Welcome to Heartbreak

"Welcome to Heartbreak" is a song by American rapper and record producer Kanye West from his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008). The song features a guest appearance from Kid Cudi on his debut collaboration with West, as well as background vocals by Jeff Bhasker. It was produced by West, with co-production from Bhasker and Plain Pat; the three of them served as the songwriters alongside Kid Cudi. The inspiration behind the song was a conversation West had with Dave Sirulnick, who showed him some pictures of his children. A hip pop number, it has electronic instrumentation that is reliant on piano. In the lyrics of the song, West mentions trying to fill the lack of substance in his life with extravagant materialistic items.

"Welcome to Heartbreak" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who mostly highlighted West's lyrical content. Some were complimentary towards the composition, while a few critics praised Kid Cudi's contributions. The song reached numbers 87 and 27 on the US Pop 100 and UK R&B charts in 2008 and 2009, respectively. It has since been certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). West and Kid Cudi first performed the song live for South by Southwest (SXSW) in March 2009. An accompanying music video was released on February 18, 2009, which features pixelation that was created through data moshing. The video received lukewarm responses from critics, who praised its visual effects but questioned its originality.