Taylor Swift
Aug 9, 2010
Taylor Swift will release her third studio album, "Speak Now", the follow-up to 2008's "Fearless" on October 25th. Swift shared the news with her fans on Ustream and said the album's first single, "Mine," will be released August 16th.
"Ever since we put out 'Fearless' I've been writing this one," said Swift, who added that "Speak Now" will consist of about 14 songs. "Through the past two years, I've been through a lot of things that I have been dying to write about and talk about. There were a lot of things that I wanted to say in the moment but couldn't, and this album is my opportunity to do that. "
Swift went into detail with her fans about the making of "Speak Now," which she wrote entirely on her own. "I didn't have any co-writers, and it didn't really happen on purpose," she explained. "I'd get my best ideas at 3 am in Arkansas when I didn't have any co-writers around, so I would just finish it." Swift said the same thing happened in New York, Boston and Nashville. "It just so happened that the songs that made the cut on the album were the ones I wrote myself, so, wish me luck!"
The 21-year-old singer/songwriter co-produced "Speak Now" with longtime collaborator Nathan Chapman, who worked with her on "Fearless" and her 2006 self-titled debut.
As for "Mine," Swift said the song is about "my tendency to run from love...Every really direct example of love that I've had in front of me has ended in goodbye and has ended in breakups and things like that. So I think I've developed this pattern of sort of running away when it comes time to fall in love. This song is sort of about finding the exception to that."
Swift's "Fearless" album has sold 5.9 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and was the best-selling album of 2009. Combined with her "Taylor Swift" debut as well as holiday albums and other releases, Swift has sold 11.7 million albums overall.
The country superstar will treat fans to a sneak peak of Speak Now when she performs her first single "More" on the CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock TV special.
Swift's top-secret performance, which was filmed last month in Nashville during the CMA Music Festival, will air September 1st at 8 p.m. on the ABC Television Network.
Tim McGraw is set to host the show, which will also feature performances by country's hottest stars, including Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Rascall Flatts, Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire and more.
Also in store for the special: A collaborative performance with Dierks Bentley, Jamey Johnson and Lambert, and a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Lady Antebellum, who allowed cameras to follow them for a day at the June music festival.