Strange Clouds (song)
Encyclopedia
"Strange Clouds" is a song by American hip hop recording artist B.o.B
it features fellow American rapper Lil Wayne
and is produced by Dr. Luke
and Cirkut
. The song was announced by Atlantic Records
to be released on iTunes
on September 27, 2011. The song serves as the lead single
off his upcoming second studio album of the same name
. In its first week, it sold 197,000 digital copies, debuting at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
on three different occasions. The first time being in Colorado
in late August 2011, then performed the track again in Syracuse, New York
on September 13, 2011 and on September 20, 2011 at Tennessee Tech University. On September 23rd, 2011 B.o.B released a trailer through his official website, depicting him in the studio playing the song. The song leaked
two days later on September 25th which thus prompted a rush release of the single which was originally scheduled to premiere on October 3rd, 2011. The song was written by Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr., Dwayne Carter, Lukasz Gottwald and Henry Walter and was produced by Dr. Luke
and Cirkut
. It contains influences of dubstep
and electro-hop
. The official cover art for the single was released on September 26, 2011 on B.o.B's official website. The cover depicts an open grassy landscape on the bottom portion of the cover and a large open sky with a central mystical entity that resembles a nebula
centered in the sky above. Soon after the release of "Strange Clouds" it quickly took the top spot in digital sales on iTunes.
gave the song three out of five stars, saying that "Wayne drops a wink-nudge verse about getting blitzed, but it’s B.o.B who lights up with a charming, tenacious flow."
. "Strange Clouds" marks his best debut sales week for a single, previously held by the 137,000 launch of "Airplanes
" on May 1st, 2010.
B.o.B
Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. , better known by his stage name B.o.B, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is currently signed under the labels of Grand Hustle Records, Rebel Rock Entertainment, and Atlantic Records. His debut single "Nothin' on You" reached number one in both...
it features fellow American rapper Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
and is produced by Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
and Cirkut
Cirkut
The Cirkut is a rotating panoramic camera, of the type known as "full rotation". It was patented by William J. Johnston in 1904, and was manufactured by Rochester Panoramic Camera Company starting in 1905; the company was acquired by Eastman Kodak the same year. Manufacture continued through...
. The song was announced by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
to be released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on September 27, 2011. The song serves as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
off his upcoming second studio album of the same name
Strange Clouds
Strange Clouds is the second studio album of American hip hop recording artist B.o.B, set to be released March, 2012, on Grand Hustle Records, Rebel Rock Entertainment, and Atlantic Records.-Background:...
. In its first week, it sold 197,000 digital copies, debuting at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Purchasable release
| Country | Date | Format | Label | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 27, 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... |
|
Background
B.o.B performed the song at concertConcert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
on three different occasions. The first time being in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in late August 2011, then performed the track again in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
on September 13, 2011 and on September 20, 2011 at Tennessee Tech University. On September 23rd, 2011 B.o.B released a trailer through his official website, depicting him in the studio playing the song. The song leaked
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
two days later on September 25th which thus prompted a rush release of the single which was originally scheduled to premiere on October 3rd, 2011. The song was written by Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr., Dwayne Carter, Lukasz Gottwald and Henry Walter and was produced by Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
and Cirkut
Cirkut
The Cirkut is a rotating panoramic camera, of the type known as "full rotation". It was patented by William J. Johnston in 1904, and was manufactured by Rochester Panoramic Camera Company starting in 1905; the company was acquired by Eastman Kodak the same year. Manufacture continued through...
. It contains influences of dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and electro-hop
Electro-hop
Electro hop is the fusion of electro, electroclash, electropop, electronica, or electronic dance music with hip hop. The music usually has dancing in mind, however some forms of the music are electronica...
. The official cover art for the single was released on September 26, 2011 on B.o.B's official website. The cover depicts an open grassy landscape on the bottom portion of the cover and a large open sky with a central mystical entity that resembles a nebula
Nebula
A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases...
centered in the sky above. Soon after the release of "Strange Clouds" it quickly took the top spot in digital sales on iTunes.
Music video
B.o.B released a teaser of the music video on September 23, 2011. The video was supposed to originally release on October 3, 2011, but it was changed to September 27, 2011. Currently, the video has not been released yet.Critical reception
Caryn Ganz of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the song three out of five stars, saying that "Wayne drops a wink-nudge verse about getting blitzed, but it’s B.o.B who lights up with a charming, tenacious flow."
Charts
On the week of October 10, 2011 the song debuted at number seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 making it the "Hot Shot Debut" of the week. In the first of the song's release it sold 197,000 digital copies debuting at number three on the U.S. Hot Digital SongsHot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
. "Strange Clouds" marks his best debut sales week for a single, previously held by the 137,000 launch of "Airplanes
Airplanes (song)
"Airplanes" is the second official and third overall single from B.o.B's debut studio album, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray. The track features Hayley Williams and was produced by Alex da Kid with DJ Frank E receiving a co-production credit on the song. The music and chorus were...
" on May 1st, 2010.
Chart positions
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) |
69 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... ) |
26 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
7 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
58 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Rap Songs |
20 |