Welcome to Heartbreak
"Welcome to Heartbreak" is a song by American rapper and record producer Kanye West from his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008). The song features a guest appearance from Kid Cudi on his debut collaboration with West, as well as background vocals by Jeff Bhasker. It was produced by West, with co-production from Bhasker and Plain Pat; the three of them served as the songwriters alongside Kid Cudi. The inspiration behind the song was a conversation West had with Dave Sirulnick, who showed him some pictures of his children. A hip pop number, it has electronic instrumentation that is reliant on piano. In the lyrics of the song, West mentions trying to fill the lack of substance in his life with extravagant materialistic items.
"Welcome to Heartbreak"
November 24, 2008
2008
- Glenwood (Burbank, California)
- Avex Recording (Honolulu, Hawaii)
4:23
- Kanye West
- Jeff Bhasker
- Patrick Reynolds
- Scott Mescudi
Kanye West
"Welcome to Heartbreak" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who mostly highlighted the lyrical content. Some were complimentary towards the composition, though critical assessment of West's vocals was less receptive. The song reached numbers 87 and 27 on the US Pop 100 and UK R&B charts in 2008 and 2009, respectively. It has since been certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). West and Kid Cudi first performed the song live for South by Southwest (SXSW) in March 2009. An accompanying music video was released on February 18, 2009, which features pixelation that was created through data moshing. The video received lukewarm responses from critics, who praised its visual effects but questioned its originality.
Composition and lyrics[edit]
Musically, "Welcome to Heartbreak" is a hip pop number, with electronic instrumentation.[12][15] The song heavily relies on sparse piano, contributed by Ken Lewis.[4][9][10] It also contains violin, viola, bass, synths, and tom-tom drums.[4][11] The song's intro utilizes a cello that was played by James J. Cooper, III alongside Jennie Lorenzo, and was described by The Washington Post as reminiscent of an organ.[15][16] For the majority of the song, West sings through Auto-Tune.[12] Kid Cudi croons on its hook, being accompanied by West performing falsetto coos.[3][9][14] Shortly after the four minute mark, West quickly utters the hook.[9] Background vocals from Bhasker are featured on the song.[4]
In the lyrics of "Welcome to Heartbreak", West addresses attempting to fill his life's lack of substance with lavish materialistic items, expressing a struggle to relate to a normal lifestyle as a result of his fame.[3][13] West admits that it feels painful for him to merely get "a sports car", desiring to have "a report card" instead.[17] On the hook, Kid Cudi croons about painful visualizations.[9][14] West echoes the rapper by singing the line "I can't stop having these visions" towards the end of the song, alluding to the death of his own mother.[9][14][18]
Release and reception[edit]
On November 24, 2008, "Welcome to Heartbreak" was released as the second track on West's fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak.[19] West clarified over his blog that, despite a music video being released for the song on February 18, 2009, "Amazing" was the track set for release as the next single from the album.[20] "Welcome to Heartbreak" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, a number of whom praised the lyrical content. Writing for Urb, Brandon Perkins commented that the song is where West sets "his prized possessions against the simplicity of 'real life'", noting he uses a "disconnected yearning" to mark "the basic juxtapositions".[21] In Consequence, Alex Young complimented West's personal style of lyricism on the song for marking "a sweeping departure" from the stereotypical lyrical content of most popular hip hop songs in 2008.[22] Adam Conner-Simons from musicOMH observed how West does not "hold back" on the song, using the lyrics for "reflecting on his party-heavy lifestyle and envying his friends' picket-fence existences".[23] Reviewing for IGN, Alfred H. Leonard, III stated that West is assisted by Kid Cudi in struggling "to relate to the fruits of living a normal life" due to having a celebrity lifestyle.[13] H. Leonard, III viewed the lyrical content as "intriguing" for showcasing a hip hop artist delving into "the negative side of fame" in 2008, a year in which he thought "many of [the] lyrics are centered around trumpeting the spoils that come with stardom".[13] At PopMatters, Dave Heaton wrote that even though West tells "highly specific" stories "about life as a lonely celebrity" on the song, "it's the tone of the story that leaves the impression", rather than the actual stories told, while he also remarked how West "turns the vocal effects off to sound naked, vulnerable".[18]
Josh Eells of Blender honored the song as "so icy and desolate" that "a pair of snowshoes" should accompany it.[24] The staff of NME pointed to the song's "tortured opening cello groans" as providing clearness that West still possessed "his marbles" in 2008, following on from disappointing events in the artist's career throughout the year.[25] They further noticed how "a cold, metallic bleakness" is present on the song, which invokes "cinematic flashes" in the manner of the 1987 film The Running Man that stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as empowering "the woe-is-me slush".[25] Voicing a less positive response, Wilson McBee from Slant Magazine was thankful for Kid Cudi's "anxious cooing" on the song, which serves as "a perfect counter" to what he dubbed "West's attenuated sketches about fame and self-loathing".[26] In a mixed review of "Welcome to Heartbreak" for Digital Spy, Mayer Nissim called the song an "introspective slice of hip-pop" mostly performed via Auto-Tune and said that despite there being nothing wrong "with West using the available technology to transform his voice", it has become "horribly ubiquitous" in the years leading up to 2009. He elaborated, glorifying the "beautifully understated" beat and labeling the song's lyrics "fine", but pushed for it being hard not to worry that the Auto-Tune "give[s] the track a 'Made In 2008' stamp that could make it close to unlistenable in a few years' time".[12]
For the issue dated December 13, 2008, "Welcome to Heartbreak" debuted and peaked at number 87 on the US Billboard Pop 100.[27] On September 23, 2020, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for pushing 500,000 certified units in the United States.[28] In the United Kingdom, "Welcome to Heartbreak" debuted at number 112 on the UK Singles Chart for the issue dated April 12, 2009.[29] One week prior, the song closed out the component UK R&B Chart by entering at number 40.[30] In the same week as its debut on the UK Singles Chart, the song rose two places to number 38 on the component chart.[31] For the issue date of April 26, 2009, it climbed 11 places to peak at number 27 on the UK R&B Chart.[32] After the song had fallen down the chart to number 35 two weeks later, it remained at this position through to the next week.[33][34] The song climbed the UK R&B Chart again for the May 24, 2009 issue, reaching number 33 in its seventh week.[35]
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
The music video for "Welcome to Heartbreak" was released on February 18, 2009, via West's blog, and was directed by Nabil Elderkin, who received credit mononymously under his forename.[20] At the time, Nabil was working with West on the photo book for the artist's Glow in the Dark Tour at the time.[36] He had previously directed the visual for West's "Champion" (2007), as well as appearing in Hawaii during the recording of 808s & Heartbreak.[36] In a blog post accompanying the video, West revealed it had been worked on for the past month and that he was "forced" to put the visual out due to "another video out there using the same technique".[20] West was referring to the video for American synth-pop band Chairlift's "Evident Utensil", directed by Ray Tintori; Nabil dubbed it as "data moshing" in an MTV News interview on February 18, 2009.[37] He further pointed out Takeshi Murata as being the most notable of the numerous artists who had used the technique, while explaining that he used data moshing "to convey the haunting element of ['Welcome to Heartbreak']", aiming for "more of [a] strategic way" than Murata by using certain features for adding to the effect. Nabil said that, due to differing parts of the song representing differing feelings, it was of desire "to come with a visual representation of the flow and textures" which felt "very important" in the song to him. He elaborated, recalling shooting certain scenes "in super-slow-motion" with the Phantom merely for "transitional movement and textures", going on to state he was certain the song needed a music video. Of creating the video, Nabil recounted West taking a liking to his initially presented idea, before he "nagged" the artist slightly about it. According to him, West fully agreed on recording the music video after Nabil restated to him that it "would be a great [accompanying] visual", with the latter having a heavy schedule of related phone calls that led to the video's creation in New York. He finalized that "all the extra components" were shot afterwards in Los Angeles, as well as praising the inspiration taken by him from West's creativity during the process.[36]
Information taken from 808s & Heartbreak liner notes.[4]
Recording
Personnel