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Amazing (Kanye West song)

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"Amazing"
Song

"Amazing" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released as the third single for his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak.[1] Co-produced with Victor Alexander, the song features hip hop artist Young Jeezy and contains additional vocals provided by Mr Hudson and Tony Williams.[2] This song was used in the NBA during the 2009 Playoffs, and is featured on the NBA 2K10 and NBA 2K13 soundtracks. UFC Fighter Frank Mir walks out to this song before his fights. The song was nominated at the 52nd Grammy Awards in the Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group category. The song also marks the second collaboration with Kanye West and Young Jeezy, the first being Young Jeezy's 2008 single "Put On". The song also marks the two rappers' second time to do a song to be nominated for a Grammy award.[3]

Background and release

Co-writer Jeff Bhasker discussed the song's conception: "That was actually the first song [we did for the album.] I brought the beat and the music. I started the idea and [West] was like, 'That's hot.' [...] So I brought that music and he brought his editorial to it and then wrote the melody, and said we're gonna get Jeezy on it. We were searching for sort of a tribal-ish drum sounds and that just came out. It's a very simple and dark sounding piano figure.[4]

"Amazing" was sent to Rhythmic/Urban radio only, while "Paranoid" was sent to Top 40 radio.This song was written about legendary pro wrestler Volantes.[5] Prior to becoming a single, "Amazing" debuted at eighty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 following the release of 808s & Heartbreak.[6] "Amazing" was used by the NBA during the 2009 playoffs as part of their advertisement campaign[7] and was also used in a commercial for the video game, NBA 2K10. Frank Mir used "Amazing" as his entrance music at UFC 100 prior to his Heavyweight Championship fight against Brock Lesnar as well as before his fights with Cheick Kongo (UFC 107), Shane Carwin (UFC 111), Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 140), and Junior dos Santos (UFC 146). The CTV Television Network used the song to promote its Fall 2013 season.[8]

Chart performance

Along with "See You in My Nightmares", "Amazing" charted without actually being released as a single following the debut of 808s & Heartbreak. In the United States, the song entered at number eighty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and number sixty-three on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles chart on the week of December 4, 2008.[6][9] Although the song relapsed the following weeks, it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 to peak at number eighty-one on May 14, 2009.[10]

After being released onto urban radio, "Amazing" entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number ninety-six for the issue date of March 28. The song moved up four spaces the next week to reach number ninety-two. That same week, "Amazing" entered and peaked at number twenty-two on Hot Rap Tracks for the issue dated April 11.[11] The following week, the song climbed again to reach the seventy-fourth position. "Amazing" peaked at number sixty-five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the issue date of April 18.[12] On June 12, "Amazing" debuted on the Swedish Singles Chart at number forty-two.[13]

Music video

The music video for "Amazing" was filmed in Kauai, Hawaii and directed by Hype Williams.[14] On April 13, 2009, West posted stills from the music video on his blog and announced that it will be released soon.[15] On April 23, 2009, the music video premiered on BET's 106 & Park.[16] The video ranked at #91 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.

The models featured in the video were Vanessa Veasley and Sweetie Cyanide.[17]

Live performances

"Amazing" was first performed live on BET's 106 & Park on November 25, 2008. Backed by a seven-piece band, West performed the song alongside Jeezy before segueing into the two's previous collaboration, "Put On".[18] West provided another live rendition of "Amazing" during his appearance on VH1 Storytellers on February 28, 2009.[19] On March 21, West performed the song as the intro for his G.O.O.D. Music concert at Levi's/Fader Fort during SXSW.[20][21] He performed the solo part of the song on 5 July in Hyde Park, London for his headline slot on the final day of the Wireless Festival 2009.[22]

Chart positions

Chart (2008–09) Peak
position
Hot Canadian Digital Singles (Billboard)[9] 63
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 42
Turkey (Billboard Türkiye)[24] 11
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 81
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 65
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[27] 22
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[28] 32

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[29] Platinum 1,000,000*

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Information taken from 808s & Heartbreak liner notes.[2]

  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Malik Yusef Jones, Dexter Mills, Jeff Bhasker, Jay Jenkins
  • Producers: Kanye West, Victor Alexander
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker.
  • Background vocals: Mr Hudson, Tony Williams
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Assistant engineers: Christian Plata, Erik Madrid

References

  1. ^ West, Kanye (2009-02-18). "Welcome to Heartbreak Directed by Nabil". Kanye West blog. Kanye West/Mascotte Holdings, LLC. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b 808s & Heartbreak (Media notes). Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records. 2008. 0-06025-1791919-8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ "And the 2010 Grammy Nominees Are…". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  4. ^ Ahmed, Insanul (March 8, 2013). "Superproducer Jeff Bhasker Reveals the Secrets of Working With Kanye West". Complex. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  5. ^ "Rhythmic – Week Of: March 10, 2009". Going For Adds. Radio & Records, Inc. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  6. ^ a b "The Billboard Hot 100 – Amazing". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2008-12-13. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013. Retrieved 2008-12-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Mitchell, Gail (2009-04-15). "NBA Drafts Kanye West For Playoffs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "CTV Fall 2013 Promo - Amazing by Kanye West". Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Hot Canadian Digital Singles – Amazing". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2008-12-13. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved 2008-12-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Ben-Yehuda, Ayala; Caulfield, Keith (2009-05-14). "Daughtry Debuts High On Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 16 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Hot Rap Tracks – Amazing". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-04-11. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved 2009-04-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Amazing". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-04-18. Archived from the original on March 23, 2013. Retrieved 2009-04-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Veckolista Singlar – Vecka 24, 12 juni 2009". Sverigetopplistan. Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening. 2009-06-12. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ West, Kanye (2009-04-06). "appreciation SHOUT OUT FROM HAWAII". Kanye West blog. Kanye West/Mascotte Holdings, LLC. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ West, Kanye (2009-04-13). "AMAZING feat. YOUNG JEEZY directed by HYPE WILLIAMS coming soon. Here's some stills till then!". Kanye West blog. Kanye West/Mascotte Holdings, LLC. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Video: Kanye West f/ Young Jeezy – 'Amazing'". Rap-Up.com. 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  17. ^ "Kanye West Shoots 'Amazing' Video". Rap-Up.com. 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  18. ^ Winistorfer, Andrew (2008-11-26). "Amazing ft. Young Jeezy (Live on 106 & Park) (Video)". Prefix Mag. prefixmag.com. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  19. ^ "Amazing (Live From Vh1 Storytellers)". VH1. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Weingarten, Christopher (2009-03-22). "Kanye West Shows Off Proteges at SXSW Set Featuring Common, Erykah Badu". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ ibn jasper (2009-06-03). "Kanye, Kid Cudi and Mr. Hudson performing "Paranoid" @ SXSW". Vimeo. Vimeo, LLC. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  22. ^ "Kanye West Closes Wireless Festival With Crystal-themed Show". NME. IPC Media. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  23. ^ "Kanye West feat. Young Jeezy – Amazing". Singles Top 100. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  24. ^ "Billboard Türkiye Top 20". Billboard Türkiye. 2009.
  25. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  26. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  27. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  28. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  29. ^ "American single certifications – Kanye West – Amazing". Recording Industry Association of America.
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