Wildest Dreams
"Wildest Dreams" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is the fifth single from her fifth studio album, 1989. Swift wrote the song with its producers Max Martin and Shellback. "Wildest Dreams" has an atmospheric, balladic production incorporating programmed drums, Mellotron-generated and live strings, and synthesizers; the rhythm interpolates Swift's heartbeat. Critics described it as synth-pop, dream pop, and electropop. The lyrics feature Swift pleading with a lover to remember her even after their relationship ends. Big Machine Records in partnership with Republic Records released "Wildest Dreams" to radio on August 31, 2015.
When the song was first released, some critics found the production and Swift's vocals alluring but others found the track derivative, comparing it to the music of Lana Del Rey. Retrospectively, critics have described "Wildest Dreams" as one of Swift's most memorable songs. The single peaked within the top five on charts of Australia, Canada, Poland, and South Africa. It was certified diamond in Brazil, nine-times platinum in Australia, and double platinum in Portugal and the United Kingdom. In the United States, "Wildest Dreams" peaked at number five and became 1989 fifth consecutive top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100; it peaked atop three of Billboards airplay charts. The Recording Industry Association of America certified the track four-times platinum.
Joseph Kahn directed the music video for "Wildest Dreams". Set in Africa in the 1950s, it depicts Swift as a classical Hollywood actress who falls in love with her co-star but ends the fling upon completion of their film project. Media publications praised the production as cinematic but accused the video of glorifying colonialism, a claim that Kahn dismissed. Swift included "Wildest Dreams" in the set lists for two of her world tours, the 1989 World Tour and the Eras Tour. Following the dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's master recordings in 2019 and the viral popularity of "Wildest Dreams" on the social media site TikTok in 2021, Swift released the re-recorded version "Wildest Dreams '".
Background and production
had identified as a country musician, up until her fourth studio album, Red, which was released on October 22, 2012. Red eclectic pop and rock styles beyond the country stylings of Swift's past albums led to critics questioning her country-music identity. Swift began writing songs for her fifth studio album in mid-2013 while touring. She was inspired by 1980s synth-pop to create her fifth studio album, 1989, which she described as her first "official pop album" and named after her birth year. The album makes extensive use of synthesizers, programmed drum machines, and electronic and dance stylings, a stark contrast to the acoustic arrangements of her country-styled albums.Swift and Max Martin served as executive producers of 1989. On the album's standard edition, Martin and his frequent collaborator Shellback produced 7 out of 13 songs, including "Wildest Dreams". Swift wrote "Wildest Dreams" with Martin and Shellback, who both produced and programmed the song and played the keyboards. Martin played the piano, and Shellback played the electric guitar and percussion. Mattias Bylund joined the production of "Wildest Dreams" after Martin played the track to him; Bylund played and arranged the strings, which he recorded and edited at his home studio in Tuve, Sweden. Michael Ilbert and Sam Holland, assisted by Cory Bice, recorded the track at MXM Studios in Stockholm and Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. It was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach and mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York.
Music and lyrics
"Wildest Dreams" is a power ballad that interpolates Swift's heartbeat in its rhythm. It incorporates programmed drums, pulsing synths, and staccato strings generated with a Mellotron. In the chorus, the melody is accentuated by live strings overdubbed on the Mellon strings, using what Bylund described as "Coldplay-type rhythm chords". Swift sings with breathy vocals. According to Jon Caramanica from The New York Times, she sings "drowsily" in the verses and "skips up an octave" in the bridge. Jem Aswad of Billboard said that she " between a fluttery soprano and deadpan alto". Music critics characterized the genre as synth-pop, dream pop, and electropop, with elements of chillwave. Although the synths and drums were a stark contrast to Swift's earlier music, the musicologist James E. Perone said that the composition retained some elements from her previous country songs: the "heavy use" of the pentatonic scale in the melody and the move between major and minor chords in the chorus.In the lyrics, Swift's narrator tells a lover to remember her after their relationship ends while still being in love with him. Despite the inevitable ending, the narrator acknowledges the strong romantic and sexual connection with this man and strives to build fond memories with him. The first verse is about lust: "He's so tall, and handsome as hell/ He's so bad, but he does it so well/ I can see the end as it begins." She expresses her desire to live on in the lover's memory as a woman with red lips, "standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset". She cautions the lover that she will haunt him: "Say you'll see me again even if it's just in your wildest dreams." The bridge is set in double time and sees Swift's character affirming, "You see me in hindsight/ Tangled up with you all night/ Burnin' it down."
Critics have described the sound as sultry, sensual, and dramatic, comparing the production and the theme of failed romance to the music of the singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The Guardian Alexis Petridis felt that the song abandoned Swift's previous "persona of the pathetic female appendage snivelling over her bad-boy boyfriend" and instead portrayed the man as her victim. Slate's Forrest Wickman thought that Swift's character was a "sort of femme fatale". Robert Leedham of Drowned in Sound wrote that the lyrics portrayed her arrogance and confidence to " onto better things", contrasting with the victim mentality on her past songs.
Release and commercial performance
released 1989 on October 27, 2014; "Wildest Dreams" is number nine on the standard edition's track listing. The song debuted at number 76 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 2014. On August 5, 2015, Swift shared on Twitter that "Wildest Dreams" would be the fifth single from 1989, following four Hot 100 top-10 singles: "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", "Style", and "Bad Blood". In the United States, Big Machine and Republic Records released "Wildest Dreams" to hot adult contemporary radio on August 31, and contemporary hit radio on September 1, 2015. Big Machine released a remix by R3hab for download via the iTunes Store on October 15, and Universal Music released the original version to Italian radio on October 30.On the Billboard Hot 100, "Wildest Dreams" re-entered at number 15 on the chart dated September 19, 2015, after its single release. It reached number 10 on October 10, 2015, and became 1989 fifth consecutive top-10 single. In the Billboard issue dated November 7, 2015, the single peaked at number five on the Hot 100 and became 1989 fifth consecutive number-one song on two Billboard airplay charts: Pop Songs and Adult Pop Songs; 1989 tied with Katy Perry's Teenage Dream to become the album with the most Adult Pop Songs number ones. On Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, supported by the R3hab remix, "Wildest Dreams" was Swift's first number one and made her the first female artist to have five top-10 songs in a calendar year. "Wildest Dreams" was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and had sold two million digital copies in the United States by November 2017.
"Wildest Dreams" reached the top 10 on the singles charts of Canada, South Africa, Venezuela, Iceland, New Zealand, Slovakia, and Scotland. It received platinum or higher certifications in Brazil, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. It received platinum certifications in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, and Spain. The track also received gold certifications in Germany and Norway. In Australia, the single peaked at number three on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified nine-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
Critical reception
When it was first released, "Wildest Dreams" received mixed reviews from music critics. Petridis found it "hugely cheering" that Swift employed a new perspective in her songwriting. Caramanica said that the song had the "most pronounced vocal tweak" on 1989, demonstrating Swift's new ways of expressing herself in music. The Arizona Republic Ed Masley found the track "haunting" and Swift's vocals "seductive". Sam Lansky of Time described the production as "lush" and full of "cinematic grandeur". Writing for Hot Press, Paul Nolan picked it as the album's best track for its combination of chillwave and "sweeping, singalong choruses". The song helped Swift win the Songwriter of the Year Award at the 2016 BMI Pop Awards and was recognized at the 2017 ASCAP Awards.Other reviews opined that the track was influenced by Lana Del Rey to an extent that it erased Swift's authenticity. Aswad said that it was "hard to tell if the song is homage or parody", and Wickman and Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times opined that Swift's songwriting lost its distinctive quality. Shane Kimberline from MusicOMH and Lindsay Zoladz from Vulture deemed "Wildest Dreams" one of the album's weakest tracks and took issue with the Del Rey resemblance in Swift's vocals and lyrics. Slant Magazine Annie Galvin said Swift's vocals complemented the narrative lyrics but described the song as a "misguided imitation" of Del Rey with a predictable storyline. In The Atlantic, Kevin O'Keeffe argued that the Del Rey comparisons were "unfair", and Emma Green praised the storytelling lyrics and contended that they were "unabashed, all-consuming, earnest nostalgia, anticipating", which she deemed distinct from Del Rey's "performative, cool-girl nostalgia".
Retrospectively, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote in 2019 that the song "sounds stronger and stronger over the years". NME Hannah Mylrae called it a "beauty", and Nate Jones from Vulture considered it one of Swift's 10 best songs and specifically lauded the "invigorating double-time bridge". The bridge was ranked 66th on Billboard 2021 list of the 100 Greatest Song Bridges of the 21st Century. Alex Hudson and Megan LaPierre of Exclaim! included "Wildest Dreams" in their list of the best 20 songs by Swift, saying that she "totally nails" the Del Rey resemblance. Jane Song from Paste lauded the "dark Lana Del Rey-esque pop" production and opined that the lyrics about memory made the song have "more staying power than you'd expect". Petridis ranked it 18th out of 44 singles Swift had released by April 2019, and he said that the song employed a Del Rey-inspired songwriting trope with a "smart, pleasing twist".