The Grammy-winning “Alright” rapper reteamed with Taylor Swift to bring new life to their punchy hit, “Bad Blood,” years after they first dropped the single. Swift revealed the reunion and rerecording Friday on Instagram, just hours after she dropped “1989 (Taylor’s 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,” she captioned a photo of her and Lamar sitting together.
The new version of “Bad Blood” is just one of the songs that make up Swift’s “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” her latest effort to take back ownership of the six-album catalog she lost when Scooter Braun purchased — and subsequently sold — her record label, Big Machine.
In her Instagram post, Swift recalled working with Lamar for the first version of the “Bad Blood” remix in 2014. She said it “was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life.”
She continued: “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.”
The original “Bad Blood” remix earned a pop duo/group performance nomination and a music video win at the 58th Grammy Awards in 2016. The star-studded music video — which featured Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid and Zendaya — also won video of the year and collaboration prizes at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2015.
Swift’s praise for the rapper brought her Swiftie fan base to his social media pages, where they left plenty of love and blue heart emojis on his most recent posts. “Thank you for those FIRE lyrics 🔥 it’s not bad blood without you 👏,” Instagram user @itsjamieann wrote on Lamar’s Instagram post from December 2022.
“You slayed on bad blood [Taylor’s Version],” Swift fan @sarahcheangg said.
“Thank you for re recording legend 🩵,” user @mmlkzjs commented.
“All the swifites took over KDOTS comment section 😭,” @samue.tab wrote.
Swift, who recently made headlines for her record-breaking “Eras Tour” concert film and her high-profile relationship with Kansas City Chiefs football star Travis Kelce, celebrated the release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” in another Instagram post Friday.
“I was born in 1989, reinvented for the first time in 2014, and a part of me was reclaimed in 2023 with the re-release of this album I love so dearly,” she said in a handwritten note.
She added: “This moment is a reflection of the woods we’ve wandered through and all this love between us still glowing in the darkest dark. I present to you, with gratitude and wild wonder, my version of 1989.”