Kings Never Die (song)
"Kings Never Die" | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||||||||
Single by Eminem featuring Gwen Stefani | ||||||||||
from the album Southpaw (Music from and Inspired By the Motion Picture) | ||||||||||
Released | July 10, 2015 | |||||||||
Format | ||||||||||
Genre | Rap rock | |||||||||
Length | 4:56 | |||||||||
Label | ||||||||||
Writer(s) | ||||||||||
Producer(s) |
| |||||||||
Eminem singles chronology | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
|
"Kings Never Die" is a song by American rapper Eminem, from the soundtrack album Southpaw (Music from and Inspired By the Motion Picture), released on July 10, 2015. It features the American-recording artist, Gwen Stefani. This is Eminem and Stefani's first collaboration. The song is the second single released from the soundtrack, after Eminem's "Phenomenal" which was released a month earlier. "Kings Never Die" marks Stefani's first featured single since 2005's "Can I Have It Like That" with Pharrell Williams. The song was co-written and produced by The New Royales.
Background and release
Shady Records and Eminem were approached by Kurt Sutter and asked to executively produce a soundtrack for the 2015 film, Southpaw.[1] Eminem has four songs on the soundtrack, including two from his collaborative effort – Bad Meets Evil. The other single from the soundtrack, "Phenomenal", is also from Eminem. The song was officially released on July 10, when the audio track was uploaded to YouTube.[2] On July 29, the lyric video was uploaded to YouTube.[3] This song talks about him (Eminem) being a king of rap and many people urging him to retire. Eminem says that he won't retire and will stay a king.
Critical reception
On July 3, 2015, the full song leaked onto the internet, followed by a positive response from critics. Lars Brandle from Billboard Magazine stated that the song "is a muscular effort with a classic angry vibe, [but] it's hardly a knockout [and] absolutely worth a spin."[4] Rap-Up Magazine thought that the song was a "triumphant rap-rock hybrid with rapid-fire rhymes.[5]
Commercial performance
"Kings Never Die" was the highest-ranking debut for the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated August 1, 2015, entering the chart at number 80.[6] Its chart debut was supported by first-week digital download sales of 35,000 copies, along with 1.2 million domestic streams.[7]
Track listing
- Digital download
- "Kings Never Die" (featuring Gwen Stefani) – 4:56
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[8] | 62 |
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[9] | 51 |
France (SNEP)[10] | 184 |
South Korean Downloads Chart (Gaon)[11] | 30 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] | 82 |
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[13] | 22 |
US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 80 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] | 23 |
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[16] | 19 |
References
- ↑ Daly, Rhian. "Eminem to release new song on 'Southpaw' soundtrack". Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ↑ EminemVEVO. "Kings Never Die (Audio) ft. Gwen Stefani – YouTube". Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ↑ EminemVEVO. "Kings Never Die (Lyric Video) ft. Gwen Stefani – YoiuTube".
- ↑ Brandle, Lars. "Eminem and Gwen Stefani Collaborated on 'Southpaw' Track 'Kings Never Die': Listen". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ↑ "NEW MUSIC: EMINEM FEAT. GWEN STEFANI – 'KINGS NEVER DIE'". Rap-Up Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ↑ "The Hot 100: The Week of August 1, 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
- ↑ Mendizabal, Amaya (July 22, 2015). "The Weeknd's 'Can't Feel My Face' Tops Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
- ↑ Ryan, Gavin (July 25, 2015). "ARIA Singles: Belgium's Lost Frequencies Tops Singles Chart". Noise11. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Eminem – Kings Never Die" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ↑ "2015년 30주차 Downloads Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2015-07-31" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2015-07-31" UK R&B Chart. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Eminem – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Eminem. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.