Style (Taylor Swift song)
"Style" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the third single from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift wrote the song with the producers Max Martin, Shellback, and Ali Payami. An incorporation of pop, funk, disco, and electronic styles, "Style" is built on an electric guitar riff, pulsing synthesizers, and dense vocal reverb. The lyrics are about a couple who could not escape from an unhealthy relationship because they are never "out of style". Big Machine in partnership with Republic Records released the song to US radio on February 9, 2015.
"Style"
February 9, 2015
- MXM (Stockholm)
- Conway Recording (Los Angeles)
- Synth-pop
- funk-pop
- Italo disco
- pop rock
3:51
- Taylor Swift
- Max Martin
- Shellback
- Ali Payami
- Max Martin
- Shellback
- Ali Payami
In the United States, "Style" peaked at number six and was 1989's third consecutive top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The single reached the top 25 and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Early reviews were generally positive and praised the production but a few of them deemed the lyrics unsophisticated. Retrospective opinions have regarded "Style" as one of Swift's best songs.
Kyle Newman directed the song's music video, which premiered on February 13, 2015. It features Swift and Dominic Sherwood as a couple who reminisce about their relationship through illusions and flashbacks using broken mirror pieces. Swift included "Style" on the set lists for three of her world tours: the 1989 World Tour (2015), the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), and the Eras Tour (2023–2024). Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song as "Style (Taylor's Version)" for her re-recorded album 1989 (Taylor's Version) (2023).
Background and production[edit]
Taylor Swift had identified as a country musician until her fourth studio album, Red, which was released on October 22, 2012.[1] Red incorporates eclectic pop and rock styles beyond the country stylings of Swift's past albums, which led to critics questioning her country-music identity.[2][3] Swift began writing songs for her fifth studio album in mid-2013 while touring on the Red Tour.[4] Inspired by 1980s synth-pop, she named the album 1989 after her birth year to signify an artistic reinvention: she described it as her first "official pop album".[5][6] On 1989, Swift and the Swedish producer Max Martin served as executive producers.[7] For the standard edition, Martin and his frequent collaborator Shellback produced seven out of 13 songs; one such song is "Style".[8]
The producer Ali Payami and the guitarist Niklas Ljungfelt composed the instrumental of "Style", a guitar-driven track inspired by Daft Punk and what Ljungfelt described as "funky electronic music".[7] Payami played the track to Martin, which Swift overheard and led to her becoming fond of the track.[7] She and Martin wrote new lyrics to the instrumental,[7] and Shellback and Payami co-wrote the track. Martin, Shellback, and Payami produced "Style", which was recorded by Michael Illbert and Sam Holland, assisted by Cory Bice, at MXM Studios in Stockholm and Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea and John Hanes at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, and it was mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York City.[8] "Style" was one of the last songs produced for 1989.[9]
Release and commercial performance[edit]
A snippet of "Style" premiered in a Target commercial for 1989 on October 22, 2014.[37] Big Machine Records released 1989 on October 27, 2014; "Style" is number three on the standard track listing.[8][38] Big Machine in partnership with Republic Records released the song to US hot adult contemporary radio on February 9,[39] and to US contemporary hit and rhythmic contemporary radio on February 10, 2015;[40][41] it was the third single from 1989.[42] In Italy, Universal Music released "Style" to radio on April 3, 2015.[43]
"Style" debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated November 15, 2014,[44] and peaked at number six on March 21, 2015;[45] it was 1989's third consecutive top-10 single after the chart toppers "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space".[46] On Billboard's airplay charts, the single peaked atop Pop Songs,[47] Adult Pop Songs,[48] and Adult Contemporary.[49] It was the seventh-best-performing song on US airplay of 2015, earning 3.163 billion audience impressions from 550,000 plays.[50] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single triple platinum denoting three million units based on sales and streams.[51] By November 2017, "Style" had sold 2.2 million downloads in the United States.[52]
The single peaked atop the South African chart[53] and in the top 20 on charts in the Czech Republic (11),[54] Poland (13),[55] Slovakia (14),[56] and Hungary (18).[57] It peaked in the top 25 of charts and received platinum or higher certifications in the English-speaking countries. In Canada, it peaked at number six on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum by Music Canada (MC).[58][59] In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at numbers nine and 21 on the Scottish[60] and UK Singles Charts respectively[61] and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[62] It peaked at number eight in Australia and number 11 in New Zealand[63][64] and was certified eight-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)[65] and triple platinum by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).[66]
After Swift embarked on her sixth headlining world tour, the Eras Tour, in March 2023, sales and streams of her discography resurged.[67] "Style" peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Global 200 chart dated August 26, 2023.[68] It appeared on new singles charts of Italy (peaking at number 80),[69] Vietnam (number 37),[70] the Philippines (number 15),[71] Portugal (number 14),[72] and Singapore (number two).[73]
Critical reception[edit]
In reviews of 1989, many critics regarded "Style" as an album highlight, including Caramanica,[33] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times,[21] Benjamin Boles of Now,[74] and Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle.[75] The production received praise: Kitty Empire from The Observer called it a "percolating" song that "satisfies on every level",[22] Paul Nolan from Hot Press deemed it a "brilliantly executed" song with an "infectious" and "irresistible" production,[76] and PopMatters's Corey Beasley described the track as "immaculate".[20] In Vulture, Lindsay Zoladz commented that "Style" showcased Swift as an artist who made pop music "bend to her will".[77] The song placed 24th on the 2015 Pazz & Jop poll, an annual mass critics' poll conducted by The Village Voice.[78]
Reception of the lyrics was not as uniformly positive. Caramanica and Robert Leedham of Drowned in Sound opined that "Style" embodied Swift's adult viewpoint on romance; the former said it depicted her as "savage, wry, and pointed",[33] and the latter applauded the song for celebrating "being young and reckless [as] a part of growing up".[79] Pitchfork ranked the song 50th on their list of 2014's best songs; Jordan Sargent opined that the lyrics were not groundbreaking but the production and Swift's "tense and restrained" vocals represented her artistic reinvention.[80] The Independent's Andy Gill said although the song had a "certain piquancy", it also contained "desperately inclusive electropop grooves and corporate rebel clichés".[81] Consequence of Sound's Sasha Geffen said the song had one of the album's catchiest hooks but criticized its lyrics mentioning "conventionally pretty white people" as a cliché that blemished Swift's "girl-next-door likability".[35]
At the 2016 BMI Awards, "Style" was one of the Award-Winning Songs that earned Swift the honor of Songwriter of the Year.[82] It received a nomination for International Work of the Year at the APRA Music Awards of 2016.[83] Critics have retrospectively considered "Style" one of Swift's best songs.[24][84] American Songwriter's Alex Hopper wrote that the single was "arguably the blueprint for pop music in the mid-2010s",[85] and Billboard's Kristen He said that it displayed "Swift's songwriting at its purest".[86] In rankings of Swift's entire catalog, the song was placed among her 20 best songs by Billboard's staff,[31] Clash's staff,[87] The Independent's Roisin O'Connor,[88] Paste's Jane Song,[89] and Vulture's Nate Jones,[90] and her 10 best by Exclaim!'s Alex Hudson and Megan LaPierre,[91] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis,[14] NME's Hannah Mylrea,[32] and Variety's Chris Willman.[13]
"Style (Taylor's Version)"
October 27, 2023
Prime Recording (Nashville)
3:51
- Taylor Swift
- Max Martin
- Shellback
- Ali Payami
- Taylor Swift
- Christopher Rowe