Skeletons (Travis Scott song)
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Skeletons
| type = song
| artist = Travis Scott featuring Tame Impala, The Weeknd and Pharrell Williams
| album = Astroworld
| released = August 3, 2018
| genre = Psychedelic
| length = 2:25
| label = {{hlist|Cactus Jack|Grand Hustle|Epic}}
| writer = {{hlist|Jacques Webster II|Pharrell Williams|Kevin Parker|Abel Tesfaye|Kanye West|Reine Fiske|Michael Dean}}
| producer = {{hlist|Tame Impala|Scott}}
}}
"Skeletons" is a song by American rapper Travis Scott. It features guest vocals from fellow American musician Pharrell Williams, Australian psychedelic music project Tame Impala, and Canadian singer The Weeknd. The song was released through Cactus Jack, Grand Hustle and Epic Records as the seventh track from the former's third studio album Astroworld on August 3, 2018. Produced by Tame Impala and additionally produced by Scott himself, the latter and Kevin Parker of the project wrote the song alongside Williams, the Weeknd, Kanye West, Reine Fiske, and Mike Dean. "Skeletons" is one of the two songs on Astroworld that the Weeknd provides vocals on, with the other song being "Wake Up", which was the track after it on the album and was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio in 2019 as its fourth and final single.
Composition
"Skeletons" has been described as a "kaleidoscope-pop" song that draws lyrical influences from Kanye West by Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/travis-scott-astroworld/|title=Travis Scott: Astroworld Album Review|last=Fitzmaurice|first=Larry|date=August 7, 2018|website=Pitchfork|access-date=August 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807155838/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/travis-scott-astroworld/|archive-date=August 7, 2018|url-status=live}} Grant Rindner of The Line of Best Fit described the production of the song as "typically kaleidoscopic, but features the menacing, gothic bass that you hear on Travis Scott standouts like '3500' or 'Antidote'".{{cite web|last=Rindner|first=Grant|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/astroworld-travis-scott-album-review|title=Travis Scott – Astroworld|work=The Line of Best Fit|date=August 8, 2018|access-date=August 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821071507/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/astroworld-travis-scott-album-review|archive-date=August 21, 2018|url-status=live}} Aaron Williams of Uproxx summarized: "The first time either of these two particular connections worked out in Travis' favor, 'Skeletons' is the proof that a little goes a long way, as he ladles Pharrell and Abel [the Weeknd]'s contributions over his own recipe, rather than steeping himself in their respective sounds".{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/music/travis-scotts-best-songs-ranked/|title=All Of Travis Scott's Songs, Ranked|last=Williams|first=Aaron|publisher=Uproxx|date=August 9, 2018|access-date=February 26, 2024}}
On June 27, 2022, a demo version of the track leaked online after it was purchased for $8,000. This version, dated March 2018, sees Kanye West as the primary artist. The song was supposedly Scott's at first, before he briefly gave it to West during the sessions for his album Ye (2018), then known as Love Everyone, which West then gave back to Scott. Differences include additional background vocals from Scott, The Weeknd, and Williams, a sample of an interview of Elon Musk, a different mix, and West performing two separate verses.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVnxs5HMC5g |title=Kanye West - Skeletons |date=July 11, 2022 |last=Kanye |access-date=July 12, 2024 |via=YouTube}} The first verse is over 2 minutes long, where West raps lyrics that would eventually be reused for his song "Cudi Montage" from his collaboration album Kids See Ghosts (2018) with Kid Cudi, while the second verse has West using the same lyrics Scott would go on to use for his contributions. Ultimately, all of West's vocals would be removed, although he retains a writing credit on the final release.
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2018)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Canada|42|artist=Travis Scott|rowheader=true|date=August 18, 2018}} |
| scope="row"| France (SNEP){{cite web|url=http://www.snepmusique.com/tops-semaine/top-singles-telecharges/?ye=2018&we=32|title=SNEP Top Singles: Week 32 (2018)|publisher=Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|date=August 10, 2018|language=French}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
| 110 |
| scope="row"| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan){{cite web|url=http://www.sverigetopplistan.se/netdata/ghl002.mbr/lista?liid=215&dfom=20180803|title=Swedish Heatseekers Chart - 3 August 2018}}
| 12 |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|47|artist=Travis Scott|rowheader=true|date=August 18, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|27|artist=Travis Scott|rowheader=true|date=August 18, 2018}} |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Travis Scott|title=Skeletons|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2018|certyear=2023|access-date=May 2, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Travis Scott|title=Skeletons|award=Silver|type=single|relyear=2018|certyear=2023|id=19685-4514-1|access-date=February 9, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Travis Scott|title=Skeletons|award=Platinum|number=2|type=single|relyear=2018|certyear=2024|access-date=November 27, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|nosales=true|streaming=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Travis Scott songs}}
{{Pharrell Williams songs}}
{{Tame Impala}}
{{The Weeknd songs}}
Category:Pharrell Williams songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Travis Scott
Category:Songs written by Travis Scott
Category:Songs written by Pharrell Williams
Category:Songs written by Kevin Parker (musician)
Category:Songs written by the Weeknd