"Lala (Unlocked)"
Single by Alicia Keys featuring Swae Lee
from the album Keys
ReleasedSeptember 9, 2021 (2021-09-09)
GenreR&B
Length4:26
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Alicia Keys singles chronology
"Wasted Energy (Remix)"
(2020) 		"Lala (Unlocked)"
(2021) 		"Best of Me"
(2021)
Swae Lee singles chronology
"In the Dark"
(2021) 		"Lala (Unlocked)"
(2021)
Music video
"LALA" on YouTube

"Lala (Unlocked)" (stylized as "LALA (Unlocked)") is a song by American singer Alicia Keys featuring fellow American rapper and singer Swae Lee. The song was written by the artists alongside Darryl Ellis, Ruben Locke, Paul Richmond, and Mike Will Made It, who produced it with Keys. It was released through RCA Records as the lead single from her eighth studio album, Keys, on September 9, 2021.

Background and release

Keys announced the song on social media on September 1, posting a snippet of the song and the single's cover art.[1] A 30-second snippet of the song was posted on Keys's YouTube channel on September 4, 2021.[2] In an interview on Apple Music 1 with Zane Lowe, Keys explained the creative process of the collaboration:

"His energy and how we just wrote the song. It just felt so, it’s just like it’s tumbling from, I don’t know where it came from. …And so, but what I love about it is it’s so unexpected because you might see Swae featured on my record and you might expect something, or you might not expect something. I’m not sure what people expect, but what I love about it is I personally feel like you never heard Swae like this before".[3]

Composition

"Lala" is an R&B song that samples "In the Mood" by Tyrone Davis.[4][5] Swae Lee sings on the track "Light the incense/ Not to mention/ Skin like whiskey/ She's cold like on the rocks".[1] Keys sings "Feelings get lost in the lala".[6]

Critical reception

Rolling Stone called the song "sultry" and wrote that Keys and Lee "trade flirtatious lines" on the song.[6] Rap-Up wrote that Keys and Lee "show off their chemistry as they trade love-drunk verses" on the "breezy" track.[7] In his review of the album, Liam Inscoe-Jones from The Line of Best Fit called the song “slick”, but opined that the song should have been on the Originals side of the album.[8]

Live performances

Keys and Swae Lee performed the song at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2021.[9] Their performance was broadcast from Liberty State Park.[10] Rolling Stone wrote that Keys sang "sultry rendition" of the song while Vibe commented that Keys' and Lee's "creative chemistry translated from the studio to the big stage".[11][12] USA Today ranked the performance as the fifth best performance of the show while Paste named it one of the best performances, commenting that "Swae Lee['s] heavily autotuned vocals were quite a contrast to Keys’ effortlessly smooth singing".[10][13]

Charts

Chart performance for "Lala (Unlocked)"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
US Hot R&B Songs (Billboard)[14] 20
US Adult R&B Songs (Billboard)[15] 25

References

  1. ^ a b Bowenbank, Starr (2021-09-01). "Alicia Keys Uses Her Midas Touch to Announce New Song Featuring Swae Lee". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  2. ^ "LALA Teaser - Alicia Keys Ft. Swae Lee". YouTube. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  3. ^ "Alicia Keys Tells Apple Music About New Song 'LALA (Unlocked)' Featuring Swae Lee And Previews Forthcoming New Music". Grungecake. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  4. ^ "LALA (Unlocked) (feat. Swae Lee) - Single by Alicia Keys". Apple Music. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  5. ^ Powell, Jon (2021-09-09). "Alicia Keys Teams Up with Swae Lee and Mike WiLL Made-It for "LALA (Unlocked)"". Revolt. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  6. ^ a b Legaspi, Althea (2021-09-09). "Hear Alicia Keys, Swae Lee's Sultry New Duet 'LaLa'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  7. ^ "Alicia Keys And Swae Lee Team Up On 'LALA (Unlocked)'". Rap-Up. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  8. ^ Inscoe-Jones, Liam (2021-12-08). "Alicia Keys Continues to Settle Into a Fruitful Groove on the Unique Double Album KEYS". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  9. ^ Hussey, Allison (2021-09-12). "MTV VMAs 2021: Watch Alicia Keys Perform "Lala" and "Empire State of Mind"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  10. ^ a b Ruggieri, Melissa (2021-09-12). "Brutally Honest Reviews of Every VMAs 2021 Performance, Including Lil Nas X and Ed Sheeran". USA Today. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  11. ^ Kreps, Daniel (2021-09-12). "Alicia Keys, Swae Lee Debut New Single 'LaLa' at 2021 VMAs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  12. ^ Brown, Breezy (2021-09-13). "Alicia Keys And Swae Lee Perform "LALA (Unlocked)" At MTV Video Music Awards". Vibe. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  13. ^ Russell, Scott (2021-09-13). "The 10 Best 2021 VMAs Performances". Paste. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  14. ^ "Alicia Keys Chart History (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "Alicia Keys Chart History (Adult R&B Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
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