The year was 2014, and the alternative hipster aesthetic was all the rage. Taylor Swift had just released her fifth album, 1989, and it was a chart-topping success. Singles like "Blank Space" and "Style" highlighted Swift's maximalist pop sensbilities, pushing back the introspective songwriting that earned her critical acclaim for past albums like Red and Speak Now (the former of which received a nod for Album of the Year by the Grammys in 2013). But perhaps 1989's defining feature was the mastermind behind its production—Swedish heavyweight Max Martin.
Musically, 1989 took a sharp turn from Swift's previous works, forgoing her country roots (or so she portrayed herself to have) in exchange for a superstar idealization of herself. By forgoing the intimacy of the acoustic guitar, Swift undertook a new persona defined by shimmering synths and powerful electronic production inspired by artists like Janet Jackson and Daft Punk. Such a defining shift in Swift's image led publications to review 1989 through an extra-critical lens—and it made Swift the target of considerable rockist scrutiny. Critics who hailed her down-to-earth musical themes now questioned her validity as a truthful artist.