"Checkmate" is a song by American singer

Conan Gray Conan Lee Gray (born December 5, 1998) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Lemon Grove, California and raised in Georgetown, Texas, he began uploading vlogs, covers and original songs to YouTube as a teenager. Gray signed a record ...

, released as a single on June 26, 2019, through Republic Records. It was written by Gray and produced by

Dan Nigro Daniel Leonard Nigro (born May 14, 1982) is an American musician, songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer. He was the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band As Tall As Lions. Nigro has produced, written and co-written songs ...

. The song peaked at 19 on the ARIA Singles Chart, it gave him his highest-charting song in Australia, surpassing the number 38 peak of "The King", until it was dethroned by "Maniac".

Background and release

After breaking out with his debut extended play (EP) in November 2018, and releasing the single "The King" in March 2019, Gray would usher in a new period of his music career with the release of "Checkmate". He recalled having "ugly cried out" the song in under five minutes while alone in his bedroom. Gray mentioned this songwriting process in a tweet and stating "Dedicated to the asshole who was always playing games with my lil heart >:( 'sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''. On June 23, only a few days before releasing the track, Gray teased "Checkmate" through a tweet that featured the song's title and a short snippet of the chorus. "Checkmate" was officially released on June 26, as the lead single to his debut studio album ''Kid Krow'', which was released the following March.

Composition and lyrics

Produced by

, the track features "percussive flares". The song beings slightly muffled and accompanied by guitar, as well as a crescendoing percussion. This muffled sound abruptly stops ahead of a transition to the first verse. Written by Gray, the song was inspired by a person he was romantically interested in but was having his emotions played around with by. As such, Gray called "Checkmate" a signal of him being done with the "games" they were playing. He stated he wrote the song in the stage of grief highlighted by rage and in a moment of him feeling "pure seething anger". The song's chorus leans into the metaphor of romantically "playing games", alluding to a checkmate: "Cause I've gotten tired of the games that you play/ When you tell me you love me then you throw me away/ So cry me a river 'til you drown in a lake/ 'Cause you may think you're winning but checkmate".

Reception

Kirsten Spruch of '' Billboard'' called the song's chorus "explosive" and its melody twists and "surprising". In analyzing Gray's long-term viability as a pop singer, ''Billboard''s Jason Lipshutz stated "Checkmate" has the "type of harmonic flourishes and emotional vulnerability that can be traced back to those two pop savants", referencing

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

and Lorde. Maxamillion Polo of ''

Ones to Watch Ones to Watch is an American music blog primarily aimed at showcasing new talent. The website was created independently by House of Blues Entertainment (a division of Live Nation Entertainment) in October 2013, before becoming a collaborative ...

'' wrote that the track is "nothing short of euphoric, surging forward with an undeniable frenzied energy", as well as "a moment of pop-punk-tinged ecstasy".

Charts

References

{{Conan Gray 2019 singles 2019 songs Conan Gray songs Republic Records singles Song recordings produced by Dan Nigro Songs written by Conan Gray