Wonderland (Taylor Swift song)

Last updated

"Wonderland"
Promotional single by Taylor Swift
from the album 1989
ReleasedFebruary 17, 2015
Studio Conway (Los Angeles)
Length4:05
Label Big 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
Label Republic
Songwriter(s)
  • Taylor Swift
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback
Producer(s)

"Wonderland" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from the deluxe version of her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift wrote it with the Swedish record producers Max Martin and Shellback, who both produced the track. Big Machine Records released "Wonderland" on a CD variant on October 27, 2014, for digital download on iTunes on February 17, 2015, and for streaming on June 30, 2015.

Contents

"Wonderland" takes inspiration from the children's novel Alice in Wonderland (1865) to describe an intense relationship, referencing characters from the book. Music critics praised the song for its witty songwriting and considered it one of the most underrated tracks in Swift's discography. "Wonderland" reached the national charts of the United States, Canada, and Australia. Swift performed it on some dates of the 1989 World Tour (2015), the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), and the Eras Tour (2023–2024).

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, under Republic Records. "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)" reached number 32 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted in the United States, New Zealand, and Canada.

Background and production

Taylor Swift had identified as a country musician until her fourth studio album, Red , released on October 22, 2012. [1] It incorporates eclectic pop and rock styles beyond the country stylings of her 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, describing 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]

Music and lyrics

Both the original and re-recorded versions of "Wonderland" are four minutes and five seconds long. [6] [7] Lyrically, the song takes inspiration from the children's novel Alice in Wonderland (1865). 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]

Releases and live performances

Swift occasionally performed "Wonderland" on acoustic guitar during the 1989 World Tour in 2015. Taylor tokyo 20150506 (cropped 2).jpg
Swift occasionally performed "Wonderland" on acoustic guitar during the 1989 World Tour in 2015.

"Wonderland" was officially released on October 27, 2014, under Big Machine Records, on the deluxe version of 1989; it is the fourteenth track and the first of three deluxe tracks on the album's track listing. [12] [13] It was originally only available on a CD variant, which was available exclusively in Target stores. [12] [14] On February 17, 2015, Swift announced on Twitter that "Wonderland" would be available for digital download on the iTunes Store on the same day, 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. [15] [16] "Wonderland" became available for streaming on Apple Music and Spotify on June 30, 2015, and June 9, 2017, respectively. [17] [18]

After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. [19] 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. [20] [21] 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. [22] 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. [23] Swift produced the new version with Christopher Rowe, who engineered her vocals. [7]

Swift performed "Wonderland" on some dates of the 1989 World Tour (2015). [24] [25] She played it during the Houston stops of the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) [26] and the Eras Tour (2023–2024). [27] She performed it during the Eras Tour in a mashup with "The 1" (2020) in Milan, and "Haunted" (2011) in Vancouver. [27]

Critical reception

Rose Androwich of The Observer commended Swift's ability to "make connections to popular culture while crafting a distinct narrative of her life", applauding the lyrics of "Wonderland" as "witty". [28] Rob Sheffield, writing for Rolling Stone , in a retrospective ranking of Swift's discography in 2024, ranked it at 128 out of 274. [29] Saloni Gajjar and Mary Kate Carr, writing for The A.V. 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 criticizing it for being "sonically jarring". The latter also says that it had potential to be a single. [30] [31] Rachel Martin of Notion commended the "cleaner" vocals of the re-recorded "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)". [32]

Commercial performance

"Wonderland" debuted and peaked at number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. [33] It additionally charted in Australia (22), [34] Canada (59), [35] and on the Billboard Global 200 (171). [36] The track received a platinum certification in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association. [37] "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)" charted in the United States (33), [33] Canada (37), [38] New Zealand (36), [39] and on the Billboard Global 200 (32). [36]

Personnel

"Wonderland" (2015) [6]

"Wonderland (Taylor's Version)" (2023) [7]

Charts

Certification

Certification for "Wonderland"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [37] Platinum70,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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