Drop everything now, because on July 7th, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is about to become the best thing that’s ever been Ours!! We all know Taylor is the master at dropping hints way in advance, to the point where Swifties will launch a full investigation into every piece of content, from social media to music videos, down to every last punctuation use and image pixel (shoutout to the five holes in the fence theory xx). Speak Now, Taylor’s third studio album, holds huge sentimental significance to both fans and Taylor alike, especially considering it was her first entirely self-written record created between the ages of 18 and 20. Capturing the magic, chaos and confusion of navigating not only love, but everything that comes with growing up; Speak Now is full of enchantment, nostalgia, sparks, accountability, call outs, real love, heartbreak, sentimentality, pride, and hope.
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Taylor first unveiled the release date for Speak Now TV during an Eras Tour show at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium early in May, describing her plotting, scheming, and the planning of fan surprises as her “love language” for her listeners. Since then, she’s given us the long-awaited tracklist, which includes six new vault tracks and features from Hayley Williams and Fall Out Boy (serious ‘Haunted ’ vibes!!)
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After years of theorising when we would be graced with the iconic Speak Now era once more, we are officially in countdown mode! Here’s a look at how the dominoes cascaded, and some of the recent Easter eggs that have us excited for Taylor’s Version, coming July 7th.
TIMING
The most obvious detective work fans conducted was pinpointing a suitable window for the revival of the Speak Now era. Originally, Swifties hoped for the project earlier in 2022, due to Swift’s then age of 32. This would have mirrored the “32 and still growing up now” lyrics on the track ‘Innocent’. It also would powerfully amplify the message of ‘Dear John’, considering Taylor had then reached the age that said ex, John Mayer, was when he dated her 19 year-old self.
But 2023 was still on the cards of course, as it is 13 years (Tay’s famously lucky number) after the record’s original 2010 release. Some predicted it would come on the exact anniversary of October 25th. Others were nearly right on the money by highlighting “that July 9” that Tay sings about in ‘Last Kiss’. July 7th is a Friday, the day of the week that Swift is known to release music, and in her announcement post she noted that it was “just in time for July 9th, iykyk.”
THE ERAS SETLIST
A huge clue that something was brewing regarding Tay’s third studio album, was the incredibly and disproportionately short setlist for the Speak Now section of the Eras Tour setlist. Every other album guarantees the performances of between three and seven tracks, but Speak Now is solely carried by the track ‘Enchanted.’
Fans were quick to pick up on the stark difference, while also theorising a potential rebrand of the era to become Enchanted, which is rumoured to have originally been Taylor’s first choice of album title before being encouraged in a different direction by her label at the time.
There had also been instances of Eras concert-goers’ bracelets flashing purple for short periods during certain shows, lighting up the whole stadium with the iconic Speak Now album colour palette. To many, these clues felt more like a confirmation of what Swifties already suspected – that the re-recording of Speak Now was next up.
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THE ENCHANTED TV REHEARSAL LEAK
A video, believed to be first posted by an Eras backup dancer of Taylor’s, shows the performers rehearsing to the Speak Now section of the setlist, with a pre-recorded rehearsal audio which sounded strikingly like mature and recent Taylor vocals. This led fans to further suspect that if one track of the record had been mixed, that Speak Now TV had already been recorded in full, and was ready for release at any moment.
THE MIDNIGHTS ERA
The Midnights era has definitely brought some of the clearest Easter eggs that pointed to Speak Now’s arrival. The fairytale-inspired ‘Bejewelled’ music video begins with the ‘Enchanted’ instrumental, the three Haim step-sisters allude to the third studio album, and the evil stepmother commands Taylor to “speak not!”
Later in the music video, we also see Taylor’s elevator has a purple thirteenth floor – an addition to the other clearly identifiable albums and eras released thus far. The music video features tableaus and stills rich in Speak Now’s imagery and themes – the dragons from ‘Long Live’, the hand formation from the CD design, and the balcony from the original tour set design too.
And the most telling of all – Taylor then wears hairpins with the letters ‘S’ and ‘N’, accompanied with a cheeky wink.
THE RED TV ERA
Red TV’s ‘I Bet You Think About Me’ music video from 2021 was also full of hints – music vids are very reliable ways that fans can get clues directly and intentionally from Taylor. The visuals for the country vault track showed Taylor crashing a wedding – the exact lyrical theme of Speak Now’s titular track.
The Red TV era overall was filled with references to Speak Now, which signaled an upcoming passing of the baton down memory lane. On Red TV release day, Taylor referenced tracks ‘Mine’ and ‘Ours’ in her emotional caption, and the signed Red TV CD was listed on her official merch website for $20.10, written in purple font. Sadie Sink’s character in the All Too Well short film was also spotted sitting on the floor wearing her ex’s clothes, exactly mirroring the chorus lyrics from the Speak Now track ‘Last Kiss.’
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These were just a few of the endless Speak Now Easter eggs that Swifties have recently been quick to note on the journey up to Taylor’s announcement of the official re-recording! We are so so excited to experience the undeniable magic of this record on July 7th, Long Live this incredible fan-favourite record! 💜💜💜
Pre-save Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) here!
