Earned It

A sultry anthem defining devotion and desire within a cinematic shadow world.

"Earned It", alternatively titled "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)", is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released as a single from the soundtrack to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey and was included on the Weeknd's second studio album Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). Unlike the film, which was critically panned, "Earned It" was lauded by critics upon release. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the Weeknd's first top-five single. The song's popularity earned the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack two concurrent top-ten singles, with Ellie Goulding's "Love Me like You Do" also peaking at number three. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 88th Academy Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. On February 16, 2023, it was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for 10 million units (including streams) in the United States.

Quick Facts

Artist: the Weeknd
Album: Fifty Shades of Grey: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side: "Where You Belong"
Released: December 23, 2014
Recorded: 2014
Studio: Maison de Musique (Santa Monica, California)
Genre: Chamber pop; R&B
Label: Republic

Lore & Background

The Weeknd was involved in the Fifty Shades of Grey project very early on. Tom Mackay, a manager at Republic Records, explained: "He worked on a number of songs for a number of scenes. Some were working and some weren't, but he just kept at it, and kept at it, and kept at it. In the end, he wrote 'Earned It' and it's the only song that's in the movie twice." Director Sam Taylor-Johnson said the Weeknd's voice is instantly seductive, which fit the film perfectly. The singer agreed, calling the film and his music "a match made in heaven." An alternative version of the single, with a new slightly long intro, was later included in the Weeknd's album Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). The music video, directed by Nabil Elderkin, was shot at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles and released on Vevo and YouTube on January 20, 2015. It includes the BDSM theme as seen in the film, showing the Weeknd performing on stage as a group of topless women with black tape over their breasts perform a BDSM-themed burlesque routine behind him. Dakota Johnson makes a cameo appearance in the video.

Reader's Guide

"Earned It" is a chamber pop and R&B song. It is written in the key of D minor with a slow tempo of 40 beats per minute (Largo) in 6/8 time. There is an alternation between the chords Gm7 and Dm7, and Tesfaye's vocals span two octaves from D3 to D5. Critics praised the song upon release. Mitchell Bozzetto of Renowned for Sound wrote, "Tesfaye definitely has one of the best modern day R&B voices and it certainly shows in this track, his pitch and tone are spot on which makes this a soothing listen." Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote, "With its streaking, soundtracky strings, 'Earned It' almost sounds like it could come from one of the '80s erotic thrillers that clearly inspired Fifty Shades. It's not a great Weeknd song, but it's a pretty interesting career move." Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 39 on its "50 best songs of 2015" list, noting that "The 50 Shades of Grey soundtrack proved Abel Tesfaye's ideal entree into the pop mainstream, though here he eschewed S&M to instead focus on the bottom line, lending his liquid falsetto to the role of affectionate sugar daddy."