Lean On

Lean On
Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. MØ
publication	March 2, 2015
length	2:56
Genre (s)	Electro , house , dancehall
Author (s)	William Grigahcine , Wesley Pentz , Karen Marie Ørsted , Martin Bresso, Philip Meckseper
Label	Mad Decent, Because Music, Warner Music
album	Peace is the mission

Lean On ( dt. "Rely on someone") is a song of the US electric - music project Major Lazer in collaboration with the French DJ and music producer DJ Snake and the Danish singer MØ . The song was released on March 2, 2015 and is the first single from Major Lazer's third studio album Peace Is the Mission .

background

Wesley Pentz , the head behind the music project Major Lazer, wrote Lean On together with MØ in 2014, according to his own statement. The song is based on an instrumental piece by Philip Meckseper aka Jr Blender . A year later, Pentz remixed this version, but at a completely different pace . Pentz asked DJ Snake if he could contribute the chorus. After he produced the chorus, Pentz, MØ and Blender rewrote Lean On based on the new tempo and produced the song in Las Vegas .

Musical and content

Lean On is an electro song with dancehall elements and a length of 2:56 minutes. The song, composed in four-four time , is written in B flat major and has a tempo of 100 beats per minute . Mo's vocal range ranges from B _{♭ 3} to D _{♭ 5} .

Lyrically, the song describes the love of two people that still exists, but both of which do not know how it will develop in old age. The ambiguity of this love becomes clear in the line "Blow a kiss, fire a gun" in the chorus:

"Blow a kiss, fire a gun We need someone to lean on Blow a kiss, fire a gun All we need is somebody to lean on" - Refrain, original excerpt

"Blow a kiss, shoot a shot We need someone we can count on Blow a kiss, shoot a shot All we need is someone we can rely on" - Refrain, German translation

Reviews

Singer MØ was praised for her singing

Lean On received mostly positive reviews. The Focus praises MØ, who “puts her stamp on Lean On with her siren-like singing ”, making it “by far the biggest hit for Major Lazer so far”. Kerstin Petermann from Plattentests.de praises the "wonderful sidekick from MØ". Thomas Weiland from Musikexpress , on the other hand, finds Lean On , in comparison to the other songs on Major Lazer's album Peace is the Mission , an “atypically reserved piece”. Brennan Carley from Spin considers the song to be “by far the best song on the album” and also praises MØ's singing with the words: “She sings her lyrics with this light, nasal tone, the Lean On unassailablely far removed from the others Plays on Peace Is the Mission . "

Music video

The music video for Lean On was shot by the Swedish director Tim Erem at ND Studios in Karjat, near Mumbai . The music video shows MØ backup dancers dancing Bharatanatyam and other Bollywood elements together. The three people behind Major Lazer, Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire as well as DJ Snake, also have dance appearances. The official music video for Lean On had more than 2.6 billion views on Youtube by August 2019 .

Commercial win

Lean On achieved high chart positions worldwide. The song debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on April 25, 2015. On August 29, 2015, he achieved his highest ranking there with 4th place. It's Major Lazers and MØ's first and DJ Snake's second top 10 hit in the United States after Turn Down for What . For 2 million copies sold was Lean On from the Recording Industry Association of America with quadruple platinum award. Lean On entered the British singles charts on April 4, 2015 at number 48 and was able to increase steadily until it reached the highest position on June 21, 2015 at number 2. In total, the song stayed in the top 10 for 12 weeks and was the first top 10 hit in the UK for all three artists involved . For over 1.2 million copies sold, it was awarded three platinum records by the British Phonographic Industry .

Lean On entered the German single charts at number 42 on March 20, 2015 , achieved its best position there on May 1, 2015 with number 4 and was able to achieve this twice in the course of May and June. In total, the song stayed in the top 10 for 17 weeks. From the end of June to mid-July it was the most streamed song in Germany and for over 800,000 units sold it was awarded double platinum by the Federal Association of the Music Industry . In the Ö3 Austria Top 40 he rose to third place, stayed there for four weeks and stayed in the top 10 for a total of 18 weeks.

Lean On achieved a number one placement in the Swiss charts . There the song was able to hold the top position for a total of five weeks and was awarded double platinum for over 60,000 copies sold. Further number one placements were achieved in Australia , Denmark , Finland , New Zealand and the Netherlands .

At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards was Lean On in the category Song of Summer and at the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards in the category Best Song nomination. It was also Lean On summer 2015 meistgestreamte song in Spotify .

Chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	4th (68 weeks)	68
Austria (Ö3)	3 (58 weeks)	58
Switzerland (IFPI)	1 (65 weeks)	65
United Kingdom (OCC)	2 (79 weeks)	79
United States (Billboard)	4th (48 weeks)	48

Awards for music sales

Lean On has so far been awarded 55 × platinum worldwide. According to awards, the single was sold more than 8.6 million times.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	7 × platinum	490,000
Belgium (BEA)	3 × platinum	90,000
Denmark (IFPI)	4 × platinum	240,000
Germany (BVMI)	2 × platinum	800,000
Italy (FIMI)	7 × platinum	350,000
Canada (MC)	2 × platinum	160,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	4 × platinum	60,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	platinum	30,000
Norway (IFPI)	3 × platinum	30,000
Austria (IFPI)	platinum	30,000
Poland (ZPAV)	platinum	20,000
Sweden (IFPI)	6 × platinum	240,000
Switzerland (IFPI)	2 × platinum	60,000
Spain (Promusicae)	5 × platinum	200,000
United States (RIAA)	4 × platinum	4,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	3 × platinum	1,800,000
All in all	55 × platinum	8,600,000

Formats

Download

1. Lean On  - 2:56

CD single

1. Lean On  - 2:56
2. Lean On (Fono Remix)  - 5:07

Web links

• Music video on YouTube

Individual evidence

1. ↑ BMI Repertoire Lean on. (No longer available online.) Broadcast Music Incorporated , archived from the original on July 18, 2015 ; accessed on September 30, 2015 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Major Lazer Lean On Video. Major lazer via Facebook , accessed September 30, 2015 . 
3. ^ Major Lazer 'Lean On' Sheet Music. Musicnotes.com, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
4. ↑ From Felix Jaehn to Otto Knows: Eleven hot summer hit candidates 2015. In: Focus . June 25, 2015, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
5. ↑ Kerstin Petermann: Beat beast. In: Plattentests.de . Retrieved September 30, 2015 . 
6. ↑ Thomas Weiland: Major Lazer Peace Is The Mission Album Review. In: Musikexpress . May 28, 2015, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
7. ↑ Brennan Carley: Review: Major Lazer Sputter Out on 'Peace Is the Mission'. In: Spin . June 2, 2015, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
8. ↑ Watch: Major Lazer's New Video Lean On. In: Rolling Stone. March 23, 2015, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
9. ↑ Major Lazer's new video shot in Mumbai, garners 1.5 million views on YouTube - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/music/a-major-video-release/#sthash.OyIHvkWw.dpuf. In: The Indian Express . September 30, 2015, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
10. ↑ Music video Major Lazer - Lean On. In: YouTube . Retrieved July 13, 2017 . 
11. ↑ Billboard Hot 100. Billboard , August 29, 2015. Retrieved on September 30, 2015 (English). 
12. ↑ Official Singles Chart Top 100 June 21, 2015 - June 27, 2015. The Official Charts Company UK, June 21, 2015, accessed on September 30, 2015 . 
13. ↑ ^{a b} Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. Mø - Lean On Chart Placement Germany. GfK Entertainment , accessed September 30, 2015 . 
14. ↑ In search of the summer hit. In: The world . July 20, 2015, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
15. ↑ Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. Mø - Lean On Chart Placement Australia. In: Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
16. ↑ Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. Mø - Lean On Chart Placement Denmark. In: Danishcharts.com. Hung Medien, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
17. ↑ Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. Mø - Lean On Chart placement Finland. In: Finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
18. ↑ Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. Mø - Lean On Chart Placement New Zealand. In: Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
19. ↑ Chris Payne: Spotify's Top 2015 Summer Songs: Who Made the List? In: Billboard . September 3, 2015, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
20. ↑ Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. Mø - Lean On chart placement Austria. In: Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
21. ↑ Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. Mø - Lean On Chart Placement Switzerland. In: Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
22. ↑ Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. Mø - Lean On Chart Placement United Kingdom. The Official UK Charts Company, accessed September 30, 2015 . 
23. ↑ Major Lazer Chart History. Billboard , accessed September 30, 2015 .