Sunflower (Post Malone and Swae Lee song)

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"Sunflower"
Sunflower (Spider-Man- Into the Spider-Verse).jpg
Single by Post Malone and Swae Lee
from the album Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Released October 18, 2018
Format
Digital download streaming
Genre R&B, Hip hop[1]
Length 2:38
Label Republic
Songwriter(s)
Austin Post Khalif Brown Scott Lang Billy Walsh Louis Bell
Producer(s)
Carter Lang Louis Bell
Post Malone singles chronology
"Better Now"
(2018) "Sunflower"
(2018) "Wow"
(2018)
Swae Lee singles chronology
"Real Friends"
(2018) "Sunflower"
(2018) "Close to Me"
(2018)
Music video
"Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)" on YouTube
"Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)",[2] more commonly known simply as
"Sunflower", is a song performed by American recording artists Post Malone and Swae
Lee for the soundtrack to the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.[3] The song
was released as a single on October 18, 2018.[4] It became Malone's third and Lee's
first song as a soloist to top the Billboard Hot 100.[5]

Contents
1 Background
2 Music video
3 Reception
4 Chart performance
5 Charts
5.1 Weekly charts
5.2 Year-end charts
6 Certifications
7 Release history
8 Other versions
9 See also
10 References
Background
Malone confirmed his involvement with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in October
2, 2018 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in which he announced that he
wrote "Sunflower", which he also performs, and played a snippet of the song.[6] On
October 15, Swae Lee revealed that he would also perform the song as a featured
artist, and released another snippet of the song. Lee said that he was "very
excited" for people to listen the song.[7] On October 18, "Sunflower" was released
as a single.[4] Spring Aspers, head of music and creative affairs at Sony Pictures,
said that "Post and Swae have delivered a song that�s both heroic and emotional,
which is exactly what a Spider-Man story needs. It�s anthemic, but also heartfelt �
the perfect soundtrack for Miles to discover the Spider-Man inside himself".[2]
Swae Lee called Sunflower one of his favorites collaborations in 2018, which he
stated it was "because it�s a movie placement [in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-
Verse]. The main character sings �Sunflower� and uses my vocals to calm him down in
a certain situation -- like my music was therapeutic for him".[8]

Music video
On October 18, 2018, a music video of the song was released. The video is composed
of footage of the film and the song's lyrics.[4] On January 9, 2019, another music
video of the song was released, which is live action. The video contains an
exclusive look at the recording session for the song.[9]. Since its release, the
music video has received over 560 million views on YouTube.

Reception
�Sunflower� received acclaim from music critics. In Billboard, Gil Kaufman called
it "a funky, dreamy ballad" after listening to a preview of the song.[6] Israel
Daramola from Spin called "Sunflower" a "glitchy, soulful record" that "will appeal
to fans of the more melodic songs made by Post and Swae Lee, as they commit to full
crooning throughout. It�s a short and sweet, hazy little pop song that makes sense
for a kid�s film or possibly an MTV show about California teens".[1] Patrick Doyle
of Rolling Stone characterized the "hyper-catchy" song as "a diary of a rocky
relationship, which walks the line between hip-hop and dream-pop".[10] Sara Salmat
of Bam! Smack! Pow!, called the song "a cute, upbeat, and feel-good song".[11]

Chart performance

Swae Lee (left) is the first artist to lead the Hot 100 as a soloist after reigning
with a duo or group since Justin Timberlake (right).[5]
"Sunflower" debuted at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. After spending
three weeks in the top five, it reached number one on the chart issue dated January
19, 2019. It became Post Malone's third and Swae Lee's first song as a soloist to
top the chart. "Sunflower" is the first song from a soundtrack to reach the top of
the Hot 100 since Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" from the Trolls
soundtrack (2016). Additionally, "Sunflower" is the highest-charting song from a
Spider-Man franchise soundtrack, passing Chad Kroeger's "Hero", featuring Josey
Scott, from Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man, which reached number three in
2002. "Sunflower" also marks the first Hot 100 number one by two co-billed male
leads with no other accompanying acts since George Michael and Elton John's "Don't
Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (1992).[5] "Sunflower" descended to #2 on the Hot 100
the week after it led the chart, but it remained near the top of the chart for
months, going so far as to return to the top two in April. It led the Rhythmic
Songs chart for four weeks and crossed over to pop radio.

Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (2018�19) Peak
position
Argentina (Argentina Hot 100)[12] 51
Australia (ARIA)[13] 1
Austria (�3 Austria Top 40)[14] 19
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 15
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[16] 14
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] 1
China Airplay/FL (Billboard)[18] 22
Croatia (HRT)[19] 44
Czech Republic (R�dio Top 100)[20] 18
Czech Republic (Singles Digit�l Top 100)[21] 7
Denmark (Tracklisten)[22] 3
Estonia (IFPI)[23] 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[24] 8
France (SNEP)[25] 63
Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 36
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[27] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[28] 3
Italy (FIMI)[29] 33
Latvia (Latvijas Top 40)[30] 18
Malaysia (RIM)[31] 1
Mexico (Billboard)[32] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[33] 19
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[34] 33
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[35] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[36] 6
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[37] 81
Portugal (AFP)[38] 13
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[39] 15
Singapore (RIAS)[40] 2
Slovakia (R�dio Top 100)[41] 78
Slovakia (Singles Digit�l Top 100)[42] 6
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[43] 96
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[44] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 22
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[46] 3
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[47] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[48] 1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[49] 29
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[50] 1
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[51] 4
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[52] 1
Year-end charts
Chart (2018) Position
Australia (ARIA)[53] 85
Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[54] 5� Platinum 350,000^
Belgium (BEA)[55] Gold 20,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[56] 2� Platinum 60,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[57] Platinum 600,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[58] 3� Platinum 3,000,000double-dagger
*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Italy October 19, 2018 Contemporary hit radio Universal [59]
United States October 23, 2018 Republic [60]
Rhythmic contemporary radio [61]
March 29, 2019 7-inch vinyl single [62]
Other versions
A remix of the song, featuring new lyrics performed by Nicky Jam and Prince Royce,
was released on February 22, 2019, as a bonus track in a deluxe version of the
soundtrack of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.[63]
American indie pop band Vampire Weekend covered "Sunflower" on BBC Radio 1's Live
Lounge, in reference to their single of the same name from Father of the Bride
(2019).[64]
See also
List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2019
List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2019
List of number-one singles of 2019 (Australia)
List of number-one songs of 2018 (Malaysia)
References