"Underdog" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

. It was written by Keys, Johnny McDaid,

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

, Amy Wadge,

Jonny Coffer Jonathan Coffer (born 8 March 1989) is a multiple Grammy-nominated songwriter and record producer from London. He has written and produced for artists including Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Lykke Li, FKA twigs, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé, Fall Out ...

and Foy Vance, and produced by Keys and McDaid for her seventh studio album '' Alicia'' (2020). Released on January 9, 2020, as the album's third single, "Underdog" became a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit in many countries and was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the

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, indicating 1,000,000 units recorded in the US.

Background and release

"Underdog" was recorded for Keys' seventh studio album '' Alicia'' (2020). Speaking on the meaning behind the song, she told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'': "Underdog" was released on January 9, 2020, as the third single from ''Alicia''. Meg Bishop from ''

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'' wrote that on the song, Keys "implores listeners to view people in their true context, below the surface of one glance". The single was featured in a TV ad for

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights ...

. On March 27, 2020, the song was remixed by Keys and featured

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

singers

Protoje Oje Ken Ollivierre (born 14 June 1981), popularly known as Protoje, is a contemporary reggae singer and songwriter from Jamaica. His mother is Jamaican singer Lorna Bennett, best known for her 1972 rendition of "Breakfast in Bed".Johnson, Rich ...

and Chronixx. On May 14, 2021, 16 months after the song's original release date, another remix of the song was released featuring American singer

Nicky Jam Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer and actor. He is best known for hits such as " X", "Travesuras", "En la Cama", "Te Busco", " El Perdón", " Hasta el Amanecer", and " El Amante ...

and Puerto Rican singer

Rauw Alejandro Raúl Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz (born January 10, 1993), known professionally as Rauw Alejandro, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. Referred to as the " King of Modern Reggaeton", he belongs to "the new generation" of Puerto Rican urban musi ...

. In November 2021, Keys released a lullaby version of the song on ''Sweet Dreams'' extended play.

Critical reception

Reviewing for '' NME'', Nick Levine called "Underdog" a "slick pop-R&B single" with "unpretentious and affecting" lyrics. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''s Gary Dinges named it among the songs from ''Alicia'' that "take on new meaning when you listen to them within the scope of the pandemic and social strife plaguing the country". Adi Mehta from ''Entertainment Voice'' wrote that the song's "main melody is hopelessly trite" but "Keys manages to sound so sleek and modest". Konstantinos Pappis from ''

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'' wrote that the “uplifting” song is “anchored by Keys’ ability to sell everyday stories about perseverance” and named it one of the album’s highlights.

Live performances

Keys performed "Underdog" with Brittany Howard backing the performance on acoustic guitar at the ''

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...

'' and on ''

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'' on January 29, 2020. Keys performed "Underdog" at

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Live Lounge on February 6, 2020. Keys performed the song at a concert to promote the '' Alicia'' album held at

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in London as well as on ''

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'' on February 7, 2020. In March, Keys performed an acoustic rendition of the song in ''

iHeart Living Room Concert for America The ''iHeart Living Room Concert for America'' was a concert special held on March 29, 2020, by iHeartMedia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; to provide relief and support to the public in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19. The spe ...

'' on the 29th and in ''#KidsTogether: The Nickelodeon Town Hall'' on the 30th. Keys performed "Underdog" at fundraising concert ''From Milan with Love'' on May 3, at a

Salesforce Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, a ...

virtual event ''Leading Through Change'' on May 21, and ''Front Row From Home'' on radio station 106.1 BLI on May 28, 2020. Keys performed the song on ''

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'' on March 29, 2020. On June 7, 2020, Keys performed the song on '' Dear Class of 2020''. In June 2020, Keys performed the song on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's Tiny Desk Concerts. Keys performed the song during her

Verzuz ''Verzuz'' is an American webcast series created by record producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, that airs on Verzuz TV. Verzuz was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic as a virtual DJ battle, with Timbaland and Swizz Beatz facing off in ...

battle with

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

on June 19, 2020. Keys performed the song on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...

'' on September 25, 2020. Keys performed the song during the ''Alicia Keys Rocks New Year's Eve'' concert on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on December 31, 2020. The song is performed as part of Alicia + Keys World Tour.

Music video

A corresponding music video directed by Wendy Morgan was released the same day. Thematizing the idea of overcoming challenging situations, the video captures ordinary people hustling to improve their circumstances and is intercut with a dynamic performance from Keys.

Commercial performance

On February 7, 2020, "Underdog" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at position 93, making it the second single from '' Alicia'' to chart on the Hot 100. "Underdog" later peaked at number 69.

Track listings

*Digital download #"Underdog" – 3:24 *Digital download #"Underdog" (Acoustic Version) – 3:30 *Digital download #"Underdog" (Remix) (featuring Chronixx and

) – 2:59 *Digital download #"Underdog" (

Remix) (featuring Nicky Jam & Rauw Alejandro) – 3:25

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2020 singles 2020 songs Alicia Keys songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Alicia Keys Songs written by Amy Wadge Songs written by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Jonny Coffer Songs written by Foy Vance Songs written by Johnny McDaid