Taylor Swift Reveals "Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)" Is Coming in July

American singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift let fans in her hometown, Nashville, be the first to get the official news: “Speak Now” will be the next album in the “Taylor’s Version” series of re-recorded albums.

Swift is giving fans plenty of time to pre-order the violet vinyl: She revealed that it’s coming out in all formats on July 7.

“I think rather than me speaking about it,  she said."I thought I would show you, so if you would direct your attention” to the big screens… There, the album cover and release date were shown, before Swift launched into the “Speak Now” track “Sparks Fly” as a surprise song.

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Upon the announcement at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, the city turned on purple lights on the nearby bridge over the Cumberland River.

About 10 minutes after making the announcement, she posted to her social accounts. “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,” she wrote, using the acronym for “iykyk.” (The July 9 reference refers to a specific mention of that date in the lyrics of “Last Kiss” — believed to be a date in 2008 when she went to Texas to visit then-boyfriend Joe Jonas.)

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“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.”

“Speak Now” was a landmark album for Swift 13 years ago, becoming the first and only album for which she was the sole songwriter on all the tracks.

The new cover art featured Swift wearing a dress similar to the one she wore on the front of the original album in 2010, but with a more serious expression that marks her as definitely not the 20-year-old who posed for the Big Machine edition’s cover.

Swift has been recording all-new versions of all of her Big Machine releases, with only “Fearless” and “Red” having come out so far in “Taylor’s Version” editions.

She is remaking all her albums up to 2017’s “Reputation” after Scooter Braun acquired the label under which the singer recorded her early albums and sold the master rights to her first six albums for $300 million in November 2020. 

The new albums have been strong sellers, as fans follow her wishes to buy and stream only the versions where she owns the recordings outright, after her public distress at her Big Machine catalog having been sold against her wishes. The “TV” editions have also included copious bonus tracks of songs Swift wrote but never released during those eras.