The guitar instrumentation was inspired by "funky electronic music" of Daft Punk. "Style" incorporates funk-pop, pop rock and synth-pop. The song was released to Italy's contemporary hit radio on April 3, 2015. The following day, Republic serviced "Style" to US contemporary hit and rhythmic contemporary radio. On February 9, 2015, Republic Records, in partnership with Big Machine, serviced the track to US hot adult contemporary radio as the third single. When asked by a fan about 1989 's upcoming single following " Shake It Off" and " Blank Space", Borchetta responded that he was in favor of "Style". On December 28, 2014, Scott Borchetta, CEO of Swift's former record label Big Machine held an impromptu Q&A via Twitter.
The song debuted as a snippet in a Target commercial for the album on October 22, 2014. "Style" was one of the last songs finished by the production team for 1989.
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. Michael Illbert and Sam Holland recorded the track at MXM Studios in Stockholm and Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, with assistance from Cory Bice. Production was handled by all the songwriters except Swift. Swift, Payami, Martin, and Shellback are credited as the song's writers. Payami played the instrumental for Martin at the latter's studio Swift became fond of the track after overhearing it and decided to record it for her album. The two finished the instrumental – a guitar-driven track inspired by what Ljungfelt called "funky electronic music" artists such as Daft Punk. "Style" was originally written by producer Ali Payami and guitarist Niklas Ljungfelt for themselves. The two produced seven of the thirteen tracks for the album's standard edition Martin also served as executive producer with Swift. Swift announced in February 2014 that she was working again with Max Martin and Shellback, with whom she had collaborated on three songs for Red. The recording process began in mid-2013 concurrently with the start of Swift's headlining world tour in support of her fourth studio album Red. Inspired by pop music of the 1980s and its experimentation with synthesizers, drum pads, and overlapped vocals, Taylor Swift decided to move away from the signature country styles of her previous releases and incorporate a straightforward pop production for her fifth studio album, 1989. Swift included "Style" on regular set lists for two of her world tours: the 1989 World Tour (2015) and the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018). Premiering on February 13, 2015, the video featured a darker and more abstract atmosphere compared to those for previous 1989 singles " Shake It Off" and " Blank Space". It was the third bestselling adult contemporary song of 2015 in the US.įilmmaker Kyle Newman directed the song's music video featuring actor Dominic Sherwood as Swift's love interest. "Style" also entered the top ten on charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia and Canada.
It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In the US, "Style" peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming 1989 's third consecutive Hot 100 top-ten single. The song was nominated for International Work of the Year at the APRA Music Awards, and appeared on year-end lists by Pitchfork (2014) and Pazz & Jop (2015).
The song received generally positive reviews from critics, many of whom deemed it the album's highlight a few commentators found the lyrics shallow. The lyrics are about an unhealthy relationship from which a couple could not escape, because they are never "out of style". Musically, the song incorporates funk- pop, pop rock and synth-pop, featuring heavy synthesizers, vocal reverberation, and a disco-tinged groove. "Style" was released to radio stations as the album's third single on February 9, 2015, by Republic Records in partnership with Big Machine. The song was written by Swift and with its producers Max Martin, Shellback, and Ali Payami. " Style" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014).