"Love Drought" is a song by American singer Beyoncé. It is the seventh track on her sixth studio album, Lemonade (2016), released through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. The song's music video, directed by Kahlil Joseph, is part of Beyoncé's 2016 film Lemonade, aired on HBO alongside the album's release.[1]
| "Love Drought" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Beyoncé | |
| from the album Lemonade | |
| Released | April 24, 2016 |
| Recorded | Jungle Studios, New York City, 2014 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:58 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Music video | |
| "Love Drought" on YouTube | |
It was written by Ingrid Burley, Mike Dean and Beyoncé while the production was handled by the latter two. Burley was inspired to write "Love Drought" following an unpleasant experience with representatives at Parkwood Entertainment. Following the release of Lemonade, the track appeared on several music charts, including 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and top 100 in the UK, Scotland, and Canada. Beyoncé performed the song in a medley with "Sandcastles" at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2017.
Background
edit"Love Drought" was written by Ingrid Burley, Mike Dean and Beyoncé while the production was handled by the latter two.[2] During an interview in June 2016, Burley revealed that the song was not inspired by Jay Z's infidelity, although such speculations circulated in the media. She revealed that Beyoncé herself, was also unaware that the lyrics of "Love Drought" were aimed at Parkwood Entertainment. Describing it as a "metaphor about music", she recalled that the song was conceived after two representatives of the label lied to her that Beyoncé was not considering working on new music.[3] Following a Los Angeles writing camp, she witnessed that the singer wrote notes for new material and explained that she wrote the lyrics "Ten times out of nine I know you're lying / But nine times out of ten, I know you're trying", "just thinking as I'm looping this beat I couldn't get out of my head the fact that they just lied to me".[3]
Commercial performance
editAfter the release of Lemonade, "Love Drought" appeared on several music charts. It debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 47 for the chart issue dated May 14, 2016.[4] The same week, the song also entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs and the Canadian Hot 100 charts at numbers 28 and 84, respectively.[4][5] "Love Drought" debuted at a position of 69 on the UK Singles Chart for the chart dated April 29, 2016.[6] The following week it descended to the position of 84 before falling off the chart.[7] On the UK R&B Chart it peaked at 26 in its first week of charting.[8] For the week of April 22, 2016, the track debuted at number 152 on the singles chart in France.[9] In Australia, it peaked at number 19 on the ARIA Urban Chart following the release of Lemonade.[10]
Personnel
editCredits adapted from Beyoncé's website.[11]
- Song credits
- Writing – Mike Dean, Ingrid Burley, Beyoncé
- Production – Mike Dean, Beyoncé
- Vocal production – Beyoncé
- Keyboards and drum programming – Mike Dean
- Recording – Stuart White; Jungle City Studios, New York City
- Audio mixing – Stuart White; Pacifique Studio, Los Angeles
- Track engineering – Mike Dean
- Second engineering – Ramon Rivas
- Assistant mix engineering – John Cranfield
- Mastering – Dave Kutch, The Mastering Palace, New York City
Charts
edit| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Urban Singles (ARIA)[10] | 19 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[5] | 84 |
| France (SNEP)[9] | 152 |
| Scotland (OCC)[12] | 91 |
| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[13] | 14 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[6] | 69 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[8] | 26 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 47 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] | 28 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[16] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ "Beyoncé Releases New Album Lemonade Featuring Kendrick Lamar, Jack White, the Weeknd, James Blake". Pitchfork Media. April 23, 2016. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ Lemonade (Media notes). Beyoncé. Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment. 2016.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Kaufman, Gil (June 16, 2016). "Beyonce Co-Writer Reveals Real Meaning Behind 'Love Drought' From 'Lemonade'". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
- ^ a b "All 12 of Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Tracks Debut on Hot 100". Billboard.biz. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ a b "Beyonce Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 06 May 2016 - 12 May 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
- ^ a b "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
- ^ a b "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ a b "ARIA Australian Top 40 Urban Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ "Beyoncé: LEMONADE: Credits: LEMONADE". Beyoncé.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ "Sverigetopplistan". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
- ^ "Desiigner Holds Off Drake Atop Hot 100, Prince & Beyonce Hit Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Beyonce Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ "American single certifications – Beyoncé – Love Drought". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 17, 2024.