Jawsh 685 “Savage Love” hit #1

Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat) Jawsh 685 with Jason Derulo

Writer(s): Joshua Nanai, Jason Desrouleaux, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Phil Greiss (see lyrics here) Released: March 9, 2020 First Charted: June 27, 2020 Peak: 11 BB, 13 RR, 15 AC, 13 A40, 113 UK, 11 CN, 16Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 1.2 UK, 8.07 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 459.87 video, 1141.13 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Joshua Christina Nanai (stage name Jawsh 685) was born in New Zealand in 2002. He took the stage name Jawsh 685 in reference to the calling code for Samoa in celebration of his mixed pacific Island descent of half-Samoan and half-Cook Islander. He was still in high school when he made an instrumental song called “Laxed (Siren Beat).” It was considered a siren jam, “a New Zealand/Pasifika trend of creating beats to play through siren speakers, usually attached to cars or bikes.” WK He said it took only four hours to make. WK He released it on YouTube in 2019 and then it went viral on TikTok in 2020, “sparking the ‘Culture Dance’ challenge, where participants show off their cultural roots while dancing to the song.” SF It was the most used song on TikTok that year. SF Jawsh 685 was reportedly in talks with several artists about adding lyrics to the song. One was Jason Derulo, an American R&B singer who was born Jason Joel Desrouleaux in 1989 in Florida. He had previously reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 six times, most notably with the 2009 #1 hit “Whatcha Say.” He’d reached #1 in the UK four times. The pair had never reached a formal agreement when Jason Derulo added lyrics to the song about “falling for a girl who is using him. He is smitten, despite realizing she only hooked up with him to get back at her ex-lover.” SF He released it as “Savage Love.” It sampled “Laxed” but Derulo failed to credit Jawsh 385. By June, the artists worked it out and the song was retitled “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat).” It reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and then was remixed by the South Korean boy band BTS. That resulted in the song reaching #1 in 15 countries. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Jawsh 685 DMDB encyclopedia entry for Jason Derulo SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 4/9/2024; last updated 10/15/2024.