"Style" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is the third single from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift wrote the song with producers Max Martin, Shellback, and Ali Payami. The song mixes pop, funk, disco, and electronic styles. It uses an electric guitar melody, beeping synthesizers, and echoes around the vocals. The lyrics describe a couple who cannot leave a difficult relationship because they feel they are always "in style." Big Machine Records, in partnership with Republic Records, released the song to U.S. radio on February 9, 2015.
In the United States, "Style" reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the third top-10 single from 1989 and has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song reached number one in South Africa and the top 10 in Australia, Canada, and Scotland. It has received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Early reviews were mostly positive, praising the music production, though some critics found the lyrics simple. Later opinions have considered "Style" one of Swift's best songs.
Kyle Newman directed the music video, which first aired on February 13, 2015. The video shows Swift and Dominic Sherwood as a couple who remember their relationship through broken mirrors and flashbacks. Swift performed "Style" during three of her world tours: the 1989 World Tour (2015), the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), and the Eras Tour (2023–2024). After a 2019 argument about who owns her earlier songs, Swift re-recorded "Style" as "Style (Taylor's Version)" for her re-recorded album 1989 (Taylor's Version) (2023).
Background and production
Taylor Swift was known as a country musician until her fourth studio album, Red, which came out on October 22, 2012. This album included different pop and rock styles, which made some critics question if she was still a country artist. In mid-2013, while touring for Red, Swift started writing songs for her fifth studio album. Inspired by 1980s synth-pop, she named the album 1989 after her birth year to show a new artistic direction. She called it her first "official pop album." For 1989, Swift and Max Martin, a Swedish producer, worked as executive producers. Of the 13 songs on the standard edition, seven were produced by Martin and his frequent collaborator, Shellback, including the song "Style."
The instrumental for "Style," a guitar-driven track influenced by Daft Punk and funky electronic music, was created by Ali Payami and Niklas Ljungfelt. Payami played the track for Martin, and Swift heard it and liked it. She and Martin wrote new lyrics for the instrumental, and Shellback and Payami helped write the song. Martin, Shellback, and Payami produced "Style," which was recorded by Michael Illbert and Sam Holland, with help from 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 mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York City. "Style" was the final song made for 1989. Swift said that once she finished the track, she felt the album was complete: "There was a huge missing piece, and that song filled it."
Music and lyrics
The song "Style" includes strong electronic music elements. It uses pulsing synthesizers, a powerful bassline, and thick vocal reverb. The track combines different musical styles: it is based on a repeating electric guitar melody that connects to funk, R&B, and 1980s rock. Its upbeat rhythm reminds listeners of dance and 1970s disco music. The first part of the chorus uses D and G major chords, creating a bright and happy sound. The second part changes to a B minor chord, making the mood more sad and gloomy.
Most critics describe "Style" as synth-pop and funk-pop. Some also call it Italo disco and pop rock. Ed Masley from The Arizona Republic and music expert James E. Perone say it mixes disco and new wave styles. Alex Hudson and Megan LaPierre from Exclaim! note that it has a "synthwave atmosphere." Many critics believe "Style" sounds like music from the 1980s but also uses modern-style production. They compare it to works by 1980s artists like Chaka Khan, Nile Rodgers, Don Henley, and Madonna, as well as modern artists such as Daft Punk, Electric Youth, and Blood Orange. Masley says the song "would have fit well on MTV a few years before 1989," and Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone calls it "extremely 1986-sounding." Perone points out that while the song strongly reminds listeners of 1980s music, it does not clearly reference any specific influence.
Taylor Swift was inspired to write "Style" by a difficult, unstable relationship she compared to classic fashion trends. The lyrics describe a relationship that starts and stops, and the couple cannot end it because they are always "in style." The opening lines, "Midnight/ You come and pick me up, no headlights," create a scene that some critics say hints at themes of romance, which Swift had not openly explored before. The chorus describes the couple as conventionally attractive: the male partner looks like 1950s actor James Dean with his "daydream look in [his] eye," and the female narrator shows off her "classic red lipstick" and "good girl faith" in a "tight little skirt." Some journalists note that the description of beauty in the song is traditional and may include racial themes. In the second pre-chorus, both characters admit to cheating. Swift explained that this part showed her new perspective on past relationships by acknowledging mistakes from both sides, rather than only blaming one person as she did in earlier songs.
Release and commercial performance
A short part of the song "Style" was first shown in a Target commercial for the album 1989 on October 22, 2014. Big Machine Records released 1989 on October 27, 2014, and "Style" is the third song listed on the standard version of the album. Big Machine Records, along with Republic Records, released "Style" to US adult contemporary radio on February 9, 2015, and to US contemporary hit and rhythmic contemporary radio on February 10, 2015. It was the third single from 1989. In Italy, Universal Music released "Style" to radio on April 3, 2015.
"Style" first appeared at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of November 15, 2014, and reached its highest position at number six on March 21, 2015. It was 1989's third top-10 single in a row, following the top-charting songs "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space." On Billboard's airplay charts, the song reached number one on Pop Songs, Adult Pop Songs, and Adult Contemporary. It was the seventh most successful song on US airplay in 2015, with 3.163 billion audience impressions from 550,000 plays. The single was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for reaching three million units through sales and streams. By November 2017, "Style" had sold 2.2 million downloads in the United States.
The single reached number one on the South African chart and entered the top 20 on charts in the Czech Republic (11), Poland (13), Slovakia (14), and Hungary (18). In English-speaking countries, "Style" reached number six in Canada, number eight in Australia, number nine in Scotland, and number 11 in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. It was certified multi-platinum in all these countries: triple platinum in Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and ten-times platinum in Australia.
After Taylor Swift began her sixth world tour, the Eras Tour, in March 2023, sales and streams of her music increased again. "Style" reached number 41 on the Billboard Global 200 chart for the week of August 26, 2023. It appeared on new singles charts in Italy (number 80), Vietnam (number 37), the Philippines (number 15), Portugal (number 14), and Singapore (number 2).
Critical reception
In reviews of the 1989 album, many critics called "Style" one of the standout songs. Critics included Caramanica, Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times, Benjamin Boles from Now, and Joey Guerra from the Houston Chronicle. The song's production was praised. Kitty Empire from The Observer described it as a "bubbling" track that "satisfies on every level." Paul Nolan from Hot Press said it was "done very well" with a "catchy" and "hard to resist" sound. Corey Beasley from PopMatters called the track "immaculate." Lindsay Zoladz from Vulture noted that "Style" showed Taylor Swift as an artist who could make pop music "bend to her will." In 2015, the song ranked 24th on the Pazz & Jop poll, a yearly list of top songs created by The Village Voice. At the 2016 BMI Awards, "Style" was one of the songs that helped Swift win the Songwriter of the Year award. It also received a nomination for International Work of the Year at the 2016 APRA Music Awards.
Some critics had mixed opinions about the lyrics. Caramanica and Robert Leedham from Drowned in Sound said the song showed Swift's adult view of romance. Caramanica described it as showing Swift as "cruel, witty, and clear." Leedham praised the song for celebrating "being young and reckless" as part of growing up. Pitchfork ranked the song 50th on its list of the best songs from 2014. Jordan Sargent said the lyrics were not new but praised the production and Swift's "calm and controlled" singing style as a sign of her artistic change. Andy Gill from The Independent said the song had a "certain sharpness" but included "electropop music that feels too broad" and "common rebel phrases." Sasha Geffen from Consequence of Sound said the song had one of the album's most memorable parts but criticized the lyrics for mentioning "conventionally pretty white people," which she called a cliché that hurt Swift's "girl-next-door" image.
Later, critics looked back on "Style" as one of Swift's best songs. Annie Zaleski said the track is one of Swift's "most loved" songs. She praised its "disco-funk sound" for creating a feeling like "driving fast in a convertible" and its powerful chorus that sounds like "a confident walk down a runway." Alex Hopper from American Songwriter said the song was "perhaps the model for pop music in the mid-2010s." Kristen He from Billboard said the song showed "Swift's songwriting at its best." In lists of Swift's complete work, the song was ranked among her 20 best by Billboard, Clash, The Independent, Paste, and Vulture. It was also listed among her 10 best by Exclaim!, The Guardian, NME, and Variety.
Music video
Kyle Newman directed the music video for "Style," which was filmed in Los Angeles and finished in four days during the summer of 2014. Before the video was released, Taylor Swift shared several teaser images and short clips on her social media accounts. She planned to premiere the video on Good Morning America on February 13, 2015, but the Canadian music channel Much released it earlier, at midnight. Swift uploaded the video to her Vevo account on the same day. In the video, English actor Dominic Sherwood plays Swift's love interest. Swift messaged him by text about a month before filming; they had previously met through mutual friends. At the time of filming, Sherwood had recently completed the film Take Down, which was later renamed Billionaire Ransom and released in 2016.
The video does not follow a clear story but includes different flashbacks of Swift and her love interest in settings like the seashore, forests, and on car rides. These scenes are shown through broken glass pieces and a car's rear-view mirror, allowing Swift and her love interest to see each other. Media outlets described the video for "Style" as having a dark, abstract, and sensual atmosphere. Kelsey McKinney of Vox noted that Swift used "sensual imagery" of herself touching her body, which highlighted her artistic maturity. Emilee Lindner of MTV called the video "mature, tasteful, and … sexy." Spence Kornhaber of The Atlantic stated that Swift expressed her sexuality in a more conservative way compared to her peers, setting her apart from "the pop obsession with women's bodies."
Several scenes in the video, such as Swift's head silhouettes overlapping with images of her love interest, forests, smoking clouds, or thunderstorms, were compared to the opening credits of the crime drama True Detective. Michael Driscoll of The Wall Street Journal said the video's atmosphere reminded viewers of 1980s pop videos, particularly Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" (1989). Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times described the visual style as "a creepy homage" to David Lynch's mystery film Mulholland Drive (2001).
Live performances and other usage
Taylor Swift first performed "Style" live during the "1989 Secret Session," which happened on the rooftop of the Empire State Building. The event was broadcast live by Yahoo! and iHeartRadio on October 27, 2014. On December 2, 2014, she performed "Style" along with "Blank Space" at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2014 in London. On April 23, 2019, Swift performed an acoustic version of the song at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts during the Time 100 Gala, where she was recognized as one of the "100 most influential people" of the year. She performed the song again on June 1, 2019, at the Wango Tango festival, on July 10, 2019, during the Amazon Prime Day concert, and on September 9, 2019, at the City of Lover one-day concert in Paris.
"Style" was part of the set list for the 1989 World Tour (2015), which Swift started to promote the album 1989 globally. During some performances of "Style," she invited special guests to join her onstage. The song was also included in the set lists for her Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), where it was combined with "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me" in a medley, and for her Eras Tour (2023–2024).
Ryan Adams covered "Style" on his 2015 album, which was a track-by-track re-recording of 1989. He changed a lyric that originally referenced James Dean to "You've got that 'Daydream Nation' look in your eye," a tribute to the 1980s rock band Sonic Youth. His version used musical styles from the 1980s college rock genre. Critics compared his cover to the music of the band U2 and its lead singer, Bono. In a review for The A.V. Club, Zaleski called the cover a standout on Adams's 1989 album, describing it as a "yearning, '80s college rock fever dream with snarling punk stabs." However, Jeremy Winograd from Slant Magazine called the version "a bad U2 song."
"Style (Taylor's Version)"
In 2018, Taylor Swift ended her contract with Big Machine and signed with Republic Records. In November 2020, she began re-recording her first six studio albums. This decision followed a public disagreement in 2019 between Swift and Scooter Braun, who had purchased Big Machine, including the rights to the masters of Swift’s albums that the label had released. By re-recording the albums, Swift gained full ownership of the new masters, allowing her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use and replacing the masters owned by Big Machine.
The re-recording of "Style," titled "Style (Taylor's Version)," was released as part of the re-recording of 1989, titled 1989 (Taylor's Version), on October 27, 2023. Christopher Rowe, who had produced Swift’s previous re-recordings, produced "Style (Taylor's Version)." Derek Garten engineered the track at Prime Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Ghenea mixed it at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Randy Merrill mastered it at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey. Rowe recorded Swift’s vocals at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles and Kitty Committee Studio in New York.
Adam White of The Independent noted that the re-recording "sounds very compressed […] as though the mastering is off." Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine mentioned that the "altered guitar tone" was a "distraction," but the song remained a "perfect pop songcraft." Alex Hopper of American Songwriter wrote that the re-recorded "Style" featured Swift’s more mature vocals, improving an already strong song. Shaad D'Souza of Pitchfork called the track one of the album’s "immaculate highs," and Mark Sutherland of Rolling Stone UK praised the production as "astounding."
"Style (Taylor's Version)" reached the top 10 in the Philippines (2), Australia (7), Canada (8), and New Zealand (8). In the United States, it debuted at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated November 11, 2023, helping Swift set a record for the most top-10 singles (49) by a woman on the Billboard Hot 100. It also debuted at number five on the Billboard Global 200 chart. Along with other tracks from 1989 (Taylor's Version), it helped Swift become the first artist to occupy the entire top six of the Global 200 chart at the same time.
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of 1989 (Taylor's Version).