"Rumors" is a song by American singer and rapper

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After col ...

, featuring fellow American rapper

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

. The song was released on August 13, 2021, through Nice Life Recording and

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 its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, alongside a music video. The single marked Lizzo's first release in over two years, following her 2019 album ''

Cuz I Love You ''Cuz I Love You'' is the third studio album and major label debut studio album by American singer and rapper Lizzo. It was released through Nice Life and Atlantic Records on April 19, 2019. The album features guest appearances from American rapp ...

''. The song was written by the two artists alongside Nate Mercereau, Steven Cheung,

Theron Thomas R. City (short for Rock City; and formerly Planet VI) is a Virgin Islands musical duo formed in 2003, from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The duo is composed of brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timot ...

, Torae Carr, and its producer

Ricky Reed Eric Burton Frederic (born July 23, 1982), known professionally as Ricky Reed, is an American artist, music producer, singer, songwriter, and founder of Nice Life Recording Company. From 2005 to 2014, Reed was also known as Wallpaper. Early w ...

Background and release

In October 2020, American singer and rapper

announced that her fourth studio album was nearing completion, saying she had "a few more songs to write". On January 18, 2021, American singer SZA confirmed she had heard new material by the singer. She explained that Lizzo played her "the best song I ever heard in my life" and that it made her cry. On August 1, Lizzo told fans that she had an exciting post to share the next day. On August 2, announced on social media that "Rumors" would be released on August 13. The single was made available for pre-order in different formats. The release of the song marked Lizzo's first release in over two years, since the release of her third studio album, ''

'', on April 9, 2019. An accompanying

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 ...

for "Rumors" was released alongside the song on August 13, 2021.

Composition

"Rumors" was written by Lizzo, Cardi B, Torae Carr,

, Nate Mercereau, Steven Cheung, and its producer

. Musically, the song is set in the key of

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes neede ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 118 beats per minute. The vocals in the song span from F₃ to D₅. The song features Lizzo "talking her shit over a simple piano melody. It quickly warps into anonymous, stomping

future funk Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music, visual art style, and Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, elevator, R&B, and lounge music from t ...

, complete with rubbery

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

handclaps A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...

, and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

." Lyrically, it "sees Lizzo confront the 'shit on the internеt' that's clung to her since she conquered the mainstream in 2019."

Critical reception

Rating it with five stars out of five, Nick Levine of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' stated that "Rumors" is a "brilliant return from Lizzo that combines her signature sense of fun with some well-placed spikiness." Dubbing it "half a twerk jam and half a radio jingle" that "will be a big hit", ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'''s Craig Jenkins opined that "the journey from the rote, familiar

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

underneath the verses to the trippy harmonies and boisterous big-band arrangements around the chorus is too slow of a build." Comparing it to " Truth Hurts", Eric Torres of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' wrote that the single "feels slapped together from different parts of Lizzo's past hits: the bellowing

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

, squealing

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

s, and endless confidence are all here."

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Commercial performance

"Rumors" debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Lizzo's third and Cardi B's tenth top 10 single on the chart. Lizzo also achieved her third number one and Cardi B her seventh on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. It debuted at number three on the ''Rolling Stone'' Top 100 moving 136,000 units, including 15 million US streams. It also became Lizzo's first entry on ''Billboard'' Global 200 and Global Excl. US, debuting at numbers 12 and 29, respectively.

Music video

The video for "Rumors", directed by

Tanu Muino Tetyana Robertivna Muinyo ( uk, Тетяна Робертівна Муїньо; born 7 December 1989), better known as Tanu Muino ( uk, Таня Муїньо, es, Tanu Muiño) is a Ukrainian music video director, designer, stylist, photographe ...

, references the

Muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...

from

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'' in a set inspired by

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

. The closing pose echoes the neoclassical painting ''

Oath of the Horatii ''Oath of the Horatii'' (french: Le Serment des Horaces), is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a huge success with critics and the p ...

'' by

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

. During the video Lizzo and Cardi wear golden attires,

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

s, and

Ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

-inspired headdress, as artwork gets animated.

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 ...

. *

– vocals, songwriting *

– featured vocals, songwriting *

– songwriting, production, programming, horn arrangement, bass synthesizer, keyboards * Nate Mercereau – songwriting, co-production, guitar, keyboards * Tele – songwriting, co-production, programming, guitar, keyboards *

– songwriting * Torae Carr – songwriting * Donald Hayes – alto vocals, tenor vocals, baritone saxophone * Lemar Guillary – horn arrangement, trombone, bass trombone *

Thomas Pridgen Thomas Armon Pridgen (born November 23, 1983) is an American drummer, best known for his role as the drummer of The Mars Volta from October 2006 until October 2009. He is touring with rapper Residente and is the drummer for hardcore punk band T ...

– drums * Mike Cordone – flugelhorn, trumpet *

Victor Indrizzo Victor Indrizzo (born September 23, 1967) is an American session musician, primarily known for playing the drums, as well as a songwriter and producer. Indrizzo was born in Freeport, Long Island, New York. He has toured, recorded and worked wi ...

– percussion * Emerson Mancini – mastering *

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 ...

– mixing * Leslie Brathwaite – vocal mixing * Bill Malina – engineering * Evan LaRay – engineering * Patrick Kehrier – assistant engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Cardi B 2021 singles 2021 songs Atlantic Records singles Cardi B songs Lizzo songs Songs written by Lizzo Songs written by Cardi B Songs written by Theron Thomas Songs written by Ricky Reed Music videos directed by Tanu Muino American funk songs