"Reaper" is a song from Australian singer and songwriter

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

's seventh studio album '' This Is Acting'' (2016). The song was co-written by Sia,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, Noah Goldstein, Charles Misodi Njapa (better known by his stage name

88-Keys Charles Misodi Njapa (born March 5, 1976), better known by his stage name 88-Keys, is an American record producer and rapper from New York City. Biography Born in New York City to West African parents from Cameroon, he was raised in the Eastches ...

), and Dom $olo, originally for

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

's album ''

Anti Anti may refer to: *Anti-, a prefix meaning "against" *Änti, or Antaeus, a half-giant in Greek and Berber mythology *A false reading of ''Nemty'', the name of the ferryman who carried Isis to Set's island in Egyptian mythology * Áńt’į, or ...

'' (2016). "Reaper" was co-produced by West, Dom $olo, Goldstein, 88-Keys,

Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums and One Direction, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for Grammy Awards a ...

, and Jake Sinclair. Sia and West had previously collaborated on the latter's song "

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

". The song was released as the fourth promotional single from '' This Is Acting'' on 29 May 2017.

Background and promotion

In November 2013,

began working on his seventh studio album, with the working title of ''

So Help Me God "So help me God" is a phrase often used to give an oath, and most commonly optional as part of an oath of office. It is also used in some jurisdictions as a form of oath for other forms of public duty, such as an appearance in court, service as ...

'' intended for a 2014 release date. During these sessions, a 5-minute freestyle would be recorded titled "After You", which later would be used as the basis for "Reaper", and Pusha T's 2019 single "Coming Home" featuring

Ms. Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

. A pop track, the song heavily samples

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

's "After You." In January 2016, Sia revealed the track listing for ''This Is Acting'' by having theaters around the world display songs and track numbers on their marquees. The songs "Reaper" and "House on Fire" were confirmed as the seventh and eighth tracks, respectively, on the marquee of

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...

, which is located near Astor Place, in the East Village of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City. "Reaper" was released as a promotional single that month. Sia said of "Reaper", "I don't care about the song. I know in print that will look bad, but what I mean is I'm not emotionally attached to it. I thought it was a fun song. I think it's a good, fun song, but I didn't anticipate it being on the record." Sia performed the song on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''.

Reception

Alex Kritselis of '' Bustle'' wrote, "After hearing "Reaper" — a mid-tempo, sunshine-y anthem about... cheating death? — it's easy to understand Sia's indifference. It's a catchy tune, sure — but it doesn't make much of an impact. I'm not at all surprised Rihanna passed on it. (It's not a bad song, by any means, but it's just kinda... there.)" The song peaked at #23 in France ( SNEP) and has garnered over 60 million

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

streams.

Charts

References

External links

* {{Sia singles 2016 songs Sia (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Jesse Shatkin Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Sia (musician)