Just Jaded Weekly

April 16, 2021

Written By: Joanna Serrano

New Music Monday: Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

Calling all Swifties! The time we’ve all been waiting for has arrived. Taylor Swift has finally released her long awaited, rerecorded version of her second studio album: Fearless. This has been highly anticipated since the drop of “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)”. You heard that right, this is “Taylor’s Version”. 

Allow me to catch up everyone on the Taylor Swift tea. Swift was previously signed to Big Machine Records, founded by Scott Borchetta, and her contract prohibited her from the ownership of the masters of her recorded music while at Big Machine. This includes her self-titled album, Taylor Swift, all the way to her 2017 album Reputation. Swift attempted buying back her masters from Borchetta, who refused and the famous Scooter Braun managed to gain the masters through his purchase of Big Machine back in 2019. Braun then sold these rights, which are worth over $300 million, in November of 2020 to an outside investment fund. Overall, it’s safe to say that this dispute has been a rollercoaster for Swift. Luckily, every artist's contract does allow a re-recording of the albums, considering they hold ownership of the music and lyrics on the albums, after a certain period of time, which is what has allowed her to begin doing so.

The album features 26 tracks, 19 of which were featured on her original "Fearless (Platinum Edition)" album released back in 2008, 6 unreleased "From the Vault" tracks, and the addition of her single "Today Was a Fairytale".

It seems that Swift will be releasing the re-recorded versions of her most popular albums first, which leads Swifties to believe that next up will be her smash record 1989. This is especially due to the feature of “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” in the trailer for the upcoming Dreamworks animated film “Spirit Untamed”.

Are you obsessed with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) as much as we are? What’s your opinion on the dispute over the ownership of an artist’s musical masters? Let us know!

Artist Rec Friday: Laur Elle

Are you a fan of artists like Hayley Kiyoko, Sasha Sloan, Gracie Abrams, and Troye Sivan? Then we’ve got the perfect artist for you on this Artist Rec Friday! Introducing to you: Laur Elle!

Laur Elle is a young, Canadian-based pop artist who made her official debut in 2017 with her single “Fade”. She’s since released her debut EP The Art of Pretending in September of 2020, along with the Deluxe Edition this year back in March.

Elle’s alternative synth-pop sound on tracks such as “Wallflower” and “B.E.S.T.” is exactly what we need for our summer playlists, but she also provides us with more mellow tracks such as “Twenty” and “July”. Her bedroom-pop sound resembles exactly what Gen Z teens and young adults have been gravitating towards with the rise of platforms like Tiktok, but I recommend audiences of all ages give her a listen! With the recent release of her first EP and deluxe EP, we can not wait to see what the future has in store for Laur Elle!

TikTok - How It’s Changed the Game for Music Artists

With the explosion of the social media phenomenon that is TikTok, gaining exposure as both a small and larger artist has never been easier! With billions of users scrolling on the app for hours, appearing on someone’s “For You Page” has been the key to building an audience and fanbase. For many artists, TikTok has begun being used as a marketing tactic to promote their music and reach a wider audience of individuals. This reigns true for both larger and smaller artists. 

One example was shown through the female singer/rapper Doja Cat, who definitely owes a majority of the success for her track “Say So” to the TikTok app. The song was used all throughout the Summer of 2020 for a viral dance trend, created by Hayley Sharpe, which resulted in Cat’s first Number One Hit on the Billboard Top 100. Cat even paid tribute to Sharpe, the creator of the trend, in the song’s music video, including both her and her well-known choreography.

Tiktok has also become a huge tactic for aspiring young artists to get their foot in the door and gain an audience by posting singing videos such as covers, original songs, and challenge videos. One hit example is Mia Giovina (@badgirlmimi on Tiktok) who first rose to fame by uploading a cover of “Cherry” by Harry Styles but with a twist. Giovina created a slightly rewritten version, written from the female’s perspective. This videos created buzz and went viral on the app, resulting in a huge growth of followers for Mia, who now holds over 150 thousand followers. Since her come up on the app, Giovina has since signed with VH Management, and has released her debut single “Sirens”.

Not only is Tiktok amazing for the growth of up and coming artists, but it has been known to resurface some hits that you may have forgotten about. Remember the song “Cupid’s Chokehold / Breakfast in America” by Gym Class Heroes? How about “The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani? Both of these hits are over ten years old, yet have made their way back on our radars, and the charts due to different TikTok communities, trends, and challenges.

As you can see, no matter what your opinion is on the dance and comedy-filled app, TikTok is a phenomenon that is serving positive purposes in the careers of music artist’s, both small and large!