"Ribs"
Promotional single by Lorde
from the album Pure Heroine
Released30 September 2013
Recorded
Genre
Length4:18
LabelUMG
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Little

"Ribs" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, from her debut studio album Pure Heroine (2013). Universal Music Group (UMG) released it as a promotional single on 30 September 2013. Written and produced by Lorde and Joel Little, "Ribs" is an electronica and electropop song discussing Lorde's stress over ageing.

Music critics met "Ribs" with acclaim; most have praised its lyrical content, and the song has consistently ranked among Lorde’s best songs. Commercially, the track appeared on record charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Lorde performed the song on numerous occasions, including on the Late Show with David Letterman, on her Pure Heroine Tour in 2014, and her Melodrama World Tour in 2017 and 2018.

Production and composition

"Ribs" was written by Lorde — credited under her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor — and Joel Little who also handled production, engineering, instrumentation and mixing.[1] It was recorded at Little's Golden Age Studios in Auckland, New Zealand.[1][2] On 30 September 2013, Universal Music issued "Ribs" as a promotional single on the iTunes Store.[3]

Lorde said ageing, which she described as "a big stress" of hers,[7] and "this big party I had when my parents went away"[8] inspired her. "Ribs" was written on the day of the January 2013 Auckland Laneway Festival.[9]

"Ribs" is composed in the key of E major with a tempo of 128 beats per minute.[10] Lorde's vocals span a range of B2 to G♯5 and its chord progression follows a sequence of A–E–F♯m7–C♯m7.[11] "Ribs" is a deep house-influenced electronica and electropop song,[4][6] which starts ambiently and,[5] according to Jason Lipshutz of Billboard, features an "exhausted-sounding Lorde growing more frantic with each passing second," with lyrics that include the singer discovering her maturity and "grown-up problems." In "Ribs", she references Canadian indie rock band Broken Social Scene's 2002 song "Lover's Spit".[12] Consequence of Sound noted how Lorde's minimal production allowed her to sing in any melody, layering them over one another to create a choral effect.[13]

Live performances

Lorde first performed "Ribs" and "400 Lux" at the Greenwich Village club Le Poisson Rouge.[14] She also performed the song during a free concert on 7 September 2013 at the 5000 seat Vector Arena.[15] On 24 September 2013, she performed the track at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, California,[16] and at a concert at the Warsaw in Brooklyn on 3 October 2013 along with other material from her album Pure Heroine.[17] On 26 November 2013, Lorde performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman, backed by a drummer and a keyboard player.[8] Canadian producer Ryan Hemsworth remixed the track and released it under the subtitle "Let's Have a Sleepover Version".[18] Lorde performed "Ribs" at the Coachella Valley Music Festival and other festivals in 2017,[19] and on her debut Pure Heroine Tour (2013–2014);[20] while a reworked version of the song was performed during the North American leg of her Melodrama World Tour (2017–2018).[21]

Reception

"Ribs" received favorable reviews from music critics on its release. Mike Wass of Idolator praised the song's "vulnerability" and called it an "obtuse offering".[22] Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork opined that "Ribs" was the best song Lorde had written so far.[23] Pretty Much Amazing wrote a mixed review of "Ribs", describing it as a song with "slower, driving beats" that go nowhere. While the publication praised its "dark and cold" chorus, it was also critical of the "same stacked vocals, hypnotic percussion, and synthesized production" that made the track repetitive.[24] Evan Sawdey of PopMatters called it one of the album's highlights, with the lyrics describing a "specific mood and atmosphere". Sawdey also compared the "steady club beat" that plays "underneath her words" to that of a heartbeat.[25] The A.V. Club called "Ribs" the "best illustration of [Lorde's] gift,"[26] while Jon Hadusek of Consequence of Sound placed it as one of the album's essential tracks in his review.[13]

Since its release, the song has appeared in several critics' lists. In 2017, Billboard ranked "Ribs" at number 12 on their list of the 100 Best Deep Cuts by 21st Century Pop Stars. Tatiana Cirisano, a reporter for the publication, wrote that it remains the singer's "most poignant reflection on the anxieties—and small thrills—of growing up".[27] Uproxx placed the track at number 95 on its list of the Best Songs of the 2010s.[28]

Commercially, "Ribs" peaked at numbers 36 and 92 on the Australian and British streaming charts,[29][30] and reached number 29 on the New Zealand singles chart.[31] The single reached number 26 on the United States Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.[32] In 2020, the song experienced a resurgence in popularity driven by creators on the video-sharing app TikTok.[33]

Track listing

Digital download[3]
  1. "Ribs" – 4:18

Charts

Chart (2013–2014) Peak
position
Australian Streaming Tracks (ARIA)[29] 36
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 29
UK Streaming (Official Streaming Chart)[30] 92
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[32] 26

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[35] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 Pure Heroine (inlay cover). Lorde. Universal Music Group. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ↑ Jenkin, Lydia (19 September 2013). "Joel Little: Doing the Lorde's work". The New Zealand Herald. APN News & Media. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Ribs – Single". United States: iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Renowned for Sound – Album Review: Lorde – Pure Heroine". Renowned for Sound. 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 Beasley, Corey (4 February 2014). "Lorde: Pure Heroine". Cokemachineglow.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  6. 1 2 Murphy, John (24 October 2013). "Lorde – Pure Heroine". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Lorde Opens Up About 'Ribs'". MTV News. Viacom. 21 August 2013. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  8. 1 2 Grow, Kory (13 November 2013). "Lorde Is Blissful During Six-Song 'Live on Letterman' Set". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Tunstall, Kashka (30 January 2014). "Lorde celebrates success with 'first fans'". Stuff.co.nz (Fairfax New Zealand). Archived from the original on 30 January 2014.
    "St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2013 – Artist Announcement" (Press release). Laneway Festival. 26 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Key & BPM for Ribs by Lorde". Tunebat.com. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Lorde Chords - Chordify". Chordify.com. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  12. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (25 September 2013). "Lorde, 'Pure Heroine': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  13. 1 2 Hadusek, Jon (29 September 2013). "Lorde – Pure Heroine". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Graham, Mark (20 September 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Lorde 'Freaks Out' About The Aging Process On 'Ribs'". VH1. Viacom. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  15. ↑ Schulz, Chris (8 September 2013). "Concert review: Lorde, Vector Arena". The New Zealand Herald. APN News & Media. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
    Yates, Siena (8 September 2013). "Lorde has the power". Stuff.co.nz (Fairfax New Zealand). Archived from the original on 17 February 2014.
  16. ↑ Wass, Mike (25 September 2013). "Lorde Reigns Supreme At The Fonda Theater In Los Angeles: Live Review". Idolator. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  17. ↑ Kamer, Foster (4 October 2013). "Live Review: Lorde Brings Brooklyn More Than a Chart-Topper". Complex. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  18. ↑ Hemsworth, Ryan. "Ribs (Let's Have A Sleepover Version)". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  19. ↑ "Lorde wows Coachella crowd". The Desert Sun. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  20. ↑ Bulut, Selim (2 March 2018). "Lorde played a new song and covered Frank Ocean at a concert last night". Dazed. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  21. ↑ Fusilli, Jim (5 March 2014). "A Young Lorde's Royal Tour". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  22. ↑ "Lorde's 'Pure Heroine': Album Review | Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com". idolator.com. 30 September 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  23. ↑ Zoladz, Lindsay (3 October 2013). "Lorde: Pure Heroine". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  24. ↑ Offitzer, Adam (29 September 2013). "Review: Lorde - Pure Heroine". Pretty Much Amazing. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  25. ↑ Sawdey, Evan (10 October 2013). "Lorde: Pure Heroine". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  26. ↑ McFarland, Kevin (8 October 2013). "Lorde: Pure Heroine". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  27. ↑ "The 100 Best Deep Cuts by 21st Century Pop Stars: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  28. ↑ Uproxx Music (9 October 2019). "All the Best Songs of the 2010s, Ranked". Uproxx. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  29. 1 2 "The ARIA Report" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 4 December 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  30. 1 2 Lane, Daniel (5 November 2013). "OneRepublic's Counting Stars is STILL the UK's most listened to track". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  31. 1 2 "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  32. 1 2 "Lorde Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  33. ↑ Jennings, Rebecca (7 May 2020). "Stuck in 2020, pretending it's 2014". Vox. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  34. ↑ "British single certifications – Lorde – Ribs". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  35. ↑ "American single certifications – Lorde – Ribs". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
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