"Winner" is the first single from American singer and actor

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...

's fourth studio album ''

Best Night of My Life ''Best Night of My Life'' is the fourth studio album by American singer and actor Jamie Foxx. It was released on December 21, 2010, by J Records. The album was supported by four singles in total; " Winner" featuring Justin Timberlake and T.I., " ...

'', released for digital download on April 6, 2010 through

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG's record labels in late 2008 at the end of their merger. It was distribut ...

. It features American singer

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

and rapper

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

Foxx told

George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is most known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom '' George Lopez''. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican ...

about Timberlake's contribution: "I got him on the track—'cause he wasn't gonna get on the track—I just literally said, 'Man, my people suffered for 500 years. You owe me this.'" It was also the official theme song of the

2010 NBA Playoffs The 2010 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2009-10 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Cel ...

for ''

NBA on TNT The ''NBA on TNT'' is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games, produced by TNT Sports (formerly known as Turner Sports and later Warner Bros. Discovery Sports). In the United States, the TNT cable network held ...

'' and

NBA TV NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through TNT Sports. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular se ...

Critical reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

considered this song a standout cut. ''

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the large ...

'' was also positive: "Current radio staple "Winner" sets the template — big processed drums, creepy synths and lots of open space for Foxx’s capable runs." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' was positive too: "On "Winner" there’s even some of the pseudo rapping that Justin Timberlake has been squeezing out of his system of late." ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' was negative in its review, however: ""Winner" is another song that exists in spite of Jamie, and speaks only to the depth of his pockets. (...) The chorus of "Winner" splayed across

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and TNT promos for basketball games." ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' panned the track: "It's this kind of careless maximalism that produces junk like "Winner", a whirring waste of a Justin Timberlake appearance, a song whose basketball theme and cheesy dribble beat sound like something ripped from ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American Musical film, musical television film produced by and aired on Disney Channel as part of the network's List of Disney Channel original films, slate of original television films. The first installmen ...

''." ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', however, highlighted the song positively.

Chart performance

The song was released on urban radio stations on April 6, 2010, and was released on May 4, 2010 to mainstream radio stations. The song debuted at number 28 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 due to strong airplay and downloads, becoming T.I.'s third and Timberlake's and Foxx's first "hot shot debut" on the chart.

Charts

References

{{NBA on TNT 2010 singles Jamie Foxx songs Justin Timberlake songs T.I. songs Songs written by T.I. Song recordings produced by the Y's Songs written by James Fauntleroy Songs written by Justin Timberlake J Records singles 2010 songs