"Love Race" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thomps ...

featuring Sleeping with Sirens vocalist

Kellin Quinn Kellin Quinn is an American singer and musician. He is the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the post-hardcore band Sleeping with Sirens. Aside from his band, he is well-known for collaborating with other artists. Career Quinn is the vocalis ...

, released through

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

on April 29, 2021. Much like his

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

album ''

Tickets to My Downfall ''Tickets to My Downfall'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. A departure from his established rap sound, the album is a more guitar-driven pop-punk album. It was released through Bad Boy Records and Interscope Reco ...

'' (2020), the song features drummer

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

. "Love Race" was later included on the European and Japanese editions of his sixth studio album ''

Mainstream Sellout ''Mainstream Sellout'' is the sixth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly (musician), Machine Gun Kelly, released on March 25, 2022, through Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. It is his second collaborative project with drumme ...

'' (2022).

Background and recording

The song was released on April 29, 2021. The song features drumming by

, who had previously drummed on Kelly's 2020

album ''

''. Barker also provided

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

on the track, while

Jared Gutstadt Jared Gutstadt (born September 19, 1977), also known as Jingle Jared, is a Canadian-born entrepreneur, inventor, and musician best known for founding the creative music agency Jingle Punks (2008), and the scripted-podcast network Audio Up ( ...

and Jeff Peters of Audio Chateau helped write the song. The song also received an unexplained writing credit to

Matthew Thiessen Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. Wit ...

of the rock band

Relient K Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after ...

. The song features vocals from

of the rock band Sleeping with Sirens. The song was the third collaboration between Kelly and Quinn, the prior being a remix of

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...

's single " Swing Life Away". Kelly noted that he

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

his lyrics for the song and had his parts done in five minutes.

Themes and composition

Publications generally described the song as

and similar in nature to the material found in Kelly's ''Tickets to My Downfall'' (2020) album.

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

described the song as having a "syncopated, reverb-heavy guitar line" in the song's verses that eventually builds into chorus of

powerchord A power chord (also fifth chord) is a colloquial name for a chord in guitar music, especially electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly played on am ...

guitars and vocal hooks. The song features alternating lower pitched hoarse vocals by Kelly, and higher pitched vocals by Quinn, with the song's second half containing segments of them singing concurrently.

Reception

Both ''

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 advertise ...

'' and ''

'' publications highlighted the song as a standout single release in its release week. ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' noted that Baker's voice was less grating next to Quinn's voice, but noted that "the whole thing goes down surprisingly smooth".

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 ...

. *

– vocals, guitar, lyrics, composition *

– drums, production, lyrics *

– vocals *

– production, composition, lyrics *

Geoff Warburton Geoff Warburton is a Grammy nominated songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. In 2023, Warburton signed a joint music publishing deal with Big Machine Music and Range Media Partners Warburton was previously signed with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. ...

– composition, lyrics * Jeff Peters – composition, lyrics *

Matt Thiessen Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. Wit ...

– composition, lyrics * K Thrash – engineering *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

– engineering, mixing *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2021 singles 2021 songs Machine Gun Kelly (musician) songs Bad Boy Records singles Interscope Records singles Kellin Quinn songs Song recordings produced by Travis Barker Songs written by Geoff Warburton Songs written by Jared Gutstadt Songs written by Machine Gun Kelly (musician) Songs written by Matt Thiessen Songs written by Travis Barker