Sunflower (Post Malone and Swae Lee song)
"Sunflower"[a] is a song by the American rapper-singers Post Malone and Swae Lee. It was released on October 19, 2018, as a single from the soundtrack to the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,[4] and was later included on Post Malone's third studio album Hollywood's Bleeding (2019).[5] An official remix features Latin singers Nicky Jam and Prince Royce.
"Sunflower"
"Sunflower" received acclaim from music critics. It became Malone's third and Lee's first song as a soloist to peak the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song ranked in the top ten of the chart for 33 weeks, at the time sharing the record for the most such weeks with "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B and "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran (Post Malone then broke this record with his 2019 single "Circles").[6][7][8][9] "Sunflower" also reached number one in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and New Zealand, as well as the top ten in 12 additional countries. It has received double diamond (20-times platinum) certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the US, as well as diamond in Canada, Australia, and Mexico. By December 2023, it was set to become the first song to receive the certification in the United States—signifying 20 million units in sales; the certification was finalized in February 2024.[10][11] The song was the fourth-best-selling R&B song of the 2010s decade in the US. On the Billboard Global 200 singles chart, the song peaked at number 20 upon the issue date of June 24, 2023.
"Sunflower" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Background[edit]
Malone confirmed his involvement with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on October 2, 2018, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in which he announced that he wrote "Sunflower", which he also performs, and played a snippet of the song.[12] On October 15, Swae Lee revealed that he would also be on the song with Malone, and released another snippet of the song. Lee said that he was "very excited" for people to listen to the song.[13] On October 19, 2018, "Sunflower" was released as a single.[5] Spring Aspers, head of music and creative affairs at Sony Pictures, said that "Post and Swae have delivered a song that’s both heroic and emotional, which is exactly what a Spider-Man story needs. It’s anthemic, but also heartfelt — the perfect soundtrack for Miles to discover the Spider-Man inside himself".[3] Swae Lee called "Sunflower" one of his favorite collaborations in 2018, when he stated it was "because it’s a movie placement [in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse]. The main character sings "Sunflower" and uses my vocals to calm him down in a certain situation—like my music was therapeutic for him".[14] Malone and Lee previously collaborated on the song "Spoil My Night" for Malone's 2018 album Beerbongs & Bentleys.
Music video[edit]
On October 19, 2018, a lyric video of the song was released. The video is composed of computer-animated footage from the film. The lyrics are presented in the comic book style of the film, edited into the context of various scenes, such as graffiti scrawled by Miles Morales.[5] Since its release, as of 2023, the lyric video has received over 2.1 billion views on YouTube.
On January 10, 2019, an official music video of the song was released, which is live action. The video contains an exclusive look at the recording session for the song showing the film logo behind Malone and Lee and a live performance.[15] By 2023, the video had over 70 million views on YouTube.
Critical reception[edit]
The song received acclaim from music critics. In Billboard, Gil Kaufman called it "a funky, dreamy ballad" after listening to a preview of the song.[12] Israel Daramola from Spin called "Sunflower" a "glitchy, soulful record" that "will appeal to fans of the more melodic songs made by Post and Swae Lee, as they commit to full crooning throughout. It’s a short and sweet, hazy little pop song that makes sense for a kid’s film or possibly an MTV show about California teens".[16] Patrick Doyle of Rolling Stone characterized the "hyper-catchy" song as "a diary of a rocky relationship, which walks the line between hip-hop and dream-pop".[1]