"Battle Scars" is a song performed by Australian recording artist

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...

featuring American rapper

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and Music education, music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his gue ...

. It was released digitally in Australia and New Zealand on 10 August 2012 by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

.iTunes preview - Battle Scars
iTunes. Archived fro
the original
on 21 August 2012. The song lyrics and music were written by Sebastian and

David Ryan Harris David Ryan Harris (born 1967 or 1968) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Harris moved to Atlanta at a young age. Harris has had a varied career as a musici ...

, with the rap written by Fiasco. It was the third single lifted from Sebastian's seventh album ''

Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...

''. Fiasco added "Battle Scars" to his fourth album, '' Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1'' in countries other than Australia.James, Jessie (21 August 2012
Guy Sebastian Lupe Fiasco Battle Scars
Stupid Dope. Archived fro
the original
on 21 August 2012.US iTunes preview Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1
iTunes. Archived fro
the original
on 29 September 2012. It was released as the fourth single on 28 August 2012, credited as a duet.US iTunes preview. Battle Scars - Single Lupe Fiasco & Guy Sebastian
iTunes. Archived fro
the original
on 2 October 2012. "Battle Scars" debuted at number one on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in its first week of release and has been certified 14× platinum. It was Sebastian's tenth of 12 top ten singles in Australia and sixth to reach number one, and Fiasco's third top ten and first number one single.Guy Sebastian - Singles Discography
ARIA Chart archives. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 August 2012Lupe Fiasco - Singles Discography
ARIA Chart archives. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 August 2012 "Battle Scars" was the third highest selling single in Australia in 2012, the highest selling single by an Australian act.
Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived fro

on 8 January 2013
Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived fro

on 8 January 2013 Sebastian received

ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

nominations for Best Pop Release and Best Male Artist for the song.WINNERS & NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
Aria Awards. 3 October 2012. Archived fro
the original
on 2 October 2012. "Battle Scars" also reached number two and triple platinum certification in New Zealand and gold certification in Sweden. In the United States "Battle Scars" peaked on the ''Billboard'' charts at number 71 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, number 23 on the Digital Song Chart and number one on the R&B/Hip-hop Digital Song Chart.Adams, Cameron (11 September 201
Guy Sebastian's ARIA number one song Battle Scars with Lupe Fiasco hits 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100
news.com.au. Archived fro
the original
on 29 January 2013.. Billboard.biz. Archived fro
the original
on 13 September 2012. The song spent 20 nonconsecutive weeks in the Hot 100 and has been certified platinum.Guy Sebastian and Lupe Fiasco - Battle Scars
aCharts.US. Retrieved 29 January 2013.Gold Platinum searchable database

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Retrieved 9 November 2013 "Battle Scars" also reached number two in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

.VG Lista - Top 20 Singles. Issue 49 2012

VG-lista VG-lista is the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from Norwegian and international artists. It is presented weekly in the newspaper ''Verdens Gang, VG''. The data is collected by Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Soundscan Inte ...

. Archived fro
the original
on 7 December 2012. It was nominated for an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration, and won the R&B/Hip category in the 2013 International Songwriting Competition.Couch, Aaron (1 February 2013
NAACP Image Awards: Winners Announced
''The Hollywood Reporter''. Archived fro
the original
on 2 February 2013International Songwriting Competition Winners
International Songwriting Competition. Archived fro
the original
on 30 April 2013.

Background

"Battle Scars" is a song about the scars left from hurtful and broken relationships. In a radio interview Sebastian said, "It's about your own personal battle scars and for every individual those are different; some might be words or labels... it might be relationship scars. When I wrote this song, and when Lupe wrote his bits, we just really wanted it to be something that just inspired people to, sort of, confront those things, and also maybe try and work to think about burying and ripping up those labels; throwing them away." Sebastian said Fiasco was always his first preference to contribute the rap, as he wanted to stay true to the theme of the song and found Fiasco's work very deep.Guy Sebastian: 'I beatbox my baby to sleep'
MusicFix. Archived fro
the original
on 21 August 2012.Battle Scars (the making of)
Vevo on YouTube. Retrieved 1 September 2012 Sebastian said, "He doesn't rap about booty shaking or cash, he's much more political and insightful and exactly what I wanted." He looked at other options as well, as he didn't know if Fiasco would be interested, and said he was overwhelmed when he heard Fiasco wanted to come on board.Cashin, Miranda (7 September 201
Guy Sebastian reaches new high notes
Daily Mercury. Archived fro
the original
on 8 October 2012. Explaining why he agreed to participate in the song Fiasco said, "Guy's vocal performance first got me about the song because it's great and then the story of the song was attractive; I just tried to enhance it." Speaking of what it meant to have Fiasco collaborate on "Battle Scars" Sebastian said, "Just to get someone like Lupe on the track I knew it was going to have heart and have depth."Video: Lupe Fiasco & Guy Sebastian Perform "Battle Scars" On The X Factor Australia
KillerHipHop.com. 18 September 2012. Archived fro
the original
on 19 September 2012. He said of Fiasco, "He is a lyrical genius and he has really portrayed the emotion of the track". Sebastian says "Battle Scars" is his "proudest release", adding, "Every now and then in your career you release something that you feel has a deeper meaning and purpose. I don't know how it will chart, but I am really proud of it regardless of what it does."Guy Sebastian interview with BigPond Music
Myspace videos. Retrieved 23 January 2015

Composition and recording

"Battle Scars" is an R&B

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

with a hip hop rap, and is written in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...

. Sebastian and Fiasco contribute equally in the song, with the sung and rap vocals interspersed throughout. Sebastian performs the

pre-chorus Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically section (music), sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common piece-level musical forms for vocal music include bar form, thirty-two-ba ...

and

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

, with Fiasco performing the

intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

and two rap verses. Both artists contribute to the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

.Battle Scar Lyrics
RapGenius. Archived fro
the original
on 30 September 2012. Music writer and radio announcer David Lim said, "unlike the majority of these rent-a-rapper verses, Lupe Fiasco's contribution here actually feels valid and in equal weighting to Guy's sung vocals. I don't know, y'guys – it just felt like they spent a minute on this and it's not just another vanity project."Lim, Davi
Guy Sebastian ‘Battle Scars’ (feat. Lupe Fiasco) Single Review
Feed Limmy. Archived fro
the original
on 21 August 2012. In interviews during the release week Sebastian explained that usually when he writes a song he comes up with the

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

first with no words. However this time some of the lyrics came at the same time. While driving to a friend's house he started singing "These battle scars", and then other phrases such as "Don't look like they're fading, don't look like they're ever going away" came to him. These words form part of the

, which is used repeatedly during the song, and is one of its two hooks. After completing the song with

it was recorded leaving all the parts where Sebastian envisaged the rap should go. When Fiasco was in Australia for

Supafest Supafest was an annual music festival held in Australia during April, created by Paper Chase Touring and Entertainment PTY LTD. It started in 2010, spreading out to in five major capital cities (Adelaide, Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Melbour ...

he came to Sebastian's Sydney studio to record the rap. He already had two versions prepared, one with war themed lyrics. Sebastian decided to use that one without listening to the other one. Fiasco said he came into the studio with other rap pieces as well. One was the phrase "Hope the wound heals but it never does, that's cause you're at war with love". He explained that he does not feel fully confident musically when collaborating with other artists, and he had been prepared to discard those lines if Sebastian didn't like them. Sebastian decided to use the phrase as the intro and also three times in the bridge with slight variations to some of the words.What Lupe Fiasco wrote in "Battle Scars" with Guy Sebastian
YouTube. Retrieved 23 January 2015 It became the second hook in the song.McQuire, Colin (27 September 2012
Pop Matters - Lupe Fiasco: Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1
PopMatters. Archived fro
the original
on 27 September 2012 Fiasco said, "I didn't recognise that. I just looked at it as a filler and maybe it will work. But for him to take it like 'No, that's dope and we're going to use it, and we're going to put it here and here', it was kind of like 'yeah thanks man'. It made me feel really good."

Release and promotion

"Battle Scars" was serviced to radio on 2 August 2012, and released digitally in Australia and New Zealand on 10 August 2012, with Fiasco credited as a featured artist. The song was the most added track to radio in its first week in Australia, debuting at number 31 on the National Airplay Chart. It became the most played song in Australia in its seventh week, where it remained for two weeks. Sebastian was interviewed by media and music sites including Music Fix, BigPond Music and The Music Network to promote the single. He also had interviews with radio stations, and performed the song live on the

Today Network The Hit Network is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 41 radio stations broadcasting a hot adult contemporary music format, as well as 6 digital radio stations. Histor ...

's ''

Fifi and Jules ''Fifi and Jules'' was an Australian drive time, drive radio show with Fifi Box and Jules Lund and anchor Byron Cooke. It was broadcast across the Today Network from 4–6 pm weekdays. History The show commenced in February 2011 after Hamis ...

'' show on 13 August 2012. Fred Day, a member of Three Wishez, who were in the final 12 of the 2011 series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'', performed Fiasco's rap during this performance. Fiasco added "Battle Scars" to his album '' Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1'' in countries other than Australia, credited as a duet. It was released as the fourth single on 28 August instead of the scheduled release "Form Follows Function". Fiasco came to Australia in mid September to promote the single and the release of his album, and he and Sebastian performed it live for the first time on ''The X Factor''. They also performed the song in the US on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' and at Fiasco's New York album launch on 27 September. It was used in the US in the TV promotion of the film ''

Red Dawn ''Red Dawn'' is a 1984 American action drama film directed by John Milius, from a screenplay co-written with Kevin Reynolds. The film depicts a fictional World War III centering on a military invasion of the United States by an alliance of ...

''. In November Sebastian and Fiasco performed "Battle Scars" at the 2012 ARIA Music Awards. Sebastian and Fiasco continued the US promotion of the song in early 2013, performing it on ''

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'' with

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

, and on '' Conan''.

Reception

Critical response

"Battle Scars" has received positive reviews. David Lim wrote, "'Battle Scars' is a massive bruised ballad with a titan hook that just beats you down with no mercy. The ominous piano-driven ballad, punctuated with crisp beats resembles something Ryan Tedder would pitch to A-list American chart toppers. ...his next step in Guy's career deserves to be an international affair and let's hope with top-notch singles like 'Battle Scars', he can begin to break new territories." Hip hop indie/pop site Hillydilly said of the song, "Aussie singer/songwrtier, Guy Sebastian, has linked up with Lupe Fiasco for this epic song from his new album. Evidently this guy can sing because he sure does let it be known on 'Battle Scars'. There is also a perfect amount of Lupe on this track—he is not tucked away on some last verse shit, rather he is found throughout the song. This is a good one." David Fredrick from music discovery site Gigity wrote, "Guy Sebastian, the Australian pop/R&B singer just released a brand new track 'Battle Scars' ft. Lupe Fiasco and it is an instant classic that will surely grab your attention." Kate Winch from Mosca Media said, "In this effort, the combination of Lupe Fiasco's rap skills with Guy's strong vocals results in a catchy pop, hip hop track thats chorus will become firmly entrenched in your head after just one listen."Winch, Kate (18 August 2012
Guy Sebastian feat. Lupe Fiasco – Battle Scars (2012 Single)
Mosca Media. Archived fro
the original
on 21 August 2012 Battle Scars also received positive mentions in a number of reviews for Fiasco's album. HipHop DX said, "The Guy Sebastian-assisted "Battle Scars" is another winner, oozing mass appeal without deteriorating into sloshy mainstream". Luciana Villalba from review site The Young Folk called Sebastian's voice "remarkable", and included Battle Scars in her list of "must-listen" tracks. A reviewer for Entertainment site Pop Culture Podcast wrote, "This one has chart topping single written all over it but due to its genuine lyrics and universal subject matter it doesn't feel like one that you have to 'sell out' to make." XXL Magazine said "Battle Scars" moved "towards mainstream without completely deviating", sacrificing little "sonically or lyrically, instead relying on booming pop/sung choruses to denote any notable shift." Colin McQuire from Pop Matters wrote that it showcased Fiasco's "knack for crafting a great pop hook" and the "piano-laden groove adds the texture it needs to be a bona fide Top 40 hit, and Fiasco's crisp broken-hearted rhymes illustrate the exact type of accessibility the track needs to gain commercial notoriety."

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

named "Battle Scars" as one of the top Australian music moments of 2012, saying, "We all knew Guy had serious talent, but this year he took his song writing to another level with the single 'Battle Scars'. ...One of the greatest songs of the year without a doubt.

Commercial performance

"Battle Scars" debuted at number one on the

, becoming Sebastian's tenth of 12 top ten singles in Australia and sixth to reach number one. It was Fiasco's third Australian top ten and first number one single. Sebastian has achieved the most number one singles for an Australian male singer in Australian chart history, and is third overall for all Australian acts. Only

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

and

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem Order of Australia, AM (born 9 November 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, television personality and actress based in Sydney. Goodrem signed a recording contract with Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut studio album ...

have achieved more. "Battle Scars" spent 12 weeks in the top five, including six weeks at number one, and was the third highest selling single in Australia in 2012, the highest selling single by an Australian act. "Battle Scars" also reached number two and triple platinum certification in New Zealand. In the United States, "Battle Scars" spent 20 weeks in the US '' ''Billboard'' Hot 100'', peaking at number 71, Sebastian's first song to chart in North America. In addition to the Hot 100, "Battle Scars" reached number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Digital Songs Chart and number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B/Hip-hop Digital Song Chart. It has been certified platinum in the US for sales of 1,000,000. It spent eight weeks in the Swedish chart, peaking at 46 and was certified gold there. "Battle Scars" also spent 13 weeks in the top ten in

, including six nonconsecutive weeks at number two.

Accolades

"Battle Scars" received an

ARIA Music Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

nomination for Best Pop Release, and Sebastian was nominated as Best Male Artist for the song. "Battle Scars" won Song of 2012 in the POPreplublic.tv. IT List Awards. The nominees are chosen by POPreplublic, with public vote deciding the winner. The song was also nominated for a 2013

for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration. The Awards are presented by the American

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

. "Battle Scars" won the R&B/Hip category in the 2013 International Songwriting Competition. The judging panel is made up of musicians, songwriters and industry experts, and songs are judged on creativity, originality, lyrics, melody, arrangement and overall likeability.Welcome to ISC
International Songwriting Competition. Archived fro
the original
on 28 February 2013.

Music video

The music video for the song "Battle Scars" was directed by Jonathan & Josh Baker and filmed in New York in locations including industrial areas with destroyed cars and burning oil drums and ruined derelict buildings, where Sebastian and Fiasco are shown performing the song. Individuals filmed in a variety of cityscapes are shown periodically, expressing their sadness and personal scars by writing and holding up signs with words that show how they feel. The words they use include "abandoned", "abused", "fatherless", "outcast", "empty", "slave" and "bullied". Near the end of the video they tear up their signs to symbolise moving on from their hurt. Reviewer Kate Winch gave the video a four out of five rating saying, "This video follows a classic music video style, showing the artists performing with additional actors staring wistfully in cut aways. As always, there is a reason that something becomes a classic and that is because it works – just as it does here."

Track listing

;Digital single #"Battle Scars" (featuring

) – 4:09 ;Other version * 7th Heaven Club Mix

Credits and personnel

*Guy Sebastian – composer, vocals *

– composer, vocals *

– composer *Pro-Jay – producer *Miles Walker – mixing *James Kang – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2012 songs 2012 singles Guy Sebastian songs Lupe Fiasco songs Anti-war songs Torch songs Songs written by Guy Sebastian Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by David Ryan Harris Songs written by Lupe Fiasco Sony Music Australia singles Atlantic Records singles Warner Music Group singles