Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

Taylor Swift's third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), arrived on July 7, 2023, through Republic Records. This release continues her mission to reclaim her early catalog after the 2019 dispute over master recordings. Swift announced the project during the first Nashville stop of her Eras Tour on May 5, 2023. The album revisits her 2010 original, with all 16 tracks from the deluxe edition re-recorded and six unreleased "From the Vault" songs added. Swift wrote every word herself and produced the set with Christopher Rowe, while Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner handled the vault tracks. Two of those feature guest stars: Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams.

Sonically, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) blends country pop and pop rock with touches of emo, pop-punk, and alternative rock. Electric guitars, dynamic drums, and strings drive the sound. The lyrics capture teenage emotions, affection, grievance, heartbreak, forming a loose concept album of unspoken confessions. Critics praised Swift's sharp songwriting and matured vocals, though a lyric change in "Better than Revenge" drew mixed reactions. The album topped charts in Australia, Canada, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. In the US, it became Swift's 12th number-one on the Billboard 200, breaking Barbra Streisand's record for most chart-topping albums by a female artist. It later went four-times platinum. All 22 tracks hit the Billboard Hot 100, with "I Can See You" peaking at number five, boosted by a music video.[edit]