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Fearless is being born again. Taylor Swift was not just talking a good talk when she vowed to independently re-record all six of the albums she originally released on her former Big Machine label: The singer announced Thursday morning that her blockbuster sophomore album from 2008 would be the first in a series of full-album remakes that is set to roll out one by one. The first out of the shoot will be Fearless: Taylors Version, expanded to include 26 songs instead of the original 13.

The first single from the album will be out Thursday night at midnight. Its Love Story, just as the first version of that song was the lead single from the first version of the album in 08.

i have now finished re-recording all of Fearless, which will be coming out soon, Swift said on Good Morning America. My version of Fearless will have 26 songs on it, because Ive decided to add songs from the vault, which are songs that almost made the Fearless album, but ive now gone back and recorded those so that everyone will be able to hear not only songs that made the album but the songs that almost made it. The full picture. Six of the 13 added tracks are promised as never-before-heard.

Besides appearing on GMA, Swift also dropped a mini-essay about the remake campaign on social media.

Although soon was all Swift had to say about how quickly Taylors Version might arrive on GMA, fans quickly picked up on the fact that not-so-randomly capitalized letters in her social media message spell out an APRIL NINTH release date for the full album.

Ive spoken a lot about why Im remaking my first six albums, but the way Ive chosen to do this will hopefully illuminate where Im coming from, Swift wrote in her social media message. Artists should own their own work for so many reasons, but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really knows that body of work. For example, only I know which songs I wrote that almost made the Fearless album. Songs I absolutely adored, but were held back for different reasons (dont want too many breakup songs, dont want too many down tempo songs, cant fit that many songs on a physical CD).

She continued, Those reasons seem unnecessary now. Ive decided I want you to have the whole story, see the entire vivid picture, and let you into the entire dreamscape that is my Fearless album. Thats why Ive chosen to include 6 never before released songs on my version of this album, written when I was between the ages of 16 and 18. These were the ones it killed me to leave behind.

Swift has not released any track list, so its yet to be revealed what the seven additional tracks will be beyond the 13 songs from the original album and the six shes touting as completely unheard before now. But Swift did release a platinum edition of the Fearless album in 2010 that expanded the lineup with six additional tracks, so she may be drawing from at least some of those to push the number of new recordings on Taylors Version up toward 26.

Few things are random in Swift world, not just with the capitalized letters that spell out a release date, but especially when it comes to numbers of any sort and any combination that aligns with the number 13. So it was with Thursdays news, which was revealed on 2/11 as in, 2 + 11 = 13. Not every tie-in is strictly numerological, though, as Swift also tied the new version of Love Story (the most unremittingly happy song in an early catalog of otherwise somewhat tortured teen songs) to the imminence of Valentines Day.

What is expected to become even clearer as the full new version of Love Story is released Thursday night is that Swift is not coming up with refreshed arrangements for her old songs., Shes apparently trying to make them as identical-sounding to the originals as humanly possible, to try to make the Big Machine versions as valueless as possible an exercise never before attempted on anywhere near this scale by any pop star, and one that may reset the bar for unalloyed chutzpah.

Fearless, which marked the beginning of Swifts serious crossover from country to pop, has been characterized as the most awarded album in country music history. It won Swift her first Grammy Award for album of the year, a feat she later repeated with 1989 which, of course, is also in the remake pipeline. Fearless remains the one album in her catalog to be certified diamond by the RIAA for shipments of more than 10 million units in the U.S., although 1989 is in similarly rarefied air with certification for 9 million

The singer first promised in 2019 that she planned to replicate the releases after the sale of her original master recordings, along with the rest of Big Machine, to sworn archenemy Scooter Brauns Ithaca Holdings. Braun was subsequently revealed this past November to have sold off Swifts catalog to Shamrock Holdings for hundreds of millions of dollars, a move that will continue to profit Braun and certainly did nothing to lessen Swifts resolve to diminish the value of those recordings by providing substitutes.

While Swift cant do anything to take the original Big Machine albums off the sales and streaming market, what she can do is push the original versions down in rankings and search results as the new versions are embraced by her fans, many of whom will be eager to follow her lead in trying to teach Braun and Big Machine a lesson, or will just be curious how the remakes sound. Perhaps just as significantly, Swift will be able to license the new do-overs for whatever purposes she likes, including synchs for advertising or film and TV placement. Big Machine and Shamrock will be prohibited from using the original versions for those purposes, as that also requires the permission of the song publisher who, in this case is Swift.

Indeed, Swift already licensed one of the remakes and gave fans a tease of what the new/old music would sound like when a snippet of Love Story made its debut in December as the soundtrack to a comical Match ad campaign directed by pal Ryan Reynolds.

More here:
Taylor Swift Sets Fearless: Taylors Version as First in Her Series of Full-Album Do-Overs - Variety

Video screenshot by Leslie Katz/CNET

Britney Spearsis in the news again, but not for her music. Fans, including celebrities, are speaking out in support of the 1990s pop princess following the release of The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears,currently streaming on Hulu. If you're wondering why you keep seeing the hashtags #FreeBritney and #wearesorrybritney, read on.

A Spears-focused episode of the documentary series The New York Times Presents came out on Feb. 5. The show, Framing Britney Spears, runs about an hour and 13 minutes, and has "generally favorable" reviews on CNET sister site Metacritic. Chicago Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper calls it "a thought-provoking retrospective on Spears' life and career, up to and including the conservatorship battle as Spears continues to fight her father in court."

The filmmakers contacted Spears and her family for interviews, the show's credits reveal, but none ended up in the film. However, friends, supporters, former employees and reporters all speak on camera about Spears' life, career and the campaign to end or adjust her conservatorship. Two contributors to the documentary, Babs Gray and Tess Barker, are launching a podcast series that will focus on Spears' life, including the legal struggle with her father, and the birth of the #FreeBritney movement to release her.

Back in 2008, a California court put Spears under a conservatorship, meaning her father, Jamie Spears, has complete control over her assets and business affairs.

Spears' father remains her conservator, and he's now the sole person in that role, since lawyer Andrew Wallet resigned from a co-conservator role in 2019. Some fans support a movement they dub #FreeBritney, hoping social media pressure will convince the courts to release the now-39-year-old singer from the legal arrangement. The singer herself called the conservatorship "voluntary" in court documents filed on Aug. 31, but also said she is "strongly opposed" to her father continuing as the sole conservator.

In November, Spears' court-appointed lawyer said she will not perform again as long as her father remains in the conservatorship role,The New York Times reported. "My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father," the lawyer said.

The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for this week, Feb. 11.

The singer hasn't directly addressed the matter, but on Feb. 9, she posted to Instagram and Twitter, and many fans believe she was hinting at the situation. Spears posted a video and wrote "can't believe this performance of Toxic is from three years ago!!! I'll always love being on stage .... but I am taking the time to learn and be a normal person ..... I love simply enjoying the basics of everyday life."

And in a follow-up tweet, Spears wrote, "Each person has their story and their take on other people's stories!!!! We all have so many different bright beautiful lives! Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person's life it is nothing compared to the actual person living behind the lens."

In addition to Spears' fans, some famous people have weighed in on the singer's issues since the documentary came out. Singer Courtney Love was among the many people who tweeted using the hashtag #wearesorrybritney.

Singer Bette Midler also tweeted her support, using the #FreeBritney hashtag.

Actor Valerie Bertinelli tweeted that Spears' story "makes me crazy grateful for my parents and how they protected me as a young girl in this insane business."

Journalist Tamron Hall wrote, "Finally watched the 'Framing of Britney Spears' on Hulu. It's an understatement to call it heartbreaking."

Actor Heather Matarazzo delivered a heartbreaking message, writing, "The rage and sadness I felt watching #FramingBritneySpears last night traveled with me into my dreams. I woke up wanting to burn everything down and be her friend."

Older commentary about Spears is also under a microscope. Some people are calling outjournalist Diane Sawyer for a 2003 interview with Spears that appears in the documentary, while others are praising talk-show host Craig Ferguson for saying on air that comics shouldn't joke about Spears' troubles. Other fans have criticized Spears' former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, and others who were involved in some way with the singer, or who once offered commentary on her troubles.

If you've somehow managed to get to 2021 without ever hearing of Britney Spears, here's the briefest of rundowns. Spears was just 11 in 1992 when she was cast on The Mickey Mouse Club. Her debut album, 1999's ...Baby One More Time, sold more than 25 million copies worldwide, and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. She's won a Grammy Award, six MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There's no question she's one of the best-selling, best-earning, and most-searched stars of all time.

But her personal life has often outshone her career successes. She wed childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004 and that marriage was annulled after just 55 hours. She later starred in a reality show, Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, with eventual husband Kevin Federline -- whose girlfriend was still pregnant with his child when he started dating Spears. Spears and Federline had two sons of their own, and she later lost custody of both of them, with the couple's various parental battles always making news.

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Her mental health and other struggles became excruciatingly public: In 2007,Spears shaved her head, reportedly saying she was "tired of people touching me." But public sympathy often seemed to favor Spears, who came off as a troubled young woman who found fame and fortune too early and was understandably unable to cope with it.

The New York Times Presents Framing Britney Spears is now available on FX and FX on Hulu. You can watch it on streaming service Hulu, on the FX cable channel, or on FX's website as long as you pay for a cable subscription that includes FX, or subscribe to a streaming bundle that includes the channel.

The official FX YouTube channel has also been exceptionally free with clips from the show, if you don't mind getting highlights in two-minute video blocks.

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Framing Britney Spears documentary on Hulu and #FreeBritney: What to know - CNET

But e-mails between himself and Atul Gupta suggested the opposite because Pamensky gave advice to him on the matter.

Where did you get the information you were talking about in the e-mail communication to Atul about 'acquisition of Optimum Coal' where you stated that you were 'happy to get involved in this acquisition'? asked Seleka.

I met Mr Atul Gupta on the 22nd [November 2015] and for the first time he said they are looking to buy OCM. After I met him I wrote the e-mail to state what our discussions were and the discussion ended there, he said.

But why did Pamensky send another e-mail to Atul Gupta on December 10, congratulating him on the successful acquisition of OCM, thanks to a R1.6bn prepayment assistance from Eskom?

This information, too, had reached him by chance through media reports and he had not used his Eskom position to lobby for the Guptas, the commission heard.

This transaction was publicly announced and, again, I had never been involved in it. There is nothing untoward about me congratulating him based on what I saw in the press.

I knew nothing, everything I gained was from the press. I have never been involved in this transaction, fortunately enough.

Pamensky is due to appear again at the Zondo commission on a date yet to be determined.

TimesLIVE

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Gupta family 'luck' landed in the lap of former Eskom board member Mark Pamensky - TimesLIVE

TOKYO -- Embattled Nissan reported a 19 percent increase in operating profit in the latest quarter as cost control, better pricing power and lower incentives bolstered results.

Operating profit rose to 27.1 billion yen ($262.5 million) in the automaker's fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, the company said on Tuesday in its financial results announcement.

But Nissan's quarterly net loss expanded to 37.8 billion yen ($366.1 million), from 26.1 billion yen ($252.8 million) the year before. Revenue fell 11 percent to 2.22 trillion yen ($21.50 billion) in the October-December period, as global sales declined 9.6 percent to 1.08 million vehicles.

In the just-finished fiscal third quarter, North American sales fell 20 percent to 323,000 units. Regional operating profit retreated 33 percent to 14.5 billion yen ($140.4 million) in the period.

Sales in Europe decreased 16 percent to 109,000 vehicles, while the regional business there rebounded to a narrow operating profit of 3.1 billion yen ($30.0 million) from a year-earlier loss.

Citing continued uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the global semiconductor shortage, Nissan trimmed its global sales forecast for the current fiscal year ending March 31. It now expects volume to total 4.02 million vehicles, down from its earlier forecast of 4.17 million. The new target represents a 19 percent drop from the previous fiscal year.

COO Ashwani Gupta predicted the semiconductor bottleneck would clear up by May or June.

Despite cutting the sales outlook by 150,000 units, Nissan upgraded its full-year profit outlook.

It now expects an operating loss of 205.0 billion yen ($1.99 billion) in the year to March 31, as opposed to a negative 340.0 billion yen ($3.29 billion) forecast in November. Despite the upgrade, the new target still represents a record operating loss for the company.

Still, CEO Makoto Uchida said improved cost control and a better mix of retail volume and value pricing is gradually lifting profitability. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, for example, Nissan said revenue per unit is up 1.7 percent, the rental mix is down 6 points, inventory is down 25 percent and fixed costs are 12 percent lower.

A stream of new product, such as the redesigned Rogue crossover in the U.S. and the next-generation Note e-Power in Japan, are boosting Nissan's brand and pricing power.

Uchida and Gupta are spearheading a recovery plan called Nissan Next that chops global production capacity, slashes 300 billion yen ($2.91 billion) in fixed costs and focuses on new product. But the COVID-19 pandemic is complicating the recovery.

Regarding media reports that American tech giant Apple is canvassing global automakers for a partner to make its upcoming car, Uchida dodged a straight answer when asked whether Nissan had been approached. But he said Nissan is open to collaborating with new industry entrants.

"We need to work with the companies who are knowledgeable with good experience, through partnership and collaboration. So, this is an option that we may take," Uchida said.

"So, when new companies emerge in the auto industry, that's a possibility too."

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Nissan operating profit rose in latest quarter on better cost control, lower incentives - Automotive News Europe

Polish games developer CD Projekt Red, the outfit behind Cyberpunk 2077, starring Keanu Reeves, and The Witcher series, has been hacked.

In a statement released on social media on Tuesday, the company said it had been targeted in a cyber attack by an unidentified actor that compromised some of its internal systems.

We are still investigating the incident, however at this time, we can confirm that to our best knowledge the compromised systems did not contain any personal data of our players or users of our services.

We will not give in to the demands nor negotiate with the actor, being aware that this may eventually lead to the release of the compromised data, CD Projekt Red said.

The company also released the ransom note, which said: We have dumped FULL copies of the source code from your Perforce server for Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3, Gwent, and the unreleased version of Witcher 3!!

The ransom note threatens that if an agreement isnt reached, the source codes will be leaked or sold online and CD Projekt Reds documents will be sent to their contacts in gaming journalism, giving an ultimatum of 48 hours.

The company is in touch with law enforcement authorities and the Personal Data Protection Office.

CD Projekt Red was in the news late last year when their release of Cyberpunk 2077 went awry. The much anticipated games release was delayed. When it was finally released, users complained of glitches until Sony pulled the game from its online store until further notice and agreed to provide customers full refunds.

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Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher Games Developer CD Projekt Red Hacked, Refuses to Pay Ransom - Variety