Airplanes (song)

Did You Know?

• The music video, directed by Hiro Murai, premiered on iTunes on June 15, 2010, and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and the BET Awards of 2011.
• American electropop artist the Ready Set covered the song for the compilation album Punk Goes Pop Volume 03., released on November 2, 2010; it peaked at number 22 on Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales.
• The song appears in the 2011 video game Just Dance 3.

Background and composition

The track "Airplanes" was created by a team including B.o.B, Jeremy "Kinetics" Dussolliet, Tim "One Love" Sommers, DJ Frank E, Alex "da Kid" Grant, and Christine Dominguez. B.o.B handled his own rap lyrics, while the chorus—performed by Paramore's Hayley Williams—was written by Kinetics & One Love and Dominguez. DJ Frank E and Alex da Kid produced the music. An earlier draft featured verses from Lupe Fiasco, but the song was later reassigned to B.o.B by his record label.

Williams, who was on tour when she got the track, agreed to join because she "liked the part too much." B.o.B mentioned he had "always been a Hayley fan" and hadn't expected such a quick collaboration. According to Williams, the two never recorded together in a studio, weren't present for the music video shoot, and hadn't met in person. Their first live performance of "Airplanes" happened at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

They performed it together a second time at Vanderbilt University's Fall 2010 "Commodore Quake" concert in Nashville, where Williams appeared as a special guest.

Chart performance

In its first week, "Airplanes" sold 138,000 digital downloads and debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart, leading to a debut at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100—B.o.B's highest debut on that chart and Williams' first entry as a solo act. The song rose to number two in its sixth week, kept from the top by Usher's "OMG". It also peaked at number two on the Pop Songs and Rap Songs charts. By December 2010, Nielsen Soundscan reported over 4 million digital downloads in the United States, surpassing the success of B.o.B's debut single "Nothin' on You".

In Canada, it debuted at number 62 on the Canadian Hot 100 and reached number two in its ninth week. In Australia, it debuted at number eighteen and peaked at number two within three weeks, holding that position for six non-consecutive weeks. In New Zealand, it debuted at number three, reached number one after three weeks, and stayed there for five consecutive weeks, later receiving a 4× Platinum certification. In Europe, the song first appeared on charts in Norway and Ireland, peaking within the top ten in both.

In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart and climbed to number three within five weeks; the same week it was number one on the UK R&B Chart. The following week, it reached number one on the UK Singles Chart from downloads alone of 75,892, becoming B.o.B's second chart-topping song in Britain after "Nothin' on You". It is the twenty-first most downloaded single in British chart history. As of February 2023, it had sold over 1.6 million units in the UK. The song also peaked at number two on the European Hot 100 chart and was number six on Billboard's Year End Chart.

"Airplanes, Part II"

"Airplanes, Part II" is a follow-up track that includes two new verses from B.o.B, a guest appearance by Eminem, and vocals from Hayley Williams. The beat and chorus are faster than the original, with Williams handling the chorus. Alex da Kid produced the track, with additional production from Eminem. According to Alex da Kid, the beat used here was actually the original beat intended for the song.

Lyrically, Eminem and B.o.B reflect on what their lives might have been like if they had never become musicians. B.o.B shared the song on his Twitter account, explaining that he wanted to leak it himself because other tracks from his album were already being leaked. When asked how the collaboration with Eminem came about, B.o.B said that Paul Rosenberg played Eminem his Cloud 9 mixtape, which gave Eminem a sense of his style. Rosenberg kept Eminem updated on B.o.B's progress, and eventually Eminem wanted to work with him, which B.o.B described as a gift.

At the 2010 BET Awards on June 27, 2010, B.o.B, Eminem, and Keyshia Cole (who filled in for Williams) performed the song as part of a medley with Eminem's "Not Afraid." B.o.B also performed it with Eminem during the Home & Home Tour. Although it was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals category, "Airplanes, Part II" was never released as a single.

2021 resurgence

Eleven years after its release, the song regained attention in July 2021 when a viral TikTok referenced fan art by user bluedog444 on DeviantArt from August 2012. The art depicted Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Mordecai from Regular Show stargazing while crying, with the song's chorus lyrics above them. The pairing, known as "MordeTwi", originated from a fan fiction in June 2011. The TikTok featuring the song and art received over a hundred million views, spawning an influx of memes.