"1-800-273-8255" (also known simply as "1-800") is a song by American rapper
Logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
, featuring guest vocals from Canadian singer
Alessia Cara
Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (), is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, to Italian Canadian parents, she began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploadi ...
and American singer
Khalid
Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname. . It was released on April 27, 2017, through
Visionary Music Group
Visionary Music Group is an American independent record label & management company, founded by Christian Zarou. The label's roster includes Logic and Jon Bellion, among others. In 2018, Visionary Music Group partnered with management company Mut ...
and
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The l ...
, as the third single from Logic's third studio album, ''
Everybody''. The song's title is the previous phone number for the American
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9- ...
(NSPL), now known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Although the lifeline has since changed its phone number to 988 in July 2022, the original number still remains in use today. It was written by the three recording artists alongside Dylan Wiggins, Drew Taggart of
The Chainsmokers, and
6ix, who produced the track with Logic.
"1-800-273-8255" eventually peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and received nominations for
Song of the Year and
Best Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...
at the
60th Annual Grammy Awards
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong ...
.
Background
In an interview with
Genius
Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...
, Logic said:
So the first hook and verse is from the perspective of someone who is calling the hotline and they want to commit suicide. They want to kill themselves. They want to end their life. When I jumped on a tour bus that started in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and I ended in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and did a fan tour where I went to fans' houses and shared meals with them, hung out with them, played them my album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
before it came out. Them along with other people on tour, just fans that I met randomly, they've said things like, "Your music has saved my life. You've saved my life." And I was always like, "Aw so nice of you. Thanks." And I give them a hug and shit but in my mind, I'm like, "What the fuck?" And they're really serious. And they tat shit on their arms and get shit like lyrics that save their life and in my mind, I was like, "Man I wasn't even trying to save nobody's life." And then it hit me, the power that I have as an artist with a voice. I wasn't even trying to save your life. Now what can happen if I actually did? In the second verse logic talks about the other side of the hotline and the operator saying "I want you to be alive You don't gotta die today and lemme tell you why". It then goes into a very strong verse on why he shouldn't do it. The last hook is the person finally realizing that they do matter and not doing the deed they wanted to do.
Music video
The song's accompanying music video premiered on August 17, 2017, on Logic's
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
channel on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. The music video was directed by Andy Hines and centers around a young man who struggles with feeling accepted due to his
sexuality. The video features appearances from
Coy Stewart,
Nolan Gould
Nolan Gould (born October 28, 1998) is an American actor known for his role as Luke Dunphy on the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family''.
Early life and education
Gould was born in New York City, the son of Angela and Edwin Gould. Shortly after his bi ...
,
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nom ...
,
Luis Guzmán
Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia'' (1999) an ...
and
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker, who rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in ''Full Metal Jacket''. His other film roles include the title character ...
.
Commercial performance
"1-800-273-8255" debuted at number 61 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 67 the
Canadian Hot 100 for the chart dated May 20, 2017. Following the album's release it went up to number 47 and 40 respectively. On August 20, 2018, the single was certified
quintuple platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streaming equivalent units of over five million units in the United States. Following the song's performance at the
2017 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 27, 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, honoring music videos released between June 25, 2016 and June 23, 2017. It was hosted by Katy Perry. The 34th annual award show aired live from ...
, the song jumped to number nine, becoming Logic and Khalid's first top 10 single, and Alessia Cara's fourth. It later reached the top three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming all three's highest-charting single; it performed well at radio, especially
contemporary hit radio, where it reached number three on the Mainstream Top 40.
Impact
According to the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9- ...
(NSPL), in the three weeks following the single's release, calls directed to the NSPL rose by 27%, while visits to their website increased from 300,000 to 400,000 over the following months. According to ''Billboard'', the hotline received the second-highest daily call volume ever with over 4,573 calls on the day that the song was released.
Lifeline's Director of Communications Frances Gonzalez reported that, following the night of the
2017 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 27, 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, honoring music videos released between June 25, 2016 and June 23, 2017. It was hosted by Katy Perry. The 34th annual award show aired live from ...
, the NSPL experienced a 50% surge in the number of calls to their hotline. This was reportedly as a result of the performance of the song by Logic, Cara, and Khalid during the show as well as the speech given by recording artist and activist
Kesha, who was tasked with presenting the performers.
During the
60th Annual Grammy Awards
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong ...
, Logic performed the song alongside Alessia Cara and Khalid, as a tribute to
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...
lead vocalist
Chris Cornell
Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave ...
and
Linkin Park lead vocalist
Chester Bennington
Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter who was best known as the lead vocalist of rock band Linkin Park. He was also the lead vocalist of the bands Grey Daze, Dead by Sunrise, ...
, who both died by suicide in 2017. It was performed after the annual in memoriam tribute, which ended with Bennington. Logic concluded his performance by making an extended statement, proclaiming his support for
gender equality
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
and
racial equality
Racial equality is a situation in which people of all races and ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and political rights. In present-day Western societ ...
while saying "
black is beautiful
Black is beautiful is a cultural movement that was started in the United States in the 1960s by African Americans. It later spread beyond the United States, most prominently in the writings of the Black Consciousness Movement of Steve Biko in ...
" compared to how "hate is ugly."
A December 2021 article in the
British Medical Journal found that each of these events -- the release of "1-800-273-8255," the performance during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, and the 2018 Grammys performance -- was correlated with increases in calls to the helpline, and with a reduction in suicides overall.
Remix
A Spanish remix featuring Colombian singer
Juanes was released on October 13, 2017. Rapper
Lil Durk has also remixed the hit single on his mixtape ''
Just Cause Y'all Waited
''Just Cause Y'all Waited'' is the twelfth mixtape by American rapper Lil Durk. It was released on March 30, 2018, by Only the Family and Empire Distribution. The mixtape features guest appearances from Lil Baby, Ty Dolla Sign, PartyNextDoor, Gunna ...
'' and titled it "1 (773) Vulture".
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
*
2017 in music
*
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9- ...
References
{{authority control
2017 singles
2017 songs
Logic (rapper) songs
Alessia Cara songs
Khalid (singer) songs
Songs written by Khalid (singer)
Def Jam Recordings singles
Songs about suicide
Songs about telephone calls
Pop ballads
2010s ballads
Songs written by Andrew Taggart
Songs written by Logic (rapper)
Songs written by 6ix (record producer)
Songs written by Dylan Wiggins
Pop-rap songs