Marvin Gaye (song)

Background and release

Puth began his music career on YouTube, gaining attention after recording with Emily Luther a cover of Adele's "Someone Like You". The two appeared on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show and signed with Ellen's record label, eleveneleven. After gaining further attention, Puth signed with Atlantic Records in January 2015. Puth and Meghan Trainor announced a duet, and "Marvin Gaye" was released as Puth's debut single on February 10, 2015.

Puth said during an interview with Billboard that he had come up with the drumbeat for "Marvin Gaye" while sitting at a cafe in Hollywood, adding that he and Trainor "were at a party one night, and we were exchanging the new music, and she heard "Marvin Gaye" and asked, "Who else is singing on this? It should be a duet. Let me sing on it!" So I'm like ... OK, Meghan Trainor just asked me to sing on my song, absolutely! In one day, she knew the whole thing. We did it all in one take."

"Marvin Gaye" is a reference to the soul singer with "the lyrics of the tune being an effort to spark romance and get that special someone in the mood, just as many Gaye slow jams have done for millions in the past." The song is also Trainor's first release without writing credits. The collaboration led to Puth's appearance as one of Trainor's dates in the music video for her single "Dear Future Husband".

Commercial performance

In Oceania, "Marvin Gaye" became a commercial hit, peaking at number one in New Zealand and number four in Australia. It was later certified Platinum by Recorded Music New Zealand (RMNZ) and 2× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

In the United States, the song debuted at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 before peaking at number 21, making it Puth's second consecutive top 40 hit in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 90 on the UK Singles Chart before ascending to the top of the chart the following week, becoming both Puth and Trainor's second chart-topping single in Britain after "See You Again" and "All About That Bass" respectively. In Ireland, "Marvin Gaye" debuted at number 97 on the Irish Singles Chart before peaking at number-one five weeks later.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld and released via YouTube on April 1, 2015. It follows a dance in school where all in attendance "start making out on the floor, including the chaperones". The video closes with Puth and Trainor kissing.

The video featured a strong product placement for Fiat's then new 500 1957 Edition and was used prominently in the company's advertising.

Live performances

Puth and Trainor performed "Marvin Gaye" during the 2015 American Music Awards on November 22, 2015. Like the music video, the performance ended with a kiss between the two. This led to speculation that the two were in a romantic relationship. Puth denied this, stating that he and Trainor are just "friends" and the kiss was only meant to keep the performance within the theme of the song. He further said, "There was a lot of making out. The dancers were making out and I'm sure some of the other dancers were making out. I think that's it though".

Remix

An alternate version of "Marvin Gaye" has been released replacing Meghan Trainor with rapper Wale. The remix is featured on the Japanese edition of Puth's album Nine Track Mind.

Track listing