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Written by Gray, the song was inspired by a person he was romantically interested in but was having his emotions played around with by. As such, Gray called "Checkmate" a signal of him being done with the "games" they were playing. He stated he wrote the song in the stage of grief highlighted by rage
242:(EP) in November 2018, and releasing the single "The King" in March 2019, Gray would usher in a new period of his music career with the release of "Checkmate". He recalled having "ugly cried out" the song in under five minutes while alone in his bedroom. Gray mentioned this songwriting process in a
331:. It has accumulated over 10 million views, as of December 2023. The music video's setting evokes imagery relating to late 1990s and early 2000s nostalgia. It follows Gray continuing with vengeful themes, with him stating that he "tried to get as much of cathartic revenge out" in the music video.
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On June 23, only a few days before releasing the track, Gray teased "Checkmate" through a tweet that featured the song's title and a short snippet of the chorus. "Checkmate" was officially released on June 26, as the lead single to his debut studio album
280:: "Cause I've gotten tired of the games that you play/ When you tell me you love me then you throw me away/ So cry me a river 'til you drown in a lake/ 'Cause you may think you're winning but checkmate".
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s Jason
Lipshutz stated "Checkmate" has the "type of harmonic flourishes and emotional vulnerability that can be traced back to those two pop savants", referencing
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and in a moment of him feeling "pure seething anger". The song's chorus leans into the metaphor of romantically "playing games", alluding to a
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A hand-drawn lyric video accompanied the single's release on June 26. Later, on July 25, a music video for "Checkmate" was released on
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called the song's chorus "explosive" and its melody twists and "surprising". In analyzing Gray's long-term viability as a pop singer,
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wrote that the track is "nothing short of euphoric, surging forward with an undeniable frenzied energy", as well as "a moment of
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648:"Conan Gray Talks "Checkmate," Feeling Inspired By Adele & What To Expect On His "Darker" Debut Album"
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and stating "Dedicated to the asshole who was always playing games with my lil heart >:( ".
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percussion. This muffled sound abruptly stops ahead of a transition to the first verse.
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352:"Conan Gray's "Checkmate" Hits Like an Adrenaline Shot to a Broken Heart"
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622:"A Review & Analysis of Conan Gray's 'Checkmate' Music Video"
562:"Here Are 5 Reasons Why You Should Be Betting Big on Conan Gray"
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385:"An Analysis & Review of Conan Gray's Single "Checkmate""
505:"Conan Gray announces title and release date of debut album"
422:"Conan Gray Debuts Cinematic Video For 'Checkmate': Watch"
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226:. It was written by Gray and produced by
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590:Conan Gray - Checkmate (Official Video)
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863:Song recordings produced by Dan Nigro
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503:Damshenas, Sam (January 10, 2020).
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420:Spruch, Kirsten (July 25, 2019).
620:Ehrlich, Helen (July 24, 2019).
532:"Kid Krow - Album by Conan Gray"
451:Tetenberg, Dana (July 7, 2019).
383:Ehrlich, Helen (June 27, 2019).
218:" is a song by American singer
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238:After breaking out with his
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843:2019 singles
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657:. Retrieved
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605:– via
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483:Coup De Main
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659:December 6,
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601:December 6,
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394:December 6,
363:December 6,
323:Music video
198:"Checkmate"
191:Music video
162:"The King"
134:Producer(s)
22:"Checkmate"
848:2019 songs
837:Categories
701:Conan Gray
653:Grammy.com
335:References
220:Conan Gray
151:Conan Gray
125:Conan Gray
64:2019-06-26
41:Conan Gray
800:The Story
786:Checkmate
743:Superache
567:Billboard
510:Gay Times
427:Billboard
296:Billboard
291:Billboard
284:Reception
278:checkmate
266:Dan Nigro
228:Dan Nigro
216:Checkmate
169:Checkmate
142:Dan Nigro
78:Indie pop
736:Kid Krow
626:Affinity
457:Euphoria
389:Affinity
317:pop-punk
253:Kid Krow
108:Republic
57:Released
50:Kid Krow
814:Heather
778:Singles
607:YouTube
329:YouTube
203:YouTube
178:(2019)
173:(2019)
164:(2019)
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793:Maniac
728:Albums
84:Length
37:Single
307:Lorde
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244:tweet
101:Label
73:Genre
661:2023
633:2023
603:2023
575:2023
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305:and
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