"Payphone" is a pop song performed by the American pop rock band Maroon 5. The song was released on April 17, 2012, as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Overexposed (2012). It features American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was written by Adam Levine, Benny Blanco, Ammar Malik, Robopop, Shellback and Khalifa, and produced by Blanco and Shellback. The song is a pop ballad and it talks about a romance that is no more. The song has received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, who praised the catchy melody and named it "a radio success", but some others dismissed Khalifa's appearance and its title.
The official music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, finds Levine taking down some bank robbers and attempting to become the "hero" in a hail of bullets as he makes his escape, steals a gun from a robber and then gets mistaken for one. Because of this, he must escape from a fleet of policemen, which he does with ease. The video was positively received from critics, who considered it an enjoyable mini-action movie. The video was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video, but lost out to "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction.
On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at the number three spot before peaking at number two. The song sold 493,000 copies in its first week, becoming the best sales week for a digital song by a group and also the eighth-best sales week overall. It also reached number-one on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and has stayed at the top for eight consecutive weeks. It also topped the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's first ever single to do so. "Payphone" was the world's fifth best selling single of 2012 with 9.1 million copies sold. (wiki)