In 2008, Taylor Swift approached Def Leppard to perform together on the CMT television show Crossroads, which paired country music stars with artists from other genres. Joe Elliott, Def Leppard's singer, revealed in a 2018 interview that Swift had stated the Sheffield rock band was the only group she would collaborate with on the show, highlighting her deep respect for their music despite working primarily in country and pop at the time. Def Leppard enthusiastically accepted the offer, attracted to the idea of an unexpected and unconventional collaboration.

Swift's affinity for Def Leppard stemmed from her childhood, as her mother Andrea was a devoted fan of the band during the 1980s and their landmark 1987 album Hysteria was played regularly in the household. At the time of the collaboration, Swift was an emerging artist whose self-titled 2006 debut had topped the country charts and reached number five on the main Billboard 200. Elliott noted that Swift had been exposed to Def Leppard's music extensively in utero and throughout her early childhood, which influenced her musical tastes and made her an ideal partner for a cross-genre jam session.