Taylor Swift Announces Re-Recorded Album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor Swift announces the release of her re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), during her Eras Tour stop in Nashville. The album includes six previously unreleased tracks and features her self-written songs from her teenage years.
The Announcement
During her Eras Tour stop in Nashville, Taylor Swift announced that her re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), will be released on July 7. She shared this news on her Instagram post, where she also revealed that the album includes six previously unreleased tracks.
The Album
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is Swift’s re-recording of her third album, Speak Now, which was first released in 2010. The album showcases her self-written songs, which were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions, and wild wistfulness.
The Original Speak Now Album
Speak Now was Swift’s third album, featuring singles like “Mean,” “Ours,” “Sparks Fly,” and “The Story of Us.” It 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 Grammy, with “Mean” winning for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.
Swift’s Re-Recording Plan
Swift announced her plan to re-record all her pre-Lover material in the summer of 2019, following the purchase of her catalog by Scooter Braun without her involvement. She released Fearless (Taylor’s Version), an update of her 2008 record, in April 2021, followed by Red (Taylor’s Version), a 30-song update of 2012’s Red in November 2021.
Swift’s Previous Re-Recordings
Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) wasn’t nominated for any Grammy, but she submitted her Red re-cut for consideration in multiple categories for the 2023 awards. In 2014, the original version of the album had been up for Album of the Year and Best Country Album, losing to Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories and Kacey Musgraves’ Same Trailer Different Park, respectively.
Swift’s Award Nominations and Wins
Swift won the Grammy for Best Music Video with “All Too Well: The Short Film,” a song from her Red (Taylor’s Version) album. She also set a new record for the most Video of the Year awards at the MTV VMAs upon winning for her self-directed visual for the extended version of “All Too Well.” She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for her song “Carolina,” recorded for Olivia Newman’s film adaptation of the 2018 novel Where the Crawdads Sing.
Swift’s Recent Projects
Apart from her re-recordings and award-winning songs, Swift announced her so-called Eras Tour in November, where she faced lawsuits and a Senate sub-committee hearing about Ticketmaster’s business practices. She is reportedly set to direct a feature-length film from her own script, but further details of that project have not yet been made public.
