Speak Now

Speak Now
Standard edition cover
Studio album by Taylor Swift
Released	October 25, 2010 (2010-10-25)
Recorded	2009–2010
Studio	Aimeeland (Nashville) Blackbird (Nashville) Pain in the Art (Nashville) Starstruck (Nashville) Capitol (Hollywood) Stonehurst (Bowling Green)[1]
Genre	Country pop pop rock power pop
Length	67:29
Label	Big Machine
Producer	Nathan Chapman Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift chronology
Fearless (2008) Speak Now (2010) Speak Now World Tour – Live (2011)
Singles from Speak Now
"Mine" Released: August 4, 2010 "Back to December" Released: November 15, 2010 "Mean" Released: March 7, 2011 "The Story of Us" Released: April 7, 2011 "Sparks Fly" Released: July 18, 2011 "Ours" Released: December 5, 2011

Speak Now is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 25, 2010, by Big Machine Records. Swift wrote the album entirely herself while touring in 2009–2010 to reflect on her transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Swift framed Speak Now as a loose concept album about the unsaid things she wanted to deliver to the subjects of her songs. Using confessional songwriting, the album is mostly about heartbreak and reflections on broken relationships, and some tracks were inspired by Swift's rising stardom in the public eye to address her critics and adversaries. She and Nathan Chapman produced Speak Now, which combines country pop, pop rock, and power pop. Its songs incorporate prominent rock stylings, and their melodies are characterized by acoustic instruments intertwined with chiming electric guitars, dynamic drums, and orchestral strings.

After the album's release, Swift embarked on the Speak Now World Tour from February 2011 to March 2012. The album was supported by six singles, including the US Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles "Mine" and "Back to December", and the US Hot Country Songs number ones "Sparks Fly" and "Ours". Speak Now peaked atop the charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the United States, it sold one million copies within its first release week, spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, and was certified six-times platinum for surpassing six million album-equivalent units by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Music critics generally praised Speak Now for its radio-friendly melodies and emotional engagement. Some critics thought the lyrics represented Swift's maturity in early adulthood, but several others criticized the confrontational tracks as shallow. At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012, Speak Now was nominated for Best Country Album, and its single "Mean" won Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. The album appeared in 2010s decade-end lists by Billboard and Spin, and Rolling Stone ranked it in their lists "The 50 Greatest Female Albums of All Time" (2012) and "The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far" (2025). After a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded Speak Now and released it as Speak Now (Taylor's Version) on July 7, 2023.