“1-800-273-8255” by Logic (ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid)

Being who he is, Logic intentionally set out to make a song whose desired result would be to prevent suicide. He was inspired to do so upon realizing the positive affect his lyrics was having on listeners, with such being revealed to him by some of his actual fans.

“1-800-273-8255”

As such the title of this song (“1-800-273-8255”) is actually the phone number to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This is an organization whom, as its name implies, is dedicated to preventing suicides. And in the first part of the song Logic takes on the perspective of someone who actually wants to commit such an act. However, by the time the second chorus rolls around he flips his disposition, rather stating that he wants the addressee, who would now be the character he portrayed in the first, “to be alive”.

Alessia Cara steps in

Then he enlists Alessia Cara to help him explain why he thinks this person should hold on. And generally speaking her verse is centering on expressing the value of life. Moreover she states that even though “the road is long” – a phrase which is symbolic of seemingly never-ending depression – at the end of the day the sufferer will indeed find relief.

Logic steps in again

Then the third verse is once again held down by Logic. This time around he is directly sympathizing with suicidal individuals. He does so by stating that just like themselves, he’s had his moments of deep depression. But he keeps it all in perspective by basically stating that such disappointments are an intrinsic part of life. And as such individuals going through these eras have to dedicate themselves to getting through the moment, with the insinuation being that such overwhelming negativity is only temporary.

Khalid steps in

Finally Khalid is tasked with delivering the outro. He also makes the listener understand that he knows how it feels to be overcome with sadness. But at the same time he is not the type to give up. Rather he has decided to keep pressing on until he overcomes this condition and implicitly is encouraging the listener to do the same.

Core Message of “1-800-273-8255”

So the message this song relays is pretty clear. Throughout, the artists are directly sympathizing and empathizing with people who have decided that their lives are not worth living. At first Logic does so by actually portraying the role of such a person himself. But by the time the song concludes, it is dedicated to letting such individuals know that taking drastic action in response to this negativity is not the answer. Indeed being overtaken by depression is not a permanent condition. Thus when going through such, people should dedicate more energy to actually acknowledging the gift of love as opposed to convincing themselves that the suffering will never end.

Release Date of “1-800-273-8255”

This track was released by Def Jam Recordings and the Visionary Music Group on 28 April 2017. The labels issued this tune as the third single from Logic’s “Everybody” album.

Writing Credits

The official writing credits for “1-800-273-8255” are as follows:

• Logic
• Alessia Cara
• Khalid
• Andrew Taggart
• 6ix
• Sir Dylan

6ix and Logic also produced the tune.

Achievements of “1-800-273-8255”

Statements and records released by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline show that if nothing else, calls to the titular phone number had increased by the tens of thousands as a direct result of this song. Simply put, this song saved and continues to save hundreds of lives every day.

And especially for a track with such a strong, relevant message, “1-800-273-8255” performed phenomenally on record charts. For instance, it broke the top 10 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart.

This is in addition to scoring a number one in Australia and charting in almost 30 countries overall.

Moreover both the song and its video were honored with Grammy nominations in 2018. And the track has been certified multi-Platinum in Australia, Canada and the United States.

Did Logic seek the permission of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline before using their number?

Yes. He actually acquired the permission of the organization before using their telephone number as the title of this song.