Taylor Swift Confirms Hayley Williams Collaboration for “Speak Now” Taylor’s Version

Taylor Swift just confirmed a long-standing fan theory–a Paramore collaboration. Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams came up in the music world alongside Taylor Swift in the Nashville, Tennessee area in the early 2000s. While the artists typically fall into different genre categories, the pair have maintained a close friendship over the duration of their immensely successful careers.

As Williams once appeared as a guest performer on the “Speak Now” tour, she will now feature on the re-recorded “Speak Now” (Taylor’s Version) on a track titled “Castles Crumbling.” Fans feel that the pop-rock tinged “Speak Now” is perfect for pop punk royalty Paramore. Rumors of the collaboration circulated last week when a fan handed Williams a “The Eras Tour” friendship bracelet emblazoned with the album title, and Williams mischievously responded that she was receiving it at a “very interesting time.”

hayley williams mentioning speak now???? pic.twitter.com/KTqygme93E

— ???? (@concertleaks) June 1, 2023

Internet Reactions

Swift shared the back cover of the album across social media, complete with a full track listing. “Speak Now” marks the third album to be re-recorded after Swift’s original masters were sold to industry tycoon Scooter Braun without her consent. Each re-release has been complete with several new never-been-heard-before tracks, which the singer refers to as “vault tracks.” “Speak Now” will include six of these tracks, one being the duet with Williams and another being “Electric Touch” featuring Fall Out Boy.

Swift’s track listing announcement also included a lyrical reference. Swift re-recorded the album last year, when she was 32. “32 and still growing up now” can be heard in the track “Innocent”, which has long been rumored as a forgiveness song for Kanye West after he interrupted her speech at the 2009 MTV VMAs.

I’m VERY excited to show you the back cover of Speak Now (my version) including the vault tracks and collaborations with Hayley Williams from @paramore and @falloutboy. Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most… pic.twitter.com/UJOqUNfCGp

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 5, 2023

The overall messaging of “Speak Now” quite literally refers to speaking one’s mind and living in the moment. Paramore and Fall Out Boy’s lyrics, particularly from the 2010s, speak to the same values. Fans of all of the artists are expressing surprise and excitement at the unique collaborations across the internet.