Produced by Tame Impala and additionally produced by Scott himself, the latter and Parker of the project wrote the song alongside Williams, the Weeknd, Kanye West, Reine Fiske, 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 in 2019 as its fourth and final single.
Upon its release, the song charted at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 27 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, both in the United States. The song also charted in Canada, France, and Sweden, the latter also holding the song's ultimate chart peak at number 12 on the Sverigetopplistan's Sweden Heatseeker chart. It was additionally certified 2x Platinum in the United States, Platinum in Canada, Gold in Poland, and Silver in the United Kingdom.
Composition
"Skeletons" has been described as a "kaleidoscope-pop" song that draws lyrical influences from Kanye West by Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork.[1] Grant Rindner of The Line of Best Fit 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'".[2] Aaron Williams of Uproxx 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 [the Weeknd]'s contributions over his own recipe, rather than steeping himself in their respective sounds".[3]
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, a different mix, and West performing two separate verses.[4] 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 (2018) with Kid Cudi, while the second verse has West using the same lyrics Scott would go on to use for his contributions.[5] Ultimately, all of West's vocals would be removed, although he retains a writing credit on the final release.
↑ Rindner, Grant (August 8, 2018). "Travis Scott – Astroworld". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
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