"Rockin" is a song by Canadian singer
the Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...
from his third studio album, ''
Starboy'' (2016). The song was released to
contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
in France on May 9, 2017, as the album's fourth international single.
The song was written by the Weeknd,
,
Peter Svensson
Anders Peter Svensson is a Swedish record producer, songwriter, and musician. He is the main songwriter and guitarist of the band the Cardigans.
He started playing guitar at the age of eight, and in his teens he went on to play with local ban ...
,
Savan Kotecha
Savan Harish Kotecha is an American songwriter and record producer from Austin, Texas. Kotecha is of Indian (Gujarati) descent. He was also the executive music producer of the 2020 film '' Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'', for ...
,
Ali Payami and
Ahmad Balshe, and produced by Payami and Martin, with the Weeknd serving as a co-producer.
Music and composition
The song is performed in the key of
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major.
The A natural minor scale is:
:
Changes ...
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 113 beats per minute.
Chart performance
"Rockin'" peaked at number 44 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 despite never being released as a single in North America. The song also charted and peaked at number 25 on the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
.
Critical reception
The song was received mixed reviews from music critics. Mosi Reeves from ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' opined that the song "has an infectious
garage
A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include:
*Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...
-house rhythm courtesy of producers Max Martin and Ali Payami, but all The Weeknd can do is respond with a clunky chorus". Mike Pizzo, writing for the ''
Las Vegas Weekly
''Las Vegas Weekly'' is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Henderson, Nevada, covering Las Vegas arts, entertainment, culture and news. ''Las Vegas Weekly'' is published by Greenspun Media Group. The paper was founded in 1992 by James P ...
'', described the song as being "
2-step-fueled". Furthermore, Christopher Hooton from ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' wrote that "Rockin'" is a "workout jam". Writing for ''
Spin'', Jordan Sargent said the song is "destined to be a single".
Charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{The Weeknd songs
2016 songs
2017 singles
Republic Records singles
The Weeknd songs
Songs written by Max Martin
Songs written by the Weeknd
XO (record label)
Songs written by Peter Svensson
Songs written by Ali Payami
Songs written by Belly (rapper)
Songs written by Savan Kotecha
Song recordings produced by the Weeknd
Electro songs
Song recordings produced by Max Martin
Song recordings produced by Ali Payami