Taylor Swift is considered to be one of the most influential and beloved singer-songwriters in the world. The artist, who has released over 200 songs and has won a multitude of awards, continues to impress the world and her fans with each new musical accomplishment. On May 5th the singer-songwriter announced the re-recording of her album, Speak Now, one of her most fan-cherished works. Swift plans to release six re-recorded albums in total, with Speak Now being the third “Taylor’s Version” following Fearless and Red. Overall, fans are overjoyed and cannot wait until the July 7th re-release date!
Although Taylor Swift was born in 1989 in Pennsylvania, by the age of thirteen she had convinced her parents to move to Tennessee, where she focused on her career as a singer-songwriter. Only four years later, Swift’s first song, “Tim McGraw”, along with her album, Taylor Swift, was released, and caused an ecstatic reaction from the public; the aforementioned track landing on the Billboard country singles chart. In a few years’ time, the accomplished teenager had already gone on tour, received the Horizon Award for best new country music artist, and sold more than one million copies of her album in the U.S.. As a result of her success, Taylor Swift went on to record nine more albums, including Fearless, Reputation, and Red, which are considered to be her most famous and popular works.
In April 2021, Swift released her first re–recording, Fearless, singing the tracks with a new voice and a new mindset, as well as adding several previously unrecorded songs. The artist proceeded to re-record the music album Red, which soon turned into one of the most adored albums by Swifties, the fans of Taylor Swift. And now, after several years of waiting, the singer finally announced via Instagram that Speak Now Taylor’s Version, which contains 14 songs including “Speak Now”, “Back to December”, and “Enchanted”, will be released on July 7th, and fans couldn’t be more excited about this re-recorded album! Since the day Taylor Swift released Fearless (Taylor’s Version), fans couldn’t be more excited to hear the re-recorded versions of the singer’s albums. Although there is a practical and economic reason behind the decision to re-release these songs, with Swift now being able to include them in advertisements and movies, part of the singer’s choice to re-record the albums is to spread her music and make sure that it “can live on”. After Speak Now, Taylor Swift plans to release Reputation, an album that was originally released in 2017 and is composed of songs including “Don’t Blame Me”, “Gorgeous”, and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”. According to several sources, including Britannica and Capital, Swift couldn’t start recording the new version of this album until November of 2022 due to legal restrictions, as songs normally cannot be re-recorded until two years after they were originally released. Nevertheless, Taylor Swift fans are definitely excited about the upcoming Taylor’s Versions, and cannot wait to hear the re-recorded songs!
Bibliography:
“Every Album Taylor Swift Is Re-Recording.” Capital, www.capitalfm.com/news/taylor-swift-albums-rerecording-songs/.
Ray, Michael. “Taylor Swift | Biography, Songs, & Facts.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 9 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Taylor-Swift.