"Wild Things" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter

Alessia Cara Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (), is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, to Italian Canadian parents, she began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploadi ...

for her debut studio album, ''

Know-It-All ''Know-It-All'' is the debut studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara. It was released on November 13, 2015 through Def Jam Recordings. The album followed the release of her debut extended play (EP) ''Four Pink Walls'' (2015), w ...

'' (2015). It was released to digital retailers on October 27, 2015, as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

before being sent to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on February 2, 2016, as the album's second official single. The song was written by

cciolo, Coleridge Tillman, Thabiso "Tab" Nkhereanye, and

James Ho James Chiun-Yue Ho (born February 27, 1973) is a Taiwanese-born American attorney and jurist. He was nominated to serve as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by President Donald Trump, and took office in 20 ...

, and was produced by the latter. Official

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es were commissioned in the spring of 2016 and were released on an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

on May 13, 2016, one of which features a guest verse from American rapper G-Eazy. Since its release, "Wild Things" has charted at number fifty on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and has also attained top-forty peaks in multiple territories including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In Cara's native Canada, the song peaked at number 14, five positions higher than her highly successful debut, "

Here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

". The song has been certified Gold by

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

, 2× Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, while being certified Platinum by

RMNZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mu ...

Production

"Wild Things" was recorded in Los Angeles in December 2014; the inspiration for the song came about after a conversation between Cara and her A&R Thabiso Nkhereanye, regarding some hats that bore a message that Cara disapproved of.

Critical reception

Mike Wass of

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

called it "Another fiery celebration of outsiders." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''s Brittany Spanos labeled it "anthemic" and a "celebration of youth", saying " ild Thingsfollows in the vein of the anti-cool kid stance on '

.' Unlike her debut single, however, Cara goes for more straight-up pop on the more fast-paced, percussive tune." Jessie Morris of ''Complex'' stated that the song is "another infectious and insightful coming-of-age track."

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Wild Things" was directed by Aaron A and premiered on March 7, 2016. Opening with a

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

in which Cara describes what "wild" means to her in the song, the video features Cara and her friends exploring

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

and the suburbs of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, engaging in carefree activities such as drawing fake tattoos on one another and setting off fireworks at

Cherry Beach Cherry Beach (originally Clarke Beach Park) is a lakeside beach park located at the foot of Cherry Street just south of Unwin Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is on Toronto's outer harbour just east of the Eastern Gap. It was once connected ...

. "To me," Cara says during the video's introductory sequence, "''Where The Wild Things Are'' is a place that exists in our minds. It's a place of liberty and shamelessness. It can take a split second or a lifetime to find it, but once you do, you'll be free." The video was nominated for

Best Pop Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop was first given out in under the name of Best Pop Video, as MTV began to put several teen pop acts in heavy rotation. Nominations, however, were not just limited to pop acts, as dance, R&B, pop/rock, and reg ...

on the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Radio and release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2015 songs 2016 singles Alessia Cara songs Def Jam Recordings singles Music videos directed by Aaron A Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Malay (record producer) Songs written by Alessia Cara Songs written by Sebastian Kole