Views (album)

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Views
File:Drakeviewsfromthe6.jpg
Studio album by Drake
Released April 29, 2016
Recorded 2014–16[1]
Genre
Length 81:15
Label
Producer <templatestyles src="Hlist/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Various
Drake chronology
What a Time to Be Alive
(2015)What a Time to Be Alive2015		 Views
(2016)
Singles from Views
  1. "Hotline Bling"
    Released: July 31, 2015
  2. "One Dance"
    Released: April 5, 2016
  3. "Pop Style"
    Released: April 5, 2016
  4. "Too Good (UK)"
    Released: May 15, 2016

Views is the fourth studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on April 29, 2016,[4][5][6][7] by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records.[8] It was supported by four singles: "Hotline Bling", "One Dance", "Pop Style" and "Too Good".[9] Views was met with generally mixed to positive reviews by critics and audiences.

Background

The album's title was first announced as Views from the 6, as it first appeared from a report in a July 2014 article from Billboard.[10] According to Drake on Twitter, "the 6" is a reference to his hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. On April 28, 2016, it was revealed that the title has been shortened to Views.[11] The cover artwork for Views was released via Drake's Twitter account on April 24, 2016, which features Drake sitting atop the CN Tower in Toronto. The CN Tower's Twitter account later confirmed it to be photoshopped.[12]

Promotion

On January 30, 2016, Drake released the album's promotional single, "Summer Sixteen". The song was produced by 40, Boi-1da and Cubeatz. In April 2016, Drake released the official trailer for Views on his Twitter.[13] The album was initially teased in London, England.[14][15] Drake has been promoting the album by opening "pop-up" stores through the United States in places such as New York City, Miami Beach, Florida, L.A. and Palm Springs, California. The stores also gave away free black and white T-shirts to fans with "Views" written on the front. OVO's record producer 40 later stated that the mixes for the clean versions were finished, as well as having all sample clearances and credits finalized.[16] Drake later stated that Views would featured 20 songs or more than any previous album; excluding the bonus tracks.[17] He made his final stop at the pop-up store in his hometown of Toronto, and then he released the album cover on social media. The album premiered on Apple Music's OVO Sound Radio show, following his interview with Beats 1's radio host Zane Lowe, and also the album has been released on Apple Music and iTunes exclusively.[18]

Singles

On July 31, 2015, Drake released the album's lead single, "Hotline Bling". The song was produced by Nineteen85 and Frank Dukes.

On April 5, 2016, Drake released two tracks, "One Dance" (written by Virginia Galarza) and "Pop Style" (which was produced by Yordy Almonte), consecutively as the album's second and third singles.[9] "One Dance" features guest vocals from Nigerian musician Wizkid and recording artist Kyla, with the production handled by Nineteen85. "Pop Style" features guest vocals from American hip hop duo The Throne (composed of two rappers Kanye West and Jay Z), with the production handled by Sevn Thomas and Frank Dukes. Prior to the album's release, Drake removed these verses by West and Jay Z, with a pre-recorded additional verse of his own on "Pop Style".

"Too Good" was released as a single in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2016.[19]

Other songs

In August 2014, a minute-long snippet of a song were leaked online, titled "Views from the Six".[20] The snippet features a verse by Drake. The instrumental from the snippet would ended up being used for the second half of the track "U Wit Me?", although the lyrics were changed completely. Few weeks before the album's release, these two tracks were also leaked online; with one track "Faithful" featuring Pimp C, and the second track "Controlla" featuring Popcaan. Both of these tracks were included on the album with additional changes being made to both songs: an additional verse by dvsn was added to "Faithful" and Popcaan's verse was removed on "Controlla". For the week ending May 21, 2016, 18 songs (bar "Summers Over Interlude" and "Hotline Bling") on the album charted on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking a new record. After the release of Views, it was revealed that Lil Wayne was initially featured on the song "Hype".[21] On May 21, 2016, the version featuring Lil Wayne, premiered on OVO Sound radio.[22]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 2.5/5 stars[23]
The A.V. Club B–[24]
Entertainment Weekly B[25]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[26]
The Independent 2/5 stars[27]
NME 4/5[28]
Pitchfork Media 6.8/10[29]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[30]
Slant Magazine 3.5/5 stars[31]
Spin 7/10[32]

Views was met with lukewarm reviews from critics and audiences alike.[33][34][35] It received a normalized metascore of 68 out of 100 on the review aggregate website Metacritic based on 29 critics, which indicates "generally favorable reviews."[36] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that Views "offers a lengthy inventory of miseries, cleverly offset by a sly sense of humour and eclectic sound" and serves as "compelling evidence that this is the defining pop artist of the moment", though he nonetheless concluded that "Views isn’t a perfect album – some judicious pruning of the less impactful tracks would make it more easily digestible, and there are certainly moments when you start to wish Drake would cast his gaze a little further afield than his own navel."[26] Kitty Empire of The Observer noted the album's "pin-sharp" lyrical and production detail.[37] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said the album "finds Drake a conqueror between territories: fending off attacks from below, maintaining his grip on turf he controls and wondering what might be next," though noting that "his emotional excavations aren’t as striking as they were a few years ago, when they had the sting of the new to them."[38]

In a mixed review, Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club wrote that "Views can't escape the sense that Drake's done this before and done it better," describing the album as "too long and stubbornly low energy, nowhere near the knockout Drake's been building it up to be since practically before he began recording it."[24] In another mixed review of the album, Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph said, "Views genuinely makes for mesmerising listening, even if much of the album seems to consists of lazy meanders through Drake's psyche. Is it futile to wish someone so smart and talented would take his nose out of his own navel for long enough to say something about the exterior world?"[39] Tiny Mix Tapes wrote that "for an artist so eager to entertain, so set on proving his superstar status in a fickle industry, he surprisingly doesn’t take any risks in order to do something truly different," characterizing the album as featuring a "glaring lack of consistency in lyrics, song ideas, and good humor."[40] In a negative review for The Independent, Andy Gill described the album as "utterly wearying, and unpersuasive," adding that "rarely has one man moaned quite so much about so little."[27] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune called the album "a snooze" and remarked that Drake was "not saying much new or surprising."[41]

Commercial performance

In Drake's home country of Canada, Views sold 110,000 equivalent album units, and sold 92,000 copies in its opening week.[42] In the United States, Views debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with 1.04 million equivalent album units, selling 852,000 copies in its first week of release, and achieving over 245 million streams, more than previous record 115.2 million by Beyoncé.[43] It is the biggest since Adele's 25 collected 1.19 million units in its fifth week of release (week ending December 24, 2015).[44] The last album by a male artist to post a bigger pure album sales week was Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience when it debuted with 968,000 copies sold in the week ending March 24, 2013.[44] Views became Drake's sixth consecutive number-one album (fifth as lead artist) on the Billboard 200 and largest sales week.[45] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, with 78,000 sales, becoming Drake's first number-one on that chart.[46] In its second week, Views remained at number one on Billboard 200, earned 313,000 units (down 70 percent). It sold 175,000 in traditional album sales (down 79 percent).[47] The following week, Views remained at the top spot, becoming the first album since Adele's 25 to reach number one for three consecutive weeks.[48] Views has attained 572 million streams in the US.[43]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Keep the Family Close"  
Maneesh 5:29
2. "9"  
4:16
3. "U with Me?"  
4:57
4. "Feel No Ways"  
4:00
5. "Hype"  
3:29
6. "Weston Road Flows"  
4:14
7. "Redemption"  
40 5:34
8. "With You" (featuring PartyNextDoor)
  • Graham
  • Jefferies
  • Brathwaite
  • Shane "Murda Beatz" Lindstrom
  • Carl "Cardiak" McCormick
  • Murda Beatz
  • Nineteen85[b]
  • Cardiak[b]
 3:15
9. "Faithful" (featuring Pimp C and dvsn)
4:50
10. "Still Here"  
  • Graham
  • Jahmar "Daxz" Carter
  • Shebib
  • Bidaye
3:10
11. "Controlla"  
4:05
12. "One Dance" (featuring Wizkid and Kyla)
2:54
13. "Grammys" (featuring Future)
3:40
14. "Childs Play"  
  • Graham
  • Shebib
  • Leland Wayne
  • Mark Morales
  • Darren Robinson
  • Malcolm Nichols
  • Damon Wimbley
4:01
15. "Pop Style"  
3:32
16. "Too Good" (featuring Rihanna)
  • Nineteen85
  • Ritter
  • 40
  • Supa Dups[b]
 4:23
17. "Summers Over Interlude"  
Maneesh 1:46
18. "Fire & Desire"  
  • Daniel (Dame) Perez
  • Graham
  • Shebib
  • Marvin "Hagler" Thomas
  • Jordan Lewis
  • Brandy Norwood
  • Rochad Holiday
  • Curtis "Sauce" Wilson
  • William Young
3:58
19. "Views"  
  • Graham
  • Bidaye
  • Shebib
  • Samuels
  • Aion "Voyce" Clarke
5:11
20. "Hotline Bling"  
Nineteen85 4:27
Total length:
 81:15
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer.
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer.
  • "Keep the Family Close" features vocals by Sabrina Galmo and background vocals Aion "Voyce" Clarke.
  • "9" features additional background vocals by David Jelleestone Carty.
  • "U with Me?" features background vocals by Divine Brown.
  • "Feel No Ways" features background vocals by Daniel Daley.
  • "Redemption" features background vocals by Darhyl Camper.
  • "With You" features background vocals by Jeremih.
  • "Faithful" features background vocals by Darhyl Camper.
  • "Controlla" features background vocals by Beenie Man.
  • "Too Good" features background vocals by Beverly Orandon.
  • "Summers Over Interlude" features vocals by Majid Al Maskati.
  • "Views" features background vocals by Aion "Voyce" Clarke.
Sample credits
  • "9" contains samples of "Dying" performed by Mavado with vocals by Serani.
  • "U with Me" contains samples of "What These Bitches Want", and contains a interpolations of "How's It Goin' Down" performed by DMX.
  • "Weston Road Flows" contains samples of "Mary's Joint" performed by Mary J. Blige.
  • "One Dance" contains samples of "Do You Mind (Crazy Cousins Remix)" performed by Paleface with vocals by Kyla.
  • "Feel No Ways" contains samples of "World’s Famous" performed by Malcom McLaren.
  • "Redemption" contains samples of "One Wish" performed by Ray J.
  • "Faithful" contains samples of "Get Gone" performed by Ideal, and "Tom Ford (Remix)" by JAY Z featuring Pimp C.
  • "Controlla" contains samples of "Tear Off Mi Garment" performed by Beenie Man.
  • "Childs Play" contains samples of "Rode That Dick Like a Soldier" performed by Ha-Sizzle.
  • "Too Good" contains samples of "Love Yuh Bad" performed by Popcaan.
  • "Fire & Desire" contains samples of "I Dedicate (Part III)" performed by Brandy.
  • "Views" contains samples of "The Question Is" by The Winans.
  • "Hotline Bling" contains samples of "Why Can't We Live Together" performed by Timmy Thomas.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[49] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[50] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[51] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[52] 13
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[53] 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[54] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[55] 3
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[56] 26
French Albums (SNEP)[57] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[58] 11
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[59] 31
Irish Albums (IRMA)[60] 2
Italian Albums (FIMI)[61] 10
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[62] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[63] 6
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[64] 6
Russian Albums (2M)[65] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[66] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[67] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[68] 1
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[69] 1
US Billboard 200[70] 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[71] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[72] Platinum 80,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[73] Gold 100,000

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ http://www.thefader.com/2016/04/06/drake-views-from-the-6-cover-art-reveal-london
  15. ↑ http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.38237/title.drake-promotes-views-from-the-6-in-london
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  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ http://www.capitalfm.com/radio/playlist/
  20. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/2ebr5h/fresh_drake_views_from_the_6_feat_e_batt/
  21. ↑ http://www.lilwaynehq.com/2016/04/it-looks-like-lil-wayne-will-be-featured-on-drakes-hype-remix/
  22. ↑ http://www117.zippyshare.com/v/2miDd8bm/file.html
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  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  49. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Drake – Views". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  50. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Drake – Views" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Drake – Views" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  52. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Drake – Views" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  53. ↑ "Drake – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Drake. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
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  58. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Drake – Views" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  59. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2016. 17. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  60. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 18, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
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  63. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Drake – Views". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
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  72. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Views in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
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