"Butterfly Effect" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper and singer Travis Scott. It was released by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

on May 15, 2017, as the lead single from Scott's third studio album, '' Astroworld'' (2018). The song was written by Scott with Canadian producers

Murda Beatz Shane Lee Lindstrom (born February 11, 1994), known professionally as Murda Beatz, is a Canadian record producer. He has produced hit singles like " Butterfly Effect" by Travis Scott, "Back on Road" by Gucci Mane, "Nice for What" by Drake, "Moto ...

and Felix Leone.

Background

During a performance in Portsmouth, Virginia on May 4, 2017, Scott hinted at the release of new music in a freestyle. Scott can be heard saying: "Dropping new music in a few days. Bout to go crazy for a few days." The song was released alongside two other songs from Scott on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

, including "A Man" and "Green & Purple", which featured American rapper Playboi Carti.

Reception

Lawrence Burney of ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'' magazine said: "'Butterfly Effect' is textbook slurred Scott number, with backing vocals that sounds eerily similar to Migos' 'Slippery.'" Madeline Roth of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

said the song is "hazy" and "low-key". Similarly, Tom Breihan of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' said: "'Butterfly Effect' is low-key and melodic, with some sharp production from Drake collaborator Murda Beatz." "Butterfly Effect" debuted at number 99 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the week of June 17, 2017, and peaked at number 50 following the release of ''Astroworld''. The single was certified quadruple platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for combined sales and streaming equivalent units of 4,000,000 units in the United States.

Music video

The music video was released on July 13, 2017 via Travis Scott'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, di ...

channel. It was directed by BRTHR, who also directed the video to Scott's " Goosebumps".

Live performances

On May 17, 2017, Scott performed "Butterfly Effect" for the first time at a show in St. Louis. On August 27, 2017, he performed the chorus of the song with

Thirty Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, pe ...

on their song " Walk On Water" at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

. Scott also performed the song at the MTV Europe Music Awards on November 12, 2017.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

. *

– production * Felix Leone – co-production * Thomas Cullison – engineering assistance * Mike Dean – master engineering * Blake "Blizzy" Harden – mix engineering, record engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Travis Scott songs Song recordings produced by Murda Beatz Songs written by Murda Beatz Songs written by Travis Scott Epic Records singles Experimental hip hop songs