Popstar (DJ Khaled song)

"Popstar" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American record producer DJ Khaled, featuring Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on July 17, 2020, simultaneously with their other collaboration "Greece", as the dual lead singles from Khaled's twelfth studio album, Khaled Khaled. Both songs were produced by frequent Drake collaborator OZ. It marked the sixth and seventh collaborations between Khaled and Drake, and their first since 2017's "To the Max". The mid-tempo "Popstar" sees Drake boasting about being the "popstar" of the generation. The song proved to be more successful than "Greece", debuting at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and number-one in Drake's native Canada.

"Popstar"
Single by DJ Khaled featuring Drake
from the album Khaled Khaled
B-side"Greece"
ReleasedJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
Recorded2020
Genre
Length3:20
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • OZ
  • David & Eli
  • DJ Khaled
DJ Khaled singles chronology
"Important"
(2020)		 "Popstar"
(2020)		 "Sunshine (The Light)"
(2021)
Drake singles chronology
"Toosie Slide"
(2020)		 "Popstar" / "Greece"
(2020)		 "Only You Freestyle"
(2020)

Background

In January 2020, Khaled flew to Drake's hometown Toronto where they spent time together in the studio. In June, he teased a Drake collaboration on his Instagram, captioning various posts with emojis of a key and owl, the mascot of Drake's OVO label. He further revealed that "the first single been ready" and confirmed that he was working on a new album. After fans inundated Khaled with questions on the Drake references, he said fans would have to wait a little longer for new music.[2] In early July, Khaled confirmed that Drake was on his new album. On July 15, a day before the song's release, Khaled announced his 12th studio album would be titled Khaled Khaled.[3] He also announced two Drake collaborations would be released on July 17, "Popstar" and "Greece".[4] DJ Khaled and Drake have collaborated various times, first in 2009 with "Fed Up",[5] and during the 2010s, on "I'm On One", "No New Friends", "For Free" and "To the Max".[2]

Produced by OZ, he previously produced Drake's "Toosie Slide" and several tracks on his Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixtape.[6]

Composition

Producer OZ created the beat on July 23, 2019, and then used a loop by German production duo David x Eli, to take the track to "the next level".[6] The reggae-tinged[7] song contains "moody" production,[3] with a hard,[8] "woozy" beat.[6] Drake's "tight syllables"[9] include lyrics about vacationing in the tropical island Turks and Caicos, which he also referenced on the songs "Omertà" (2019) and "Pain 1993" (2020).[8] He also boasts about his status as the "popstar" of the generation, while name-dropping Scooter Braun, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, David Foster, and Justin Bieber.[10][11][9] Complex's Eric Skelton said Drake's style on the song "may have drawn inspiration" from rappers Valee and Baby Keem.[8] Valee's manager Andrew Barber tweeted that Drake replicated Valee's flow on his 2018 track "Womp Womp".[12]

Critical reception

The New York Times' Jon Caramanica called the song a "string of ruminative tough talk", and opined "when he raps like this, with a stream of boastfulness, it's often an ego-clearing amuse bouche for a more ambitious release to follow".[9] Rolling Stone's Charles Holmes complimented the song's star quality, stating: "It's a blunt object of a song that seems willing to forgo anything resembling subtlety".[13] Billboard's Michael Saponara labelled the song "Instagram caption-friendly", and said it oozes with "song of the summer potential".[6]

Music video

With the announcement on the songs, Khaled posted a trailer for the song's video, co-starring Spanish actor Jordi Mollà.[7]

The music video was released on Khaled's YouTube channel on September 3, 2020. The video stars fellow Canadian singer Justin Bieber, replacing Drake and Khaled due to the latter being busy. However, Drake does appear at the beginning of the video, as the video opens up with Drake showing his acting abilities as he receives countless video messages from Khaled, who asks him to appear in the video for the song. Drake, left speechless, then starts to show frustration towards Khaled's constant nagging and hassling. While in his home country of Canada, Drake then calls Bieber to appear in the video for both him and Khaled. The video also features cameos from Scooter Braun, as well as King Bach, Timothy DeLaGhetto, and Bieber's wife, Hailey Bieber. An edited version removing the intro was also posted on Bieber's YouTube channel.

Chart performance

"Popstar" and "Greece" debuted at numbers three and eight on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, becoming Drake's record-extending 24th and 25th debuts in the Hot 100's top 10. It also marked his 39th and 40th Hot 100 top ten entries, breaking Madonna's 18-year record.[14]

Awards and nominations
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2020 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Video Won
2020 MTV Video Music Awards Song of Summer Nominated
2021 Video of the Year Nominated [15]
Best Direction Nominated

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[54] 2× Platinum 140,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria)[55] Gold 15,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[56] 2× Platinum 80,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[57] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[58] Gold 45,000‡
France (SNEP)[59] Gold 100,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[60] Gold 35,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[61] Platinum+Gold 90,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[62] Gold 15,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[63] Gold 10,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[64] Platinum 10,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[65] Gold 10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[66] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[67] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece)[68] Gold 1,000,000†

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

References
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