Taylor Swift has officially announced the ‘Taylor’s Version’ re-recording of her third album, ‘Speak Now’, revealing it onstage during the Nashville stop of her ongoing ‘Eras’ tour.
- READ MORE: Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour kick off: top five moments from the star’s transcendent performance
Swift is currently performing at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, delivering the first of three shows tonight (May 5) before returning tomorrow (May 6) and on Sunday (May 7).
After singing a shortened version of ‘Bad Blood’, the pop star revealed through a video played onstage that ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ will be released on July 7. To accompany the news, she performed an acoustic rendition of the ‘Speak Now’ cut ‘Sparks Fly’.
Taylor Swift just announced LIVE in Nashville that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) will be available in July!!!!! I am crying tonight was beyond MAGICAL!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/C5sCocQ7Ac
— Nagham (@NaghamAbouzeid) May 6, 2023
In a statement shared on Instagram, Swift said: “I always looked at this album as my album, and the lump in my throat expands to a quivering voice as I say this. Thanks to you, dear reader, it finally will be. I consider this music to be, along with your faith in me, the best thing that’s ever been mine.”
She went on to explain in an accompanying caption: “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.”
Have a look at the cover art for ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ below, and find pre-orders for the record here.
Swift has been teasing ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ for some time now, leaning into the rumours of its imminent release during the ‘Eras’ tour. When she performed the title track in Florida, for example, she opened by saying: “I’ve been thinking a lot about one of my albums recently. One of my albums has been on my mind a lot… Lots going on in my brain about it.”
Fans had also been convinced that ‘Speak Now’ would be Swift’s next re-recorded album when they noticed hints towards it on ‘Eras’ tour promo art. Thus far, Swift has released re-recorded versions of ‘Fearless’ and ‘Red’, both of which arrived in 2021. March of this year saw her drop three new re-recorded songs – ‘Eyes Open’, ‘Safe & Sound’ and ‘If This Was A Movie’ – as well as the ‘Lover’ B-side ‘All Of The Girls You Loved Before’.