Did ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ Just Confirm Taylor Swift’s Next Re-Recorded Album Release?
What do Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Taylor Swift have in common? Not much — until now. The series, which features popular music from today and decades past, previewed an upcoming Swift number. And it may have revealed which re-recorded album she’ll release next.
‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ features musical numbers
The NBC musical dramedy Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist premiered in January 2020. The show stars Jane Levy as Zoey Clarke, a coder at a tech company undergoing major life changes. Her dad is ill, so to be safe, she gets an MRI for her frequent headaches. While in the machine, an earthquake hits.
The outcome? Zoey, never particularly musical to begin with, now hears the thoughts and feelings of those around her in song and dance form. Her “heart songs,” as she calls them, allow her to help her friends, family, and sometimes even strangers work through their problems while teaching her a thing or two about herself.
The show announced a Taylor Swift song in its Season 2 finale
After its well-received first season, NBC picked up Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2. With her dad gone, Zoey’s coping with new challenges, from grief to a romance to more responsibilities at work. She’s also started going to therapy, which has been helpful.
Ahead of the season 2 finale, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Goodbye,” series creator Austin Winsberg announced a particular musical choice. “We have a @taylorswift13 song in our season finale! I’ve wanted Taylor music in the show since day one. This was huge for us and I couldn’t be more excited,” he tweeted.
Swift is releasing re-recorded versions of her first 6 albums
As her fans know, Swift doesn’t own the rights to her most of her master recordings. Her former label, Big Machine Records, was purchased by music manager Scooter Braun, leading to a public “he said, she said” battle over the past two years. So the singer came up with a solution.
Because she hasn’t been allowed to buy back the masters for her six albums with Big Machine, Swift is re-recording them. She started with her second album, the Grammy-winning Fearless, releasing Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in April 2021. Now, fans are eager to know which is next.
Could ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ use ‘Shake It Off’ without Swift’s permission?
Swift spoke about granting permission on this front in 2019. “Every week, we get a dozen synch requests to use ‘Shake It Off’ in some advertisement or ‘Blank Space’ in some movie trailer, and we say no to every single one of them,” she told Billboard. Swift continued, “I do want [my music] to be in movies, I do want it to be in commercials. But I only want that if I own it.”
In March 2021, her 1989 single “Wildest Dreams” got the re-record treatment, airing in a trailer for the animated film Spirit Untamed. However, with Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, the actors sing the songs themselves, meaning a re-recorded version isn’t necessary. Still, Swift agreeing to let them the hit could be another hint about what’s to come.
