"Hollywood" is a song recorded by American recording artist

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

for his ninth studio album, '' Kingdom Come'' (2006). It features Jay-Z's now-wife, American recording artist

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, and was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in the US on January 23, 2007. Jay-Z co-wrote the song with its producers

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

and Reggie "Syience" Perry. "Hollywood" is a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

-influenced R&B song with lyrics that detail the tiredness music stars, working in the

American cinema The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...

industry, sometimes feel. The song was well received by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

who praised its musical arrangement as well as the guest vocals by Knowles. "Hollywood" charted on US ''Billboard'' component charts, reaching a peak of number 56 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 in early March 2007. It also gained attention in Australia where it charted inside the top 100 positions of the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. Knowles later recorded a solo version of the song, which was re-titled "Welcome to Hollywood", and included it on the deluxe edition of her second studio album, ''

B'Day ''B'Day'' is the second studio album by American singer Beyoncé. It was released to coincide with her 25th birthday on September 4, 2006, by Columbia Records, Music World Entertainment, and Sony Urban Music. Originally set to be released in 2004 ...

'' (2006). A video interlude was recorded for

The Beyoncé Experience The Beyoncé Experience was the third concert tour by American singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was staged in support of her second studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). The Beyoncé Experience consisted of 96 shows in 2007 over five legs. Fan-club ticket ...

tour where clips of Knowles were shown and music videos from her ''B'Day Anthology'' were comprised together, while the song was played on the tour.

Background

"Hollywood", featuring guest vocals from Knowles, was included as the tenth track on Jay-Z's ninth studio album, '' Kingdom Come'' (2006). It sees songwriting duties by

as well as R&B singer

, and utilizes production from Reggie "Syience" Perry. The song is an R&B intoned simple one, also containing elements of

, which is a genre of

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. According to Louis Pattison of ''

New Musical Express ''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 ...

'', "Hollywood" expresses "a weariness with the showbiz merry-go-round." It was sent by

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

and

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

to US

rhythmic radio Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

for

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

on January 23, 2007, and 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 ...

on February 6, 2007.

Critical reception

The song was generally well received by music critics who complimented Knowles' guest vocals and the R&B tone. Spence D., writing for

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stated that Knowles shines on "Hollywood". This was echoed by

Kelefa Sanneh Kelefa T. Sanneh (born 1976) is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', covering the rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes. Since 2008 he has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorke ...

of ''

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'' who said that Knowles "sounds great on 'Hollywood'." By contrast, Henry Adaso of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

coined the collaboration of Jay-Z and Knowles on "Hollywood" as the worst one on the entire album. Louis Pattison of ''

'' considered Knowles voice as "commanding" on the song.Louis Pattison. (November 24, 2006
Jay-Z: ''Kingdom Come''
''

''.

IPC Media TI Media (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of its tit ...

. Retrieved on March 19, 2011. Azeem Ahmad of

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

wrote: "Despite the poignancy of the imagery evoked, Hollywood' isa little bit too contrived, clichéd and poppy. Although the irony of this will (probably) have been deliberate, it's a far cry from the soulful "Do U Wanna Ride" featuring

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 " Ever ...

on a

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

production." Michael Endelman of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' described "Hollywood" as a "brassy, sassy" R&B song with a chorus belonging "in a Vegas revue, not a hip hop album." Caroline Sullivan of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' commented that "Beyoncé leaves her indelible voiceprint" on the song.

Chart performance

"Hollywood" charted on a few US ''Billboard'' charts. It entered US

chart at number 78 on February 17, 2007. On the chart issue dated March 3, 2007, "Hollywood" moved up 26 places from number 72 to number 56, which became its peak on that chart. It was the second greatest gainer that particular week, only behind Knowles' "

Listen Listen may refer to: * The action of listening * Auditory system#Central auditory system, Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear * Listening behaviour types in human communication Computing * LISTEN, a Transm ...

" (2007), which was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

off the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

'' Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture''. "Hollywood" also debuted and peaked at number 21 on the US

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart on March 3, 2007 itself. "Hollywood" made its debut at number 51 on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart and at number 27 on the ARIA Urban Chart on April 23, 2010. The following week, it achieved a high point of number 47 on the Physical Singles chart while remaining at its debut position on the Urban Chart. On May 7, 2007, "Hollywood" made its debut at number 98 on the main

. It also ascended to number 25 on the Urban Chart. The song appeared for one week on the ARIA Singles Chart, for fifteen weeks on the Physical Singles Chart, and for ten weeks on the Urban Chart.

Track listing

*CD single #"Hollywood" #"Hollywood" #"Hollywood"

Charts

Beyoncé's solo version "Welcome to Hollywood"

The song is also featured as the fifth track on the 2007 deluxe edition of Beyoncé's ''

'' (2006) with Knowles on lead under the title "Welcome to Hollywood". All of Jay-Z's rap verses were removed and replaced with Beyoncé's hook of the original songs. Jay-Z's outro verse was also re-recorded by Beyoncé as well. The chorus still features Jay-Z in the background. This version was included on Knowles' 2007 live album, ''

''. A karaoke version of "Welcome to Hollywood" was later included on Knowles' 2008 album, ''Beyoncé Karaoke Hits, Vol I''. A video interlude was recorded for

tour where clips of Knowles were shown and music videos from her ''B'Day Anthology'' were comprised together. The video also shows video clips of Beyoncé behind the scenes of photo shoots and commercials and red carpet events with fans. "Welcome to Hollywood" was included as the 31st track on Knowles' live album, ''The Beyoncé Experience Live'' (2007).

References

{{authority control 2006 singles 2006 songs Beyoncé songs Def Jam Recordings singles Jay-Z songs Roc-A-Fella Records singles Songs about Los Angeles Songs written by Jay-Z Songs written by Ne-Yo Songs written by Syience Song recordings produced by Beyoncé