"Circus Maximus"
Song by Travis Scott featuring the Weeknd and Swae Lee
from the album Utopia
ReleasedJuly 28, 2023
Length4:18
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Circus Maximus" is a song by American rapper and singer Travis Scott featuring Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd and fellow American rapper and singer Swae Lee from the former's fourth studio album Utopia (2023). The song was produced by Scott and Noah Goldstein with additional production from Jahaan Sweet and Mike Dean. It also shares the same name as Scott's debut film, the visual accompaniment to the album, which was released the day before the song and album were released.

Background

"Circus Maximus" uses the same style of drums that were used on "Black Skinhead" by Kanye West.[1][2] Scott also uses the same rapping style for that song: "A walkin' distraction / I'm naturally Black and / Unnaturally breathin' / Like a waist that is snatchin'".[3] Mike Dean was also involved in the production of both songs, which might be a possible reason for the samples that Scott chose for Utopia.[4][5]

Critical reception

The song received generally mixed reviews. Complex's Jordan Rose saw the resemblance of the song to "Black Skinhead" but deemed it one of the worst things of Utopia as he felt that the album was influenced by Kanye West too much.[6] Tom Breihan of Stereogum also acknowledged the influence but felt that "Kanye West was always interesting", but "Travis Scott is simply not".[7] Shaad D'Souza of The Guardian opined that it "dampens the pummelling qualities of the older song, and although Scott does sound a great deal like West, he feels like a void at the centre of the song, lacking the supernova intensity required to anchor such a darkly toned, militant track".[8]

Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard ranked it as the tenth best song from Utopia.[9]

Live performances

The Weeknd performed "Circus Maximus" with an extension to his chorus in the Latin American leg for his After Hours til Dawn Tour.[10] It is unknown if the verse is scrapped from the song or made for his own live rendition.

Scott performed the song for the first time at the Circus Maximus on August 7, 2023 along with the rest of the tracks from Utopia.[11] Later, the track was included in the setlist for Scott's Circus Maximus Tour.[12]

Charts

Chart performance for "Circus Maximus"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 49
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[14] 23
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[15] 32
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[16] 52
France (SNEP)[17] 57
Global 200 (Billboard)[18] 32
Greece International (IFPI)[19] 65
Italy (FIMI)[20] 61
Lithuania (AGATA)[21] 60
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[22] 48
Portugal (AFP)[23] 48
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[24] 29
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 10
UK Audio Streaming (OCC)[26] 87
US Billboard Hot 100[27] 36
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[28] 19

References

  1. ↑ Leake, Desmond (August 1, 2023). "Travis Scott's Utopia: In With the Old and Out With the New". Paste. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Medithi, Vivian (2023-07-30). "'Utopia' Is More Boring Than Travis Scott". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  3. ↑ Jenkins, Craig (August 2, 2023). "Travis Scott Is Raging Into Oblivion". Vulture. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  4. ↑ McKinney, Jessica (July 28, 2023). "Why Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Reminds You Of Kanye West And 'Yeezus'". Complex. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  5. ↑ A., Aron (August 2, 2023). "Travis Scott "Utopia" Review". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  6. ↑ McKinney, Jessica; Caraballo, Ecleen Luzmila; Skelton, Eric; Rose, Jordan; Breskin, Stefan; Destefano, Mike; Felderstein, Ben (July 28, 2023). "First Impressions Of Travis Scott's New Album 'Utopia'". Complex. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Breihan, Tom (July 28, 2023). "Premature Evaluation: Travis Scott Utopia". Stereogum. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  8. ↑ D'Souza, Shaad (August 1, 2023). "Travis Scott: Utopia review – rap superstar gets lost amid sublime soundworld". The Guardian. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  9. ↑ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie (July 28, 2023). "Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Album: All 19 Songs Ranked". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  10. ↑ Pavlakos, Louis. "The Weeknd Performs "Circus Maximus" For The First Time In Mexico". Complex. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  11. ↑ Italy, Billboard (2023-08-08). "Travis Scott Draws Kanye West & 60,000 Fans to 'Utopia' Live Premiere in Rome". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  12. ↑ "Here Is Travis Scott's 'Utopia: Circus Maximus Tour' Setlist". UPROXX. 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  13. ↑ "Travis Scott feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  14. ↑ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  16. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202331 into search. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Travis Scott feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts — Digital Singles Chart (International) — Εβδομάδα: 35/2023" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  20. ↑ "Travis Scott feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus". Top Digital Download. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  21. ↑ "2023 31-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  22. ↑ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 28.07.2023–03.08.2023.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Travis Scott feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  24. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 202331 into search. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 32". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
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