"I Feel It Coming" | ||||
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Single by the Weeknd featuring Daft Punk | ||||
from the album Starboy | ||||
Released | November 24, 2016 | |||
Recorded | July 2016[1] | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | Disco-pop[3] | |||
Length | 4:29 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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The Weeknd singles chronology | ||||
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Daft Punk singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"I Feel It Coming" on YouTube |
"I Feel It Coming" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd featuring French electronic duo Daft Punk, from his third studio album, Starboy (2016). It was originally released for digital download as a promotional single on November 18, 2016. It was later sent to UK contemporary hit radio as the album's second single on November 24, 2016. The song was written and produced by the Weeknd, Daft Punk, Doc McKinney, and Cirkut, with Eric Chedeville receiving writing credits.
Primarily a disco-pop song, "I Feel It Coming" received praise from critics, and like the Weeknd's past songs, drew comparisons to the works of Michael Jackson. Commercially, the song peaked within the top ten in more than twenty countries, and peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on April 5, 2022 for selling more than six million units in the United States.
During an interview with Billboard on July 15, 2016, Republic Records executive vice president Wendy Goldstein mentioned that the Weeknd and Daft Punk were set to have a session two days from then.[1] The Weeknd would later announce his third studio album, Starboy and released its title track, which featured Daft Punk, on September 21, 2016.[4] On November 17, the Weeknd announced in now deleted Instagram posts that he would be releasing two songs in promotion of Starboy, which were "I Feel It Coming" and "Party Monster". The songs were released the following day.[5]
"I Feel It Coming" would later be promoted as Starboy's second single, being sent to contemporary hit radio in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2016.[6] It was later officially released as a single in the United States on December 6, 2016, being sent to rhythmic contemporary radios.[7]
In an interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1 Radio, the Weeknd stated that when he visited a recording studio in Paris, Daft Punk presented him with the draft instrumental for "I Feel It Coming". The Weeknd claimed that he wrote the lyrics in one hour, and that him and Daft Punk finished the song in 2-3 days.[8]
"I Feel It Coming" is a disco-pop song.[3][9][10] According to the sheet music published by Songs Music Publishing at Musicnotes.com, the song is written in the key of E-flat major and follows a tempo of 93 beats per minute in compound duple (6
8) time. The Weeknd's vocal range spans from E♭4 to B♭5.[11]
Lyrically, "I Feel It Coming" has been described as the Weeknd's "lustful approach to sex," in which he reassures the person he desires to not be afraid of falling in love again.[12] The song's chorus repeats the title of the song, "I feel it coming/I feel it coming, babe."[3] Ross Scarano of Complex pointed out that the line "I feel it coming" could be referring to an orgasm, writing, "What's coming might be an orgasm, or it might be a bright future where we can't remember past wrongs and old, bad habits."[13]
"I Feel It Coming" received generally positive reviews from critics, who mainly praised the Weeknd's vocals[a] and Daft Punk's production.[b] Sam Wolfson of The Guardian named the song as the "track of the week", stating that the song sounded like "Michael Jackson singing over a Shalamar beat". Wolfson criticized that there was "probably not one original idea" in the song, but further stated that it did not matter due to its "spectacular" execution. He would then praise the Weeknd's vocals, saying it was "pained and perfect over a bassline that sounds like it has a soul."[14] PopMatters staff gave the track a score of 7.75 out of 10: "The Weeknd sounds more like Michael Jackson than ever as he glides up to those high notes."[15] Delenda Joseph of Uproxx wrote that the Weeknd's vocals were similar to Michael Jackson's, stating that the song may as well have said "featuring Michael Jackson." Joseph later called the song "a straight up dance jam perfect for your weak attempts at recreating [Michael Jackson's] footwork in the comfort of your bathroom."[16]
In a more mixed review, Angus Harrison of Vice called the song "enchantingly average," and referred to the song's lyrics as a "four and [a] half minute slab of Kiss-FM pop about female orgasms." He wrote that the song's success was due to its simplicity, with a 5-note chorus and an instrumental he described as "clean". He then further wrote that the song could "herald a new era for chintzy disco-pop." He later stated that although the song was "so ostensibly unimpressive," it was "equally so beguiling."[3]
In Rolling Stone's review of Starboy, Mosi Reeves commended the track, stating that, ""I Feel It Coming," is a gem of Ibiza disco love... [it] is surprisingly sunny and fresh".[19] Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Mehan Jayasuriya wrote that "both of the Daft Punk collaborations are satisfying, if hardly groundbreaking", describing the song as "a slowed-down version of 'Get Lucky'".[20] Reviewing the album track-by-track, The Independent's Christopher Hooton praised the song and said, "the Daft Punk-featuring track initially fall[s] in with Michael Jackson and Toto on a Venn diagram but, crucially, [is] thrown off kilter by a melancholy keyboard line low in the mix in the chorus. [It] could definitely become an iconic track".[21]
Entertainment Weekly ranked "I Feel It Coming" at number 51 on its list of their best 100 songs of 2016, calling it a "quest for pop-perfection," and calling it a "sleek and-sexy cut from Starboy."[10] Billboard ranked it at number nine on their 100 best songs of 2017 list, saying that the song "offered hope to lovers who craved more out of a relationship," and praised Daft Punk's production, calling its instrumental "yearning but distinctly danceable."[17] Consequence ranked "I Feel It Coming" as the Weeknd's sixth best song, praising its depature from his usual "hedonistic approach to romance," and calling the Weeknd's vocals tender, while describing Daft Punk's production as "nostalgic '80s pop production."[18]
Following its initial release as a promotional single, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 48 on the chart dated December 10, 2016, before rising to number 22 the following week after the release of Starboy.[22] After its official release as a single, the song reached its number four peak on the chart dated April 15, 2017. The song spent 26 weeks on the chart.[23] "I Feel It Coming" was certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on April 5, 2022, for selling six million units in the United States.[24] Elsewhere, the song reached the top of the chart in France, and reached the top ten in other countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
In an interview with Billboard, the director of the music video for "I Feel It Coming", Warren Fu, stated that his elevator pitch for the video was a "love story in a cursed land." He stated that he saw inspiration from people who were entombed in volcano ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, particularly an image of the casting of a man who was reaching out before being buried in ash. For the aesthetic of the video, Fu wanted it to have a more vintage look than his past works, using pink and blue to "reinforce" the overall aesthetic, likening them to the 1980s TV series Knight Rider. Fu stated that when he looked for a female lead, he wanted "balance" between Daft Punk, who both were French and the Weeknd, who was Canadian, so he chose Japanese-American model Kiko Mizuhara to star as the female lead. The music video premiered on March 10, 2017, on the Weeknd's Vevo channel, and stars himself and Mizuhara, with Daft Punk appearing at the ending of the video.[25]
The video features the Weeknd dancing in a deserted planet, where he waits for a woman (played by Mizuhara) entombed in stone to come back to life so he can serenade her. After an eclipse, she returns to her stone state, and to the horror of the Weeknd, crumbles. After seeing a black snake emerge from the rubble, the Weeknd attempts to reach for it before turning into stone himself. He then erodes and is covered by snow over time. At the end of the video, Daft Punk appears, playing cloaked explorers, finding the remains of the Weeknd.[26]
The Weeknd performed "I Feel It Coming" for the first time on November 24, 2016 as a medley with "Starboy" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[27] The song was later performed the following night at the iHeartRadio Canada Jingle Ball.[28] The following year, he performed the song with Daft Punk for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on February 12, 2017.[29] The Weeknd performed it for the NRJ Music Awards on November 4, 2017.[30] The song was later included in the set list of the Weeknd's Super Bowl LV halftime show, on February 7, 2021.[31]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Starboy.[2]
Weekly charts[edit] |
Year-end charts[edit]
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[123] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
Belgium (BEA)[124] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada)[125] | 5× Platinum | 400,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[126] | 3× Platinum | 270,000‡ |
France (SNEP)[127] | Diamond | 233,333‡ |
Germany (BVMI)[128] | Platinum | 400,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI)[129] | 3× Platinum | 150,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON)[130] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[131] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[132] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV)[133] | 3× Platinum | 150,000‡ |
Portugal (AFP)[134] | 3× Platinum | 30,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[135] | 2× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
Sweden (GLF)[136] | 3× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[138] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000[137] |
United States (RIAA)[139] | 6× Platinum | 6,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
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Worldwide | November 18, 2016[c] | Digital download | [140] | |
United Kingdom | November 24, 2016 | Contemporary hit radio | [6] | |
United States | December 6, 2016 | Rhythmic contemporary | [7] | |
Italy | December 9, 2016 | Contemporary hit radio | Universal | [141] |
United States | January 3, 2017 |
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[142] |