"Skeletons" is a song by American rapper

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

. It features guest vocals from fellow American musician

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

, Australian

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...

project

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...

, and Canadian singer

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

. The song was released through Cactus Jack,

Grand Hustle Grand Hustle Records (formerly Grand Hustle Entertainment), also known as Hustle Gang Music, is an American hip hop record label, founded in 2003, by American rapper and record executive T.I. and his manager Jason Geter. The label was distribut ...

and

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as the seventh track from the former's third studio album '' Astroworld'' on August 3, 2018. Produced by Tame Impala and additionally produced by Scott himself, the latter and Kevin Parker of the project wrote the song alongside Williams, the Weeknd,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

Reine Fiske Nils Reine Fiske (born 4 October 1972) is a Swedish guitarist, art director and sound engineer at the record label Subliminal Sounds, who put his signature to many prog-rock projects such as Landberk, Morte Macabre, Paatos, Motorpsycho (band), Mo ...

, and Mike Dean. "Skeletons" is one of the two songs on ''Astroworld'' that the Weeknd provides vocals on, with the other song being " Wake Up", which was the track after it on the album and was sent to

rhythmic contemporary radio Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hits. ...

in 2019 as its fourth and final single.

Composition

"Skeletons" has been described as a " kaleidoscope-pop" song that draws lyrical influences from

by Larry Fitzmaurice of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''. Grant Rindner of ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' described the production of the song as "typically kaleidoscopic, but features the menacing, gothic bass that you hear on Travis Scott standouts like ' 3500' or '

Antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon antidoton)'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". An older term in English which is ...

'". Aaron Williams of

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

summarized: "The first time either of these two particular connections worked out in Travis' favor, 'Skeletons' is the proof that a little goes a long way, as he ladles Pharrell and Abel he Weeknds contributions over his own recipe, rather than steeping himself in their respective sounds". On June 27, 2022, a demo version of the track leaked online after it was purchased for $8,000. This version, dated March 2018, sees Kanye West as the primary artist. The song was supposedly Scott's at first, before he briefly gave it to West during the sessions for his album '' Ye'' (2018), then known as ''Love Everyone'', which West then gave back to Scott. Differences include additional background vocals from Scott, The Weeknd, and Williams, a sample of an interview of

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

, a different mix, and West performing two separate verses. The first verse is over 2 minutes long, where West raps lyrics that would eventually be reused for his song " Cudi Montage" from his collaboration album ''

Kids See Ghosts Kids See Ghosts (stylized in all caps) were an American hip hop superduo composed of rappers Kanye West and Kid Cudi. Formed during West's 2018 Wyoming sessions, the duo's first album ''Kids See Ghosts'' was released in June of that year by ...

'' (2018) with

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...

, while the second verse has West using the same lyrics Scott would go on to use for his contributions. Ultimately, all of West's vocals would be removed, although he retains a writing credit on the final release.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{The Weeknd songs 2018 songs Travis Scott songs Pharrell Williams songs Tame Impala songs The Weeknd songs Song recordings produced by Travis Scott Songs written by Travis Scott Songs written by Pharrell Williams Songs written by Kevin Parker (musician) Songs written by the Weeknd Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer)