Hotline Bling
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"Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
, which serves 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 ...
from his fourth studio album ''
Views A view is a sight or prospect or the ability to see or be seen from a particular place. View, views or Views may also refer to: Common meanings * View (Buddhism), a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thou ...
'' (2016). The song is credited as a
bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
on the album. It was made available for digital download on July 31, 2015, through Cash Money,
Young Money Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne. Young Money's president is Lil Wayne's lifelong friend and fellow rapper Mack Maine. The label was an imprint of Cash Money Records and is distributed by Republi ...
and Republic. Music critics were complimentary about the presentation of Drake's emotional side, as well as its production, but criticized its lyrics. A music video directed by
Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian filmmaker, commercial director, music video director, and television director. Having directed more than 100 music videos, he is widely known as a pr ...
was released two months later; it subsequently gained popularity on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and spawned several parodies. The song was included on several year-end critics' polls. "Hotline Bling" reached number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached number three in Drake's native Canada and the United Kingdom. The song won the award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Song at the 2016 American Music Awards. It also received two wins at the
2017 Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, ...
for
Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...
and
Best Rap/Sung Performance The Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance (awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration until 2017, and Best Rap/Sung Performance from 2018 to 2020) is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and original ...
.


Composition

"Hotline Bling" is a pop and R&B song written by Drake and
Nineteen85 Anthony Paul Jefferies (born July 1, 1985), known professionally as Nineteen85, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. Nineteen85 holds the distinction of winning an ASCAP Music Award back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. He is best known for p ...
, the latter of whom also produced the song. The song was composed in D minor with a tempo of 135 beats per minute in
common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...
with a chord progression of Bbmaj7Am7. The song was directly inspired by DRAM's "Cha Cha" and was originally seen to be a remix, with the song premiering on Beats 1 OVO Sound Radio as "Hotline Bling (Cha Cha Remix)". The song's instrumental heavily samples R&B singer
Timmy Thomas Timothy Earle Thomas (November 13, 1944 – March 11, 2022) was an American R&B singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer, best known for the hit song, " Why Can't We Live Together". Life and career Thomas was born in Evansville, I ...
's 1972 song "
Why Can't We Live Together "Why Can't We Live Together" is a song written and recorded by Timmy Thomas in 1972. A chart hit in the following year, it was included on the album '' Why Can't We Live Together''. It was one of the first major hits to feature the use of a rhyt ...
".


Music video

On October 4, 2015, Drake announced a music video for the track via his Instagram account. The video was inspired by Sean Paul's "Gimme The Light" clip. The video was financed by
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
, and released on October 19, 2015, via
Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
under a timed exclusivity agreement. The
Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian filmmaker, commercial director, music video director, and television director. Having directed more than 100 music videos, he is widely known as a pr ...
-directed video was inspired by the work of American artist
James Turrell James Turrell (born May 6, 1943) is an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement. Much of Turrell's career has been devoted to a still-unfinished work, ''Roden Crater'', a natural cinder cone crater located outsid ...
. X has stated that he hopes that the video inspires men to dance more. '' Rap-Up'' wrote that Drake "shows just how suave he can be with his moves" in this video. Evan Minsker 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 ...
'' called it a "pretty minimal clip". The site also named "Hotline Bling" the seventh best music video of 2015. The video, which has inspired many
memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
and parodies, including a commercial from
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during
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featuring Drake himself (where representatives of a cellular operator attempt to make Drake add disclaimer-like caveats to the song's lyrics), helped the song rise in chart position according to ''NME''. The song was parodied in the ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' episode "
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
/
Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
", in which Trump briefly sang and danced while playing Drake's accountant. One of the most popular memes made from the music video is ''Wii Shop Bling'', a mash up between ''Hotline Bling'' and the theme music for the
Wii Shop Channel The Wii Shop Channel is a former digital distribution service for the Wii video game console. The service allowed users to purchase and play additional software for the Wii (called Channels), including exclusive games (branded WiiWare), and game ...
. As of February 2022, the music video has received more than 1.8 billion views on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
.


Critical response

The song received mixed reviews. Leor Galil of the '' Chicago Reader'' praised Drake's performance in "Hotline Bling," stating that he "sounds hurt, neglected, and confused even while he's admonishing his ex," and that "it's hard to imagine anyone else pulling off this kind of song with the same verve". Jayson Greene 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 ...
'' selected "Hotline Bling" as the "Best New Track" of the day, praising its "muted and intimate" beat and declaring it a "halting, aching song" about a man "a little too concerned" for a woman that could be a "rewrite" of " Roxanne" by
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
. Brad Wete of
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 ...
hailed the song as both "remarkably catchy and damp with boo-hoo reflection," writing that "musically, it twinkles with bright organ riffs and boasts a bass line fit to thump in clubs" while its lyrics feature Drake "deeply wondering aloud, channeling the jealous ex in all of us". Rhian Daly 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 ...
'' described the track's "simple and minimal" production as "secondary to Drake’s emotions". ''
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 ...
'' ranked "Hotline Bling" at number 3 on its year-end list to find the 50 best songs of 2015. '' Billboard'' ranked "Hotline Bling" at number 2 on its year-end critics' poll for 2015: "In a trio of freebies Drake plopped on
SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
in July, "Hotline Bling" was the only non-diss track. Backed by a tropical, groovy melody, "Hotline Bling" finds Drake giving a rap a hard pass and singing his heart out for some late-night loving through the phone. The record caught some drama, initially being referred to as a remix to Virginia rapper D.R.A.M.'s "Cha Cha." Still, the Toronto MVP got his dance on for the uber-viral video parodied by everyone from presidential candidate
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
to Toronto Councillor
Norm Kelly Norman Kelly (born August 11, 1941) is a retired Canadian politician. He represented Ward 40 Scarborough—Agincourt from 2000 to 2018–serving as acting mayor of Toronto for the period November 18, 2013 to July 1, 2014–was a City of Scarb ...
". ''
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 ...
'' named "Hotline Bling" the second best song of 2015, after
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
s "
Alright Alright, All Right or Allwright may refer to: Music Albums * ''Alright!'' (album), a 2007 album by Bogdan Raczynski * ''Alright'', a 2011 album by Jerry Williams * ''All Right'', a 1982 album by Himiko Kikuchi Songs * "Alright" (Cast song) * ...
". ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' named "Hotline Bling" the eighth-best song of 2015. The ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' named "Hotline Bling" the best single released in 2015 on their annual year-end critics' poll,
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...
. In 2021, it was listed at No. 373 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". "Hotline Bling" also received criticism for the perceived sexist and controlling attitude expressed by the male narrator toward his female ex. Allyson Shiffman of ''Bullett'' took issue with the "super sexist lyrics," explaining that "while
he song is He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
packaged as a good old fashioned 'Why doesn't bae like me anymore?' Drake tune," what it is "really saying is, 'You used to wanna bone me all the time and now that I've left the 6, you've gotten a life of your own and I'm not okay with that'". Tahirah Hairston of
Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
wrote that, in the song, "Drake is distraught that his ex has moved on," but because he "opts for condescendingly
slut-shaming Slut-shaming is the practice of criticizing people, especially women and girls, who are perceived to violate expectations of behavior and appearance regarding issues related to sexuality. The term is used to reclaim the word ''slut'' and empower ...
her" and "dictating where she does and doesn't belong," it "comes off so petty that you forget his feelings are hurt".


Covers and usage in media

Canadian singer
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
recorded a cover version of the song and released it on October 30, 2015. At the
2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards The 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards was the third music award show presented by iHeartMedia's platform iHeartRadio and was televised live on TBS, TNT and truTV. The awards was held on April 3, 2016, at The Forum in Inglewood, California, and wa ...
the alternative version was nominated for the Best Cover Song. Rapper
Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...
released his own version of the song from his mixtape ''No Ceilings 2''. Singer
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
released a rewrite of the song on her 2015 mixtape '' But You Caint Use My Phone'' titled "Cel U Lar Device". American singer
Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...
released a cover of "Hotline Bling" as the B-side of "
Party Favor A party favor is a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their attendance, a memento of the occasion, or simply as an aid to frivolity. Occasions It is traditional in some Western cultures for the guests at b ...
", on a pink
7-inch vinyl In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...
on April 21, 2018, coinciding with
Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
for that year. Eilish's cover was later released for digital download and streaming in June 2018 by Darkroom and Interscope Records. Sam Moore 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 ...
'' described the genre of Eilish's cover of "Hotline Bling" as "delicate
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...
". '' W'' magazine uploaded a video with 13 celebrities reading the lyrics of the song in December 2015. The song was featured on the episode "
She Gets Revenge "She Gets Revenge" is the tenth episode of the American Horror Story: Hotel, fifth season of the Horror fiction, horror Anthology series, anthology television series ''American Horror Story''. It aired on December 16, 2015 on the Cable television, ...
" from '' American Horror Story: Hotel''. "Hotline Bling" was the subject of a
Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...
advertisement for
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, in which Drake is interrupted by executives of cellphones provider seeking to make "improvements" to its lyrics. A variation of Drake's dancing in the music video was included in the multiplayer section of 2016's '' Uncharted 4: A Thief's End'', renamed to "Bling Bling". The dance is also featured in 2014's ''
Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
'', referred to only as "Strange Dance". ''
Heroes of the Storm ''Heroes of the Storm'' is a crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS on June 2, 2015. The game features various characters from Bl ...
'' features a playable character named Dehaka, whose dance also mimics Drake's. On March 24, 2017, a
Red Nose Day Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
short that served as a sequel to the 2003 film ''
Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...
'' premiered and featured
Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...
reprising his dancing skills to "Hotline Bling". The dance moves in the music video also inspired the opening sequence to the anime ''
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sumito Ōwara. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Big Comic Spirits'' since 2016 and has been collected in seven ''tankōbon'' volumes as of July ...
'', according to a Crunchyroll interview with to one of its animators, Abel Gongora.


Commercial performance

"Hotline Bling" entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated August 22, 2015 at number 66. Its chart debut was fueled primarily by digital download sales, with 41,000 copies sold in its first week. The song soon became Drake's first top 10 in two years when the song reached number nine. It has since peaked at number two on the chart dated October 24, 2015, tying as his second highest-charting single as a lead act with " Best I Ever Had" which reached number two in 2009. The song has peaked at number two for five non-consecutive weeks, behind both " The Hills" by
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, and ...
and "
Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...
" by
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
. As of February 2016, the song has sold over 2 million copies in the United States. "Hotline Bling" remained in the top ten of this chart for nineteen weeks before dropping out on February 13, 2016. In the United Kingdom, "Hotline Bling" peaked at number three on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, becoming Drake's highest-charting song there (at the time) as a lead artist. The song also peaked at the top of the
UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...
. On November 27, 2015, "Hotline Bling" received gold certification by the
British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...
.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

*'' Carrie & Lowell Live'', featuring a cover of the song by Sufjan Stevens


References

{{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Cash Money Records singles Drake (musician) songs Internet memes Music videos directed by Director X Republic Records singles Young Money Entertainment singles Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by Nineteen85 Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Nineteen85 Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Songs about telephone calls