"Friends with Benefits" (commonly abbreviated to its initials "FWB") is a song by British YouTuber and rapper

KSI Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), known professionally as KSI, is an English YouTuber and rapper. He is a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group known as the Sidemen. He is the CEO of Misfits Boxing and ...

and Dutch record production trio MNDM from the former's second extended play (EP), ''

Jump Around "Jump Around" is a song by American hip hop group House of Pain, produced by DJ Muggs of the hip hop group Cypress Hill, who has also covered the song. It became a hit in 1992, reaching number 3 in the United States. A 1993 re-release of the ...

'' (2016). The song was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

and

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

on 29 July 2016 as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the EP. The song's lyrics centre around engaging in a no-strings-attached relationship with a ladyfriend. "Friends with Benefits" debuted at number 69 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 ...

. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was released on 5 August 2016. The video stars KSI alongside his no-strings-attached ladyfriend in a series of silly vignettes which show the pair dressing up as various characters to illustrate some choice lyrics from the song. Scenes include KSI dressing up as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

Background and release

"Friends with Benefits" was written, recorded and produced during a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

session in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in February 2016, as documented in KSI's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, 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 ...

vlog A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in ...

titled "Amsterdam Music Trip". On 18 July 2016, KSI revealed the song's title,

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

and release date via his

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

pages. "Friends with Benefits" was released for digital download and

and

on 29 July 2016.

Music video

The

for "Friends with Benefits" was directed by Harrison Boyce. The video was released to KSI's YouTube channel one week after the release of the song on 5 August 2016. It has received 50 million views. The music video's opening scenes show KSI and several of his ''

Laid in America ''Laid in America'' is a 2016 British direct-to-video comedy film starring British and South African YouTube personalities KSI and Caspar Lee respectively. The film was written and directed by Sam Milman and Peter Vass, and was produced by The Fun ...

'' (2016) co-stars, including

Caspar Lee Caspar Richard George Lee (born 24 April 1994) is a British-South African YouTuber turned investor and serial entrepreneur. He was featured in ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 in 2020 for his work in media and advertising. Career Lee started his YouTube ...

, Alex Wassabi and

Gerry Bednob Gerry Bednob (born May 18, 1950) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian-American-Canadian actor and comedian of Bengali Indo-Trinidadian descent. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Toronto, and worked as a high sch ...

, exiting a

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...

upon arrival at a

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

of their film, before walking down a

red carpet A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events. History The earliest known reference to ...

. The remainder of the video stars KSI alongside American model Jena Frumes, who plays the role of his no-strings-attached ladyfriend, in a series of silly vignettes which show the pair dressing up as various characters to illustrate some choice lyrics from the song. Scenes show the pair dressing up as penguins, a

bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, brides ...

and a

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...

, and a

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

and his girl, as well as KSI dressing up as an old man,

Tony Montana Antonio Montana is a fictional character and the protagonist of the 1983 film ''Scarface''. This character is portrayed by Al Pacino in the film and is voiced by André Sogliuzzo in the 2006 video game '' Scarface: The World Is Yours''. Embod ...

from '' Scarface'',

and

. At the end of the music video, there is a 15 seconds-long snippet of the music video for KSI's next single "

" (2016), featuring American rapper

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

, which was later released on 3 October 2016.

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "Friends with Benefits" debuted at number 69 on the

. The song dropped to number 78 the following week, before dropping out of the chart. "Friends with Benefits" also debuted at number 12 on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and spent a total of seven weeks on the chart.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

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 ...

. *

songwriting, vocals * MNDMproduction * Swayproduction, songwriting * DJ Turkishproduction, songwriting, mixing, mastering * Charles Cookproduction, songwriting * Faried Jhauwproduction, songwriting, drums, recording engineering * Kris Coutinhosongwriting, drums, recording engineering * Rutti Cruiserecording engineering * Denise Kroesadditional vocals * Gia Re Lodge-O'Meallyadditional vocals

Charts

Release history

References

{{KSI 2016 songs 2016 singles KSI songs Songs written by KSI Songs written by Sway (musician) Island Records singles Universal Music Group singles