Fade (Kanye West song)
"Fade" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo (2016). The song features vocals from Post Malone and Ty Dolla Sign. It was first played at West's Yeezy Season 2 show in September 2015, before later being released for digital download and streaming as the third and final single from the album on September 9, 2016, through GOOD Music and Def Jam. 11 days later, the aforementioned labels serviced the song to radio stations across the United States. A hip house song with club elements, it samples Mr. Fingers's "Mystery of Love", Rare Earth's and The Undisputed Truth's respective cover versions of "(I Know) I'm Losing You", Hardrive's "Deep Inside", and Barbara Tucker's "I Get Lifted (The Underground Network Mix)". The lyrics of the song focus on trying to hold on to a fading love.
"Fade"
September 9, 2016
2014-2016
3:13
- Kanye West
- Tyrone Griffin
- Austin Post
- Anthony Kilhoffer
- Michael Dean
- Ryan Vojtesak
- Noah Goldstein
- Benjamin Benstead
- Jerome Potter
- Samuel Griesemer
- Norman Whitfield
- Edward Holland
- Cornelius Grant
- Larry Heard
- Robert Owens
- Luis Vega
- Ronald Carroll
- Barbara Tucker
- Harold Matthews
- Stephan Garrett
- Eric Seats
- Rapture Stewart
- Malik Jones
Kanye West
"Fade" received generally positive reviews from music critics, with many of them being complimentary towards the sampling. Some highlighted Ty Dolla Sign's and Post Malone's vocals, while other critics commented on the song's inclusion on The Life of Pablo. It was ranked amongst year-end lists for 2016 by multiple publications, including Spin and Billboard. In 2016, the song reached number 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100, alongside attaining fellow top 50 positions in Canada, France, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. The song has since been certified double platinum and gold in the US and the UK by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively.
An accompanying music video was briefly made available as a Tidal exclusive on August 28, 2016, before being released to West's YouTube channel nine days later. Directed by Eli Linnetz, the video features Teyana Taylor dancing, before she appears in a shower with Iman Shumpert. The visual received positive reviews from critics, who often praised Taylor's dancing. At the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, it received the award for Best Choreography. West performed "Fade" live with the Sunday Service Choir throughout 2019, including respective performances from him and them at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Ty Dolla Sign expanded on the song with "Ego Death", which was released in July 2020.
A reinterpretation of the song with "Follow Me" by Aly-Us entitled "Follow Me – Faith" was released on the Sunday Service Choir's debut studio album, Jesus Is Born (2019). A two-part gospel track, the reinterpretation begins with a riff off the latter of the two songs before transitioning into a version of "Fade", titled "Faith". The group lead listeners to Christianity in the first part, while the second part's lyrics are focused on God's love. The reinterpretation received positive reviews from music critics, some of whom were complimentary towards the composition. Others appreciated the reinterpretation's development of the original songs, while a few critics cited it as one of the album's highlights. The reinterpretation peaked at number 22 on the US Billboard Gospel Songs chart in 2020.
Commercial performance[edit]
Following the release of The Life of Pablo, the song debuted at number two on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[56] After being released as a single, "Fade" entered the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart at number 39 for the issue date of September 24, 2016.[57] It received 4.9 millions streams that week, increasing by 130 percent from the previous week, and 50 percent of the streams came from YouTube views of the accompanying music video.[57] The following week, the song roses 27 places to peak at number 12 on the chart.[58] In the same week as its debut on the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart, the song opened at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[59] On the chart issue dated October 1, 2016, the song climbed 51 places to its peak of number 47 on the Hot 100.[60] The song lasted for 13 weeks on the chart.[60] On April 21, 2021, "Fade" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for pushing 2,000,000 certified units in the US.[61]
Elsewhere, the song peaked at number 37 on the Canadian Hot 100.[62] On the Scottish Singles Sales Chart, it reached number 20.[63] After the album's release, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 125.[64] It later reached the top 100 of the chart for the issue dated September 16, 2016, charting at number 65.[65] The next week, the song climbed 15 places to peak at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.[66] The song lasted for eight weeks on the chart and as of October 24, 2019, it ranks as West's 23rd most successful track of all time in the United Kingdom.[67][68] "Fade" was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of 200,000 units in the UK on May 21, 2021.[69] In France, the song peaked at number 40 on the SNEP chart.[70]