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Wonderland (Taylor Swift song)

"Wonderland"
Promotional single by Taylor Swift
from the album 1989
ReleasedFebruary 17, 2015
StudioConway (Los Angeles)
GenreElectropop
Length4:05
LabelBig Machine
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback
"Wonderland (Taylor's Version)"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album 1989 (Taylor's Version)
ReleasedOctober 27, 2023
Length4:05
LabelBig Machine
Songwriter(s)
  • Taylor Swift
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback
Producer(s)

"Wonderland" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from the deluxe version of her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift wrote "Wonderland" alongside Swedish record producers Max Martin and Shellback, who both produced the song as well. "Wonderland" was released on October 27, 2014, and for digital download on iTunes on February 17, 2015. Following a 2019 dispute over the masters of her first six albums, Swift re-recorded the song as "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)", and released it as part of her fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor's Version) on October 27, 2023.

"Wonderland" uses imagery from children's novel Alice in Wonderland to describe an intense relationship, referencing characters from the book. "Wonderland" was performed several times during several of her tours.

Background and production

Taylor Swift had identified as a country musician until her fourth studio album, Red, which was released on October 22, 2012.[1] Red incorporates eclectic pop and rock styles beyond the country stylings of Swift's past albums, which led to critics questioning her country-music identity.[2] Swift began writing songs for her fifth studio album in mid-2013 while touring on the Red Tour.[3] Inspired by 1980s synth-pop, she named the album 1989 after her birth year to signify an artistic reinvention: she described it as her first "official pop album".[4][5]

On 1989, Swift worked with Max Martin as executive producers. Martin and Shellback produced seven out of 13 tracks for 1989's standard edition, and two out of the three bonus tracks in the deluxe edition, including "Wonderland".[6][7]

Music and lyrics

"Wonderland" is four minutes and five seconds long.[6] Lyrically, "Wonderland" takes inspiration from Alice in Wonderland. Swift uses "falling down the rabbit hole" as a metaphor for falling in love and going insane in the process, while the line, "Haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds?" references Alice's observation that "curiosity often leads to trouble".[8] The line, "flash your green eyes", is also a reference to a character in the book, the Chesire Cat.[9] The song is about a woman, mad in love, who follows a lover into what is supposedly a safe place, referred to in-song as "Wonderland". Both lovers rush into the relationship without thinking twice, consumed by erotic desire.[10] The first draft for the song contained more references to Alice in Wonderland, with the male lover proclaiming them king and queen.[11]

Critical reception

Rose Androwich of Observer commended Swift’s ability to "make connections to popular culture while crafting a distinct narrative of her life", applauding its lyrics as "witty".[12] Rob Sheffield, writing for Rolling Stone, in a retrospective ranking of Taylor's discography, ranked it at 128 out of 274.[13] Saloni Gajjar and Mary Kate Carr, writing for the AV Club, as well as Callie Ahlgrim and Kim Renfro, writing for Business Insider, listed "Wonderland" as one of the 22 most underrated Taylor Swift songs, the former saying that it "doesn't get the adulation it demands", but also criticising it for being "sonically jarring". The latter also says that it had potential to be a single.[14][15] In the re-recording of "Wonderland", subtitled "Taylor’s Version", Rachel Martin of Notion commended its "cleaner" vocals.[16]

Release and commercial performance

Taylor Swift in a black and blue crop top, holding a brown acoustic guitar
Swift occasionally performed "Wonderland" on acoustic guitar during the 1989 World Tour

"Wonderland" was officially released on October 27, 2014 under Big Machine Records on the deluxe version of the album 1989 ; Wonderland" being the fourteenth track on the deluxe edition of 1989 and the first of three deluxe tracks on the 1989 track listing.[17][18] However, it was originally only available on CD, which was available exclusively at Target.[17][19] On February 17, 2015, Swift announced on Twitter that "Wonderland" would be available for digital download on the iTunes Store immediately, and that the other two tracks exclusive to the deluxe edition of 1989—"You Are in Love" and "New Romantics"—would be available on iTunes soon.[20][21] "Wonderland" became available for streaming on Apple Music and Spotify on June 30, 2015, and June 9, 2017; respectively.[22][23] "Wonderland" debuted and peaked at 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[24] It also charted in Australia (84),[25] Canada (59),[26] and on the Billboard Global 200 (171).[27] After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[28] The decision came after a 2019 public dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums the label had released.[29][30] By re-recording them, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, including the copyright licensing of her songs, devaluing the Big Machine-owned masters.[31] The re-recording of "Wonderland", subtitled "Taylor's Version", was released as part of Swift's fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor's Version), on October 27, 2023.[32]

"Wonderland" was performed on select dates on the 1989 World Tour (2015).[33][34] It was also performed during the Houston stops of the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018)[35] and Eras Tour (2023-4).[36] Additionally, it was performed in a mashup with "The 1" (2020) in the Milan stop, and "Haunted" (2011) in the Vancouver stop.[36]

Charts

"Wonderland" (2014)

Chart performance for "Wonderland"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[25] 84
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[26] 59
Global 200 (Billboard)[27] 171
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 51

"Wonderland (Taylor's Version)" (2023)

Chart performance for "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[25] 22
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[37] 37
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 36
Global 200 (Billboard)[27] 32
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 39

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Wonderland" (2014)
Region Date Format(s) Label
Various October 27, 2014 CD Big Machine
February 17, 2015 Digital download
June 30, 2015 Streaming

Personnel

"Wonderland" (2015)[6]

References

  1. ^ Caulfield, Keith (October 30, 2012). "Taylor Swift's Red Sells 1.21 Million; Biggest Sales Week for an Album Since 2002". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  2. ^ Light, Alan (December 5, 2014). "Billboard Woman of the Year Taylor Swift on Writing Her Own Rules, Not Becoming a Cliche and the Hurdle of Going Pop". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Talbott, Chris (October 13, 2013). "Taylor Swift Talks Next Album, CMAs and Ed Sheeran". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  4. ^ Eells, Josh (September 16, 2014). "Taylor Swift Reveals Five Things to Expect on 1989". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Sisario, Ben (November 5, 2014). "Sales of Taylor Swift's 1989 Intensify Streaming Debate". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Taylor Swift (2014). 1989 (CD liner notes). Big Machine Records. BMRBD0500A.
  7. ^ Zollo, Paul (February 12, 2015). "The Oral History of Taylor Swift's 1989". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2024 – via Cuepoint.
  8. ^ Ahlgrim, Callie (April 17, 2024). "20 Taylor Swift songs with literary references you may have missed". Business Insider. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  9. ^ "Is "Wonderland" About Harry Styles, Too? Taylor Swift's Lyrics Describe Someone With Green Eyes ..." Bustle. 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  10. ^ "When Taylor Swift Fell Down Lewis Carroll's Rabbit Hole". www.popmatters.com. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  11. ^ "Taylor Swift Reveals Original Lyrics for 1989's "New Romantics" and "Wonderland"". E! Online. 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  12. ^ "Scene Selections: '1989 (Taylor's Version)'". Scene Selections: ‘1989 (Taylor's Version)’ - The Observer. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  13. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2024-04-25). "All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  14. ^ Gajjar, Saloni; Carr, Mary Kate. "22 great but seriously underrated Taylor Swift songs". AV Club. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  15. ^ Ahlgrim, Callie; Renfro, Kim. "The 22 best Taylor Swift songs you probably missed if you're only listening to her radio hits". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  16. ^ Martin, Rachel (2023-10-27). "Album Review: 1989 (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift". Notion. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  17. ^ a b "Taylor Swift - 1989 (Deluxe Edition) - Target Exclusive". Target. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Billboard Hot 100, Week of March 7, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  19. ^ Oldenburg, Ann. "Spotify CEO to Taylor Swift: Isn't $6 million enough?". USA Today. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  20. ^ Lipshutz, Jacob. "Taylor Swift Releasing '1989' Bonus Songs to iTunes". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  21. ^ McCormick, Rich. "Taylor Swift releases 1989 bonus songs on iTunes months after CD version". The Verge. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  22. ^ Rosen, Christopher. "Taylor Swift: 1989 will stream on Apple Music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  23. ^ McCormick, Rich. "Taylor Swift is putting her albums back on all streaming services". The Verge. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  24. ^ a b c "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  25. ^ a b c "Taylor Swift – {{{song}}}". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  26. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  28. ^ Melas, Chloe (November 16, 2020). "Taylor Swift Speaks Out about Sale of Her Masters". CNN. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  29. ^ "Taylor Swift Wants to Re-record Her Old Hits". BBC News. August 22, 2019. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  30. ^ Finnis, Alex (November 17, 2020). "Taylor Swift Masters: The Controversy around Scooter Braun Selling the Rights to Her Old Music Explained". i. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  31. ^ Shah, Neil (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Releases New Fearless Album, Reclaiming Her Back Catalog". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  32. ^ Vassell, Nicole (October 27, 2023). "Taylor Swift Fans Celebrate As Pop Star Releases 1989 (Taylor's Version)". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  33. ^ Mansfield, Brian (May 21, 2015). "Taylor Swift launches U.S. tour in Louisiana". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  34. ^ Mervis, Scott (June 6, 2015). "Taylor Swift dazzles at Heinz Field once again with 1989 Tour". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on August 8, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  35. ^ Iasimone, Ashley (May 26, 2018). "All the Surprise Songs Taylor Swift Has Performed on Her Reputation Stadium Tour B-Stage (So Far)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  36. ^ a b Smith, Katie Louise (November 24, 2024). "Every Surprise Song Performed On Taylor Swift's Eras Tour So Far". Capital. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  37. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  38. ^ "Taylor Swift – {{{song}}}". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
Quelle: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderland_(Taylor_Swift_song)