The song features a guest verse from American rapper and producer Kanye West, who had signed Cudi to his GOOD Music imprint in 2008. The song was produced by high-profile music producer Jim Jonsin, who in 2008 produced two number one hit singles on the Billboard charts; "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne and "Whatever You Like" by T.I. Speaking on the collaboration before its release, Jonsin told Rap-Up.com: "We did one song together, which is kind of rock-influenced. It was something I wanted to do with him and just see where he would go."
Jonsin compared Cudi's blending of sounds to his own Rebel Rock artist B.o.B's genre-bending album The Adventures of Bobby Ray, stating "It's a mix. It's kind of some club stuff, some hip-hop traditional rap stuff, and then some rock-pop stuff. He's goin' everywhere."[4] Cudi later said that Jonsin had misinformed fans about the new album, "I got mad love for Jim but he was misinformed. There is no Kanye & Kid Cudi Duran Duran song, I'd sample a 90s record before a 80s record anyday and when I worked with Jim, I hadn't even started sessions with Plain Pat and Emile yet so the direction of my album was yet to be determined."[5]
The song debuted on a Cleveland radio station on June 30, 2010,[6] and was officially released to Rhythm/Crossover radio on August 17, 2010.[7][8][9] On August 24, 2010, "Erase Me" was released digitally via iTunes.[10]
During a performance in August 2019, Kid Cudi announced that the soundtrack for the film Bill & Ted Face the Music would feature a remix of his 2010 song "Erase Me" produced by Steve Aoki.[13]
In other media
In 2010, Kid Cudi made a guest appearance on American television drama One Tree Hill, starring as himself and performed his Man on the Moon II single "Erase Me", during the episode.[14] In 2011, the song was featured on ESPN's hit morning sports show SportsCenter. In 2015, the song was featured on Guitar Hero Live.[15]
"Erase Me" made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at #22. On August 30, it debuted on the New Zealand single charts at #22. On September 5, it debuted on the UK singles chart at #58, and #18 on the UK R&B Chart.
