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"FML" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016), which features vocals from Canadian singer the Weeknd. It contains a sample of "Hit" by Section 25, which two of the band members praised West for sampling. In the song, West references his issues with mental health. The song charted in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada in 2016.

Background

In October 2016, a demo of the track, alongside one of "I Am a God" from West's sixth studio album Yeezus (2013), was uploaded to SoundCloud, which featured vocals from Travis Scott instead of the Weeknd and included a new sample. A remix of the song was released by Alvin Risk.

Composition and lyrics

A sample of "Hit" by Section 25 is heavily used to compose the outro, along with vocals from West. In response to West sampling their work, Section 25 members Bethany and Vincent Cassidy praised him highly. The sample was also used in a leaked track by West titled "Fall Out of Heaven".

After making changes in the album in June 2016, the song's vocals were made louder and the background vocals were added in the second round of the Weeknd's hook.

"FML" is titled to stand for two meanings: "For My Lady", since West raps in the first verse "I been waiting for a minute/For my lady" and "Fuck My Life (up)" since the Weeknd sings on the chorus "I wish I would go ahead and fuck my life up/Can't let them get to me/And even though I always fuck my life up/Only I can mention me." West mentions the antidepressant drug Lexapro in reference to his issues with mental health, a subject West mostly touched on in the song "I Feel Like That" from the end of his and Steve McQueen's music video for West's 2015 single "All Day".

Critical reception

Pitchfork's Jayson Greene viewed the song as where West "alludes to something that sounds an awful lot like a manic episode". Jake Indiana of Highsnobiety wrote in response to it that "there's a lot to love here, particularly in Ye's lyrics", but he had a mixed reaction to the Weeknd's appearance, describing it as where he "gives a massive assist on this guest spot, but by song's end his refrain becomes a bit whiny". NME writer Larry Bartleet listed it 13th in his top 50 songs about depression list.

Commercial performance

The track debuted at number 84 on the US Billboard Hot 100 within the same week that The Life of Pablo was released. "FML" charted on the UK Singles Chart at exactly the same position upon the album's release and then never charted again on it. On the Canadian Hot 100, the song debuted at number 97 in the same week. This made the song stand along with "Ultralight Beam" and "Waves" as one of only three non-single releases from West's album to chart in Canada. Alongside its debut on the US Billboard Hot 100, "FML" charted at number 30 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and spend a total of three weeks on it.

In family culture

West's sister-in-law Kylie Jenner named the track as her favourite song from The Life of Pablo in March 2016. His ex-wife Kim Kardashian listed the track in August 2016 among her top 28 favorite songs by her husband.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from West's official website.

• Vocals – the Weeknd
• Keyboards – Mike Dean
• Production – Kanye West and Mitus
• Co-production – Metro Boomin, Noah Goldstein, Dean
• Additional production – Charlie Heat, Hudson Mohawke and Andrew Dawson
• Engineering – Goldstein, Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer and Dean
• Vocal recording – Shin Kamiyama
• Mix engineer – Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, California
• Mix assistants – Chris Galland, Ike Schultz and Jeff Jackson

Charts

Certifications

Notes

1. ^ Credited as co-producer
2. ^ Credited as additional producer

References

1. Schwartz, Danny (February 11, 2016). "Kanye West's "The Life Of Pablo" Features Are Incredible"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
2. Britton, Luke Morgan (October 3, 2016). "Kanye West: Listen to unheard demos for 'I Am A God' and 'FML'". NME. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
3. West, Kanye. "FML (Alvin Risk Remix) (feat. The Weeknd) - Kanye West Song". BBC. BBC Music. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
4. Reiff, Corbin (February 15, 2016). "Here's Every Sample on Kanye West's New Album, 'The Life of Pablo'". Complex. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
5. Gehr, Richard (February 26, 2016). "Section 25: The Brit Post-Punkers on Being Sampled by Kanye West". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
6. Dionne, Zach (February 18, 2016). "Kanye West, Bon Iver & The-Dream Song Leaks: Hear 'Fall Out of Heaven'". Fuse. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
7. C.M., Emmanuel (June 17, 2016). "Every Change Kanye West Made to 'The Life of Pablo'". XXL. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
8. Riotta, Chris (February 14, 2016). ""FML" Lyrics: Meaning of Kanye West's Most Honest Track About Kim Kardashian on 'TLOP'". Mic. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
9. Basill, Ryan (October 20, 2016). "One of the Most Powerful Kanye West Songs is One You've Probably Never Heard". Noisey Vice. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
10. Greene, Jayson (February 15, 2016). "Kanye West: The Life of Pablo Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
11. Indiana, Jake (February 15, 2018). "Kanye West's 'The Life of Pablo': Every Song Ranked Worst to Best". Highsnobiety. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
12. Larry Bartleet (March 27, 2019). "50 Songs About Depression". NME. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
13. Mendizabal, Amaya (April 12, 2016). "12 of Kanye West's 'The Life of Pablo' Tracks Are on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
14. "FML | Full Official Chart History |". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
15. "Canadian Music: Top 100 Songs - April 23, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
16. "Kanye West Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
17. "Kanye West FML Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
18. Platon, Adelle (March 1, 2016). "Kim Kardashian Shares Favorite 'Pablo' Joints from Kanye West's Crew". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
19. Britton, Luke Morgan (August 30, 2016). "Stream Kim Kardashian's playlist of her favourite Kanye West tracks". NME. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
20. davidbaker.tv, builtbylane.com ×. "The Life of Pablo". The Life of Pablo – Kanye West. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
21. "Kanye West Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
22. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 14, 2016" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
24. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
25. "Kanye West Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
26. "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
27. "Danish single certifications – Kanye West – FML". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
28. "British single certifications – Kanye West – FML". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
29. "American single certifications – Kanye West – FML". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 27, 2020.

v t e The Weeknd songs
Discography Songs
Trilogy	House of Balloons "High for This" "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" "The Morning" "Wicked Games" "Twenty Eight" Thursday "The Zone" "Rolling Stone" Echoes of Silence "D.D" "Echoes of Silence"
Kiss Land	"Belong to the World" "Live For" "Wanderlust" "Kiss Land" "Odd Look"
Beauty Behind the Madness	"Tell Your Friends" "Often" "The Hills" "Acquainted" "Can't Feel My Face" "Earned It" "In the Night" "Prisoner"
Starboy	"Starboy" "Party Monster" "False Alarm" "Reminder" "Rockin'" "Secrets" "Stargirl Interlude" "Sidewalks" "Six Feet Under" "A Lonely Night" "All I Know" "Die for You" "I Feel It Coming"
My Dear Melancholy	"Call Out My Name" "Try Me" "Wasted Times" "I Was Never There" "Hurt You"
After Hours	"Alone Again" "Too Late" "Hardest to Love" "Scared to Live" "Snowchild" "Escape from LA" "Heartless" "Faith" "Blinding Lights" "In Your Eyes" "Save Your Tears" "Repeat After Me (Interlude)" "After Hours" "Until I Bleed Out"
Dawn FM	"Gasoline" "How Do I Make You Love Me?" "Take My Breath" "Sacrifice" "Out of Time" "Here We Go... Again" "Is There Someone Else?" "I Heard You're Married" "Less than Zero" "Moth to a Flame"
The Idol	"Double Fantasy" "Popular" "One of the Girls"
Hurry Up Tomorrow	"Dancing in the Flames" "Timeless" "São Paulo"
Other songs	"Crew Love" "Remember You" "One of Those Nights" "Sexodus" "Elastic Heart" "Or Nah" "King of the Fall" "Love Me Harder" "Might Not" "Nocturnal" "FML" "Low Life" "6 Inch" "Wild Love" "Some Way" "Comin Out Strong" "Lust for Life" "A Lie" "Curve" "Pray for Me" "What You Want" "Skeletons" "Wake Up" "Lost in the Fire" "Price on My Head" "Power Is Power" "Smile" "Over Now" "Off the Table" "Hawái" "You Right" "Better Believe" "One Right Now" "La Fama" "Die for It" "Hurricane" "Tears in the Club" "Poison" "Creepin'" "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)" "K-pop" "Circus Maximus" "Another One of Me" "Young Metro" "We Still Don't Trust You"
Category

• 2016 songs
• Kanye West songs
• Song recordings produced by Hudson Mohawke
• Song recordings produced by Kanye West
• Song recordings produced by Metro Boomin
• Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer)
• Songs written by Charlie Heat
• Songs written by Cyhi the Prynce
• Songs written by Kanye West
• Songs written by Metro Boomin
• Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer)
• Songs written by the Weeknd
• Songs written by Travis Scott
• The Weeknd songs
• Songs written by Noah Goldstein