Headlines (Drake song)
"Headlines" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake. It is the second single from Drake's second studio album Take Care.[2][3][4] The song, produced by Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels, and Noah "40" Shebib, first premiered on Drake's blog October's Very Own on July 31, 2011,[5] and was sent to all radio formats in the US on August 9, 2011. It was released on iTunes and Amazon on August 9, 2011 in the U.S.[1] The song debuted and peaked on the Billboard charts at number 13, becoming one of his highest charting songs at the time of release. It was re-released to US Top 40/Mainstream radio on October 18, 2011.[6]
"Headlines"
August 9, 2011[1]
April 2011
3:56 (Single and digital album version)
3:27 (Physical album version w/intro to "Crew Love")
- Aubrey Graham
- Anthony Palman
- Matthew Samuels
- Noah Shebib
- Boi-1da
- Noah '40' Shebib
- Hikwa MM
Background[edit]
On July 18, 2011, Drake told The Invasion Radio Show that he was mixing a new single. Drake also revealed the name of the single on July 18 when posting the lone word "Headlines" on his Twitter account.[7]
In an interview with Billboard, Drake talked about "Headlines" saying, "By no means is it the best song on my album, it's really just the song for this moment, right now." Drake talked about why he released the song as the first single saying: "I always try to put forth a song with a message. A lot of people pick their single by what's the strongest song. I don't really do that. I like to make sure that the content is very relevant to right now." Drake also said, "I want people to party to it but at the same time the fans, the people that care about my career, the people that follow me, will hear a message in it."[8] Drake told MTV News in early September that "Headlines" was the perfect tune to launch the project: "I think it's great; the purpose of that record was solely to deliver a message", he said. "I could've gone with the record that was sort of super radio-friendly, but I really just wanted to talk to the people with the first record."[9]
Live performances[edit]
The first live performance of "Headlines" took place at Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on August 4, 2011.[10] On October 15, Drake made his Saturday Night Live debut in an episode hosted by Anna Faris and was set to perform "Headlines" as the musical guest of the week.[9] On November 20, 2011, Drake sang "Headlines" at the American Music Awards of 2011. On December 31, 2011, Drake performed on Times Square a Medley of "Headlines" with Make Me Proud and The Motto.
Critical reception[edit]
The song received positive reviews. According to Spin, the song "finds Drake ruminating on the ups and downs of celebrity." Spin also called the production matching "Drake's defiant tone with a martial beat and heavy staccato strings."[2] The Huffington Post compared "Headlines" to "Marvins Room" saying, "Whereas "Marvins Room" is more devastating, "Headlines" doesn't dwell so much in its despair, and has the kind of flash you would expect a song titled "Headlines" to have."[16] The Baltimore Sun said the song has "buoyant, staccato synth line and Casio snares" and that "The beat calls for such a sing-song flow that few rappers could tackle it."[17] Rolling Stone gave the song three stars out of five, saying that "The spare beat never takes off, and the hook is a slight thing, almost an afterthought – or maybe the clearest sign that even with booze, cynics and fame buzzing about, hip-hop's great hope isn’t overeager to please."[18]
Chart performance[edit]
The song debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 98[19] and has since reached number two on the chart. The following week, it debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.[20] On the week of October 15, 2011 "Headlines" reached the top of the Hot Rap Songs chart which was his 10th time overall achieving this. With the ascension of "Headlines", Drake became the artist with the most number one's of all time on the chart; tied only with rappers Diddy and Ludacris.[21] The single was eventually certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over four million digital copies in the United States.