Recorded 2008 Length 4:18 Producer(s) Kanye West
No I.D. | Genre Pop Label Roc-A-Fella
Def Jam | |
Writer(s) Kanye West
Ernest Dion Wilson
Jeff Bhasker
Dwayne Carter | ||
"See You in My Nightmares" is a song from Kanye West's fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak. Produced by West and his former mentor No I.D., the song features a duet between West and rap artist Lil Wayne. It was to be sent to mainstream radios on March 10, 2009, while to Rhythm/Crossover radio on February 28, 2009, but was canceled in favor of "Amazing". Though not released as a single, "See You in My Nightmares" still managed to enter the top forty on charts in Canada and the United States.
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Chart performance
Along with "Amazing", "See You in My Nightmares" charted without actually being released as a single following the release of 808s & Heartbreak. In the U.S., the song was certified as a "Hot Shot Debut", as it managed to debut at number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of December 4. That same week, it also a "Hot Shot Debut" on the Pop 100, peaking at number twenty-seven. The song was a "Hot Shot Debut" once more in Canada, where it debuted at number twenty-two on the Canadian Hot 100.
We Were Once a Fairytale
West has collaborated with Spike Jonze to direct a short film, We Were Once a Fairytale for "See You in My Nightmares." According to Jonze's producing partner, Vincent Landay, the project was done mostly for fun and is "not necessarily a video for 'See You in My Nightmares', but the song is featured in it." Set to run between ten and fifteen minutes, the short film was shot near the end of January within two days in Los Angeles and has received editing over the course of several weekends. Its plot is based on an idea developed by Jonze, who then reached out to Kanye under the belief that he'd be perfect for it. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 24, 2009, was intended for public release through iTunes on September 8, 2009, but didn't premiere online until October 18, 2009 through Kanye West's blog. On October 18, “We Were Once a Fairytale” was leaked to the Internet and posted on Mr. West’s official Web site, kanyeuniversecity.com. Mr. Jonze said the film was accidentally leaked from the postproduction studio of a friend, and that Mr. West did not realize that it was not meant to be circulated yet. “I think he was like: ‘Oh, it’s out. I’ll link to it,’ ” Mr. Jonze said. On October 19th the video was removed from the blog site, with only a message left from West saying "SORRY I HAD TO TAKE IT DOWN : (". The video, however, can still be found on various video sharing websites and is now available through iTunes.
Personnel
Information taken from 808s & Heartbreak liner notes.