2017 single by Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean
"Feels" is a song recorded and produced by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris featuring American musician Pharrell Williams, American singer Katy Perry, and American rapper Big Sean. It was released on 15 June 2017 through Columbia Records as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 (2017), after "Slide", "Heatstroke" and "Rollin". Starrah assisted the artists in writing the song.[1][2]
"Feels" peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, it topped the charts in Belgium, Israel, Latvia, Lebanon and Poland, peaked within the top ten of the charts in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland, and the top 20 of the charts in Italy, Sweden and the United States. Emil Nava directed two music videos for the song, which respectively premiered in June and August of 2017.
Release
On 14 June 2017, Calvin Harris announced on social media that he would release the fourth single from Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 the next day, titled "Feels". The post included the single's cover art and credits.[3]
Composition
"Feels" is a disco-funk[4] and ska[5] song containing elements of dancehall, hip hop and electronica.[6] The bassline and chord progression of the song bear resemblance to "Let's Groove" (1981) by Earth, Wind and Fire; its authors, Maurice White and Wayne Vaughn, were later acknowledged in the song's credits.[7]
Critical reception
Andy Cush of Spin called the song "a little flimsy" while also noting that "the groove is unimpeachable" and that "It has a skillful melange of sounds from the mid-70s apex of analog recording, the era of disco and yacht rock: a warm and rounded bassline, some Nile Rodgers-style guitar, a slick descending line on Fender Rhodes."[8] Rolling Stone's Elia Leight said that the song is "a simple, lighthearted loop, which combines punctual ska guitar, a playful keyboard line and charming squeaks that recall a cartoon character's slip on a banana peel."[9] Brent Faulkner from The Musical Hype said the song is undercooked, leaving more to be desired, adding that it's "the type of record that is pleasing more because of the sound than the lyricism."[10]
Chart performance
In the US, "Feels" debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached a peak of 20, making it Harris' eighth top 20 hit, as well as Perry's eighteenth. It spent eighteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. "Feels" peaked at number five on the Canadian charts, giving Perry her eighteenth top ten in the country. In Harris' native United Kingdom, "Feels" topped the UK Singles Chart, making it Harris' eighth, Williams' fourth, Perry's fifth, and Sean's first chart-topping single on the chart.
Music videos
The song's accompanying music video was uploaded to Harris' Vevo channel on YouTube on 26 June 2017. The clip was directed by Emil Nava.[11] In the video, Harris, Williams, Perry and Big Sean lounge around on a desert island.[12]
A second video, also directed by Nava, followed two months later. It features all four artists as a band playing the track in front of a live audience and receiving applause for their performance.[13]
Personnel
Credits adapted from the song's liner notes.[3][14]
- Calvin Harris – composition, production, mixing, Ibanez 1200 Bass, Linn LinnDrum, 1976 Yamaha Ux Ebony Piano, Gibson SG Custom, 1965 Fender Stratocaster, Wurlitzer electric piano, claps
- Pharrell Williams – vocals, composition
- Katy Perry – vocals, composition
- Big Sean – vocals, composition
- Brittany Hazzard – composition
- Mike Larson – recording
- Marcos Tovar – recording
- Gregg Rominiecki – recording
- Jacob Dennis – recording assistance
- Iain Findlay – recording assistance
- Dave Kutch – mastering
