"Champions" is a song by American rappers Kanye West, Gucci Mane, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, Yo Gotti, Quavo, and Desiigner. It was originally intended to be released as the lead single from the scrapped GOOD Music compilation album Cruel Winter. The song was produced by West alongside Low Pros and Mike Dean, with co-production from Derek Watkins and Charlie Heat, and additional production from Noah Goldstein. A freestyle video was released by Teyana Taylor in September 2016.
Release "Champions" was first aired on Big Boy's 92.3. Kanye West later released the song as the first single from Cruel Winter. The single was untitled at the time, with "Round and Round" and "Champions" being used as working titles. It was officially released to iTunes on June 12, 2016.
Critical reception The song was placed at number 49 on Complex's list of 2016's best songs.
Chart performance On the chart dated July 2, 2016, "Champions" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 71, powered by first-week digital download sales of 31,000 copies and it debuted at number 7 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart. On May 15, 2018, the song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over one million digital copies in the United States.
Freestyle video Teyana Taylor released a video of her freestyling over the track on September 6, 2016. The video is a stop-motion clip that sees Taylor covered in smeared gold paint and dancing militaristically in front of a gray backdrop. It marked Taylor's first video since she starred in the music video for West's single "Fade".
Personnel Credits adapted from Tidal.
Kanye West – vocals, production Gucci Mane – vocals Big Sean – vocals 2 Chainz – vocals Travis Scott – vocals Yo Gotti – vocals Quavo – vocals, recording engineer Desiigner – vocals A-Trak – production Lex Luger – production Mike Dean – production, bass guitar, keyboards, drum programming, recording engineer, mixing Fonzworth Bentley – co-production Charlie Heat – co-production Noah Goldstein – additional production, recording engineer Finis "KY" White – recording engineer Maximilian Jaeger – recording engineer Gregg Rominiecki – recording engineer Thomas Goff – recording engineer William J. Sullivan – assistant recording engineer Kez Khou – mix assistance
Charts + Chart performance for "Champions" Chart (2016) Peak position
Certifications
References
External links Lyrics of the song at Genius