"Wild Thoughts" is a song by American DJ and record producer

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

featuring Barbadian singer

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

and American singer

Bryson Tiller Bryson Djuan Tiller (born January 2, 1993) is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He began his career in 2011 with his debut mixtape, ''Killer Instinct Vol. 1''. He gained mainstream recognition following the release of his 2015 single ...

. It was released on June 16, 2017, by

We the Best ''We the Best'' is the second studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released on June 12, 2007, by Terror Squad Entertainment and Koch Records. Khaled, alongside fellow American rapper Fat Joe, handled as ...

and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

as the third single from Khaled's tenth studio album, '' Grateful'' (2017). Canadian singer

PartyNextDoor Jahron Anthony Brathwaite (born July 3, 1993), known professionally as PartyNextDoor (often stylized in all caps), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. He was the first artist to sign with Drake's record label OVO Sound ...

assisted the artists in writing the song. A mid-tempo pop song, "Wild Thoughts" consists of Latin percussion,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

lines and riffs that interpolate the 1999 hit single " Maria Maria" by

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

. Lyrically, the song praises a lover who inspires sexual thoughts. Commercially, the song reached number one in the United Kingdom, marking Khaled's second and Rihanna's ninth number one. The song also saw chart success in Australia and Canada, where it peaked at number two. The song peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Rihanna's 31st top-ten song, Khaled's third, and Tiller's first. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was directed by Colin Tilley and was shot in the Little Haiti neighborhood of

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. The music video was nominated in three categories at the

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s for Video of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best Art Direction.

Background and composition

Bryson Tiller and Khaled had first collaborated on the track "Ima Be Alright" for Khaled's ninth studio album, ''

Major Key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and i ...

'' (2016). During ''Grateful''s recording, Khaled invited Tiller to his house for dinner. During dinner, Khaled played the initial demo of "Wild Thoughts" to Tiller and asked him if he could do something with the song. Tiller returned home and recorded his verse and sent it to Khaled, who used it on the final recording. While talking about collaborating with Rihanna for the first time in an interview with ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', Khaled said, "Seven, eight years I've been trying to do this. I always put the kites out there that I wanted to work with her. But at the same time, while I was putting the kites out there, I was always getting the right record ready. You've gotta start with the right energy to see if something comes back that's possible." "Wild Thoughts" is a mid-tempo pop song with

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

and "slinky

lines." The song heavily samples the guitar riff from Santana's 1999 "Maria Maria", which features the Product G&B. Written in the key of

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

, it has a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 96–100 beats per minute in simple quadruple () time. The song follows a chord progression of Cm–Fm–Cm, and Rihanna's and Tiller's vocals span from C₄ to G₅. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' editor Andrew Unterberger noted that "Wild Thoughts" featured the same groove and riff as "Maria Maria" and even featured

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

's "murmuring" who supplied the original song's ad-libs. Vanessa Okoth-Obbo of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' described the track as relying heavily on a "

Latin rock Latin Rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...

aesthetic", with Rihanna and Tiller crooning lyrics that praise lovers who inspire wild thoughts. Okoth-Obbo described the lyrics as straddling the line between "innuendos and carnal statements", whilst also calling the singers' vocal performances restrained and controlled.

Release and reception

On June 9, 2017, Khaled released the album's track listing, which included "Wild Thoughts". The song's artwork, which features Khaled's son Asahd, was revealed via Rihanna's

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account on June 15, 2017. "Wild Thoughts" was released on June 16, 2017, as the album's third single. ''Grateful'' was released on June 23, 2017. Peter A. Berry from '' XXL'' wrote, "If all goes according to plan, it should go follow in the footsteps of ' I'm the One' and reach platinum status in the very near future." Janelle Okwode of '' Vogue'' said that the song "is an instant contender for song of the summer". Raisa Bruner from ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine listed the song on her list of five songs that should be heard. Bruner praised the song, calling it an "irresistible, Latin-inflected summer jam with some smooth verses courtesy of the addition of Bryson Tiller." Bruner continued to state that the song was truly Rihanna's, "but we all know this is Rihanna's show." In a second and more in-depth review, Burner stated:

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

's Corbin Reiff wrote that Rihanna "brings some serious heat", while Tiller "rolls through in the middle to reprise his verse, and brings some serious R&B vibes with along him". Matt Miller of ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' praised Rihanna's saying that she "completely commands the song, the power of her voice, her presence takes the entire thing over." Miller was less favourable about Tiller and the Santana sample calling their inclusion forgettable. ''Billboard'' editor Andrew Unterberger wrote that this is "practically a cover with different lyrics" of "Maria Maria", saying that it is "not a perfect song, but it's a super-fun resurrection of the now 18-year-old single". Elias Leight from ''

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

'' called it "another warm-weather-friendly single" by Khaled.

Original artists' responses

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

, who wrote "Maria Maria", the song which is sampled on "Wild Thoughts", praised Khaled's, Rihanna's and Tiller's take on the song. "There is a reason that the infectious groove/theme that Wyclef and I created on 'Maria Maria' still resonates today. It speaks to the heart. DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson take that vibe and bring it to a new dimension with 'Wild Thoughts,' but the groove and essence of the song is still intact." He continued, "I am honored that DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson felt the intense intentionality of 'Maria Maria' and have shared this summer vibe with the world." The Product G&B, who originally sang "Maria Maria", had a mixed response to "Wild Thoughts". They stated they were grateful and called the song a "blessing", noting that in "Wild Thoughts", "you hear 'Maria', it’s bringing awareness all around." However, they believed that "Wild Thoughts" had stripped the original of its meaning and "its association with ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', where the musical's character Maria stood to represent both the grim reality of gang violence and poverty and the hope for a better life."

Commercial performance

On June 26, "Wild Thoughts" debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with 89,000 digital copies sold and 36.3 million streams. The song marked Rihanna's 31st top-ten, Khaled's third and Tiller's first. The song's debut additionally marked the third-highest debut of Rihanna's 60 Hot 100 entries and made Rihanna the fourth woman to make at least 60 Hot 100 appearances, joining

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

(78),

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

(73) and

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

(70). In its second week the song rose to a new peak of three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the first song to debut in the top five and rise in its second week since

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

's " The Monster", also featuring Rihanna (2013). After slipping to number four on the Hot 100, "Wild Thoughts" rebounded to peak in the runner-up slot and remained there for seven consecutive weeks, but was blocked off the top spot only by

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for his soulful and dance oriented songs, most notably 2017's "Despacito". Fonsi received his first Latin ...

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (; born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee (), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "Honorific ...

and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

's "

Despacito "Despacito" (; ) is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, originally written in 2015. In 2016, Luis sent the song to Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee to give it an "urban injection", and released it as the lead single from Fons ...

". It also earned Rihanna her record-extending 29th Radio Songs top 10, continuing her lead over

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

(23). "Wild Thoughts" additionally peaked at number one on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, becoming Rihanna's seventh number one, Khaled's third and Tiller's first. "Wild Thoughts" became Khaled's and Tiller's first number-one song on the

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart, and Rihanna's 31st. It is Rihanna's fourth number-one on the chart in 2017, following " Love on the Brain", " Sex with Me" and " Pose", the most among all acts; she is one of only four acts to have achieved four number-ones in a calendar year, one of two to do so twice, and the only one to have done so five times. "Wild Thoughts" is also only one of four out of her 31 chart-toppers whereby Rihanna is not the lead artist. On July 21, "Wild Thoughts" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. It is Khaled's second number one in the UK following "I'm the One", Rihanna's ninth, and the first chart-topper for Tiller.

Music video

The

for "Wild Thoughts", directed by Colin Tilley, was shot in the Little Haiti neighborhood of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, in June 2017. The first images from the shoot were released online on June 6, 2017. The video premiered via Khaled's

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

channel on June 16, 2017. Katie Skinner from ''Billboard'' magazine gave an in-depth review of Rihanna's fashion throughout the music video. Skinner stated that the video had an "upbeat summer nightlife vibe in a tropical Miami setting" which "Rihanna and Khaled carry out that concept by dressing in bright-hued outfits, serving up some serious

polychromatic Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and a ...

summer looks straight off the runway." During a breakdown of the video Skinner stated that Rihanna's first look saw her wearing a " psychedelic

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...

high-waisted floral-print leggings with matching 'Knife' boots, a bright-pink

vintage In winemaking, vintage is the process of picking grapes to create wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine ...

Betsey Johnson crop top and a pair of oversize crescent-shape Lynn Ban earrings." This was accompanied by a floral head scarf, green vintage

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

belt and a pair of pink Karen Walker sunglasses. In the following scene Rihanna wore a "short turquoise off-the-shoulder silk chiffon dress by Alberta Ferretti" along with a pair of gladiator sandals designed by Rihanna and

Manolo Blahnik Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez (; born 27 November 1942) is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the eponymous high-end shoe brand. Biography Blahnik was born in Santa Cruz de la Palma, in the Canary Islands (Spain), to a Czech father ...

. During the last few seconds of the video, Rihanna stands beside Khaled and Tiller, wearing a bright nylon off-the-shoulder top and cargo pants designed by Matthew Adams Dolan.

Live performances

Rihanna performed the song with Khaled and Tiller at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongch ...

, and solo at the

halftime show A halftime show is a performance given during the brief period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of di ...

Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...

Remixes

On July 10, 2017, American rappers A Boogie wit da Hoodie and

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...

released their

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, 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, poem, or photograph ca ...

of the song, titled "Wild Thots". Canadian singer and rapper

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. First discovered by Sean Kingston, he received initial recognition for his mixtape ''Conflicts of My S ...

also released his remix of the track featuring American singer

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...

on July 21, 2017.

Awards and nominations

Track listing

*Digital download #"Wild Thoughts" (featuring

and

) – 3:24 *CD single #"Wild Thoughts" (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) – 3:24 #"Wild Thoughts" (Medasin Dance Remix) (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) – 4:35 *Streaming – Bee's Knees Dance Remix #"Wild Thoughts" (Bee's Knees Dance Remix) (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) – 3:51 *Streaming – Dave Audé Dance Remix #"Wild Thoughts" ( Dave Audé Dance Remix) (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) – 4:43 *Streaming – Medasin Dance Remix #"Wild Thoughts" (Medasin Dance Remix) (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) – 4:35 *Streaming – Mike Cruz Dance Remix #"Wild Thoughts" (Mike Cruz Dance Remix) (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) – 7:17 *Streaming – NOTD Dance Remix #"Wild Thoughts" ( NOTD Dance Remix) (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) – 3:09

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Fines

In 2018,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

’s top media watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), reviewed the English-language lyrics of the song, and issued fines after concluding that they were inappropriate. RTÜK issued a 17,065

Turkish lira The lira (; Currency sign, sign: Turkish lira sign, ₺; ISO 4217, ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey. It is also legal tender in the ''de facto'' state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. One lira i ...

fine to the Turkish music channels NR1 and Dream TV.Turkey’s media watchdog issues fine over Rihanna lyrics
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles Bryson Tiller songs DJ Khaled songs Rihanna songs Latin pop songs Music videos directed by Colin Tilley Songs written by Carlos Santana Songs written by DJ Khaled Songs written by Rihanna Songs written by Wyclef Jean UK singles chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Romania Songs written by PartyNextDoor Songs written by Jerry Duplessis Songs written by Bryson Tiller Song recordings produced by DJ Khaled Epic Records singles