User:Muniro/Undercover

"Undercover" is a song by American singer and songwriter Kehlani. The song features vocals from American rapper Slim Dias and was produced by Charlie Heat. It was released on January 7, 2017, and serves as the second single from her debut album SweetSexySavage. The single was nominated for three Grammys at the 60th Grammy Awards, including "Song Of The Year", "Best R&B Performance", and "Best Rap/Sung Performance". The song topped the charts in multiple countries worldwide including Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and France, and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song contains an interpolation of Don't Matter by Akon which itself interpolates Bob Marley’s classic “Zimbabwe”.

Release
The single was released on iTunes and across all streaming services on January 7, 2017 a week before the album was released. It was sent to urban radio and radio stations in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom a week later.

Composition
"Undercover" is described as an R&B song with elements of Latin pop included. The song's producer Charlie Heat said, in an interview with Genius, that he was heavily influenced by Latin music during the production of the song.

The opening two verses both interpolate the chorus of "Don't Matter" by Akon which interpolates Bob Marley’s 1979 classic “Zimbabwe”. For this reason they are both listed as songwriters.

In the song, Kehlani sings about having a secret relationship with a lover. After she came out as gay, it was speculated that the song alludes to being in the closet and having a relationship with a person of the same sex. She has since explained the interpretation, saying the song is for people of all sexual orientations and isn't strictly specificly for people of the LGBT community, however it could be interpreted as such.

Music video
The song's accompanying music video premiered on February 3, 2017 on Kehlani's YouTube account. The music video was directed by Allen Onyx. The music video includes the singer going through many sets and costume changes as she remains evasive with her love interest. The video pays homage to Lil' Kim's video for "Crush on You". Within six months, the video gained 300 million views on YouTube, the fastest video to so.

Chart performance
"Undercover" debuted at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of January 22, 2017. During its fifth week on the chart, it jumped to number 14. It became Kehlani's first top 20 entry in the United States, while it was Dias' first ever Billboard entry. It later reached number two, behind American hip hop group Migos' song Bad and Boujee, on the issue dated March 3, 2017. It again peaked at number two, this time behind American pop singer Ed Sheeran's song "Shape of You" on the issue dated March 24, 2017. The song lasted at number two for eight non-consecutive weeks.

Live performances
Kehlani and Dias both performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 14th, 2017. The two later performed the song on Saturday Night Live. During her Coachella set, Kehlani brought out Slim Dias to perform the song. Kehlani again brought him out to perform during the Atlanta stop of her SweetSexySavage Tour.

Remixes
The song has been remixed multiple times by many EDM artists including Devault, Salute, Coucheron, and Danny Olson. A remix by Norwegian electronic duo Adventure Club was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 60th Grammy Awards.

In other media
The song has been featured in the television shows Insecure, Star, and Queen Sugar. It is also featured in the soundtrack for the movie Girls Trip. Former U.S. President Barack Obama named the song in his list of his favorite songs of 2017.

Certifications
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