"Under the Influence" is a song by American singer Chris Brown. It is the third track on the extended edition of his ninth studio album Indigo, which was released on October 4, 2019, by RCA Records.[1] The song was composed by Brown along with Nigerian singer Davido, producer Kiddominant and Tiffany Mckie. "Under the Influence" became a sleeper hit in 2022, becoming viral on the TikTok platform.[2] Afterwards, it was officially released as a single, roughly three years following its original release.
"Under the Influence" received great success internationally, reaching the top ten in more than 20 countries between 2022 and 2023, including United Kingdom, Australia, India, New Zealand, while peaking at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song's title became the name of Brown's 2023 tour which kicked off in Europe.[3]
"Under the Influence" is an R&B song,[4] written by Chris Brown, Nigerian singer Davido and Tiffany Mckie,[5] while its production was handled by Nigerian producer KDDO.[6] The song was included on the expanded edition of Brown's ninth studio album Indigo. The song marks the third collaboration between Brown and Davido, following Davido's 2019 single "Blow My Mind", and their duet "Lower Body", also contained on the expanded version of Indigo.[1] Lyrically, in the song Brown expresses his desires while having a passionate sexual encounter, being under the influence of codeine.[4] According to Billboard, Brown on the record "turns the tempo down several notches".[4] Marc Griffin of Vibe magazine, said that the song's lyrics "are coated in temptation, delivering his [second] verse lustfully, rattling off things he would like to do with (and to) his lover".[7]
The music video for "Under the Influence" was directed by visual artist Child, and released on October 20, 2023.[8] The clip was recorded in an abandoned warehouse, and features Brown surrounded by female dancers, that perform sexually suggestive moves around him.[7]Vibe, said that the music video shows the singer "deep in contemplation, sorting through his need for her, while other shots feature a gaggle of dancers with glowing eyes seductively enticing Brown with desire".[7]HotNewHipHop noted that in the "sensual" video, Brown "kept his choreography to a minimum", despite his music videos usually featuring complex choreographies performed by the singer himself.[9]
Despite not being initially released as a single, "Under the Influence" became a viral sleeper hit in 2022 via TikTok. During the summer of 2022, "Under the Influence" entered the charts in many countries for the first time, reaching the top ten in Australia, Luxembourg, Greece, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The song debuted at number 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the September 24, 2022 week, three years following its release.[10] With "Under the Influence", Brown became the first R&B singer in history to have over fifty top-40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.[11] The song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Global 200, making it Brown's first top ten on the Global 200 chart since the chart was introduced in 2020.[12] The song topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, making it Brown's tenth number-one song on the chart.[13] "Under the Influence" first reached No. 1 on Apple Music’s Top 100: Global chart in mid-September 2022.[14]
On May 17, 2023, "Under the Influence" became Brown’s second longest-charting song, without a feature, at 35 weeks. The song surpassed the 33 week tenancy of 2008’s "Forever". The song is also Brown’s longest charting single since his 2005 debut single "Run It!" (which ran on the Hot 100 for 38 weeks).[15] "Under the Influence" was the tenth most-heard song on U.S. radio in the first half of 2023, with a cumulative 1.142 billion audience impressions across all formats monitored by Luminate.[16] “Under The Influence” is Brown’s first song to ever reach one billion streams on Spotify.[17]
On November 26, 2022, Chris Brown announced an official headlining concert tour where he would perform throughout Europe, titled "Under the Influence Tour". The tour began on February 12, 2023 in Dublin, Ireland, at 3Arena, and ended on March 26 in Paris, France, at Accor Arena. The sole opening act for the tour was initially supposed to be Jamaican rapper Skillibeng, but ended up being South African singer Tyla.
The revised name of the tour is taken from his 2022 single "Under the Influence", released from the expanded edition of his ninth studio album Indigo (2019). The tour marked Brown's first tour in Europe since the 2016 European leg of his One Hell of a Nite Tour. The tour also marked Brown's first concerts in the United Kingdom following the revoking of his ban from entering the country implemented in 2010.[18][19] The tour was documented and uploaded to Brown's YouTube channel as a 4-part webisodes series.
The tour registered sold out during all the 19 arena dates scheduled, with 7 additional dates being later added, also registering sold out.[20] The tour included six nights at London's O2 Arena, three nights at Accor Arena in Paris, three nights at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam and more.[21]
Brown performed a one-off show of his Under the Influence Tour in Kingston, Jamaica at Jamaica National Stadium during Jamaica's "BZR Weekend" event on August 27th, 2023. The August 27th show was billed as Chris Brown and Friends: Live In Jamaica. Brown shared the stage with Jamaican artists Sean Kingston, Teejay, Ding Dong, and more. This marked Brown’s second time in Jamaica. His last appearance on the island was in 2010, when he performed with Elephant Man and Usher at Sumfest.[22]
Brown performing in Kingston, Jamaica during the "Under the Influence Tour"
Danielle Roper of Manchester Evening News reviewing the AO Arena concert of March 9, noted that "The crowd chant the lyrics - they really do seem to know every word to every song, no mean feat when we get nearly 50 of them, albeit only snippets of some", also stating that "Whatever you think of Chris Brown’s personal life, he's undeniably a great showman. His vocals, dancing and backing dancers are flawless and the show is perfectly paced."[23] Donovan Watkis of World Music Views reviewed the Jamaica’s National Stadium concert saying that through a "masterful performance" he proved "why he is a global superstar".[24] Kediesha Perry of Jamaica Observer wrote favorably of the Kingston concert as well, stating that "The cinematic effects complemented the musical journey that supporters were taken on", complimenting the "high-energy choreography" and the amount of songs performed.[25]
This set list is representative of the show on February 20, 2023, in Glasgow.[26] It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour. A small part of the setlist varied on every date, with the singer giving the crowd a choice of tracks to pick from on a board.[27]
"Indigo"
"Beautiful People"
"Yeah 3x" (no verses)
"Party"
"Ayo" (Chris Brown & Tyga cover)
"Undecided"
"Hope You Do"
"Liquor"
"Drunk Texting"
"No Bullshit"
"Come Together"
"Don't Judge Me"
"Run It!" (2 Verses and Chorus only)
"Gimme That" (Chorus only)
"Poppin'" (2 Verses and Chorus only)
"Wall to Wall" (Chorus only)
"With You" (1st Verse and Chorus only)
"Kiss Kiss" (Acapella Verse and Chorus only)
"Take You Down" (1st Verse and Chorus only with Fan onstage)
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202234 into search. Retrieved August 29, 2022.