"Don't Matter" is a

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a Music_genre#Subtypes, fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop music, pop, rock music, rock, hip hop music, hip-hop/rap, Contemporary R&B, R&B, jazz, funk, soul music, soul, disco ...

– R&B song by Senegalese-American singer

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

from his second studio album, '' Konvicted'' (2006). The song was released as the album's third single in January 2007. In April of that year, it became Akon's second U.S. number-one single. "Don't Matter" was ranked number 31 on ''

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. This song was also ranked number 81 on ''

MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay television channel that was launched on 5 May 1995 as a standalone pay television service. The channel was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History Pre-launch The first incarnation of MTV Asia was launched on ...

''s list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.

Composition

"Don't Matter" was written by Akon and Anthony "Tony Love" Lawson, and produced by the former. Tony Love and another frequent Akon collaborator, Giorgio Tuinfort, played guitar and additional keyboards, respectively, on the song. The chorus of "Don't Matter" is partially based on the 1979

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

song "Zimbabwe", with

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

receiving an additional songwriting credit on the Akon track. According to Akon, "Don't Matter" was also influenced by Marley's 1974 song "

No Woman, No Cry "No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album '' Natty Dread''. The live recording of this song from the 1975 album '' Live!'' was released as a ...

". "The topic matter, lyrically, is sad, but the song just makes you feel happy", Akon said of "No Woman, No Cry" in 2016, noting that he followed a similar approach when writing "Don't Matter"; he explained that its lyrics describe being "in a position when you're trying to hold a relationship together but the people around you don't really want it", but "the record still has a chorus that make you feel good. So I think those attributes probably stem from that subliminal standpoint". Music critics have also noted the song's melodic similarities with "

Ignition (Remix) "Ignition (Remix)" is a song written and produced by American R&B singer R. Kelly. It was released in 2002 as the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Chocolate Factory'' (2003). It is viewed as one of his most well-known songs and was a ...

" (2002) by R. Kelly.

Chart performance

"Don't Matter" was released in the United States in mid-January 2007. The song made its debut at number seventy-nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number one after ten weeks on the chart, in large part due to its substantial airplay, the song topping the Hot 100 Airplay chart for two weeks. In the United Kingdom, it debuted on the singles chart at number forty-five, based solely upon downloads, and late peaking at number three following a physical release. Following the song's debut inside the top ten on the singles chart in Canada, it peaked at number one for a period of three weeks. As of January 2008, the song has been certified 3 times platinum for 3,000,000 digital sales. Bizzy Bone made a remix with this song, so did Candace Jones, Jadiel and

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG, who also makes the Eucerin brand. ''Nivea'' comes from the Latin adjective ''ni ...

. As of 2011, the song has sold 5,600,000 copies both in the United States and internationally.

Music video

The video was directed by Gil Green and starts with Akon picking up his date at a location. As he leaves with this date, an old man (presumably a relative of the date) is shown both reading a magazine about Akon partying at local clubs and staring at the two with an angry look. The video continues with Akon singing "Don't Matter" throughout the course of his date. It is set in a Caribbean beach style community at social places such as the beach, village market, and a dance. In the video's final scene, the music becomes much more lively, with a Caribbean style rhythm playing under the song's chorus. It has a cameo appearance by

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

rapper Pitbull.

Track listing

UK CD single and European CD single 1 # "Don't Matter" – 4:09 # "Shake Down" (Remix) (Feat. Red Cafe) – 4:28 European CD single 2 # "Don't Matter" (Konvict Remix) – 5:46 # "Don't Matter" (Calypso Remix) – 5:38 # "Don't Matter" (Original Radio Edit) – 4:09 # "Don't Matter" (Video) – 4:15 Australian CD single # "Don't Matter" (Radio Edit) – 3:02 # "Shake Down" (Remix) (Feat. Red Cafe) – 4:28 # "Easy Road" – 3:59 # "Don't Matter" (Video) – 4:15

Release history

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers and sampling

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

performed a cover of "Don't Matter" for their live album, '' **** Live in Phoenix''. They also performed the song at their June 12, 2007, concert, the night after their bassist

Pete Wentz Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979) is an American musician who is the bassist and lyricist for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Before the band's formation in 2001, Wentz was a fixture of the Chicago hardcore scene and was the lead si ...

got in a fight with a fan. Canadian singer Lights often covered the song for her live shows. Brazilian singer

Claudia Leitte Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio (; born 10 July 1980) is a Brazilian singer and television personality. She rose to fame in late 2002 as the lead vocalist of the Axé music group Babado Novo. The group achieved a string of consecutive diamond- ...

did a cover of "Don't Matter" live in ''Festival de Verão Salvador'' with Akon in January 2010. Brazilian band Bonde do Maluco also did a cover version of "Don't Matter" which has the chorus used by Claudia Leitte on her live version with Akon.

Lauv Ari Staprans Leff (born August 8, 1994), known professionally as Lauv (), is an American musician best known for his breakout hit "I Like Me Better"; included on his compilation album ''I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist)'', which was releas ...

covered the song on his 2017 release ''Spotify Singles''.

D'Prince Charles Enebeli (born 23 October 1986), known by his stage name D'Prince, is a Nigerian Grammy Awards, Grammy-67th Annual Grammy Awards, nominated music executive, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, Promoter (entertainment), promoter, and philant ...

and

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish ( ; born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe in 2011. Kehlani's debut mixtape, '' ...

interpolate In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a ...

"Don't Matter" in their songs "Bestie" (2015) and "

Undercover A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, a ...

" (2017), respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Don't Matter 2007 singles Akon songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Romania Reggae fusion songs Songs written by Akon Song recordings produced by Akon Music videos directed by Gil Green 2006 songs Songs written by Bob Marley Konvict Muzik singles