City of Dreams (Joel Turner song)

"City of Dreams" is the first single from Joel Turner's second studio album Out of the Box. It was released on August 25, 2007 and features Turner on vocals, beatbox and acoustic guitar, with C4 and KNO (of the Modern Day Poets) performing the raps. An uncensored version of the track is included on the CD single and the Out of the Box album.

The song, which includes a strong R&B aspect, is a declaration of the performers’ passion for the hip-hop culture and their hometown of Brisbane. The video opens with footage of a hip-hop freestyle session and features many shots of the river and city skyline, as well as scenes filmed inside a local train station and at Turner’s childhood home.

Despite Turner’s previous chart successes, "City of Dreams" was not picked up by major radio and had a sluggish start on music television, forcing his label to rely largely on the Internet and live performances in order to reach listeners. Promotion was also hampered by Turner’s broken jaw^[1], which he had suffered less than a month before the single’s release. Nevertheless, the song rocketed to #30 on the ARIA charts in its second week (#15 on the physical singles chart), after a disappointing debut at #60.