"First Class" is a song by American rapper
Jack Harlow
Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper and singer. He began his recording career in 2015, and released several EPs and mixtapes until signing with Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now, an imprint of A ...
, released through
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
and Generation Now as the second single from Harlow's second album ''
Come Home the Kids Miss You'' on April 8, 2022.
The song was produced by
Rogét Chahayed
Rogét Lutfi Chahayed (born May 31, 1988) is an American record producer and songwriter. Referred to as "one of hip-hop and pop's most dependable hit machines" by ''Billboard'', Chahayed has received nine Grammy Award nominations; in 2022, he w ...
, BabeTruth,
Charlie Handsome,
Jasper Harris and Nickie Jon Pabón, and heavily
samples the 2006
Fergie song "
Glamorous", which features
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
and was produced by
Polow da Don
Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977 or 1978), known professionally as Polow da Don, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career as a recording artist in the late 1990s, leaving college to pursue a career with ...
. The song went viral on
TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
before its release.
"First Class" debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Harlow's second song (and first solo song) to top the chart, after his collaboration with
Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...
on "
Industry Baby" in 2021. It was also his first to debut atop the chart. The song also entered atop the charts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, peaked at number two in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK, and within the top ten in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
Background
Harlow posted a snippet of the track on his social media accounts on April 1, 2022, captioning it in part "How 'bout this one next?" The snippet went viral on
TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
, with users responding to the song's "summery vibes",
with the clips featuring the song gaining a total of 28.8 million views before its official release.
Composition
The song sees Harlow rapping about his "journey to success" and also "spelling out what's in store for his traveling companion" over a soft piano melody, which leads into Harlow sampling the chorus of
Fergie's 2006 song "
Glamorous".
The track also contains a reference to ''
Euphoria
Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
'' actor
Angus Cloud.
Music video
The video clip was made available along with the release of ''
Come Home the Kids Miss You'', at midnight on May 6, 2022. Parts of the video are in black and white and it features a cameo appearance from Brazilian singer
Anitta.
Live performances
On May 15, Harlow performed "First Class" at the
2022 Billboard Music Awards
The 2022 ''Billboard'' Music Awards were held on May 15, 2022, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Hosted by Sean "Diddy" Combs, the show aired live on NBC and was also available for streaming on Peacock. Nominations across 62 categorie ...
. On June 26, Harlow performed "First Class" at the
2022 BET Awards alongside
Brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
, who released a freestyle to the song's instrumental a month earlier. On August 28, Harlow performed "First Class" at the
2022 MTV Video Music Awards, with
Fergie joining him to perform
"Glamorous", which Harlow sampled for "First Class".
Commercial performance
"First Class" debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the year's first hip hop song to reach the top. It earned the biggest streaming week of 2022 at the time, and the biggest opening week since
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
's "
Way 2 Sexy" featuring
Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...
and
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...
in September 2021. The song spent three non-consecutive weeks at number one and also reached number one on the
Radio Songs chart where it led for 4 consecutive weeks, becoming his first leader there. With three weeks atop the Hot 100, it is the longest running number one rap song in 2022. The song also peaked at number one on the
Hot Rap Songs
Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...
chart, as his second leader. The song ultimately peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, making it the highest charting rap song of 2022 and at number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year-end chart.
"First Class" debuted atop the Australian
ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, becoming Harlow's first number one in the country. It also debuted at number one in New Zealand,
making it Harlow's first solo number one and second overall chart-topping song after the
Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...
collaboration "
Industry Baby". "First Class" also debuted at number one on the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
,
making it Harlow's first number-one song on the chart. The song debuted and peaked at number two in Austria,
Germany,
Ireland,
Lithuania,
South Africa,
and also debuted within the top ten in Denmark,
Finland,
the Netherlands,
Norway,
Sweden and Switzerland.
"First Class" debuted at number two on the UK Singles chart and spent 5 consecutive weeks there, blocked from the top by
Harry Styles
Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture.
Styles's musical ca ...
"
As It Was". It spent 9 weeks in the top ten.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{Jack Harlow
2022 singles
2022 songs
Atlantic Records singles
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles
Jack Harlow songs
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Songs written by Fergie (singer)
Songs written by Charlie Handsome
Songs written by Jack Harlow
Songs written by Rogét Chahayed