"Feels" is a song recorded and produced by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris featuring American musicians Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

. It was released on 15 June 2017 through

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

as the fourth single from his fifth studio album '' Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1'' (2017), after "

Slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...

", "

Heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...

" and "

Rollin Rollin or Rollin' may refer to: Music Albums * ''Rollin (Bay City Rollers album), 1974 * ''Rollin (Freddie Hubbard album), 1982 * ''Rollin (Texas Hippie Coalition album) or the title song, 2010 * ''Rollin (B1A4 EP) or the title song, 2017 * ' ...

". Starrah assisted the artists in writing the song. "Feels" has reached number one in Belgium, Israel, Latvia, Lebanon, Poland and the United Kingdom, the top 10 in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Switzerland, and the top 20 in Italy, Sweden, and the United States.

Release

On 14 June 2017, Calvin Harris announced on social media that he would release the fourth single from ''Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1'' the next day, titled "Feels". The post included the single's cover art and credits.

Composition

"Feels" is a disco- funk and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

song containing elements of dancehall, hip hop and electronica. The bassline and chord progression of the song bear resemblance to

Let's Groove "Let's Groove" is a song by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released as the first single from their eleventh studio album, ''Raise!'' (1981). It is written by Maurice White and Wayne Vaughn, and produced by White. The song was a commercial succ ...

(1981) by

Earth, Wind and Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

; its authors, Maurice White and Wayne Vaughn, were later acknowledged in the song's credits.

Critical reception

Andy Cush of '' Spin'' called the song "a little flimsy" while also noting that "the groove is unimpeachable" and that "It has a skillful melange of sounds from the mid-70s apex of analog recording, the era of disco and yacht rock: a warm and rounded bassline, some Nile Rodgers-style guitar, a slick descending line on Fender Rhodes." ''

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

'' Elia Leight said that the song is "a simple, lighthearted loop, which combines punctual ska guitar, a playful keyboard line and charming squeaks that recall a cartoon character's slip on a banana peel." Brent Faulkner from ''The Musical Hype'' said the song is undercooked, leaving more to be desired, adding that it's "the type of record that is pleasing more because of the sound than the lyricism."

Chart performance

In the US, "Feels" debuted at number 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached a peak of 20, making it Harris' eighth top 20 hit, as well as Perry's eighteenth. It spent eighteen weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In Canada, the song peaked at number five, giving Perry her eighteenth top ten in the country. In the UK, "Feels" topped the

Official 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 ...

, making it Harris' eighth, Williams' fourth, Perry's fifth, and Sean's first number one in the chart.

Music videos

The song's accompanying music video was uploaded to Harris'

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 ...

on 26 June 2017. The clip was directed by

Emil Nava Emil William Capper Nava (born 29 March 1985) is a British music video director. After leaving school at 16, Emil started his career as a chef. He shot to fame after directing Jessie J's song " Do It Like A Dude". He has since directed over 1 ...

. In the video, Harris, Williams, Perry and Big Sean lounge around on a desert island. A second video, also directed by Nava, followed two months later, featuring all four artists as a band playing the track in front of a live audience and receiving applause for their performance.

Track listings

Personnel

Credits adapted from the song's liner notes. *Calvin Harris – composition, production, mixing, Ibanez 1200 Bass, Linn LinnDrum, 1976 Yamaha Ux Ebony Piano, Gibson SG Custom, 1965 Fender Stratocaster,

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...

, claps *Pharrell Williams – vocals, composition *Katy Perry – vocals, composition *Big Sean – vocals, composition *Brittany Hazzard – composition *Mike Larson – recording *Marcos Tovar – recording *Gregg Rominiecki – recording *Jacob Dennis – recording assistance *Iain Findlay – recording assistance *Dave Kutch – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

, -

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Calvin Harris songs Katy Perry songs Funk songs Ska songs Songs written by Calvin Harris Songs written by Pharrell Williams Songs written by Katy Perry Songs written by Big Sean Songs written by Starrah UK Singles Chart number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Lebanon Number-one singles in Poland