Jump to content

Kings Never Die

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Bender the Bot (talk | contribs) at 22:52, 25 November 2016 (→Background and release: clean up; http→https for YouTube using AWB). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Kings Never Die"
Song

"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
  1. "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 (OCC)[12] 82
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[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

  1. ^ Daly, Rhian. "Eminem to release new song on 'Southpaw' soundtrack". Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. ^ EminemVEVO. "Kings Never Die (Audio) ft. Gwen Stefani – YouTube". Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  3. ^ EminemVEVO. "Kings Never Die (Lyric Video) ft. Gwen Stefani – YoiuTube".
  4. ^ Brandle, Lars. "Eminem and Gwen Stefani Collaborated on 'Southpaw' Track 'Kings Never Die': Listen". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "NEW MUSIC: EMINEM FEAT. GWEN STEFANI – 'KINGS NEVER DIE'". Rap-Up Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "The Hot 100: The Week of August 1, 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Ryan, Gavin (July 25, 2015). "ARIA Singles: Belgium's Lost Frequencies Tops Singles Chart". Noise11. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  9. ^ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  10. ^ "Eminem – Kings Never Die" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  11. ^ "2015년 30주차 Downloads Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  13. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  14. ^ "Eminem Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  15. ^ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  16. ^ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kings_Never_Die&oldid=751474062"