Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hit #1 again with “Can’t Hold Us”

Can’t Hold Us Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Ray Dalton

Writer(s): Ben Haggerty, Ryan Lewis, Ray Dalton (see lyrics here) Released: August 16, 2011 First Charted: October 27, 2012 Peak: 15 US, 13 RR, 15 DG, 25 A40, 17 RB, 3 UK, 2 CN, 11 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 2.4 UK, 14.81 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.14 radio, 1331.34 video, 2286.41 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis teamed up in 2008 to become one of rap’s great success stories. The duo achieved every musician’s dream when they found superstardom with their independently self-produced, recorded, and released debut album, The Heist. It reached #2 on the Billboard album chart and sold five million copies. The album generated four top-20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100; two of those went all the way to #1. As is usually the case with these kinds of stories, though, it didn’t happen overnight. The Heist was recorded from 2009 to 2012, finally released in October 2012. It was the single “Thrift Shop,” released a little more than month before the album, which propelled the duo into the big time. However, the pair had already released three singles, dating back to January 2011, which would appear on the album. The first single, “Wings,” hit #40 on the R&B charts and eventually went platinum. “Can’t Hold Us” was released in August 2011, but didn’t take off until it was re-released in January 2013 as the follow-up to “Thrift Shop.” Then the song topped the charts – making them the first duo to hit #1 with their first two Billboard Hot 100 entries – WK and sold more than ten million copies in the U.S. It was named Spotify’s most-streamed song of 2013. WK The chorus of the song – sung by Ray Dalton – was the last component added to the song. He said, “It had no hook. There was just space; there weren’t even words…So when Ryan was testing my levels, I started humming them a melody, and that melody is what is now today the ‘Can’t Hold Us’ song.” SF The song was embraced by sports teams in the duo’s hometown of Seattle. It became the official touchdown song for the Seahawks during the 2012 season and the Mariners adopted it as the musical accompaniment anytime they hit a home run ath their stadium. WK Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 6/22/2023; last updated 4/1/2024.

 

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hit #1 with “Thrift Shop”

Thrift Shop Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Wanz

Writer(s): Ben Hagerty/ Ryan Lewis (see lyrics here) Released: August 27, 2012 First Charted: September 15, 2012 Peak: 16 US, 12 RR, 35 A40, 114 RB, 14 MR, 11 UK, 16 CN, 17 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.74 US, 0.84 UK, 14.25 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1847.05 video, 1175.50 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: While most will remember “Thrift Shop” as the song which introduced rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis to the world, the song was actually the fifth single from the duo’s 2012 album, The Heist, although none of the others charted. After the monstrous success of the latter, however, “Can’t Hold Us” and “Same Love” were rereleased and hit #1 and #11 on the Hot 100 respectively. “Thrift Shop” gave Macklemore & Ryan Lewis the distinction of being the first duo since Los Del Rio (1996’s “Macarena”) to hit #1 with its first chart entry. SF It should be noted, though, that the song also featured guest vocals from Michael “Wanz” Wansley, a full-time software test engineer, brought in because he was a Nate Dogg sound-alike. SF The song topped the charts in the U.S. and eight other countries and became the best-selling rap song in U.S. history. WK It is one of only six songs in the history of Billboard to reach the 7 million plateau. WK It was also only the second independent song in history to top the Billboard Hot 100; the other was Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You)” in 1994. WK The song also had the distinction of falling from #1 and returning five weeks later, the longest gap since Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” hit #1 in 1960 and returned for another chart run in 1962. SF The song was composed as a tribute to Macklemore’s love of discount clothes shopping, a stark contrast to the oppolence and materialism traditionally associated with hip-hop. Macklemore said he thought the track succeeded because, “It’s obviously against the status quo of what people normally rap about. This is a song that goes against all of that. How much can you save? How fresh can you look by not looking like anybody else?” WK Critics agreed, praising the song for “its humorous lyrics and social critique.” WK Digital Spy’s Robert Copsey called the song “a rare beast…original, musically daring and genuinely funny.” WK Kyle Jackson of Common Sense Media said the song is “funny and captures the hipster zeitgeist perfectly.” WK He also called it “an eclectic and socially conscious tour de force.” WK Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Last updated 4/1/2024.