"Eastside"
The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue dated July 28, 2018, at number 56,[4] and peaked at number nine on the chart, marking Blanco's first top 10 single credited as an artist and his 27th top 10 as a songwriter.[5] Outside of the United States, "Eastside" topped the charts in New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Norway.
Additionally, "Eastside" spent 45 weeks on Billboard's Pop Songs radio airplay chart, tying the longevity record for the most weeks spent on the chart with Khalid and Normani's "Love Lies" and Dua Lipa's "New Rules"; this record has since been broken and is currently held by The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights".[6]
Composition[edit]
"Eastside" is originally in the key of A major, with a tempo of 89 beats per minute and a chord progression of F♯m–E–A–D–E.[7] The song is musically based around a "hazily" plucked guitar riff.[1] Lyrically, "Eastside" discusses the development and complexities of a forbidden romantic relationship; it also discusses maturing, similar to a coming of age story.[3][8]
Live performances[edit]
Blanco, Halsey, and Khalid performed the song at the American Music Awards of 2018, with a "bedroom setting". Halsey also performed "Eastside" solo on her 2018 tour.[9] In February 2019, Halsey performed the entire song live on Saturday Night Live. During her performance of the song, she painted an upside-down portrait of a woman's head on the floor of the stage.[10]
Copyright infringement lawsuit[edit]
In May 2021 a lawsuit for copyright infringement was filed against Blanco and the other co-writers of "Eastside" by the band American XO alleging that the guitar riff that forms the basis of "Eastside" was copied from their 2015 song "Loveless.” The Lawsuit contains an audio comparison, referred to as “Exhibit A” of the two songs being played simultaneously that allegedly shows the similarities between the main riff of "Eastside" and the guitar hook for "Loveless."[11]