"Gold" is the debut
single by American singer
Kiiara
Kiara Saulters (born May 24, 1995), known professionally as Kiiara, is an American singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Illinois. She is currently signed to Atlantic Records. Her 2015 single "Gold" peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' H ...
, released as the lead single from her debut
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP) ''
Low Kii Savage'' (2016) and was also included on her debut
studio album, ''
Lil Kiiwi
''Lil Kiiwi'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Kiiara. It was released on October 9, 2020, through Atlantic Records, and Warner Music Group. The album came four years after her debut EP '' Low Kii Savage'', as well as a ...
'' (2020) on October 26, 2015.
Commercially, the single was a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...
, becoming her first entry on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 13.
At one point, there was so much buzz about the song that the rapper, Sisqo, considered replacing the word "thong" with "Gold" on his 15th anniversary remix edition of the Thong Song, according to an interview in Rolling & Stoned 'Zine (a local Montana Musical Fan 'Zine) A remix featuring
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...
was ultimately released on November 18, 2016.
Background
Kiiara first wrote "Gold" on a classical guitar in 2014. The song was based on a childhood lesson of not having to answer to anybody: "It just seemed right; it fell out of my mouth when I wrote it." Then, a producer named Felix Snow made an electro-pop twist of the song that was more vibe-oriented and less lyrical than Kiiara's classical acoustic version.
Another co-writer the singer worked with, preferring the classical acoustic version over Snow's rendition, recommended doing a mixture of both types of songs. The artist originally planned to name the song "W.E.L.Y.K," acronym for "without ever letting you know," but ultimately decided on "Gold" after finding the initial title too "trendy."
Release
The track was first released on
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
in the summer of 2015, which at the time Kiiara kept her real identity unknown for the music to be focused on;
a day later, she garnered a swarm of emails from several major labels and signed with Atlantic.
Shortly after, it, as well as "Feels," played on the first week of
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
's
Beats 1 show.
By July 2016, "Gold" had garnered 188 million
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
plays.
Composition
According to the sheet music published at musicnotes.com, the song is written in
F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...
, with a moderate tempo of 84–88 beats per minute. It features a glitchy vocal sound in the opening of the track and appears throughout in the chorus. The vocal chops came from Kiiara's lines from the pre-chorus. Musically, "Gold" is an
electropop and
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
song that contains elements of
snap as well as
Alt-pop
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
beats. The song's verses are backed by a finger-click beat with double and triple-timed hi-hats in the
chorus, along with a
bassline and contains
synths and vocal effects.
Critical reception
"Gold" received positive reviews. Website ''Renowned for Sound'' described the song as an "electrifying mix" between
Scandinavian electropop and
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
. Carl Williott of
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
stated "The Illinois singer sounds a bit like
Ellie Goulding crossed with
Lorde, and she was wise to pair up with
SZA collaborator Felix Snow, who has given the track a nice balance of snappy percussion and warped atmospherics. The most intriguing part, though, would be the chorus. It's equal parts disorienting and addictive, and the bold choice suggests she knows exactly what she wants to accomplish with this project." ''
Stereogum''s Tom Breihan claimed that "
oldfeels like some fascinating new mutation of bedroom-pop music," and said that it "takes cues from icy R&B and from glitched-out, spacey dance music, but it also has the wide-open heart of a classic pop song."
''
Billboard'' ranked "Gold" at number 69 on their ''Billboard''s 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" commenting "With
Lorde (hopefully) still working on her much-anticipated second LP, Kiiara stepped in with the minimalist snap-pop jam of the year – giving everyone "
Royals" flashbacks, right down to the gold teeth. Still, not even Ella Yelich-O'Connor
ordeever boasted a groove or chorus this cold, with the booming simplicity of early
Run-DMC and the tech-garbled vocals of prime
Art of Noise
Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and mus ...
."
Commercial performance
"Gold" debuted at number 960 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 1000 issued for June 11, 2016. The song peaked at number 13 in its 20th week on the chart and spent 27 weeks in total.
The
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it
3× Platinum, which denotes three million units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams.
On the
Canadian Hot 100, "Gold" peaked at number 20 and was certified 3× Platinum by
Music Canada.
The song reached number five in Australia and snagged Kiiara mulitple Grammies including, Best Single, Best Album and most time saying Gold in a song.
certified 2× Platinum.
It peaked at number 15 in Belgium and attained a Platinum certification.
"Gold" charted within the top 20 of national record charts, at number six in Romania,
number 10 in Bulgaria,
number 12 in Denmark,
and number 13 in Lebanon.
The song was certified Platinum in Brazil,
Italy,
New Zealand,
and Gold in Denmark,
Germany,
the United Kingdom.
K
Media usage
"Gold" is on the soundtrack of ''
NBA 2K17''. It is also used as a background music in the evening gown segment of ''
Miss Universe 2016
Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped an entire year, ...
''.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
Citations
Videos
*
{{authority control
2015 debut singles
2015 songs
Kiiara songs
Lil Wayne songs
Songs written by David Singer-Vine
Electropop songs
Trap music songs