Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is the third re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on July 7, 2023, via Republic Records. It is a re-recording of Swift’s third studio album, Speak Now (2010), and follows her 2021 re-recorded albums Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version). The re-recording is a part of Swift’s counteraction to her 2019 masters dispute. The album was announced on May 5, 2023, at a Nashville show of her ongoing concert tour, the Eras Tour.
Containing 22 tracks, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was written solely by Swift. It includes re-recorded versions of 16 songs from the deluxe edition of Speak Now and six previously unreleased “From the Vault” songs. Swift and Christopher Rowe produced the re-recorded songs, with new input from Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff on the vault tracks. American rock acts Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams of Paramore contributed guest vocals.
Strongly influenced by rock and pop-punk music, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) blends Swift’s trademark country pop sound with emo, pop rock, and gothic rock styles. It is mainly driven by dynamic compositions of electric guitars, heavy drums, cinematic strings and acoustic instruments. Lyrically, it is a loose concept album about unspoken confessions, documenting the volatile emotions of Swift’s adolescence. The album received acclaim from music critics, who complimented the vocals and emotionally engaging songwriting.
Commercially, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) broke the global Spotify record for the most single-day streams for an album in 2023. It reached number one in Australia, Canada, Flanders, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, as well as the United States, where it marked Swift’s 12th album to top the Billboard 200 chart, breaking Barbra Streisand‘s all-time record for the most number-one albums by a female artist. All 22 of its tracks debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, including “I Can See You” at number five.