| "Forever" |
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| Single by Drake featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem |
| from the album Music Inspired by the Film More Than a Game and Relapse: Refill |
| Released |
August 27, 2009 (Radio)
September 15, 2009 (Single) |
| Format |
Airplay, digital download |
| Recorded |
August 2009 |
| Genre |
Hip hop |
| Length |
5:58 (Album Version)
5:22 (Radio Edit) |
| Label |
Zone 4, Interscope
Shady, Aftermath |
| Writer(s) |
Marshall Mathers, Aubrey Graham, Kanye West, Dwayne Carter, Matthew Samuels |
| Producer |
Boi-1da |
| Drake singles chronology |
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"Forever" is a single by rapper Drake.[1] The song features verses by rappers Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. The song is released as a single from the soundtrack to LeBron James's More Than a Game documentary.
The song was also put on the re-release of Eminem's album Relapse called Relapse: Refill. Eminem performed his verse of the song at the American Music Awards of 2009. Drake performed the song with Lil Wayne, Eminem and Travis Barker at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
[edit] Background
The track was produced by Boi-1da and originally used by Kardinal Offishall featuring Rock City in early 2008 as "Bring It Back". Kardinal did not use the song for his album and it was later re-sold to Drake which was released in late-2008 as "I Want This Forever" featuring Lil Wayne and Nut da Kidd. In an interview, Kardinal stated that his version was a leaked demo, and was supposed to appear on his album, Not 4 Sale, as well as a soundtrack.Kardinal Offishall Exclusive Interview Champ Magazine. Retrieved November 2, 2009.</ref> The 2009 version of "Forever" features Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. Rapper Jay-Z called it the best posse cut of the year.[2]
[edit] Music video
The music video was shot in Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, Florida in early September 2009.[3] However, Eminem's part in the video was shot in Detroit due to scheduling conflicts and not being able to be in Miami.[4] The music video was shot and directed by Hype Williams. It premiered on September 22, 2009 on BET's musical program 106 & Park. LeBron James appears in the opening of the music video in the back seat of a Maybach playing online poker on PokerStars on his customized Beats by Dr. Dre's laptop.[5] Except for during dissolves, there is not a single frame in the video where more than one of the rappers is featured. Throughout the video, there are clips and pictures from the documentary about James, More Than a Game, and of him as a kid playing basketball. Also Slaughterhouse (Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Crooked I), Kendrick Lamar, Tony Yayo, The Alchemist, Trick-Trick, Xzibit and D12 member Kon Artis make cameo appareances in Eminem's verse of the video behind him as he raps his verse. Birdman makes a cameo appearances in the video on Lil Wayne's verse, sitting next to him in the VIP section of the club.[6][7][8] The music video was produced alongside the video for "Money to Blow".[9]
[edit] Chart performance
"Forever" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number fifty-eight on September 3, 2009,[10] peaking at #2. The song become the most downloaded song for the week ending September 15, 2009. On the week of September 24, the song debuted at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Drake's highest debut on the chart as well as his third top-ten single. it also topped the rap songs chart making it Drake's second #1 on that chart. This was the tenth consecutive top 40 single for Eminem. The song has sold over one million downloads.[11]
"Forever" failed to enter the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart, but did manage to peak at #43 after strong downloads. The song then began to drop out of the UK Singles Chart, but on the 10th January 2010, "Forever" climbed 7 places from #49 to #42, marking its highest peak to date. 'Forever' has since became the biggest ever selling song that has missed the top 40 completely, with sales over 150,000. On 7 February 2010, "Forever" entered the Irish Singles Chart, reaching a current peak of #41.
[edit] Charts
[edit] End of year charts
| Charts (2009) |
Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[18] |
88 |
| Chart (2010) |
Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[19] |
71 |
[edit] References
- ^ Rodriguez, Jayson (2009-08-26). "Eminem, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Drake Team Up For LeBron James Documentary Song". MTV (MTV Networks). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1619549/20090826/eminem.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-10-08). "Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Drake Celebrate Their Hottest MCs Rankings - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1623400/20091008/jay_z.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ^ On-Set Pictures of Drake's 'Forever' Music Video
- ^ By Admin on November 22, 2009 5:11 PM (2009-11-04). "Syndicate". Sohh.com. http://www.sohh.com/syndicate/?p=2728. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ^ Eminem/ Report of Lebron James playing on PokerStars in 'Forever' Music Video
- ^ "Broadcast Yourself". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeH_jdUpfp0&feature=player_embedded. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ^ News: Kanye West, Drake, Lil Wayne & Eminem Shooting "Forever" Music Video
- ^ Eminem In “Forever” Music Video – First Picture
- ^ Exclusive: Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye West & Eminem Shoot ‘Forever’ Music Video
- ^ a b c d Concepcion, Mariel (2009-09-03). "Three Tracks From Upcoming LeBron James Movie Hit Charts". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/news/three-tracks-from-upcoming-lebron-james-1004009174.story#/news/three-tracks-from-upcoming-lebron-james-1004009174.story. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ "Exclusive Addict". Exclusiveaddict.blogspot.com. http://www.exclusiveaddict.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 4th January 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. January 4, 2009. http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20100105-0000/Issue1036.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
- ^ "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-hot-100#/charts/canadian-hot-100?begin=21&order=position. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ^ "IRMA - Irish Charts - Singles, Albums & Compilations >>". Irma.ie. http://www.irma.ie/aucharts.asp. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Schweizer Hitparade - Singles Top 75 30.05.2010". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/weekchart.asp?cat=s. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/song/drake-featuring-kanye-west-lil-wayne-eminem/forever/14156981
- ^ Billboard Rap Songs chart for week of November 14, 2009. Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Year End Charts - Year-end songs - The Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/charts-year-end/hot-100-songs?year=2009#/charts-year-end/hot-100-songs?year=2009. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-year-end/hot-100-songs?year=2010&begin=71&order=position
[edit] External links
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