Y.A.L.A.

"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]

"Y.A.L.A."
Single by M.I.A.
from the album Matangi
Released	22 October 2013 (2013-10-22)
Genre	Electronic dance
Length	4:23
Label	Interscope
Songwriter(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

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

Weekly charts

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

Year-end charts

Chart (2014)	Position
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs^[16]	96

References

1. "M.I.A. (2) - Matangi (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. www.discogs.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
2. Jon Blistein (22 October 2013). "M.I.A. Answers YOLO With 'Y.A.L.A.' - Rolling Stone". www.rollingstone.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
3. Kyle McGovern (16 October 2013). "M.I.A. Rebuts Drake's 'YOLO' Philosophy With 'Y.A.L.A.' | SPIN". www.spin.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
4. "Watch: M.I.A. Talks Politics, Performs "Y.A.L.A." and "Come Walk With Me" on "The Colbert Report"". Pitchfork Media. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
5. Marc Hogan (14 November 2013). "Watch M.I.A.'s Hypnotizing 'Y.A.L.A.' Performance on 'Conan' | SPIN". www.spin.com. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
6. Jesse Cataldo (4 November 2013). "M.I.A.: Matangi | Album Review | Slant Magazine". www.slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
7. Carl Williott (21 October 2013). "M.I.A.'s "Y.A.L.A.": Hear The Spiritual Banger | Idolator". www.idolator.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
8. August Brown (12 November 2013). "Album review: M.I.A. keeps idiosyncrasies on 'Matangi' - LA Times". www.latimes.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
9. Lindsay Zoladz (5 November 2013). "M.I.A.: Matangi Album Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
10. Heather Phares. "Matangi - M.I.A. | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
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 20 July 2016.
13. "Y.A.L.A. [Explicit]: M.I.A.: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". www.amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
14. "M.I.A. - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
15. "M.I.A. - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
16. "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 24 February 2020.