"Young Forever" | ||||
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Single by Jay-Z featuring Mr. Hudson | ||||
from the album The Blueprint 3 | ||||
Released | January 11, 2010 | |||
Format | Digital download | |||
Recorded | 2009 | |||
Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
Length | 4:14 | |||
Label | Roc Nation | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Kanye West | |||
Jay-Z singles chronology | ||||
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Mr. Hudson singles chronology | ||||
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"Young Forever" is the fourth single by American hip hop rapper Jay-Z from his album The Blueprint 3 off the Roc Nation label. The song was produced by Kanye West. It is a rework of the Wayne Wonder / Buju Banton / Stone Love 1992 version of Alphaville's 1984 song "Forever Young": the original melody is retained, Mr. Hudson sings the original lyrics (primarily during the 1st verse & the chorus), and Jay-Z raps during the following verses in place of the original song's additional verses.
It was released as the third official single in the United Kingdom (Death of Auto-Tune was never officially released there). In that country, the song was originally scheduled to be released on the same day as Mr. Hudson's other collaboration with N-Dubz, "Playing with Fire", but the single was pushed back until January 25, 2010.
The song has been performed several times by Jay-Z accompanied by his wife, R&B singer Beyoncé in place of Mr. Hudson, such as at the 2010 Coachella festival where Jay-Z was a headline act. Jay-Z brought out Beyoncé as a surprise guest and performed the closing song of the night. The couple also performed the song on New Year's Eve in 2010 at a concert at the Las Vegas Cosmopolitan Hotel.
"Young Forever" was first released in the UK on January 11, 2010. It was later serviced to Rhythm/Crossover and Top 40/Mainstream radio stations in the United States on January 26 and February 23, 2010 respectively.
The music video was released on December 22, 2009 on Jay-Z's official YouTube channel. Directed by Anthony Mandler, the video is in black-and-white and shows various aspects of youth across America, intercut with scenes of Jay-Z and Mr. Hudson performing the song, sometimes in concert. Singer Rita Ora makes a cameo appearance in the video. Concert scenes were filmed at Alexandra Palace, London on November 4, 2009. The video is produced by Andrew Listermann of Riveting Entertainment.