"Don't Matter to Me" is a song by Canadian musician

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

featuring posthumous vocals from American singer-songwriter

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, from Drake's fifth studio album ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

'' (2018). It was playlisted by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

on July 6, 2018. The song was set to be released to US

rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

radio on July 10, 2018 alongside "

In My Feelings "In My Feelings" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his fifth studio album ''Scorpion'' (2018). It was released to rhythmic and contemporary hit radio on July 10, 2018, as the album's fifth single. The song features additional vocals by t ...

". However, its release in the country was cancelled when

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

decided to solely push "In My Feelings" to rhythmic and contemporary hit radio stations in the US. Commercially, the song has reached No. 1 in Sweden as well as the top 10 in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Jackson's vocals were taken from part of an unreleased 1980 session between Jackson and Canadian singer-songwriter

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...

. The songs "

Love Never Felt So Good "Love Never Felt So Good" is a song by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released posthumously on May 2, 2014. The song, reworked from a 1983 demo track originally composed by Jackson and Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka, was the ...

" and " This Is It" (a.k.a. "I Never Heard") also came from the same session.

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Brendan Klinkenberg of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' said, "

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

opens like most Drake songs, with gloomy, atmospheric synths and Drake singing sweetly to an ex-lover. Then Jackson comes in; even with some digital quivering added to his vocals, he's unmistakeable. While the "featuring Michael Jackson" billing would feel like an unnecessary flourish in almost any scenario, it's close to earned here." Larry Fitzmaurice of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' thought "

makes great melodic hay out of a headline-grabbing posthumous Michael Jackson feature." Roisin O'Connor of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' deemed it "hauntingly beautiful", however, she felt Jackson's voice "is controversially auto-tuned to the point that it sounds more like one of his biggest imitators,

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''s Luke Morgan Britton described the song as "a clear-cut power move, rather than artistic posthumous collaboration," and considered it as an example of "cases of Drake doing things because he can, rather than because he should." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''s Jonny Coleman felt the song "is as unsettling as a Tupac hologram, but ultimately not as offensive. It sounds like a Weeknd B-side but is weird enough to break up some of the exhaustion of listening to 'Scorpion''in one sitting." Dean Van Nguyen of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' said, "Jackson's segment is lovely, his vocal loop floating over the warm ‘n’ woozy orchestration which comes off as a kind of downbeat version of "

Liberian Girl "Liberian Girl" is the ninth single released from American singer Michael Jackson's 1987 album '' Bad''. The song was written as early as 1983 and was among those considered for the Jacksons' ''Victory'' album. It was reworked and rewritten for ' ...

". Unfortunately, Drake is the worst thing about the song, his depressed coos sounding formless and without conviction."

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "Don't Matter to Me" debuted at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on the chart dated July 12, 2018, behind

George Ezra George Ezra Barnett (born 7 June 1993) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. After releasing two EPs, '' Did You Hear the Rain?'' (2013) and '' Cassy O (2014), Ezra rose to prominence with the release of his hit single, "Budapest", ...

's "

Shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

". It serves as Drake's 15th top-ten song and Michael Jackson's 44th top ten on the chart. In the United States, the song debuted at number nine on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it Drake's 31st top-ten song and Jackson's 30th top ten on the chart. It stands as Jackson's second posthumous top-ten entry, tying the peak of his duet with

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

, "

" (2014).

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes and

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''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 * Tidal (servic ...

. * Noel Cadastre – recording * 40 – production, recording * Noel "Gadget" Campbell – mixing * Harley Arsenault – mixing assistance * Greg Moffet – mixing assistance * Ronald Moonoo – mixing assistance *

– vocals *

Nineteen85 Anthony Paul Jefferies (born July 1, 1985), known professionally as Nineteen85, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. Nineteen85 holds the distinction of winning an ASCAP Music Award back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. He is best known for p ...

– production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles Drake (musician) songs Michael Jackson songs Song recordings produced by Nineteen85 Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Michael Jackson Songs written by Paul Anka Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Sweden Male vocal duets Songs released posthumously Songs written by Negin Djafari Young Money Entertainment singles Cash Money Records singles Republic Records singles