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Circus Maximus (song)

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"Circus Maximus"
Song by Travis Scott featuring the Weeknd and Swae Lee
from the album Utopia
ReleasedJuly 28, 2023
Length4:18
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Circus Maximus" is a song by American rapper and singer Travis Scott featuring Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd and fellow American rapper and singer Swae Lee from the former's fourth studio album Utopia (2023). The song was produced by Scott and Noah Goldstein, with additional production from Jahaan Sweet and Mike Dean. It was preceded by Scott's debut film of the same name; a visual accompaniment to the album released the day prior.

Background

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"Circus Maximus" uses the same style of drums that were used on "Black Skinhead" by Kanye West.[1][2] Scott also uses the same rapping style for that song: "A walkin' distraction / I'm naturally Black and / Unnaturally breathin' / Like a waist that is snatchin'".[3] Mike Dean was also involved in the production of both songs, which might be a possible reason for the samples that Scott chose for Utopia.[4][5]

Critical reception

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The song received generally mixed reviews. Complex's Jordan Rose saw the resemblance of the song to "Black Skinhead" but deemed it one of the worst things of Utopia as he felt that the album was influenced by Kanye West too much.[6] Tom Breihan of Stereogum also acknowledged the influence but felt that "Kanye West was always interesting", but "Travis Scott is simply not".[7] Shaad D'Souza of The Guardian opined that it "dampens the pummelling qualities of the older song, and although Scott does sound a great deal like West, he feels like a void at the centre of the song, lacking the supernova intensity required to anchor such a darkly toned, militant track".[8]

Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard ranked it as the tenth best song from Utopia.[9]

Live performances

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The Weeknd performed "Circus Maximus" with an extension to his chorus in the Latin American leg for his After Hours til Dawn Tour.[10] It is unknown if the verse is scrapped from the song or made for his own live rendition.

Scott performed the song for the first time at the Circus Maximus on August 7, 2023, along with the rest of the tracks from Utopia.[11] Later, the track was included in the setlist for Scott's Circus Maximus Tour.[12]

Charts

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Chart performance for "Circus Maximus"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 49
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[14] 23
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[15] 32
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[16] 52
France (SNEP)[17] 57
Global 200 (Billboard)[18] 32
Greece International (IFPI)[19] 65
Italy (FIMI)[20] 61
Lithuania (AGATA)[21] 60
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[22] 48
Portugal (AFP)[23] 48
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[24] 29
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 10
UK Audio Streaming (OCC)[26] 87
US Billboard Hot 100[27] 36
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[28] 19

Certifications

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Certifications for "Circus Maximus"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[29] Gold 20,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Gold 40,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Leake, Desmond (August 1, 2023). "Travis Scott's Utopia: In With the Old and Out With the New". Paste. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Medithi, Vivian (July 30, 2023). "'Utopia' Is More Boring Than Travis Scott". HipHopDX. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Jenkins, Craig (August 2, 2023). "Travis Scott Is Raging Into Oblivion". Vulture. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  4. ^ McKinney, Jessica (July 28, 2023). "Why Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Reminds You Of Kanye West And 'Yeezus'". Complex. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  5. ^ A., Aron (August 2, 2023). "Travis Scott "Utopia" Review". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  6. ^ McKinney, Jessica; Caraballo, Ecleen Luzmila; Skelton, Eric; Rose, Jordan; Breskin, Stefan; Destefano, Mike; Felderstein, Ben (July 28, 2023). "First Impressions Of Travis Scott's New Album 'Utopia'". Complex. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  7. ^ Breihan, Tom (July 28, 2023). "Premature Evaluation: Travis Scott Utopia". Stereogum. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  8. ^ D'Souza, Shaad (August 1, 2023). "Travis Scott: Utopia review – rap superstar gets lost amid sublime soundworld". The Guardian. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  9. ^ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie (July 28, 2023). "Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Album: All 19 Songs Ranked". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  10. ^ Pavlakos, Louis. "The Weeknd Performs "Circus Maximus" For The First Time In Mexico". Complex. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Italy, Billboard (August 8, 2023). "Travis Scott Draws Kanye West & 60,000 Fans to 'Utopia' Live Premiere in Rome". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  12. ^ "Here Is Travis Scott's 'Utopia: Circus Maximus Tour' Setlist". UPROXX. October 12, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  13. ^ "Travis Scott feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  14. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  16. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 31. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  17. ^ "Travis Scott feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  18. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  19. ^ "Official IFPI Charts — Digital Singles Chart (International) — Εβδομάδα: 35/2023" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  20. ^ "Travis Scott feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus". Top Digital Download. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  21. ^ "2023 31-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  22. ^ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 28.07.2023–03.08.2023.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  23. ^ "Travis Scott feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  24. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 31. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  25. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 32". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  26. ^ "Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  27. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  28. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  29. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Travis Scott feat. the Weeknd & Swae Lee – Circus Maximus" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  30. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Travis Scott – Circus Maximus". Music Canada. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
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