Meaning of “Don’t Matter to Me” by Drake (featuring Michael Jackson)

“Don’t Matter to Me” is a song by famed Canadian rapper Drake and the late American singer Michael Jackson (also affectionately known as ‘The King of Pop). Lyrically, this song is purely about a romantic relationship that has sadly come to an end.

Facts about “Don’t Matter to Me”

• “Don’t Matter to Me” was written by seven songwriters, including Drake and Michael Jackson. The other songwriters are: Canadian singer Paul Anka, Canadian record producer and Drake’s longtime collaborator Noah James Shebib (better known by the moniker 40), Swedish singer/songwriter Negin Djafari, English producer Nana Rogues and Canadian record producer Paul Jefferies (better known as Nineteen85).
• Two of the writers of the song (40 and Nineteen85) handled its production.
• This track features Michael Jackson simply because it uses his posthumous vocals in its pre-chorus, chorus and outro. The posthumous vocals in question were extracted from an unreleased track that Jackson and Canadian singer/songwriter Paul Anka worked on in 1983. This is how come Anka and Jackson are both given songwriting credits on the track.
• “Don’t Matter to Me” was released officially on July 6, 2018 as the 4th single from Drake’s fifth studio album Scorpion. FYI: Scorpion is Drake’s first double album.
• Just like all the other singles from Scorpion, “Don’t Matter To Me” was both a commercial and critical success. It debuted at the number 2 spot on the UK Singles Chart, thereby becoming Drake’s 15th song and Jackson’s 44th song to enter into the top 10 of this chart. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the track made its debut at the number 9 position, thereby becoming Drake’s 31st song and Jackson’s 30th song to enter into the top 10 on that chart. It is also the second posthumous song of Jackson to make it into the top 10 of the Hot 100. The song was also a huge success across the world, reaching the top 10 in several countries, including Sweden where it reached the number 1 spot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4OBpiGf29g

What musical genre is “Don’t Matter to Me”?

This is an R&B song.

Is Paul Anka featured on this track?

Yes. Not only is Anka credited as a songwriter on the song, but his vocals are also featured quite prominently on the track. However, the song doesn’t officially feature him.

Have Jackson’s posthumous vocals on “Don’t Matter to Me” been used before on some other song(s)?

No. These posthumous Jackson vocals you hear on the song’s hook had never been heard before until they were used on this track. That is surely one of the major highlights of this track.