Welcome to Heartbreak

"Welcome to Heartbreak" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, from his fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak (2008). It features then-newly-signed GOOD Music artist Kid Cudi, and was co-produced by West with Jeff Bhasker and Plain Pat.[1] The song was inspired by a conversation West had with MTV Executive Vice President Dave Sirulnick, who showed him some photos of his wife and children. It struck West that he really wanted to be married and have a family, but it hadn't worked out for him. Despite not being released as a single at that time, the song managed to enter the pop charts.[2] The song did feature on the Kiss and BBC Radio 1Xtra playlists in the United Kingdom. The song was supposed to be officially released as the third single from 808s & Heartbreak in the U.K. on May 18, 2009, but was never released.

"Welcome to Heartbreak"
Song by Kanye West featuring Kid Cudi
from the album 808s & Heartbreak
ReleasedNovember 24, 2008
Recorded2008
Genre
Length4:23
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Music video
"Welcome to Heartbreak" on YouTube

Critical reception

"Welcome to Heartbreak" was met by positive reviews from music critics, many of whom cited it, along with "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless" as one of the highlights of 808s & Heartbreak. In a review of the album, Brandon Perkins of URB analyzed the song's confessional lyrical content, saying, "On 'Welcome to Heartbreak,' Kanye pits his prized possessions against the simplicity of 'real life', marking the basic juxtapositions with a disconnected yearning: 'My friend showed me pictures of his kids/All I could show him was pictures of my cribs.' In the landscape of 808, Kanye's aspirations for fame have created a mutually exclusive dichotomy with family and love."[3] Blender describes the song's sonic texture as, "so icy and desolate it should come with a pair of snowshoes" while PopMatters commented that "... it's the tone of the story that leaves the impression, not the stories themselves. He turns the vocal effects off to sound naked, vulnerable."[4][5] Kid Cudi also received praise for his vocal ability, with Wilson McBee of Slant Magazine writing that his, "anxious cooing provides a perfect counter to West's attenuated sketches about fame and self-loathing."[6]

Chart performance

Backed by the momentum produced by the release of 808s & Heartbreak, "Welcome to Heartbreak" charted on the Billboard Pop 100. The song peaked at number 87 based only on digital downloads.[7] It was the third in a streak of album cuts that managed to enter the charts despite not being released as a single yet, preceded by the tenth track "See You in My Nightmares" which was a "Hot Shot Debut," peaking at number twenty-one in the U.S. and at number 22 in Canada, and the fourth track "Amazing" which charted at 89 on the Hot 100.[8][9][10] "Welcome to Heartbreak" peaked at number 26 on the UK R&B Chart on April 26, 2009, which was its third week on the chart.[11] Two weeks later, the song remained in the chart for the fifth week at number 33, which was the date it was originally scheduled to be released as a single.[12]

Music video
Kanye West as he appears in the music video of "Welcome to Heartbreak."

The music video for "Welcome to Heartbreak" was released on February 17, 2009, on West's blog, and was directed by Nabil Elderkin.[2] The video, which features Kid Cudi, was filmed in a subway and distinctively expresses multifaceted, colorful patchworks of compression artifacts laced throughout its visuals, with certain scenes shot in slow motion. The resulting choppy, pixelated imagery makes it appear as if the software that rendered the final video outputted it in a low-resolution, artifact-heavy way. Elderkin pitched the concept, which he refers to as "datamoshing", to Kanye while the two were collaborating on the photo album for West's Glow in the Dark Tour book. "I knew that was the song this video had to be for. He liked what I showed him, and I nagged him a few times about doing it. ... I told him again, I really felt this would be a great visual for the song, and he pulled the trigger. I got busy on the phone trying to put it together, and somehow we did it the next day in New York. I shot all the extra components the following week in L.A." Elderkin felt the visual technique was perfect for portraying the tone of the introductory track. "I wanted to use [the technique] in a more of strategic way, using calculated moshes, colors and textures to complement the effect. Different parts of the songs represented different feelings, and I wanted to come with a visual representation of the flow and textures that are I feel are very important in this song." Following its completion, the music video was released ahead of schedule after they learned that the technique used within it had been employed in another video by the Brooklyn-based electronic group Chairlift.[13] At the 2009 Antville Music Video Awards, the video won the Hype Williams Award.

Awards and nominations
See also: List of awards and nominations received by Kanye West
Awards
Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2009 Antville Music Video Awards Best Performance Video Nominated [14]
Hype Williams Award Won
Best Music Video of the Year Nominated

Live performances

While showcasing artists signed onto his GOOD Music imprint, West performed the song live with Kid Cudi at SXSW on March 21, 2009.[15][16] West and Cudi also performed it together live at the Hollywood Bowl when West performed the entirety of 808s & Heartbreak over two nights in September 2015.[17] On November 11, 2018, the song was included in the debut performance of West & Kid Cudi as Kids See Ghosts at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.[18][19]

Chart positions
Chart (2008-09) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20] 112
UK R&B (OCC)[21] 27
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[7] 87

Personnel

Information taken from 808s & Heartbreak liner notes.[1]

  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Patrick Reynolds, Scott Mescudi
  • Producers: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Plain Pat
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer, Ryan West
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Strings arrangements: Larry Gold
  • Violins: Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec, Luigi Mazzochi, Gregory Teperman, Olga Konopelsky, Charles Parker
  • Viola: Davis Barnett, Alexandra Leem. Cello: James J. Cooper, III, Jennie Lorenzo
  • Bass: Miles Davis
  • Background vocals: Jeff Bhasker
  • Mixer: Manny Marroquin
  • Engineer: Jeff Chestek.
  • Assistant engineers: Montez Roberts, Rick Friedrich, John Stahl

References
  1. 808s & Heartbreak (Media notes). Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records. 2008. 0-06025-1791919-8.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. West, Kanye (February 18, 2009). "Welcome to Heartbreak Directed by Nabil". Kanye West blog. Kanye West/Mascotte Holdings, LLC. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  3. Perkins, Brandon (November 20, 2008). "CD Reviews Kanye West :: 808s & Heartbreak". URB. NativeSon Media, Inc. Archived from the original on July 7, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  4. Eells, Josh (November 24, 2008). "808s & Heartbreak – Blender". Blender. Alpha Media Group Inc. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  5. Heaton, Dave (December 1, 2008). "Kanye West 808s and Heartbreak < Reviews". PopMatters. PopMatters Media, Inc. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  6. McBee, Wilson (November 24, 2008). "Slant Magazine Music Review: Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak". Slant Magazine. Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  7. "Pop 100 – Welcome To Heartbreak". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 13, 2008. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  8. "The Billboard Hot 100 – See You In My Nightmares". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 13, 2008. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  9. "Canada Hot 100 – See You In My Nightmares". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 13, 2008. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  10. "The Billboard Hot 100 – Amazing". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 13, 2008. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  11. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  12. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  13. Rodriguez, Jayson (February 18, 2009). "Kanye West Rushes New Video Onto His Web Site". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  14. "Antville Music Video Awards 2009". Antville. December 21, 2008. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  15. Weingarten, Christopher (March 22, 2009). "Kanye West Shows Off Proteges at SXSW Set Featuring Common, Erykah Badu". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
  16. ibn jasper (2009). "Kid Cudi and Kanye Performing "Welcome to HeartBreak" @ SXSW". Vimeo. Vimeo, LLC. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
  17. Appleford, Steve (September 26, 2015). "Kanye West Turns '808s & Heartbreak' Into High Art at Hollywood Bowl". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  18. "Kanye West & Kid Cudi's Kids See Ghosts Makes Live Debut At Camp Flog Gnaw". Billboard. November 12, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  19. "Camp Flog Gnaw 2018: Kids See Ghosts, the duo of Kanye West and Kid Cudi, makes its live debut on Sunday". Daily News. November 12, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  20. Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: Kristine W – Tammy Wynette". Zobbel.de. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  21. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
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