Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

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.

— Swift looking back on Speak Now on her social media[1]

Taylor Swift released her third studio album, Speak Now, on October 25, 2010, under Big Machine Records. A country pop and pop rock album, Speak Now was entirely self-written by Swift, and received positive reviews from music critics. It sold over 1,047,000 copies within its opening week in the United States—the largest first week in history for a female country artist,[2] and the first million-selling week of Swift's career, a feat she would go on to repeat four more times.[3] Speak Now achieved the Guinness World Record as the fastest selling album in the US by a female country act.[4] At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards (2012), its single "Mean" won Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.[5]

Swift performing on the Speak Now World Tour (2011-2012)

Swift released three more studio albums under Big Machine, as per the recording contract, which expired in November 2018. She hence withdrew from Big Machine and signed a new recording deal with Republic Records, which secured her the rights to own the masters of the new music she will release.[6] In 2019, American businessman Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine.[7] The ownership of the masters to Swift's first six studio albums, including Speak Now, transferred to Braun.[8] In August 2019, Swift denounced Braun's purchase and announced that she would re-record her first six studio albums, so as to own their masters herself.[9] Swift began re-recording the albums in November 2020.[10] Fearless (Taylor's Version), the first of her six re-recorded albums, was released on April 9, 2021, followed by Red (Taylor's Version) on November 12, 2021; both achieved critical and commercial success, debuting atop the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.[11][12]

Speculations about a re-recording of Speak Now dated back as far as November 2021, when Swift released Red (Taylor's Version), referencing key words of the 2010 era in social media posts.[13] The music videos for "Bejeweled" and "Lavender Haze", released in 2022 and 2023 respectively, contained numerous Easter eggs referencing Speak Now.[14][15] Fan theories intensified after Swift's 2023 concert tour, the Eras Tour, began: the multi-colored wristbands that attendees received flashed purple at the end of a concert, Swift hinted at a re-release during the performance of "Speak Now" and then used a purple heart emoji on social media days before the announcement.[16]

On May 5, 2023, at the first Nashville date of her current tour, the Eras Tour, Swift announced Speak Now (Taylor's Version) as her next re-recorded album, set for release on July 7.[17] The announcement acted as a lead-in to one of her "surprise songs", an acoustic version of the original album's second track "Sparks Fly"; lights along the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge turned purple.[18] She subsequently revealed in social media posts, "I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing ... and living to speak about it".[19] Swift emphasized the hardships she faced in her life during the time she wrote the record, among them "brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness".[20][21]

Speak Now (Taylor's Version) is scheduled for release on July 7, 2023, making it Swift's third re-recorded album. It contains 22 tracks, six of which are designated "From the Vault"—unreleased songs that were written for Speak Now but did not make the final track list in 2010.[22][23] The re-recording of "If This Was a Movie", a deluxe track from the original album, was released as a promotional single and included on the streaming-exclusive compilation extended play The More Fearless (Taylor's Version) Chapter on March 17, 2023.[24] The vinyl edition of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) is a set of three marbled violets LPs.[25]