use a snippet of one for a LOLsome commercial he wrote," Swift tweeted. "so… here’s a sneak peak of Love Story! Working hard to get the music to you soon!!”
Okay so while my new re-records are NOT done, my friend @VancityReynolds asked me if he could use a snippet of one for a LOLsome commercial he wrote so...here’s a sneak peak of Love Story! Working hard to get the music to you soon!! https://t.co/0vBFXxaRXR
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) December 2, 2020
Swift announced her plan to make Scooter Braun’s purchase of her body of work irrelevant back in 2019. By re-recording her first six albums once her contract was up, she'd be able to have new versions of her songs for fans to purchase, as well the licensing rights. This means she is in control of anyone who would want to use a Swift song in a commercial, movie, or show. Braun countered this move in October 2020 by selling the masters for $300 million to investment fund Shamrock Holdings, but seeing as Swift still doesn't own them, she can at least own and profit off of the new versions.
That whole mess aside, since Swift announced that she'd re-record, many have wondered if the singer would stay true to the original versions, or reinterpret them now that she's older. Judging by this sneak peek, the former seems to be true. The new version sounds a lot like old twangy Taylor. Swifties can enjoy the new versions — and render the old ones redundant — without feeling too nostalgic for the past.
In fact, in a recent interview on Good Morning America, Swift said that her 2008 hit has been her favorite to record so far. “I think it’s been the most fun doing ‘Love Story’ because the older music, my voice was so teenaged and I sometimes, when I hear my older music and my older young teenage voice, it makes me feel like I’m a different singer now. So it’s been the most fun to re-record ones that I feel like I could actually possibly improve upon the song.”
And with this ad, she's not only improved upon it, but likely already getting paid for her hard work as well. Get your coin, T.