"Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapperDrake, which served as thelead single from his fourth studio albumViews (2016). The song is credited as abonus track on the album.[1][2] It was made available for digital download on July 31, 2015, throughCash Money,Young Money, andRepublic.
Music critics were complimentary about the presentation of Drake's emotional side, as well as its production. A music video directed byDirector X was released two months later; it subsequently gained popularity onYouTube and spawned several parodies. The song was included on several year-end critics' polls.
"Hotline Bling" is apop[5][6] andR&B[7] song written by Drake andNineteen85, the latter of whom also produced the song. The song was composed inF major with a tempo of 135 beats per minute incommon time with a chord progression of Bbmaj7 – Am7.[8] The song was directly inspired byDRAM'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)".[9] "Hotline Bling"'s instrumental is based on asample of R&B singerTimmy Thomas's 1972 song "Why Can't We Live Together".[10]
This was the sixth video directed byDirector X featuring Drake.
On October 4, 2015, Drake announced a music video for the track via hisInstagram account.[11] The video was inspired by Sean Paul's "Gimme The Light" clip. The video was financed byApple Inc., and released on October 19, 2015, viaApple Music under a timed exclusivity agreement. It was filmed inToronto.[12][13] The video, directed byDirector X, was inspired by the work of American artistJames Turrell.[14] X has stated that he hopes that the video inspires men to dance more.[15][16][17][18]
A portion from theDirector X-directed music video featuring Drake make a rejection gesture, becoming a viral meme.
The music video also features choreographerTanisha Scott recreating her previous work with Director X in the music video.
Rap-Up wrote that Drake "shows just how suave he can be with his moves" in this video.[15] Evan Minsker ofPitchfork called it a "pretty minimal clip".[19] The site also named "Hotline Bling" the seventh best music video of 2015.[20]
The video, which has inspired manymemes and parodies,[16][21] including a commercial fromT-Mobile duringSuper Bowl 50 featuring Drake himself (where representatives of a cellular operator attempt to make Drake add disclaimer-like caveats to the song's lyrics),[22] helped the song rise in chart position according toNME.[21] The song was parodied in theSaturday Night Live episode "Donald Trump/Sia", in which Trump briefly sang and danced while playing Drake's accountant.[23] One of the most popular memes made from the music video isWii Shop Bling, amash up betweenHotline Bling and the theme music for theWii Shop Channel.[24]
The song received mixed reviews. Leor Galil of theChicago 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".[25] Jayson Greene ofPitchfork 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" byThe Police.[26] Brad Wete ofNPR 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".[27] Rhian Daly ofNME described the track's "simple and minimal" production as "secondary to Drake's emotions".[28]Rolling Stone ranked "Hotline Bling" at number 3 on its year-end list to find the 50 best songs of 2015.[29]Billboard ranked "Hotline Bling" at number 2 on its year-end critics' poll for 2015: "In a trio of freebies Drake plopped onSoundCloud 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 rapperD.R.A.M.'s "Cha Cha." Still, the Toronto MVP got his dance on for the uber-viral video parodied by everyone from presidential candidateDonald Trump to Toronto CouncillorNorm Kelly".[30]Pitchfork named "Hotline Bling" the second best song of 2015, afterKendrick Lamar's "Alright".[31]Time named "Hotline Bling" the eighth-best song of 2015.[32] TheVillage Voice named "Hotline Bling" the best single released in 2015 on their annual year-end critics' poll,Pazz & Jop.[33] In 2021, it was listed at No. 373 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[34]
"Hotline Bling" also received criticism for the perceivedsexist and controlling attitude expressed by the male narrator toward his female ex. Allyson Shiffman ofBullett took issue with the "super sexist lyrics," explaining that "while [the song is] 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'".[35] Tahirah Hairston ofFusion wrote that, in the song, "Drake is distraught that his ex has moved on," but because he "opts for condescendinglyslut-shaming her" and "dictating where she does and doesn't belong," it "comes off so petty that you forget his feelings are hurt".[36]
Canadian singerJustin Bieber recorded a cover version of the song and released it on October 30, 2015.[37] At the2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards the alternative version was nominated for the Best Cover Song.[38] Dominican RapperMessiah released a Spanish cover titled "El Celular" ("The Cellphone") on September 11, 2015. Dominican-American trioVena released a bachata cover of the song featuring L.O.S. on November 19, 2015. RapperLil Wayne released his own version of the song from his mixtapeNo Ceilings 2.[39] SingerErykah Badu released a rewrite of the song on her 2015 mixtapeBut You Caint Use My Phone titled "Cel U Lar Device".[40]
W magazine uploaded a video with 13 celebrities reading the lyrics of the song in December 2015.[45] The song was featured on the episode "She Gets Revenge" fromAmerican Horror Story: Hotel.[46] "Hotline Bling" was the subject of aSuper Bowl 50 advertisement forT-Mobile, in which Drake is interrupted by executives of cellphones provider seeking to make "improvements" to its lyrics.[47] A variation of Drake's dancing in the music video was included in the multiplayer section of2016'sUncharted 4: A Thief's End, renamed to "Bling Bling".[48] The dance is also featured in2014'sDestiny, referred to only as "Strange Dance".[49]Heroes of the Storm features a playable character named Dehaka, whose dance also mimics Drake's.[50] On March 24, 2017, aRed Nose Day short that served as a sequel to the 2003 filmLove Actually premiered and featuredHugh Grant reprising his dancing skills to "Hotline Bling".[51]
The dance moves in the music video also inspired the opening sequence to the animeKeep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, according to aCrunchyroll interview with to one of its animators, Abel Gongora.[52]
"Hotline Bling" entered the USBillboard Hot 100 chart dated August 22, 2015 at number 66.[53] Its chart debut was fueled primarily bydigital download sales, with 41,000 copies sold in its first week.[54] The song soon became Drake's first top 10 in two years when the song reached number nine. It had peaked at number two on the chart dated October 24, 2015, tying as his second highest-charting single as a lead act at the time 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" byThe Weeknd and "Hello" byAdele. As of February 2016, the song has sold over 2 million copies in the United States.[55] "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 theUK Singles Chart, becoming Drake's highest-charting song there (at the time) as a lead artist. The song also peaked at the top of theUK R&B Chart. On November 27, 2015, "Hotline Bling" received gold certification by theBritish Phonographic Industry.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts".Media Forest.Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts".Media Forest.Note: Select 'Songs – TV'. Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: insert 201551 into search.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201549 into search. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
