Taylor Swift announces release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

Taylor Swift is ready to Speak Now. It's been revealed, finally, that the superstar will finally drop the re-release of her third album, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) later this summer.

Announcing the release on her socials, Taylor - who is currently on the road in the US on her Eras Tour - revealed that we can expect her re-recording to release on July 7.

She said: "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) 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."

(For those of you wondering, the reference to July 9 is a nod to the song The Last Kiss. She does love an Easter Egg).

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 😆) 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… pic.twitter.com/oa0Vs5kszr

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 6, 2023

MORE: Taylor Swift's Official Charts history in full

Speak Now (TV) is the latest in Taylor's line of re-recording and re-releasing her first six records, since the master recordings were not sold to her when she left her old record label, Big Machine.

We got two Taylor's Version releases in 2021 - Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version), both of which topped the Official Albums Chart. Last year passed without a re-recording, but we of course did get Tay's tenth album Midnights, which helped land Taylor the Official Chart Double and the biggest opening week of her career in the UK.

As Taylor herself referenced, Speak Now is looked upon as a hallowed entry in her discography. Entirely self-written, it was the first instance of Tay taking control in her career in response to media criticism and coverage, something with which she would become extremely adept at for better or worse, be it in Blank Space or reputation.

Looking back to it now, Speak Now is a self-fulfilling prophecy for Taylor, and it's hard to imagine her reaching the point where she'd be comfortable transitioning into full-on pop in 1989 or widening and expanding the narratives of her songs on folklore or Midnights without having first completely mastered her craft writing Speak Now by herself, front to back, with no help.