"Wicked Games" is the debut single by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was recorded at Site Sound Studios and mixed at Liberty Studios in Toronto. Producers Doc McKinney and Illangelo co-wrote the song and performed all instrumentation. Originally recorded for The Weeknd's 2011 mixtape House of Balloons, the song was remastered and released as the lead single for his 2012 compilation album Trilogy. It was released as a digital single on October 22, 2012, by XO and Republic Records. Upon release, the single received widespread acclaim from music critics.[citation needed] On May 9, 2013, "Wicked Games" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 2,000,000 units in the United States. The song was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Southpaw, the soundtrack's executive producer being American rapper Eminem who went on to produce a remix with The Weeknd on his later song "The Hills".
Music video[]
The music video for "Wicked Games" premiered on October 18, 2012, on the Weeknd's YouTube account on Vevo. The video starts off with a woman dancing in a coat with no clothes underneath, before the camera pans to the singer, who is shown singing expressively. Since its release, the music video has received over 200 million views on YouTube.
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
Woah, woah, ehh [Verse 1] [Pre-Hook] [Hook] [Verse 2] [Pre-Hook] [Hook] |
Personnel[]
Credits adapted from liner notes for Trilogy.
- The Weeknd – composer, primary artist
- Doc McKinney – composer, instrumentation, producer
- Illangelo – composer, instrumentation, mixing, producer
- Rainer Millar Blanchaer – composer
In other media[]
An orchestral cover version of the song was used in Westworld season 3 episode "The Mother of Exiles" arranged and composed by Ramin Djawadi.