"Don't Tell 'Em" is a song by American singer

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He embarked on a musical career after meeting record producer Mick Schultz in 2008, and signed a recording contract wi ...

from his third studio album, '' Late Nights''. It features American rapper YG, and was released as the first single from the album. The song peaked at number six on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. Outside of the United States, "Don't Tell 'Em" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom, as well as the top twenty of the charts in Australia and Belgium.

Background and composition

Jeremih wrote "Don't Tell 'Em" in January 2014, right after knowing that one song he co-wrote,

Kid Ink Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper and singer from Los Angeles, California. His debut studio album, ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' (2012), was released independently and peake ...

's " Show Me" (2013), went number 1 on the Billboard Rap Airplay chart. The song's performers co-wrote the song with its producers, DJ Mustard and Mick Schultz. "Don't Tell 'Em" is an electro-R&B song with a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

production. It contains an

interpolation In the mathematics, mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one ...

Snap! SNAP! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has undergone several lineup changes over the years, featuring American singers, songwriters, and rappers such as Thea Austin, Turbo ...

's 1992 single " Rhythm Is a Dancer".

Remix

The official remix of the song features American singer

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Griffin gai ...

and rapper

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...

. A music video for the official remix directed by Eif Rivera was released on January 13, 2015. Other remix versions include Pitbull,

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

Migos Migos () were an American hip hop group founded in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2008. The group was composed of rapper Quavo, his nephew Takeoff, and their "cousin" friend Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia, while Offset and Takeoff were bo ...

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla-Unit). was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released ...

Ace Hood Antoine Franklin McColister (born May 11, 1988), known professionally Ace Hood, is an American rapper. Born in Port St. Lucie and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida, he was discovered by DJ Khaled and became the first act to sign with his rec ...

and

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

Commercial performance

"Don't Tell 'Em" peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in late October, becoming Jeremih's third top ten hit and YG's first. The song was certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

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). As of April 2014, the song has sold over 1,170,000 copies in the United States. In the United Kingdom, "Don't Tell 'Em" entered and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart on October 12, 2014 – for the week ending date October 18, 2014 – becoming both Jeremih and YG's first top ten song in Britain, and Jeremih's first top 20 song on the UK Singles Chart since " Birthday Sex" peaked at number 15 on the chart in August 2009. In spite of the song's commercial success, the song does not have a music video, making it the only song of 2014 to reach the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 without a video. In an interview with the respective publication, Jeremih said that a video was scheduled, but he "did not show up for it".

Cover versions

New Zealand singer

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...

performed a slowed-down cover of the song for

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

, in the United Kingdom.

Track listing

;Remixes digital download # "Don't Tell 'Em" (DaaHype Remix) eaturing YG xplicit– 4:05 # "Don't Tell 'Em" (DaaHype Remix) eaturing YG lean– 4:02 # "Don't Tell 'Em" (DaaHype Instrumental) eaturing YG – 4:07 # "Don't Tell 'Em" (Zoo Station Club) eaturing YG xplicit– 6:10 # "Don't Tell 'Em" (Zoo Station Radio) eaturing YG xplicit– 4:07 # "Don't Tell 'Em" (Zoo Station Club) eaturing YG lean– 6:09 # "Don't Tell 'Em" (Zoo Station Radio) eaturing YG lean– 4:06 # "Don't Tell 'Em" (Zoo Station Instrumental) eaturing YG– 6:10

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles Jeremih songs YG (rapper) songs Song recordings produced by Mustard (record producer) Cash Money Records singles Songs written by Mustard (record producer) Songs written by Mick Schultz Songs written by Jeremih Songs written by YG (rapper)