1989

Product Information

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian lauded Swift's artistic control that resulted in a "perfectly attuned" 1980s-styled synth-pop authenticity. Swift and West previously had a publicized adversary at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where West interrupted Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video.

Academic Shaun Cullen, who specializes in the humanities, described Swift as a figure "at the cutting edge of postmillennial pop". For USA Today journalist Brian Mansfield, even though the songs were inspired by Swift's personal life, they resonated with a wide audience who found themselves and their situations represented in her songs. A Comprehensive Guide to the Taylor Swift-Katy Perry Feud From 2009 to the 'You Need to Calm Down' Happy Meal Reunion". This album is more about being a cohesive whole than either of Taylor's last two albums, which were about producing material that transcended genres and said something about her and her life. The penultimate track of the standard edition is "I Know Places", which expresses Swift's desire to preserve an unstable relationship.

Mylrea praised it as the singer's best record and described it as an influence for younger musicians to embrace "pure pop", contributing to a growing trend of nostalgic 1980s-styled sound. She used social media extensively to communicate with her fan base; to attract a younger audience, she had promoted her country songs online previously. I didn't want them to see a smiling picture on the cover and think this was a happy album, or see a sad-looking facial expression and think, oh, this is another breakup record. Swift became the first artist to have three albums each sell one million copies within the first week, and 1989 was the first album released in 2014 to exceed one million copies.

Shane Kimberlin writing for musicOMH deemed Swift's transition to pop on 1989 "not completely successful", but praised her lyrics for incorporating "enough heart and personality", which he found rare in the mainstream pop scene. Swift kicked off the 1989 era with a livestream and the release of lead single “Shake It Off,” which became one of her biggest hits and earned Swift her first diamond single by March 2020. Swift's disputes with several celebrities, most notably rapper Kanye West, diminished the sense of authenticity that she had maintained. The questionable decision to ditch Nathan Chapman for Max Martin is the biggest issue surrounding this release, in what who would better suit her longer term success?

The dance-pop track " Shake It Off", sharing a loosely similar sentiment with "Blank Space", sees Swift expressing disinterest in her detractors and their negative remarks on her image. I Wish You Would" is one of the songs that blends together with the rest of them and doesn't really amount to anything spectacular. In addition, “Welcome To New York” was used in tourism ads for the city that served as the track’s inspiration. The photos are out-of-focus, off-framed, with a sepia-tinged treatment, and feature the 1989 songs' lyrics written with black marker on the bottom. Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph commended the album's "[sharp] observation and emotional engagement" that contrasted with lyrics found in "commercialised pop".