After a long and anticipated wait, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” was released on Friday. Singer-Songwriter Taylor Swift rerecorded her third studio album with six newly added “vault” tracks.
“Speak Now” was originally released in 2010 under Big Machine Records, but due to tension and other disagreements, Swift decided to rerecord her first six studio albums for complete artistic ownership.
“Fearless,” her first rerecorded album and second studio album, was released in April 2021. It featured six vault songs — songs that were originally meant to be included on the album that were cut in the process.
“Red (Taylor’s Version),” Swift’s second rerecorded album and fourth studio album, was released in November 2021. “Red (Taylor’s Version)” broke streaming records, and the music video of “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” won a Grammy Award.
Fans have been awaiting the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” since the first couple of easter eggs Swift hid in music videos and social media posts.
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There were theories of surprise drops, similarly to the ways in which Swift released “Folklore” and “Evermore,” but fans were repeatedly disappointed when the theories were unfruitful. It wasn’t until her Eras Tour concert in Nashville on May 7 that she announced the album’s rerecording.
“Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” lived up to the excitement surrounding it. It broke the Spotify record of most single-day streams for an album in 2023 and for a country album ever. Fans all over the world waited for the premier, some even coming together and making cakes to commemorate the event.
The rerecording includes the original 16 songs on the album, with the only major difference being the maturity in Swift’s voice. There was one highly noticed lyric change in the song “Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version)” to reduce criticized misogyny.
The six added songs included features with rock band Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams, the lead singer of the band Paramore. The vault tracks on “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) mixed acoustic and more rock-heavy tracks together for a well-received juxtaposition.
Fans are speculating that “1989” will be rerecorded next, but with Swift’s reputation for being a mastermind, they’ll all be left in the dark until she makes her plans known to them.
