Downtown (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song)

Last updated
"Downtown"
Downtown-Macklemore-Ryan-Lewis.jpg
Single by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz
from the album This Unruly Mess I've Made
ReleasedAugust 27, 2015 (2015-08-27)
RecordedJuly 2015
Studio
Genre Hip hop
Length4:54
Label Macklemore LLC
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Lewis
  • Jake One
  • Budo
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis singles chronology
"Arrows"
(2014)		"Downtown"
(2015)		"Dance Off"
(2016)
Kool Moe Dee singles chronology
"Wild Wild West"
(1999)		"Downtown"
(2015)		"Brand New Heat"
(2016)

"Downtown" is a song by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring fellow American musicians Eric Nally of Foxy Shazam, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, and Grandmaster Caz. The song was officially released on August 27, 2015, as the lead single from the duo's second studio album This Unruly Mess I've Made (2016). A music video for the song was uploaded to Ryan Lewis' YouTube channel on the day of the song's release.

Contents

Background

On the song Macklemore said, "Ryan [Lewis] made a beat on the road called 'moping around,' I got the beat, I thought it said moped." "Coincidentally we had both purchased mopeds for being on the road so we could go around, leave the venues that we were performing at, and I wrote a song about mopeds, which now a year and a half later is out in the world." [1]

Critical reception

AXS described the song as a sequel to the duo's successful single "Thrift Shop", [2] while USA Today called it "a hip hop recreation of Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson's 'Uptown Funk'." [3] It came at #18 on the annual Triple J Hottest 100 for 2015. [4] However, Time named "Downtown" the sixth-worst song of 2015. [5]

Chart performance

In the United States, "Downtown" debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated September 12, 2015. [6] Its chart debut was fueled by sales of 11,000 digital downloads in its first two days, along with 886,000 domestic streams during the same period, nearly all from views of the song's music video. [7] The next week, following its first full week of availability and a performance at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, the song jumped to number 18 with the week's largest gain in digital download sales, [8] having sold 95,000 copies and logged 5.7 million streams for the week. [9] It has since peaked at number 12. [10] As of November 2015, "Downtown" has sold 772,000 copies domestically. [11] Macklemore and Ryan Lewis also performed the song live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on September 9, 2015. [12]

In Australia, "Downtown" entered the Australian Singles Chart at number nine as the second highest debut on the week commencing September 7, 2015. [13] The song rose to number two on the week commencing September 14, 2015. [14] On the week commencing October 5, 2015, "Downtown" replaced Justin Bieber's "What Do You Mean?" at number one after being blocked from the position for three weeks, [15] [16] becoming Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' fourth number one single in the country. [17] It has since been certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). [18]

Music video

The official music video for the song was uploaded on August 27, 2015, to Ryan Lewis' YouTube channel. It was directed by Macklemore, Lewis, and Jason Koenig, and was filmed in Spokane, Washington. [19] Ken Griffey Jr. is featured in the music video. As of July 2024, it has over 244,000,000 views on YouTube.

Media

"Downtown" was used in the movie trailers for Dirty Grandpa and The Secret Life of Pets .

In July 2018, the Seattle Police Department created a music video set to "Downtown" as part of a lip-sync video competition between police departments across the United States that was popular at the time. [20]

This was used in 2018 film Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation , the song was sung by a group of Fish Men in the film.

Track listing

Digital download [21]
No.TitleLength
1."Downtown" (featuring Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, and Grandmaster Caz)4:52

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [61] 5× Platinum350,000‡
Belgium (BEA) [62] Gold10,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [63] Platinum50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [64] Platinum15,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [65] Platinum600,000‡
United States (RIAA) [66] Platinum1,000,000‡ / 772,000 [11]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormat
WorldwideAugust 27, 2015Macklemore LLC Digital download [21]

References

  1. ↑ Garibaldi, Christina (4 September 2015). "Macklemore and Ryan Lewis purchases mopeds to get around". MTV . Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Pankey, William (August 27, 2015). "Watch Macklemore attempt to re-create 'Thrift Shop' with new video 'Downtown'". AXS. AEG Worldwide. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  3. ↑ McDermott, Maeve (August 27, 2015). "What exactly is going on in 'Downtown', Macklemore's bizarre new song?". ENTERTAiNTHiS!. USA Today Life. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ "1-100 List - Hottest 100 2015 - triple j". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 11 January 2014. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Top 10 Worst Songs". Time. December 1, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Hot 100: The Week of September 12, 2015". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  7. ↑ Mendizabal, Amaya (September 1, 2015). "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Downtown' Debuts in Top 30 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Hot 100: The Week of September 19, 2015". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  9. ↑ Mendizabal, Amaya (September 9, 2015). "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Downtown' Cruises Up the Charts". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Hot 100 Chart history". Billboard . Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Mansell, Henry (November 21, 2015). "Hip Hop Single Sales: Drake, Justin Timberlake & The Weeknd". HipHopDX . Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  12. ↑ Downtown - macklemore and ryan lewis live. YouTube. 9 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Justin Bieber makes #1 debut with 'What Do You Mean'". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  14. ↑ "?pos=17 "Justin Bieber holds onto #1 with 'What Do You Mean?". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from "?pos=17 the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Justin Bieber still at #1 with platinum single 'What Do You Mean?'". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Justin Bieber makes four weeks at #1 with 'What Do You Mean?'". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis claim fourth ARIA #1 with 'Downtown'". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  18. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart| Australia's Official Top 50 Songs - ARIA Charts". Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  19. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Downtown (Official Music Video)". YouTube. August 27, 2015. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Watch: Seattle police lip-sync Macklemore's 'Downtown' as part of viral video challenge". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  21. 1 2 "Downtown (feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz) - Single by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis". iTunes. August 27, 2015. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  23. ↑ "ARIA Urban Singles Chart - 21/9/15". ARIA Colle Scheissearts. September 21, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Brazil" (PDF). ABPD. October 6, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Chart history". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  29. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 46. týden 2015 in the date selector. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  30. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2015 in the date selector. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  31. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz - Downtown". Official German Charts. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  33. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 42, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown". Top Digital Download. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard . 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  38. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 28, 2015. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  40. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201550 into search.
  41. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201541 into search. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  42. ↑ "Top 100 Canciones - Semana 45: del 30.10.2015 al 05.11.2015" (in Spanish). PROMUSICAE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  43. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown". Singles Top 100. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  44. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – Downtown". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  45. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  46. ↑ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  48. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart history". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  49. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Pop Songs Chart history". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  50. ↑ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Rhythmic Songs Chart history". Billboard . Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  51. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  52. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Urban Singles 2015". ARIA. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  53. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2015". Ultratop. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  54. ↑ "Canadian Hot 100 Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  55. ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 2015". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  56. ↑ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2015". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  57. ↑ "Hot 100: Year End 2015". Billboard. billboard.com. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  58. ↑ "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. 9 December 2014. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  59. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  60. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Urban Singles 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  61. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2018 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  62. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2016". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  63. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz – Downtown" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved November 27, 2017. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Downtown" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  64. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  65. ↑ "British single certifications – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, and Grandmaster Caz – Downtown". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  66. ↑ "American single certifications – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, and Grandmaster Caz – Downtown". Recording Industry Association of America.
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