The Weeknd was involved in the project very early on. Tom Mackay, a manager at Republic Records, explained: "He worked on a number of songs for a number of scenes. Some were working and some weren’t, but he just kept at it, and kept at it, and kept at it. In the end, he wrote ‘Earned It’ and it's the biggest song of his career to date. It's the only song that's in the movie twice." Director Sam Taylor-Johnson said The Weeknd's voice is instantly seductive, which fit the film perfectly. The singer agreed saying the film and his music is like "a match made in heaven." An alternative version of the single, with a new slightly long intro, was later included in The Weeknd's album Beauty Behind the Madness.
Composition
"Earned It" is a chamber pop and R&B song. It is written in the key of D minor with a slow tempo of 40 beats per minute in time. There is an alternation between the chords Gm and Dm, and Tesfaye's vocals span two octaves from D3 to D5.
Critical reception
"Earned It" received critical acclaim. Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 39 on its year-end list to find the 50 best songs of 2015; The Weeknd appears an additional two times on this list with his following singles, "The Hills" and "Can't Feel My Face".
In The Weeknd's native Canada, "Earned It" peaked at number eight on the Canadian Hot 100. "Earned It" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, the second single from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack to enter the top 10, after Ellie Gouldings "Love Me like You Do", which also peaked at number three. It became The Weeknd's second top 10 hit, after his collaboration with Ariana Grande on the number seven peaking hit, "Love Me Harder" and his highest-selling song on the chart. The song has also been a commercial success overseas, reaching the top ten in 10 other countries, including the United Kingdom and New Zealand, while attaining a top twenty position in countries that include Australia, Germany, and Ireland.
Music video
The music video, directed by the film's director Sam Taylor-Johnson, was shot at the Palace Theater in Los Angeles. It was released on Vevo and YouTube on 21 January 2015, and features the film's leading star Dakota Johnson. It includes the BDSM theme as seen in the film.The video shows The Weeknd performing on stage as a group of topless women with black tape over their breasts perform a BDSM themed burlesque routine behind him.
