Drake and Taylor Swift are probably the two biggest musicians in the world today. No one needs help charting the new No. 1 album or score a hit single, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still want to use smart tactics to climb the charts. Now, Drake is using Swift’s name to help one of his latest songs become a proper smash.
On Friday, November 17, Drake released six new songs, which he announced just a few hours ago as a collection titled. Scary Hours 3. What was initially expected to be a standalone EP—as was the case with the first two in that series—ended up actually being a deluxe edition of his latest album. For All Dogs.
Included in the Scary Hours edition of For All Dogs is a song titled “Red Button.” The tune is different from others released at the same time because of a part of a verse. In the cut, Drake raps the lines: “Taylor Swift the only n**** that I ever rated / Only one could make me drop the album just a little later.”
In those lyrics, Drake admits that in the past, he switched albums to avoid competing with Swift. He can outsell anyone in the industry, and it’s clear that he doesn’t want to fight him and lose to another No. decided to open this way.
Soon after six new ones Scary Hours 3 The songs dropped, the media quickly covered not only the music itself but the Swift reference. In fact, Drake’s rapping about the pop superstar became one of the hottest topics of the day. That kind of attention is invaluable in the first few days that a new track or collection is out.
Headlines centered around Drake’s name-dropping of Swift likely inspired thousands, if not millions, of people to listen to “Red Button”. Countless people have taken to streaming sites like Spotify and AppleAAPL Music to hear the line themselves after reading it or seeing it mentioned on social media. Drake would have seen his new tunes perform well regardless of what he was saying or who he was talking to, but bringing Swift into the fray certainly didn’t hurt things.
“Red Button” opened at No. 6 on Spotify’s US chart for November 17, the day the tune was made available. It racked up 1.3 million streams that day alone. The song isn’t off to the highest start Scary Hours 3but it still ranks as one of the most popular country cuts, beating out many other recent releases from Drake.
All the streams and sales that “Red Button” got in its first week—fueled, in part, by the intense attention and discussion generated by the mere mention of Swift—could make the tune a hit. “Red Button” will easily find its way to the top of the Hot 100 in a few days, along with other cuts from the newly expanded album.
This nameropping was a smart promotional move on Drake’s part. It connects him to Swift, the hottest and most talked about artist anywhere, without causing any drama. His discussion was respectful and fun for everyone involved, which doesn’t happen often in these types of situations. Drake may benefit greatly from this, but Swift sure doesn’t mind the flattery she’s getting.
MORE FROM FORBESDrake Honors Taylor Swift In Her New Song ‘Red Button’By Hugh McIntyre
I’m a music journalist based in New York City. My byline has appeared in The Huffington Post, Billboard, Mashable, Noisey, The Hollywood Reporter, MTV, Fuse, and many other magazines and blogs around the world. I love following the charts and the biggest and most successful names in the industry, and I’m always interested in highlighting amazing successes and discovering what’s next.
