I Don't Wanna Live Forever", alternatively titled "I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)",[1] is a song recorded by British singer-songwriter Zayn and American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for the soundtrack to the 2017 film Fifty Shades Darker. It was written by Swift, Sam Dew and Jack Antonoff, and produced by Antonoff. The single was released on December 9, 2016 by Universal Music Group.[2] The music video was released on January 27, 2017.[3
Composition[]
The song's lyrics and composition were based on situations portrayed in the film.[citation needed] "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" is an electro-R&B[4] ballad.[5] On the track, the pair trade "romantic overtures", while Zayn uses a falsetto on parts of the song, and Swift ponders what the relationship means.[5]
"I Don't Wanna Live Forever" is written in the key of A minor and moves at a tempo of 118 beats per minute in common time.[6] The song follows a chord progression of F–C–G–Am–F–C–G–G♯dim–Am, and the vocals span two octaves, from E3 to E5.[7]
Critical reception[]
Nolan Feenery of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+ rating: "Welcome to Taylor Swift’s Sexy Side." He also praised the vocals of both artists.[4] Lucas Villa of AXS thought the song was not as sexy as Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" or The Weeknd's "Earned It", writing, "Despite the neutered lyricism, Zayn saves the day and manages to maneuver his most magnificent performance to date."[8]
Commercial performance[]
The song upon release was available only on iTunes and Tidal. It was not serviced on Spotify upon launch but was later added the following week. In the United States, it sold 188,000 in its first week, in addition to a 25 million radio audience and 3 million streams. It debuted at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.[9] It is Zayn's second top 10 solo single and Taylor Swift's 20th top 10, making her the 16th artist and sixth woman to do so.[10] It debuted at number-one on the Digital Songs chart, as Zayn's fourth song (second solo song) and Swift's 11th song to top the chart, tying Swift with Katy Perry for the second-most in the chart's history, behind Rihanna.[10]It is also Zayn's second number-one on the Digital Songs chart in 2016, making him one of only two artists to top the chart with two songs that year, along with Drake.[11] The song later reached a new peak of number 2 on the Hot 100, behind "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran with 109 million radio audience[12] and 25.7 million streams,[13] becoming Zayn's second top 5 single (as solo artist), Swift's 11th top 5 single,[14] and the highest-charting Fifty Shades single.[12]
Across European charts, the song debuted at number-one in Spain and Sweden, becoming Swift's first number-one single in both countries, while becoming Zayn's first number-one in Spain and his second number-one in Sweden. It was certified platinum there. It reached the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Music video[]
The official music video of the song was released in January 27, 2017 through both Zayn and Swift's official YouTube account at the same time, and was later uploaded through the official Fifty Shades Vevo account as well. It was directed by Grant Singer and was produced by Saul Germaine. Combined, the music video has more than 340 million views on YouTube as of April 2017.[15][16][17]
Synopsis[]
The video starts with Zayn emerging from his car on a rainy night as the paparazzi take photos. As Zayn enters a hotel he starts singing his part and as the chorus begins he reaches the elevator with red lights and then pans over to another elevator with Swift singing her part and proceeds to her hotel room. Zayn in his room sings the chorus and Swift pours some champagne in a glass. The rest of the video is Zayn and Swift throwing objects like glasses, lamps, pillows across their rooms in anger with flashing blue and red lights. Zayn and Swift are seen standing together facing backs and singing the chorus together and looking at each other. The video ends with Swift on her bed singing the last part of the song.[15]
Awards and nominations[]
The song received a nomination for Best Collaboration at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards.[18][19] 2017Mtv Milliennial awards