FML (song)
{{for|the Arizona Zervas song|FML (Arizona Zervas song)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name = FML
| cover =
| alt = "For My Lady"
| type =
| artist = Kanye West
| album = The Life of Pablo
| released = February 14, 2016
| format =
| recorded = 2015–16
| studio =
| genre = * Hip hop
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=56}}
| label = {{hlist|GOOD|Def Jam}}
| writer = {{hlist|West|Abel Tesfaye|Cydel Young|Mike Dean|Andrew Dawson|Noah Goldstein|Leland Wayne|Ernest Brown|Christian Boggs|Darius Jenkins|K. Rachel Mills|Marcus Byrd|Ross Matthew Birchard|Jacques Webster|Lawrence Cassidy|Vincent Cassidy|Paul Wiggin}}
| producer = {{hlist| West |Mitus|Metro Boomin{{efn|name=a|Credited as co-producer}}|Goldstein{{efn|name=a}}| Dean{{efn|name=a}}|Hudson Mohawke{{efn|name=b|Credited as additional producer}}| Dawson{{efn|name=b}}}}
}}
"FML" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016), which features vocals from Canadian singer the Weeknd.{{cite news |last1=Schwartz |first1=Danny |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/the-kanye-west-the-life-of-pablo-features-are-incredible-news.20127.html |title=Kanye West's "The Life Of Pablo" Features Are Incredible" |website=HotNewHipHop |access-date=June 23, 2018 |date=February 11, 2016}} It contains a sample of "Hit" by Section 25, which two of the band members praised West for sampling. In the song, West references his issues with mental health. The song charted in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada in 2016.
Background
In October 2016, a demo of the track, alongside one of "I Am a God" from West's sixth studio album Yeezus (2013), was uploaded to SoundCloud, which featured vocals from Travis Scott instead of the Weeknd and included a new sample.{{cite news |last1=Britton |first1=Luke Morgan |url=http://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-916-1193566 |title=Kanye West: Listen to unheard demos for 'I Am A God' and 'FML' |website=NME |access-date=June 23, 2018 |date=October 3, 2016}} A remix of the song was released by Alvin Risk.{{cite web |last1=West |first1=Kanye |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/tracks/n492p2 |title=FML (Alvin Risk Remix) (feat. The Weeknd) - Kanye West Song |work=BBC |publisher=BBC Music |access-date=November 18, 2018}}
Composition and lyrics
A sample of "Hit" by Section 25 is heavily used to compose the outro, along with vocals from West.{{cite web |last1=Reiff |first1=Corbin |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2016/02/kanye-west-the-life-of-pablo-sample-breakdown |title=Here's Every Sample on Kanye West's New Album, 'The Life of Pablo' |website=Complex |access-date=June 23, 2018 |date=February 15, 2016}} In response to West sampling their work, Section 25 members Bethany and Vincent Cassidy praised him highly.{{cite magazine |last1=Gehr |first1=Richard |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/section-25-the-brit-post-punkers-on-being-sampled-by-kanye-west-101545/ |title=Section 25: The Brit Post-Punkers on Being Sampled by Kanye West |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=November 18, 2018 |date=February 26, 2016}} The sample was also used in a leaked track by West titled "Fall Out of Heaven".{{cite web |last1=Dionne |first1=Zach |url=https://www.fuse.tv/2016/02/kanye-west-bon-iver-the-dream-song-fall-out-of-heaven |title=Kanye West, Bon Iver & The-Dream Song Leaks: Hear 'Fall Out of Heaven' |website=Fuse |access-date=November 18, 2018 |date=February 18, 2016}}
After making changes in the album in June 2016, the song's vocals were made louder and the background vocals were added in the second round of the Weeknd's hook.{{cite news |last1=C.M. |first1=Emmanuel |url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2016/06/kanye-west-the-life-of-pablo-changes/ |title=Every Change Kanye West Made to 'The Life of Pablo' |website=XXL |access-date=December 16, 2018 |date=June 17, 2016}}
"FML" is titled to stand for two meanings: "For My Lady", since West raps in the first verse "I been waiting for a minute/For my lady" and "Fuck My Life (up)" since the Weeknd sings on the chorus "I wish I would go ahead and fuck my life up/Can't let them get to me/And even though I always fuck my life up/Only I can mention me."{{cite web |last1=Riotta |first1=Chris |url=https://mic.com/articles/135268/fml-lyrics-meaning-of-kanye-west-s-most-honest-track-about-kim-kardashian-on-tlop |title="FML" Lyrics: Meaning of Kanye West's Most Honest Track About Kim Kardashian on 'TLOP' |website=Mic |access-date=November 18, 2018 |date=February 14, 2016}} West mentions the antidepressant drug Lexapro in reference to his issues with mental health, a subject West mostly touched on in the song "I Feel Like That" from the end of his and Steve McQueen's music video for West's 2015 single "All Day".{{cite web |last1=Basill |first1=Ryan |url=https://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/yvwbv7/one-of-the-most-powerful-kanye-west-songs-is-one-youve-probably-not-heard |title=One of the Most Powerful Kanye West Songs is One You've Probably Never Heard |website=Noisey Vice |access-date=December 20, 2018 |date=October 20, 2016}}
Critical reception
Pitchfork's Jayson Greene viewed the song as where West "alludes to something that sounds an awful lot like a manic episode".{{cite web |last1=Greene |first1=Jayson |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21542-the-life-of-pablo/ |title=Kanye West: The Life of Pablo Album Review |website=Pitchfork |access-date=November 29, 2018 |date=February 15, 2016}} Jake Indiana of Highsnobiety wrote in response to it that "there's a lot to love here, particularly in Ye's lyrics", but he had a mixed reaction to the Weeknd's appearance, describing it as where he "gives a massive assist on this guest spot, but by song's end his refrain becomes a bit whiny".{{cite web |last1=Indiana |first1=Jake |url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/kanye-west-the-life-of-pablo-song-ranking/ |title=Kanye West's 'The Life of Pablo': Every Song Ranked Worst to Best |website=Highsnobiety |access-date=November 29, 2018 |date=February 15, 2018}} NME writer Larry Bartleet listed it 13th in his top 50 songs about depression list.{{cite web |author1=Larry Bartleet |title=50 Songs About Depression |url=https://www.nme.com/list/50-songs-about-depression-1109 |website=NME |access-date=December 3, 2019 |date=March 27, 2019}}
Commercial performance
The track debuted at number 84 on the US Billboard Hot 100 within the same week that The Life of Pablo was released.{{cite magazine |last=Mendizabal |first=Amaya |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7332974/kanye-west-life-of-pablo-songs-chart-debuts |title=12 of Kanye West's 'The Life of Pablo' Tracks Are on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart |magazine=Billboard |access-date=November 18, 2018 |date=April 12, 2016}} "FML" charted on the UK Singles Chart at exactly the same position upon the album's release and then never charted again on it.{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/fml/|title=FML {{!}} Full Official Chart History {{!}}|work=Official Charts Company|access-date=November 18, 2018}} On the Canadian Hot 100, the song debuted at number 97 in the same week.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-hot-100/2016-04-23|title=Canadian Music: Top 100 Songs - April 23, 2016|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 28, 2018}} This made the song stand along with "Ultralight Beam" and "Waves" as one of only three non-single releases from West's album to chart in Canada.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/kanye-west/chart-history/can/|title=Kanye West Chart History|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 28, 2018}} Alongside its debut on the US Billboard Hot 100, "FML" charted at number 30 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and spend a total of three weeks on it.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/kanye-west/chart-history/bsi/|title=Kanye West FML Chart History|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 18, 2018}}
In family culture
West's sister-in-law Kylie Jenner named the track as her favourite song from The Life of Pablo in March 2016.{{cite magazine |last1=Platon |first1=Adelle |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/6897170/kardashians-kanye-west-crew-favorite-life-of-pablo-songs |title=Kim Kardashian Shares Favorite 'Pablo' Joints from Kanye West's Crew |magazine=Billboard |access-date=November 29, 2018 |date=March 1, 2016}} His ex-wife Kim Kardashian listed the track in August 2016 among her top 28 favorite songs by her husband.{{cite news |last1=Britton |first1=Luke Morgan |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-18-1189325 |title=Stream Kim Kardashian's playlist of her favourite Kanye West tracks |website=NME |access-date=November 18, 2018 |date=August 30, 2016}}
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from West's official website.{{Cite web|url=http://www.kanyewest.com/credits/|title=The Life of Pablo|last=davidbaker.tv|first=builtbylane.com ×|website=The Life of Pablo – Kanye West|language=en-US|access-date=February 2, 2019}}
- Vocals – the Weeknd
- Keyboards – Mike Dean
- Production – Kanye West and Mitus
- Co-production – Metro Boomin, Noah Goldstein, Dean
- Additional production – Charlie Heat, Hudson Mohawke and Andrew Dawson
- Engineering – Goldstein, Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer and Dean
- Vocal recording – Shin Kamiyama
- Mix engineer – Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, California
- Mix assistants – Chris Galland, Ike Schultz and Jeff Jackson
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2016)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Canada|97|artist=Kanye West|rowheader=true|access-date=June 23, 2018}} |
| scope="row"| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan){{Cite web|url=https://www.sverigetopplistan.se/chart/215?dspy=2016&dspp=14|title=Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 14, 2016|language=sv|publisher=Sverigetopplistan|access-date=May 2, 2021}}
| 3 |
| {{single chart|UK|84|date=20160414|rowheader=true|access-date=July 12, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|UKrandb|23|date=20160414|rowheader=true|access-date=June 23, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|84|artist=Kanye West|rowheader=true|access-date=June 23, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|30|artist=Kanye West|rowheader=true|access-date=June 23, 2018}} |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|artist=Kanye West|title=FML|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2016|certyear=2019|id=8718|access-date=November 26, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Kanye West|title=FML|award=Silver|type=single|relyear=2016|certyear=2020|id=16612-5343-1|access-date=August 23, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Kanye West|title=FML|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2016|certyear=2020|access-date=February 27, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true | noshipments=true}}
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Kanye West songs}}
{{The Weeknd songs}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Hudson Mohawke
Category:Song recordings produced by Kanye West
Category:Song recordings produced by Metro Boomin
Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer)
Category:Songs written by Charlie Heat
Category:Songs written by Cyhi the Prynce
Category:Songs written by Kanye West
Category:Songs written by Metro Boomin
Category:Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer)
Category:Songs written by the Weeknd