See Me Now
{{Infobox song
| name = See Me Now
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = Kanye West featuring Beyoncé, Charlie Wilson and Big Sean
| album = My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Deluxe Edition)
| released = August 11, 2010
| recorded = 2010
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Hip hop
| length = 6:04
| label = {{hlist|Roc-A-Fella|Def Jam}}
| writer = {{hlist|Brenda Russell|Brian Russell|No I.D.|Beyoncé Knowles|Kanye West}}
| producer = {{hlist|Kanye West|Lex Luger|No I.D.}}
}}
File:See Me Now Beyonce and Ye.ogg
"See Me Now" is a song by American rapper Kanye West featuring R&B singers Beyoncé and Charlie Wilson. The album version includes a verse by Big Sean and is included on West's fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) as an iTunes Store bonus track. It was written by West, Knowles, Wilson and Sean, while production was handled by West, Lex Luger and No I.D.
"See Me Now" received generally positive reviews from music critics. The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart in 2010 and appeared at number 160 on the 2011 year-end South Korean Gaon Chart.
Background and composition
"See Me Now" was produced by West, Lex Luger and No I.D. Southside was in the studio during Luger's production work on the song, which led to him being involved with West's 2011 Jay-Z collaboration "Illest Motherfucker Alive".{{cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2010/08/check-out-kanye-west-see-me-now-feat-beyonce/|title=Check Out: Kanye West – "See Me Now" (feat. Beyonce)|publisher=Consequence of Sound|last=Young|first=Alex|date=August 11, 2010|access-date=February 28, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://respect-mag.com/2011/08/the-illest-motherfucker-alive-an-interview-with-southside/|title="The Illest Motherfucker Alive" - An Interview with SouthSide|publisher=RESPECT.|date=August 30, 2011|access-date=February 28, 2019}} It premiered on August 11, 2010. The song was also available on West's website, also on the same day, for a free digital download.{{cite web|url=http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/2010/08/see-me-now-feat-beyonce-charlie-wilson/|title=See Me Now Feat Beyonce, Charlie Wilson|publisher=Kanyeuniversecity.com|date=August 11, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815212648/http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/2010/08/see-me-now-feat-beyonce-charlie-wilson/|archive-date=August 15, 2010|access-date=June 23, 2012}} The album version has an additional verse by Big Sean and is included on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as an iTunes bonus track. Knowles recorded her vocals for the song at 5am.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/956902/kanye-west-premieres-beyonce-track-album-due-nov-16|title=Kanye West Premieres Beyonce Track, Album Due Nov. 16|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|first=Mariel|last=Concepcion|date=August 11, 2010|access-date=June 23, 2012}}
During the bridge of the song, Knowles sings the lines, "I know one thing, my momma would be proud/And you see me looking up cause I know she's looking down right now". During the hook Wilson sings the lines "I know you see me now right now, I know you see me now right now" with a "deep" tenor.
In October 2010 "Never See Me Again", a different song with a similar title, leaked. Described as a "a nine-minute melancholy demo song", it was supposedly recorded while West was in a self-imposed exile to Hawaii due to the backlash he received after interrupting Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Online speculation later formed the theory "Never See Me Again" was to be West's final song before retiring or committing suicide; West went public with suicidal ideation during this time.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kanye-west-says-he-had-considered-suicide-953402/ | title=Kanye West Says He Had Considered Suicide | magazine=Billboard }} The song interpolates "I Never Want to See You Again" by Quasi. "See Me Now" has been viewed as the triumphant, louder spiritual successor to "Never See Me Again".{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIIgOmlQdx8 | title=The ULTIMATE Kanye West Iceberg Explained: PART 2 | website=YouTube | date=22 May 2021 }}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = Rolling Stone
| rev1Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}
}}
Christian Hoard of the Rolling Stone gave the song a rating of three and a half out of five stars, writing in his review of the song: "'I'm Socrates, but my skin more chocolaty,' shouts Kanye, who goes on to detail several feats of attention-whore behavior — cruising in Ferraris, rocking fur coats, walking into high-end restaurants with no shoes on. But the sound is remarkably warm, a gospel-style mix of heartfelt crooning (from Beyoncé and... Charlie Wilson) and plush accompaniment that's perfect for worshipping at the altar of Yeezy."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/songreviews/see-me-now-20100816|title=Kanye West feat. Beyoncé and Charlie Wilson|magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=Wenner Media|first=Christian|last=Hoard|date=August 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228042137/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/songreviews/see-me-now-20100816|archive-date=December 28, 2017|url-status=dead|access-date=December 29, 2011}}
Chart performance
"See Me Now" debuted and peaked at number two on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart on August 28, 2010. It appeared at number 160 on the year-end South Korean Gaon Chart for 2011.
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2010)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/chart-search-results/singles/3122583 |title=Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: Week Ending August 28, 2010 |date=July 1, 2006 |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |access-date=June 25, 2011 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008003540/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/chart-search-results/singles/3122583 |archive-date=October 8, 2012 }}
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2011)
! scope="col"| Position |
|---|
| scope="row"|South Korea Gaon International Chart{{cite web|url= http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon|title=Annual South Korea International Chart|publisher=Gaon Chart|access-date=March 31, 2012}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 160 |
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://kanyewest.com/ Kanye West' official website]
- [http://www.beyonceonline.com/us/ Beyoncé Knowles' official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206173813/http://www.beyonceonline.com/us |date=2012-02-06 }}
{{Kanye West songs}}
{{Beyoncé songs}}
{{Charlie Wilson}}
{{Big Sean singles}}
Category:Charlie Wilson (singer) songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Kanye West
Category:Song recordings produced by Lex Luger (musician)
Category:Songs written by Beyoncé
Category:Songs written by Big Sean