The Grammy winner unveiled the video at her Kansas City concert.
For the fans gathered Friday at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stop in Kansas City, the night was sparkling indeed.
Fresh off the release of her third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), the pop star treated the audience to a brand-new music video for one of its vault tracks, “I Can See You.”
In it, actors Joey King, Taylor Lautner, and Presley Cash — all of whom were in attendance at the concert — help Swift pull off a heist of her master recordings. The video features a spy van and security lasers and is jam-packed with fight scenes, which Lautner did himself without a stunt double, Swift revealed.
She explained that she had the concept for the video, which she directed, mapped out more than a year and a half ago, but it was hard to get all the actors’ schedules lined up to make it happen. This spring, it worked out and the cast gathered in Liverpool.
“Ever since I started re-recording, I wanted to show a story visually that portrayed the ways that you guys have helped me get my music back,” Swift said.
Rumors about the video, including Lautner and King’s possible involvement, swirled in April when the trio were reportedly spotted shooting in the U.K. Their appearance in the video is fitting, considering both actors have tie-ins to the original 2010 album Speak Now.
A young King and Cash both starred in the music video for “Mean” in 2011, and Lautner, who briefly dated Swift after the two starred in Valentine’s Day together, reportedly inspired the album’s song “Back to December.”
On stage after the music video’s premiere, Lautner shared some sweet words about his director. “Taylor, I respect you so much,” he said. “Not just for the singer you are, the songwriter, the performer, but for the human you are. You are gracious, humble, kind, and I am honored to know you.”
As for the song itself, “I Can See You” is lyrically reminiscent of the Reputation track “Dress” in that it features sexual underpinnings and the narrator flirting with temptation. Sonically, the Jack Antonoff–produced song is a departure for Swift, combining synthesizer, guitar, and bass sounds (it sounds unlike anything from Swift’s discography so far). It’s one of six never-before-released “vault tracks” on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Elsewhere in Friday’s concert, Swift added a performance of “Long Live” to the Speak Now section of the evening immediately following “Enchanted.” To mark the occasion, she debuted a new dress and brought out her beloved koi fish guitar, which longtime fans will recall she also used to play the song during the Speak Now tour. Keeping with the theme, the show’s acoustic set also featured Speak Now songs “Never Grow Up” and the new vault track “When Emma Falls in Love.”
The “I Can See You” video drop marks the second time Swift has debuted a fresh visual during her Eras Tour, which kicked off in March. She premiered the music video for the remix of the Midnights track “Karma,” featuring Ice Spice, during the first of three Eras Tour stops at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., in May.