Taylor Swift Thanks Kendrick Lamar for Re-Recording ‘Bad Blood’ Verse on ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’: ‘Surreal and Bewildering’

Taylor Swift gave a shoutout to Kendrick Lamar on Friday morning for re-recording his “Bad Blood” remix verse for the deluxe edition of “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” which is out now.

“Watching @kendricklamar create and record his verses on the ‘Bad Blood’ remix was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life,” Swift wrote in a social media post alongside a photo of them from what appears to be the original recording session. “I still look back on this collaboration with so much pride and gratitude, for the ways Kendrick elevated the song and the way he treats everyone around him. Every time the crowds on The Eras Tour would chant his line ‘you forgive, you forget, but you never let it… go!’, I smiled.”

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“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is the latest release in Swift’s string of re-recordings in order to fully own her masters, and she revealed in the post that Lamar had re-recorded his verse for the new version.

“The reality that Kendrick would go back in and re-record ‘Bad Blood’ so that I could reclaim and own this work I’m so proud of is surreal and bewildering to me,” Swift continued. “I’m overjoyed to say that the ‘Bad Blood Remix (featuring Kendrick Lamar)’ is available everywhere on the ‘1989 Deluxe Edition.'”

The re-recorded version of “1989” also came with five “From the Vault” tracks, including “Slut!,” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends” and “Is It Over Now?” There were notably no features on Swift’s “From the Vault” songs this time around, making Lamar’s “Bad Blood” remix feature on the deluxe version all the more special.

In his review of the new tracks, Variety‘s Chris Willman wrote that the “From the Vault” songs “may have been written in the same era as ‘Blank Space’ and ‘Welcome to New York,’ but in terms of their production and arrangement, there’s no exact fealty to the style of nine years ago. They’re very much about the Swift sound of 2023.”

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