"Fall" is a song by Nigerian singer Davido. It was released as the second single from his second studio album, A Good Time (2019). The song was produced by Nigerian record producer Kiddominant. On 25 June 2017, "Fall" was ranked second on Playdata charts' list of the Most Played Songs in Nigeria.[1] According to Rolling Stone magazine, "Fall" was one of the top-100-most-Shazam-searched singles in America in January 2019, and was a top-10 record on Shazam in New York.[2] In February 2019, "Fall" became the longest charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history.[3] It was ranked 163 on Pitchfork's list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.[4] As of August 2021, "Fall" has received over 60 million streams on Spotify, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA and Music Canada.[5][6]

"Fall"
Single by Davido
from the album A Good Time
ReleasedJune 2, 2017 (2017-06-02)
Recorded2017
GenreAfrobeats
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Kiddominant
Davido singles chronology
"My Story"
(2017)
"Fall"
(2017)
"Ladies (Remix)"
(2017)

Background

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Davido recorded "Fall" in 2017. He sampled a line from Kojo Funds's hit single "Dun Talking". Following accusations of plagiarism from fans, Davido told Metro's Tobi Akingbade that he was inspired by "Dun Talking", and contacted Kojo Funds before releasing "Fall".[7] The song was the first Afrobeats song to be certified gold in the U.S.[8] In February 2019, Busta Rhymes and his artist Prayah released a remix of "Fall". Rhymes used Instagram to build hype around the song before releasing it.[9] However, their version was taken down by YouTube under a directive from Sony Music.[10]

Music video and synopsis

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The accompanying music video for "Fall" was directed by Daps.[11] In December 2018, the video surpassed 100 million views, becoming the most-viewed video by a Nigerian artist on Youtube.[12] In the video's early moments, Davido appears to be in a heated argument with his lover. He exits a Rolls-Royce after the argument and spends the rest of the video daydreaming about being with a ballerina from behind a glass window.[13] Toye Sokunbi of The Native magazine said the video "is consistent with his lyrics that he no longer wants to be a player" and that "it comes as no surprise that he is seen at the end of the video, apparently brushing off the temptation of being with someone else".[14]

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (2017–2022) Peak
position
Nigeria Airplay (Playdata charts) 2
US Afrobeats Songs (Billboard)[15] 21
US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (Billboard)[16] 13
US Hot R&B Songs (Billboard)[17] 25
US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[18] 3

Year-end charts

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Chart (2022) Position
US Afrobeats Songs (Billboard)[19] 40

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Platinum 80,000
France (SNEP)[21] Gold 100,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Most popular new music on the radio in Nigeria". Playdata charts. Playdata. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  2. ^ Elias Leight (20 January 2019). "Davido's 'Fall' Is Finally Catching On in the U.S., But It Should Be Bigger". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. ^ Damola Durosomo (February 6, 2019). "Davido's 'Fall' Is the Longest-Charting Nigerian Pop Song in Billboard History". OkayAfrica. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 7, 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  5. ^ Motolani Alake (11 March 2011). "Davido's 'Fall' hits 40 million streams on Spotify". Pulse Nigeria. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  6. ^ Durosomo, Damola (May 28, 2020). "Davido's 'Fall' Goes Gold". OkayAfrica. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. ^ Tobi Akingbade (29 November 2017). "Afrobeat singer Davido asks haters 'are you God?' after strings of plagiarism accusations". Metro.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  8. ^ Smithling, scroes. "Davido's "Fall" Becomes First African Record To Be Certified Gold In The U.S". unorthodoxreviews. Kuulpeeps. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Busta Rhymes Hops On Davido's "Fall' Remix With Prayah". Hot New Hip Hop. 21 February 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Davido goes on American press tour". Music in Africa. 28 February 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  11. ^ Damilola Animashaun. "'Come Closer' & 'Fall' Video Director, Daps Plans To Direct TV Shows Next". Konbini. Retrieved 17 March 2019.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Ohunyon, Ehis (18 December 2018). "Davido's 'Fall' becomes most viewed video by a Nigerian artist on Youtube". Pulse Nigeria. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  13. ^ Durosomo, Damola. "Davido's 'Fall' Is Now the Most Viewed Nigerian Music Video on YouTube". OkayAfrica. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  14. ^ Toye Sokunbi. "DAVIDO HITS THE MARK AGAIN WITH NEW SINGLE, "FALL"". Native Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  15. ^ Cusson, Michael (29 March 2022). "Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  16. ^ "Davido Chart History (R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Davido Chart History (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Davido Chart History (World Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Davido – Fall". Music Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  21. ^ "French single certifications – Davido – Fall" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  22. ^ "British single certifications – Davido – Fall". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  23. ^ "American single certifications – Davido – Fall". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 20 January 2023.