Before surprising fans with a performance of “Dear John” during Saturday’s stop of the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift gave a speech, asking fans to act with “kindness and gentleness” on social media ahead of the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
The Grammy-winning singer noted that she gets to “stand on this stage every single night of this tour and watch some of the most beautiful things happen,” including fans interacting with kindness in the crowd, and she urges her fans to continue that same positivity online when the album is released July 7.
Swift’s request comes amid widespread speculation that her song “Dear John,” which is featured on the Speak Now album, is believed to be about her relationship with John Mayer.
Although she didn’t name anyone specifically during the onstage speech at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN, Swift added, “I’m 33 years old. I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19, except the songs I wrote…”
She continued, “I’m not putting this album out so that you can go and should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 million years ago.”
In May, the singer revealed during a Nashville show that the 2010 album would be her next re-recorded studio album, following Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), both of which were released in 2021. Since 2019, Swift has been open about her plans to re-record her first six studio albums after being unable to buy the master recordings of her back catalog of music. By re-recording them, she will be able to own the masters.
Swift, who is currently on her Eras Tour, has also been surprising fans at each stop with a performance of a different song that’s not included in the tour’s set list. “Dear John” and “Daylight” were the surprise songs during Saturday’s concert in Minneapolis.
