The song debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, for the chart dated May 9, 2020, becoming Scott's third US number-one single, following "Sicko Mode" and "Highest in the Room". For Cudi it was his first US number-one single[6] and his first hit song since Day 'n' Nite eleven years prior.[7]
Both artists had previously collaborated on Scott's "Through the Late Night" and "Way Back" on Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016), Cudi's "Baptized in Fire" on Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' (2016), and Scott's "Stop Trying to Be God" on Astroworld (2018).[8] On September 3, 2021, Kid Cudi stated via Twitter that a full-length "The Scotts" album was in store for the future, though he noted that he did not know when it would happen, only that it would at some point.[9] He reiterated this in July 2023 following the release of Scott's fourth studio album Utopia, after previously stating in December 2022 that they were no longer working on the album.[10][11]
Background and promotionedit
On April 20, 2020, it was reported that Scott teamed up with Fortnite Battle Royale to start a virtual tour through the game called "Astronomical" starting on April 23 until April 25.[12] The rapper would premiere and play a new song at several different times during the game.[13] Players of the game got to hear snippets of the song before its official release.[14] In total, the concert was witnessed by an audience of over 12 million players.[15] On April 23, Scott revealed the cover art of the song on his Instagram and announced that the song would feature Kid Cudi.[16] The song title is a reference to Scott's stage surname and Cudi's real first name, who inspired Scott to take the name in the first place.[17] The cover art of the single was created by American artist Kaws.[18]
Critical receptionedit
To Charles Holmes of Rolling Stone, the song felt "like a symbolic passing of the torch" after Scott's longstanding admiration for Cudi's work but eventually thought that "the results are mixed" despite having been "very hyped" beforehand.[19]Rap-Up described the song as an "explosive banger" with Scott igniting "the two-minute track while Cudder keeps the fire burning".[3]
Chart performanceedit
"The Scotts" debuted at number one the BillboardHot 100 on the week of May 9, 2020. The song became Scott's 3rd number one single and Cudi's first. The song also made Scott the sixth artist in history to have multiple songs that debuted at number one following Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Drake and Ariana Grande.[6]
^ abMurphy, Chris (April 24, 2020). "Travis Scott & Kid Cudi Release New Single "The Scotts"". Vulture. Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^Espinoza, Joshua (April 24, 2020). "Stream Travis Scott and Kid Cudi's New Song "The Scotts"". Complex. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^ ab"Travis Scott and Kid Cudi Drop "The Scotts" Collaboration". Rap-Up. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^Ingvaldsen, Torsten (April 24, 2020). "Travis Scott Drops More 'Fortnite' Astronomical Tour Merch". Hypebeast. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
^Bloom, Madison (April 24, 2020). "Travis Scott and Kid Cudi Drop New Song "The Scotts": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
^ abTrust, Gary (May 4, 2020). "Travis Scott & Kid Cudi's 'The Scotts' Debuts at No. 1 on Hot 100, Megan Thee Stallion's 'Savage' Soars to Top Five". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
^"Kid Cudi Earns The First No. 1 Hit Of His Career With Travis Scott Collaboration "The Scotts"". Genius. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
^Langford, Jackson (April 24, 2020). "Travis Scott and Kid Cudi release new single "The Scotts"". NME. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
^"Kid Cudi Speaks About 'The Scotts' Collab Album With Travis Scott for the First Time in Months". HYPEBEAST. 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
^"Kid Cudi Says Joint Album with Travis Scott is Back in Production". HNHH. 29 July 2023.
^"Kid Cudi Will No Longer Release a Joint Album With Travis Scott". HYPEBEAST. 2022-12-21. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
^Kain, Eric (April 22, 2020). "'Fortnite' Travis Scott Concert: Dates, Venue Location And How To Watch — Plus Everything You Need To Know". Forbes. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^"Announcing the Fortnite and Travis Scott Event: Astronomical". Epic Games. April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^Aniftos, Rania (April 23, 2020). "Travis Scott & Kid Cudi Tease New Song 'The Scotts' on Fortnite". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^Stuart, Keith (April 24, 2020). "More than 12m players watch Travis Scott concert in Fortnite". The Guardian. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
^Bloom, Madison (April 23, 2020). "Travis Scott and Kid Cudi Dropping New Song "The Scotts" Tonight". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^Rettig, James (April 23, 2020). "Travis Scott & Kid Cudi – "The Scotts"". Stereogum. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^Kinane, Ruth (April 24, 2020). "Travis Scott and Kid Cudi team up for new single "The Scotts"". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
^Holmes, Charles (April 24, 2020). "Kid Cudi and Travis Scott Release "The Scotts" to Fortnite Fanfare". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
^"THE SCOTTS / THE SCOTTS". Tidal. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
^ abJohnson, Zoe (April 24, 2020). "Travis Scott Premieres New Song "The Scotts" With Kid Cudi". XXL. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
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^"EESTI TIPP-40 MUUSIKAS: Mängu "Fortnite" toel on Travis Scott taas kõrgel tabelis". Eesti Ekspress (in Estonian). Retrieved May 7, 2020.
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^"Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
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^"Dutchcharts.nl – The Scotts [Travis Scott & Kid Cudi] – The Scotts" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
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^"Austriancharts.at – The Scotts [Travis Scott & Kid Cudi] – The Scotts". VG-lista. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
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^"RIAS International Top Charts Week 18". Recording Industry Association (Singapore). Archived from the original on May 5, 2020.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 202018 into search. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
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^"Italian single certifications – The Scotts, Travis Scott & Kid Cudi – The Scotts" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
^"Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved July 22, 2020. Type The Scotts, Travis Scott & Kid Cudi in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and The Scotts in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
^"New Zealand single certifications – The Scotts (Travis Scott and Kid Cudi) – The Scotts". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
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^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('The Scotts')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
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