Long live, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Taylor Swift has finally officially confirmed that her version of Speak Now, the third album in her discography, will release on July 7. The original came out in October 2010. The singer announced the news on stage at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium during night one of three of her Eras Tour. It’s fitting that she did it in the city she moved to as a teenager to pursue her music career. The town’s Cumberland River bridge even glowed purple once she displayed the release date and album cover. Last year, Swift also accepted the Singer-Songwriter of the Decade award from the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
“I’ve been planning something for a while...It’s my love language,” she told the audience while making the announcement. Swift then launched into her surprise songs of the night, the part of the tour where she belts out a couple of tracks not on the setlist. She immediately sang “Sparks Fly” from Speak Now, followed by “Teardrops On My Guitar” from her debut album.
Fans are probably not too surprised, especially not hardcore Swifties, who expected her to drop this re-recording soon. (TikTok and Twitter are full of complex theories; scientists and mathematicians would be shocked).
As a reminder: Swift is re-recording her first six albums to secure the rights to them after her former label, Big Machine Records, sold the ownership of those records for $300 million in 2020. (Her ex-manager Scooter Braun is, ahem, not “Innocent,” and she’s not “Better Than Revenge” when it comes to this—insert Arrested Development’s “Good for her” meme).
Swift has already released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), which makes Speak Now the third re-release. It was a major album for her because it’s the only one where she’s the sole songwriter on every track. She still has Taylor Swift, 1989, and Reputation to re-record. Every album since 2019—Lover, folklore, evermore, and Midnights—is under her new label, Republic Records and Universal Music Group.
The singer is currently on a nationwide tour that toasts her ten albums so far. It will culminate in the U.S. in August. And by then, we’ll have six Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) vault tracks to listen to on repeat.