Kings Never Die (song)

"Kings Never Die"
Single by Eminem featuring Gwen Stefani
from the album Southpaw (Music from and Inspired By the Motion Picture)
Released July 10, 2015
Format
Genre Rap rock
Length 4:56
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Eminem singles chronology
"Phenomenal"
(2015)		 "Kings Never Die"
(2015)		 "Campaign Speech"
(2016)
Gwen Stefani singles chronology
"Spark the Fire"
(2014)		 "Kings Never Die"
(2015)		 "Used to Love You"
(2015)

"Kings Never Die" is a song by American rapper Eminem, from the soundtrack album Southpaw (Music from and Inspired By the Motion Picture), released on July 10, 2015. It features the American-recording artist, Gwen Stefani. This is Eminem and Stefani's first collaboration. The song is the second single released from the soundtrack, after Eminem's "Phenomenal" which was released a month earlier. "Kings Never Die" marks Stefani's first featured single since 2005's "Can I Have It Like That" with Pharrell Williams. The song was co-written and produced by The New Royales.

Background and release

Shady Records and Eminem were approached by Kurt Sutter and asked to executively produce a soundtrack for the 2015 film, Southpaw.[1] Eminem has four songs on the soundtrack, including two from his collaborative effort – Bad Meets Evil. The other single from the soundtrack, "Phenomenal", is also from Eminem. The song was officially released on July 10, when the audio track was uploaded to YouTube.[2] On July 29, the lyric video was uploaded to YouTube.[3] This song talks about him (Eminem) being a king of rap and many people urging him to retire. Eminem says that he won't retire and will stay a king.

Critical reception

On July 3, 2015, the full song leaked onto the internet, followed by a positive response from critics. Lars Brandle from Billboard Magazine stated that the song "is a muscular effort with a classic angry vibe, [but] it's hardly a knockout [and] absolutely worth a spin."[4] Rap-Up Magazine thought that the song was a "triumphant rap-rock hybrid with rapid-fire rhymes.[5]

Commercial performance

"Kings Never Die" was the highest-ranking debut for the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated August 1, 2015, entering the chart at number 80.[6] Its chart debut was supported by first-week digital download sales of 35,000 copies, along with 1.2 million domestic streams.[7]

Track listing

  1. "Kings Never Die" (featuring Gwen Stefani) – 4:56

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 62
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[9] 51
France (SNEP)[10] 184
South Korean Downloads Chart (Gaon)[11] 30
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] 82
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[13] 22
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 80
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] 23
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[16] 19

References

  1. ↑ Daly, Rhian. "Eminem to release new song on 'Southpaw' soundtrack". Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. ↑ EminemVEVO. "Kings Never Die (Audio) ft. Gwen Stefani – YouTube". Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  3. ↑ EminemVEVO. "Kings Never Die (Lyric Video) ft. Gwen Stefani – YoiuTube".
  4. ↑ Brandle, Lars. "Eminem and Gwen Stefani Collaborated on 'Southpaw' Track 'Kings Never Die': Listen". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "NEW MUSIC: EMINEM FEAT. GWEN STEFANI – 'KINGS NEVER DIE'". Rap-Up Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Hot 100: The Week of August 1, 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  7. ↑ Mendizabal, Amaya (July 22, 2015). "The Weeknd's 'Can't Feel My Face' Tops Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  8. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (July 25, 2015). "ARIA Singles: Belgium's Lost Frequencies Tops Singles Chart". Noise11. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Eminem – Kings Never Die" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  11. ↑ "2015년 30주차 Downloads Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2015-07-31" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2015-07-31" UK R&B Chart. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Eminem – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Eminem. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
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