Y.A.L.A.

"Y.A.L.A."
Single by M.I.A.
from the album Matangi
Released	22 October 2013
Format	Digital download
Genre	Electronic dance
Length	4:23
Label	Interscope
Writer(s)	Maya Arulpragasam Ruben Fernhout Jerry Leembruggen
Producer(s)	The Partysquad
M.I.A. singles chronology
"Come Walk with Me" (2013) "Y.A.L.A." (2013) "Double Bubble Trouble" (2014)
Music video "Y.A.L.A." on YouTube

"Y.A.L.A." is a song by recording artist M.I.A. from her fourth album Matangi, released in 2013. It was released as the fourth single from the album. The track was written by M.I.A. together with Ruben Fernhout and Jerry Leembruggen of the Dutch production team The Partysquad who also produced the track.^[1]

The song's title stands for "You Always Live Again", which was seen as a response to the slogan "Y.O.L.O." ("You Only Live Once"), popularised by rapper Drake in his 2011 song "The Motto". The track refers to reincarnation and karma, some of the concepts relating to Hinduism that M.I.A. has incorporated into the album. The lyrics also reference Fidel Castro, Cristiano Ronaldo, offshore banking and Julianne Moore.^[2]

"Y.A.L.A." was previewed on singer's SoundCloud account on 16 October, and subsequently made available for download on 22 October 2013 upon pre-ordering Matangi.^[3] The song served as the fourth single from the album. It was performed on The Colbert Report,^[4] Late Night with Conan O'Brien,^[5] and the Matangi Tour.

The track was met with mostly positive feedback.^[6][7][8][9] AllMusic picked "Y.A.L.A." as one of the highlights on the album.^[10]

Music video

The music video for the track was commissioned by British magazine i-D and directed by German photographer Daniel Sannwald.^[11] It was premiered on 15 November 2013 on i-D's YouTube channel.^[12]

Track listing

Digital download^[13]

1. "Y.A.L.A." – 4:23

Charts

Chart (2013-14)	Peak position
US Dance/Electronic Digital Songs (Billboard)[14]	11
US Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[15]	19

References

1. "M.I.A. (2) - Matangi (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
2. Jon Blistein (2013-10-22). "M.I.A. Answers YOLO With 'Y.A.L.A.' - Rolling Stone". www.rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
3. Kyle McGovern (2013-10-16). "M.I.A. Rebuts Drake's 'YOLO' Philosophy With 'Y.A.L.A.' | SPIN". www.spin.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
4. "Watch: M.I.A. Talks Politics, Performs "Y.A.L.A." and "Come Walk With Me" on "The Colbert Report"". Pitchfork Media. November 21, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
5. Marc Hogan (2013-11-14). "Watch M.I.A.'s Hypnotizing 'Y.A.L.A.' Performance on 'Conan' | SPIN". www.spin.com. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
6. Jesse Cataldo (2013-11-04). "M.I.A.: Matangi | Album Review | Slant Magazine". www.slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
7. Carl Williott (2013-10-21). "M.I.A.'s "Y.A.L.A.": Hear The Spiritual Banger | Idolator". www.idolator.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
8. August Brown (2013-11-12). "Album review: M.I.A. keeps idiosyncrasies on 'Matangi' - LA Times". www.latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
9. Lindsay Zoladz (2013-11-05). "M.I.A.: Matangi Album Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
10. Heather Phares. "Matangi - M.I.A. | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
11. Makarechi, Kia (15 November 2013). "MIA's 'Y.A.L.A.' Video Gives Intense Light To Rapper's Mantra". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
12. "M.I.A. x The Partysquad x KENZO - Y.A.L.A. (Official Video) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
13. "Y.A.L.A. [Explicit]: M.I.A.: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". www.amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
14. "M.I.A. - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
15. "M.I.A. - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2016-04-26.