Canadian superstar Drake released his dancehall-influenced album “Views” on April 29, 2016. This was his fourth studio project, executive produced by Drake and his frequent collaborator “40.” The album featured guest appearances by PartyNextDoor, Pimp C, Dvsn, Wizkid, Kyla, Future, and Rihanna, incorporating a variety of West Indian and West African music, along with genres like R&B, trap, Afrobeat, UK funky, and pop.
The album’s lyrics, much like other dancehall works, focused on themes of betrayal, loyalty, and friendship. “Views” sold 1.04 million album-equivalent units in its first week, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 and setting a then-record with over 245 million streams. It spent 13 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and also topped the UK Albums Chart. All 20 songs from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite lukewarm reviews from critics, “Views” has since sold over seven million certified units worldwide and has been certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was named the Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Rap Album at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards.
“One Dance,”the album top selling featuring Nigerian singer Wizkid and British singer Kyla, was certified Diamond by the RIAA in December 2022. The single is also certified Diamond in France (233,333) and Canada (800,000). Wizkid became the first African artist to achieve a Diamond certification in the U.S., Canada and France with this single, while Drake reclaimed his title as the leading certified singles artist by the RIAA, first earned in 2018.
The dancehall, afro-fusion, hip-hop single “One Dance” was co-written by the artists and co-produced by Nineteen85 and Noah “40” Shebib, with production assistance from Wizkid. Crazy Cousinz and Kyla received songwriting credits for the sample of their 2008 UK funky song “Do You Mind.” Released alongside “Pop Style” shortly after the announcement of “Views,” “One Dance” was joined by two other dancehall singles on the album: “Controlla,” which is certified 5x Platinum as of December 8, and “Too Good.”
“One Dance” reached number one in 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, marking Drake’s first number-one single in all these countries as the lead artist. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for 10 non-consecutive weeks and tied for the second-longest consecutive number-one spot on the UK Singles Chart, with 15 consecutive weeks at the top.
Following this success, Wizkid became the first Nigerian artist to chart and top the US Billboard Hot 100. “One Dance” was the second dancehall song of 2016 to top the Billboard Hot 100 after Rihanna’s “Work,” which also featured Drake. Named Billboard’s 2016 Song of the Summer, “One Dance” sold 2 million copies in the US by December, making it the fifth-best-selling song of the year. It was the best-performing single worldwide in 2016 and is one of the best-selling digital singles of all time.
Popcaan debuted an unreleased dubplate remix of “One Dance” at Red Bull’s Culture Clash 2016 in the UK, featuring new verses, choruses, and a shoutout to Popcaan himself.
“One Dance” gave Drake his first lead artist No. 1 in his home country of Canada. The single debuted at number 13 on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100 on April 23, 2016, and moved up to number two the following week. It eventually peaked at No. 1 on May 7, 2016. Previously, Drake topped the chart with his Rihanna collaboration “Work” in March 2016.
The song was promoted without an official YouTube music video, which is believed to have contributed to its chart success in countries like the UK, where YouTube streams did not count towards singles charts, leading listeners to stream it on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music, which did count towards chart rankings.
