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*"Mia" from Taking the Stage on MTV also performed her own version, with a cast member b-boxing, and a full choir.
*"Mia" from Taking the Stage on MTV also performed her own version, with a cast member b-boxing, and a full choir.
*An acoustic interpretation of the song was performed by [[American Idol]] winner [[Kris Allen]] as his personal pick for the Top 3 night of the show's eighth season.
*An acoustic interpretation of the song was performed by [[American Idol]] winner [[Kris Allen]] as his personal pick for the Top 3 night of the show's eighth season.
*[[Cassidy (rapper)|Cassidy]] covered the song for his ''Apply Pressure'' mixtape.


==Track listings==
==Track listings==

Revision as of 14:39, 23 May 2009

"Heartless"
Song

"Heartless" is a pop song by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It was released on November 4, 2008 digitally as the second single for his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. The song debuted at the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 where it eventually peaked at number two and reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and U.S. Hot 100 Airplay chart.[2]

Background

The song was performed for the first time at the ONE Campaign concert during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.[3] The song was also performed at a T.I. concert at Key Club in Los Angeles.[4] Kanye made a special guest appearance and confirmed the song's future release as a single at that show.[5][6] A snippet of the unmastered version of the song was leaked onto the Internet on October 12, 2008. This was followed by a full unmastered version of the song being posted on West's official blog on October 15.[7] The song was released on iTunes on November 4, 2008. On November 8, 2008, Kanye posted a new mastered version of the song on his official blog. A free link to download the song was posted there as well.[8]

Chart performance

In the U.S. on the week of November 13, "Heartless" made a "Hot Shot Debut" at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, selling 201,000 downloads in the United States alone and making it his second highest debut on the chart.[9] The single fluctuated in and out of the top ten for two months before reaching a new peak at number three in mid-January, and rose to two in mid-February.[10] In early March it also reached number four on the Pop 100 chart. It is West's second consecutive top five hit on the Hot 100, and his second consecutive song to debut in the top five there. This makes 808s & Heartbreak the first West album to contain two Hot 100 top five hits. On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, it peaked at four. It debuted at number eleven on the Hot Rap Tracks and has managed to reach number-one in late January.

In Canada it also made a "Hot Shot Debut" at number eight on the Canadian Hot 100, also based on huge amount of downloads in the country. On the 1st of December 2008, the song debuted at number sixty-three, on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. It has reached seven so far on the New Zealand RIANZ chart. On the UK Singles Chart, the song debuted at number forty-five and has already reached the tenth position due to album download sales. The official digital release date for the single was 12 January 2009. On the Irish Singles Chart the song has peaked at number ten so far.

Music video

File:Heartlessscreenshot.png
An animated Kanye West in the music video for "Heartless".

Directed by Hype Williams, the animated music video for "Heartless" pays tribute to Ralph Bakshi's 1981 film American Pop.[11] It features use of rotoscoped animation, in which actual people were filmed and over sixty-five animators in Hong Kong drew over their every movement, and references various scenes and backgrounds from the film. The video portrays West wandering through a city alone at night, with scenes of various women shown throughout the video.

Covers and remixes

  • An alternate version of the song was created for B94 in Pittsburgh in late January 2009, changing the lyrics to reflect the Super Bowl XLIII matchup, titled "Ringless."
  • A cover of the song has been done on the Live Lounge by The Fray. The cover debuted at number seventy-nine on the Billboard Hot 100.[12]
  • A remix of the song, featuring rapper Rick Ross, was posted West's blog on November 28, 2008.[13]
  • The song is spoofed in the end credits of the South Park episode "Fishsticks".
  • "Mia" from Taking the Stage on MTV also performed her own version, with a cast member b-boxing, and a full choir.
  • An acoustic interpretation of the song was performed by American Idol winner Kris Allen as his personal pick for the Top 3 night of the show's eighth season.
  • Cassidy covered the song for his Apply Pressure mixtape.

Track listings

Digital download

  1. "Heartless" – 3:31

CD single

  1. "Heartless" (Album version) – 3:31
  2. "Heartless" (Instrumental) – 3:30

Personnel

Information taken from 808s & Heartbreak liner notes.[14]

  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Ernest Wilson, Scott Mescudi, M. Jones
  • Producers: Kanye West & No I.D
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson & Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Assistant engineers: Christian Plata and Erik Madrid

Charts

Chart positions

References

  1. ^ UK Digital single release date 7Digital. Retrieved on 14 January 2009.
  2. ^ "The Billboard Hot 100 – Heartless". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  3. ^ Kanye performing Heartless live
  4. ^ Smith, Camilo (2008-10-05). "Kanye West, Rihanna appear at T.I.'s Myspace show at Key Club". L.A. Times Music Blog. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  5. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (2008-10-06). "Kanye: New Album Coming Nov. 25". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  6. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2008-10-06). "Kanye West Reveals 808s And Heartbreak Release Date During Surprise Appearance At T.I. Concert". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  7. ^ Kanye's Official blog post with Heartless, link contains adult content
  8. ^ Mastered Version
  9. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2008-11-13). "T.I. Leads Hot 100; Kanye, Taylor Debut High". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  10. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2009-01-15). "Lady GaGa Dances Again Atop Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  11. ^ Kaufman, Gil (May 13, 2009). "Kris Allen's 'Heartless': The Story Behind The Cover". MTV News. Retrieved 2009-05-15. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Trust, Gary (2009-05-21). "Chart Beat". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
  13. ^ http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=215027_-1__0_~-1_-1_05_2008_0_0&em3298=&em3282=&em3281=&em3161=
  14. ^ 808s & Heartbreak (Media notes). Roc-A-Fella Records. 2008. {{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |publisherid= ignored (help)
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kanye West – Heartless". aCharts.us. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
  16. ^ Canadian Hot 100 peak position, billboard.com
  17. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles – Heartless". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  18. ^ Israeli Singles Chart
  19. ^ "Ireland – Heartless". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-02-14. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  20. ^ "Kanye West– Heartless". HitParade.se. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  21. ^ Turkey Top 20 Chart Retrieved on 2009-02-16
  22. ^ "The Billboard Hot 100 – Heartless". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  23. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Heartless". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  24. ^ "Hot Rap Tracks – Heartless". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  25. ^ "Pop 100 – Heartless". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  26. ^ "Rhythmic Top 40 – Heartless". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  27. ^ "Kanye West – Stronger RIAA certification". Recording Industry Association of America. Nielsen Business Media Inc. 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
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