Drake's 'Red Button' Shout-Out: How Taylor Swift Pushed Him to Release an Album
Drake gives a shout-out to Taylor Swift in his latest track 'Red Button', revealing that she has the power to influence him to delay his album release
Drake pays tribute to Taylor Swift in a surprising way on his latest album with a mention in one of his new songs. In the track titled "Red Button," Drake, 37, raps, "Taylor Swift is the only artist I've ever respected. She's the reason I delayed releasing this album." The song is part of his For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition album, which was released on Friday, November 17.
The lyrics reference the ongoing competition between Drake and Swift to achieve the highest accolades on the Billboard Top 100, given their current positions at the top two spots. Last year, Drake and 21 Savage's collaborative album, titled "Her Loss," had to be delayed because of the release of Swift's album, "Midnights." Originally slated for October 28, 2022, the release of "Her Loss" was rescheduled to November 4, a week later.
Swift's album, Midnights, was launched on October 21, 2023, leading fans to speculate that Drake had adjusted his release date to accommodate Swift, aged 33, and give her more time to dominate the charts.
Despite losing the top spot on the album chart to Her Loss in November 2022, Midnights still held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 with Swift's hit song "Anti-Hero," even after the release of Her Loss.
Upon sharing his successes, Drake did get backlash after fans were convinced he threw some shade at Swift over her Billboard chart success.
In November 2022, he caused controversy among fans when he posted an Instagram Story showcasing the success of his song "Her Loss" on the Billboard Hot 100. To make matters more intriguing, he concealed the title "Anit-Hero" with a string of emojis. Many fans criticized him for his perceived pettiness.
Drake has a history of delaying album releases, and this time is no different. His previous album, "For the Dogs," faced a similar setback and ended up dropping around the same time as one of Taylor Swift's records.
Originally scheduled for September 22, the release of Drake's album has been postponed to October 6 as he expressed the need for additional time to finalize it.
"Alright, I'm currently dealing with a tough decision: either I have to cancel shows in order to finish the album, or I can complete the mission and release the album before the last show," he expressed in a message to his fans on September 16. "I am grateful for all the memories we have been creating together, and wherever we may have missed out until now, we will definitely make up for it."
As for Swift, she released "1989 (Taylor's Version)" on October 27. Interestingly, Drake strategically spaced out his album releases by two weeks, ensuring that there was some separation between his and Taylor's releases.
