"Wildest Dreams" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift wrote the song with its producers Max Martin and Shellback. "Wildest Dreams" is a synth-pop and dream pop power ballad with an atmospheric production equipped with string instruments and Swift's heartbeat as its beat. The lyrics describe Swift's plea for her lover to remember her despite the inevitable end of their relationship. The song was released to radio stations as the album's fifth single on August 31, 2015, by Big Machine and Republic Records.
Contemporary critics received "Wildest Dreams" with moderate reviews; some praised Swift's vocals and the production, while others considered it unoriginal. Retrospectively, critics have positively viewed the song as one of Swift's better songs in her catalog. The single peaked within the top five on record charts of Australia, Canada, Poland and South Africa. In the United States, it was 1989's fifth consecutive top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number five, and peaked atop Billboard airplay-focused charts including Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Top 40. It was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and had sold over two million copies in the United States by November 2017.
The song's music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, is set in Africa during the classical Hollywood era of the 1950s. It depicts Swift as a brunette actress who falls in love with her co-star on set, and later realizes their inevitable end upon completion of their film project. The video was well received in terms of production and styling, but attracted criticism for glorifying colonialism, a claim that Kahn dismissed. Swift donated all proceeds from the video to the African Parks Foundation of America.
On September 17, 2021, Swift released the re-recording of "Wildest Dreams" dubbed as "Taylor's Version", as part of the re-recording of her first six studio albums following the dispute over their masters. The re-recorded song garnered more streams in its opening day on Spotify than the original song did on any given day on the streaming platform.
Last Updated: October 18, 2021
