| "Wildest Dreams" | ||||
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| Single by Taylor Swift | ||||
| from the album 1989 | ||||
| Released | August 31, 2015 | |||
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| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | Big Machine | |||
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| Taylor Swift singles chronology | ||||
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| "Wildest Dreams" on YouTube | ||||
"Wildest Dreams" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is the fifth single from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). 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's fifth consecutive top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100; it peaked atop three of Billboard's airplay charts. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) 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 (2015) and the Eras Tour (2023–2024). 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 (Taylor's Version)".