Make Her Say

For the song by Estelle, see True Romance (Estelle album).

"Make Her Say" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kid Cudi, released as the second single from his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009). The single was digitally released to iTunes on June 9, 2009.^[1] It features fellow American rappers Common and Kanye West, the latter of whom also produced the song. The song is perhaps best known for its sample of the US number-one hit single "Poker Face", as performed by American singer Lady Gaga. The song received a nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.

"Make Her Say"
Single by Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West and Common
from the album Man on the Moon: The End of Day
Released	June 9, 2009
Recorded	2009
Studio	Avex Honolulu Studios (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Genre	Dirty rap
Length	3:36 (album version) 3:57 (single version) 3:17 (video version)
Label	Dream On GOOD Music Universal Motown
Songwriter(s)	Scott Mescudi Kanye West Lonnie Lynn Stefani Germanotta Nadir Khayat
Producer(s)	Kanye West
Kid Cudi singles chronology
"Welcome to the World" (2009) "Make Her Say" (2009) "Pursuit of Happiness" (2009)
Kanye West singles chronology
"Maybach Music 2" (2009) "Make Her Say" (2009) "Digital Girl" (2009)
Common singles chronology
"Announcement" (2008) "Make Her Say" (2009) "Ghetto Dreams" (2011)
Music video
"Make Her Say" on YouTube

Background and lyrical content

"Make Her Say" is performed by Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common. It was originally titled "I Poke Her Face", but was changed to make it more acceptable for radio. The song was written by all three artists, produced by West, and features scratches from DJ A-Trak. Lady Gaga (of whom West is a fan) and producer RedOne are credited as co-writers, because an acoustic version of Gaga's song "Poker Face" from The Cherrytree Sessions EP is sampled throughout the song.^[2] Gaga voiced approval of the track, saying that West "had so much insight into what the song was about."^[3] Incidentally, just a few weeks later, the two revealed plans to tour together; however, the tour was later canceled.^[4] In addition to the Lady Gaga sample, the song also makes musical references to T.I.'s "Whatever You Like", Asher Roth's "I Love College", and Jamie Foxx's "Blame It".

Music video

The music video for "Make Her Say" was directed by Nez Khammal and released on July 20, 2009. The video carries a minimal aesthetic, with scenes taking place in empty, wide-open spaces. Although Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common all appear in the video, they never attended a film shoot together. The music video utilizes a split screen effect to create the illusion that the three artists were all filmed in the same location. In reality, they had shot their individual scenes on opposite coasts of the United States; Common and Kid Cudi were filmed in New York City while Kanye was filmed in Los Angeles. The group had wanted Lady Gaga to be included in the video, but she was too busy to make the appearance.^[5] The video uses a shortened version of the song that cuts out the outro.

The "Make Her Say" video is also the first music video to feature the hardware from Activision's DJ Hero.

Live performances

 

Lady Gaga and Kid Cudi performing the piano version of "Poker Face" and "Make Her Say" on The Monster Ball Tour

Kid Cudi performed the song solo during his set at the 2009 Bamboozle music festival.^[6] Kid Cudi also performed the song on June 13 in Chicago at The B96 Pepsi Summer Bash and in London at the 2009 O2 Wireless Festival. He also performed his verse of the song at Lollapalooza 2009 in Chicago, IL. He performed the song with Lady Gaga on her Monster Ball tour in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Track listing

Man on the Moon CD: The End of Day

1. "Make Her Say" - 3:36

Digital single

1. "Make Her Say" – 3:57

Promotional CD single

1. "Make Her Say" (Clean) – 3:58
2. "Make Her Say" (Dirty) – 3:58
3. "Make Her Say" (Instrumental) – 3:57

Promotional CD single 2nd Version

1. "Make Her Say" – 3:58
2. "Make Her Say" (Instrumental) – 3:57
3. "Make Her Say" (Afrojack Remix) – 4:20
4. "Make Her Say" (Nadastrom 88 Dub) – 6:10

U.S. CD single

1. "Make Her Say" – 3:59
2. "Day 'N' Night" – 3:42
3. "Day 'N' Night" (Crookers Remix) – 4:41

Chart performance

In the United States, "Make Her Say" debuted at number fifty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 18, 2009.^[7] That same week, it also entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number seventy-eight.^[8] The song entered the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart at number six for the issue date of July 4.^[9] The following week, it appeared on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number seventy-three.^[10]

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[11]	62
Australia Urban (ARIA)^[12]	27
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[13]	18
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)^[14]	7
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[15]	78
Germany (Official German Charts)^[16]	85
Israel (Media Forest)^[17]	10
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[18]	35
UK Singles (OCC)^[19]	67
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)^[20]	24
US Billboard Hot 100^[21]	43
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)^[22]	39
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)^[23]	11
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[24]	39

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[25]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Make Her Say – Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. June 9, 2009. from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
2. Reid, Shaheem (May 28, 2009). "Kanye West 'Inspired' By Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' For Kid Cudi Single". MTV. MTV Networks. from the original on May 29, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
3. Reed, Shaheim (May 6, 2009). "Lady Gaga Says Kanye West Saw Past Her 'Poker Face'". MTV. MTV Networks. from the original on May 8, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
4. Vena, Jocelyn (June 10, 2009). "Kanye West To Tour With Lady Gaga". MTV. MTV Networks Inc. from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
5. Kash, Tim; Roberts, Steven (July 20, 2009). "Kanye West, Common Lend Kid Cudi Bicoastal Support In Video". MTV. MTV Networks. from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
6. Weingarten, Christopher (May 3, 2009). . Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
7. Ben-Yehuda, Ayala (June 18, 2009). "Black Eyed Peas Take Top Two Slots On Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
8. "Canadian Hot 100 – Make Her Say". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 18, 2009. from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
9. "Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles – Make Her Say". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
10. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles – Make Her Say". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 4, 2009. from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
11. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 64.
12. . Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
13. "Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West & Common – Make Her Say" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
14. "Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West & Common – Make Her Say" (in French). Ultratip.
15. "Kid Cudi Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
16. "Kid Cudi – {{{song}}}" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
17. "Media Forest: Airplay chart". mediaforest.biz. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
18. "Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West & Common – Make Her Say". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
19. "Kid Cudi: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
20. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
21. "Kid Cudi Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
22. "Kid Cudi Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
23. "Kid Cudi Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
24. "Kid Cudi Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
25. "American single certifications – Kid Cudi – Make Her Say". Recording Industry Association of America.