Taylor Swift at Paycor Stadium - Cincinatti, Ohio on 30 June 2023 by Laura Ord
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Taylor Swift Announces Speak Now (Taylor's Version) is to be Released on July 7th

May 6, 2023 4:44 am GMT
Last Edited July 26, 2023 3:40 pm GMT

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The Swifties have done it again!

All that sleuthing and detective work has paid off. Taylor Swift has announced that the next re-recorded album from her back catalogue to be released will be Speak Now on July 7th with six extra songs from the vault. All of her fans need to be given jobs by the FBI immediately.

Speaking live on stage from the first of three shows in Nashville on Friday as part of the Eras Tour, the singer revealed that her third album, Speak Now, will be the next album that she will re-rerecord. This will follow Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) as part of her plans to re-record all of her pre-Lover material, in the wake of Scooter Braun purchasing her catalog without her involvement.

Artist - Taylor Swift Live (Speak Now Announcement)

“I think rather than me speaking about it,” she told the audience. “I thought I would just show you. So, if you would direct your attention to the back, big screen that we have.” Behind her, the screen read: “Speak Now. Taylor’s Version. Available July 7.” Amidst all the screams, fans at the show took to social media to post concert footage of the announcement.

Soon after the announcement on stage, Swift tweeted, “It fills me with such pride and joy to announce that my version of Speak Now will be out July 7 (just in time for July 9th, iykyk)."

The date refers to a specific mention of that date in the lyrics of 'Last Kiss', believed to refer to a day in 2008 when she went to Texas to visit her then-boyfriend Joe Jonas.

“I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, between the ages of 18 and 20. The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness.”

“I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing… and living to speak about it. With six extra songs I’ve sprung loose from the vault, I absolutely cannot wait to celebrate Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with you on July 7th”.

Originally released in 2010, Speak Now featured 14 self-written Taylor songs including 'Mine,' 'Mean,' 'Story of Us,' and 'Enchanted.' The Deluxe Edition already added 3 more songs and acoustic versions of 'Haunted' and 'Back To December'.

The record sold more than a million copies in its first week, setting a record for the highest number of sales by a solo female country artist. It was nominated for a Best Country Album award at the Grammy awards the following year, and 'Mean' took home the award for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.

The announcement will come as no surprise to her ardent fans who have been uncovering easter eggs and clues since the Midnights album was released. In Tampa last month, before she performed the title track, she told fans, “I’ve been thinking a lot about one of my albums recently. One of my albums has been on my mind a lot”.

The video for 'Bejeweled' from the album also featured several clues. Including a scene in an elevator with different floor levels themed like her albums, where she presses a purple button for the third floor, indicating her third album, Speak Now, would be next to get the re-record treatment.

Right after the onstage announcement, Swift played 'Sparks Fly'. A song that had not previously been played on the tour. So far on the Eras Tour, the singer has only been performing 'Enchanted' off the album.

It was quite a night for the audience in Nashville last night. Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus had already joined Phoebe Bridgers onstage for an impromptu Boygenius performance of 'Not Strong Enough' during the singer's support slot.

Nashville joined in with the announcement at the Nissan Stadium by turning on purple lights on the nearby bridge over the Cumberland River.

The song will feature 22 songs in total and the release is confirmed on Taylor's website, where it’s revealed that the LP version will be a three-record set, released on “three unique violet marble color vinyl discs", as well as CD and cassette versions.

For more on Taylor Swift, see below:

Featured photo by Laura Ord

Written by Jof Owen
Author - Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
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