Knock You Down
"Knock You Down" is a song by American singer and songwriter Keri Hilson, recorded for her debut album, In a Perfect World.... The song features guest vocals from Ne-Yo and Kanye West. All three artists co-wrote the song with its producer Nate "Danja" Hills, as well as Kevin Cossom and Marcella Araica. The song was released first released to rhythmic and urban airplay in the United States as the album's fourth single in the US, and it would later serve as the third worldwide single.
For the album by Dynazty, see Knock You Down (album)."Knock You Down"
April 7, 2009
2009
- Hit Factory Criteria (Miami)
- Circle House (Miami)
- No Excuses Santa Monica)
- Threshold (Santa Monica)
- Chung King (New York City)
5:26
- Danja
- Hilson
The song is an R&B and hip hop song, which includes elements of pop music. The lyrics of the song pertain to how love "knocks you down." Part of the song refers to Michael Jackson; coincidentally it was released at the time surrounding the death of the singer. The song received generally mixed to positive reviews, with critics divided as to whether Ne-Yo and West overwhelmed Hilson's appearance. However, reviewers also complimented that the song was radio-friendly. It was nominated for multiple awards, including Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
"Knock You Down" peaked at number one in New Zealand, and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. It also reached the top ten in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The song's music video was directed by Chris Robinson. It sees Hilson caught in a love triangle with her former partner West, and new-found love Ne-Yo. The video received positive reviews, which appreciated the given performances given by the artists. Hilson performed the song a number of times, including television appearances such as on The Rachael Ray Show. She also notably performed the song at the 2009 BET Awards, where she used the Jackson reference of the song to give a tribute performance to the late singer.
Background[edit]
Hilson and Ne-Yo knew each other from their days as co-songwriters. Hilson had appeared as Ne-Yo's love interest in the video for his song "Miss Independent" (referenced in the song), the second single taken from his 2008 album, Year of the Gentleman. In a September 2008 interview with Rap-Up about a recent crop of songwriters becoming singers, Ne-Yo said "For one, I think Keri Hilson’s too freakin’ pretty to be in the background. For two, her voice is incredible—on top of the fact that she can write. So I think that she's definitely one that deserves the spotlight."[1] In "Knock You Down", Kanye West makes multiple references to Michael Jackson, and coincidentally, the song was released in numerous territories around the death of the singer.[2]
Composition[edit]
"Knock You Down" is a R&B song with a length of five minutes and twenty six seconds.[3] The song also includes electro tones, and derives from pop and hip hop genres.[2] The song is set in common time, and composed in a "moderate R&B groove."[4] It is written in the key of G minor, and vocals span from F3 to D5.[4] It follows the chord progression E♭–F–B♭–E♭–F–Gm.[4] The song begins with a rap intro by Kanye West, accompanied by a "stabbing synth riff."[2] According to Chris Williams of Billboard, The verses contain a "thumping bass-beat" while the chorus is in a "frenetic midtempo groove."[5] Dan Nishimoto of Prefix Magazine said the song had a "4/4 Motown feel on the verses and stuttering drums on the chorus."[6] Hilson performs the first verse and chorus, while Ne-Yo sings the second verse.[5] West then has a rap interlude before Hilson sings an additional part before the song ends with the chorus by Hilson, accompanied by Ne-Yo.[5] In West's lines, he references Michael Jackson and his song "Bad" in the lines "This is bad, real bad, Michael Jackson." Coincidentally, the song was released in numerous territories around the death of the singer.[2] West also refers to the domestic abuse accusations against Jackson's father, Joe, in the following lyric "Now mad, real mad, Joe Jackson."[2] Lyrically, the song is about how a great love goes wrong.[5]
Chart performance[edit]
"Knock You Down" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number sixty-five, and would later go on to peak at number three.[14] Along with "The Way I Are", it was Hilson's highest-charting single on the Hot 100.[14] It also achieved successes in other Billboard component charts, topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and reaching number three on the Pop Songs chart.[15] "Knock You Down" became Hilson's biggest airplay single to date, topping the Hot 100 Airplay for four consecutive weeks. It has sold over 2,100,000 digital copies as of April 2011.[16] "Knock You Down" spent a total of thirty-one weeks on the Hot 100. The single appeared on numerous charts internationally. On the Canadian Hot 100,[17] and the Australian Singles Chart the song peaked at number three.[18] It debuted at number forty on the UK Singles Chart, and five weeks later, it reached number five, where it remained for two weeks.[19] In Ireland, it peaked at number two on the Irish Singles Chart, while it reached number eight on the Dutch Top 40.[20] The song performed best on the New Zealand Singles Chart, where it reached number one,[21] and was eventually certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). "Knock You Down" charted in the top twenty of Norway, Sweden, and Slovakia, the top thirty of Germany, Belgium (Wallonia), and Denmark,[22] and in the top forty of the Czech Republic.[23] It reached number forty-nine on the Belgian Singles Chart in Flanders.[22] its success in Europe allowed it to chart at number thirteen on the European Hot 100.[24]
Live performances[edit]
Hilson performed the song for Walmart Soundcheck to promote the album.[29] She also performed the song while being a supporting act to Ne-Yo, on his Year of the Gentleman tour in 2009.[30] Hilson and West performed the song on May 5, 2009, on the Late Show with David Letterman.[31] Hilson also performed the song, along with a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" on July 21, 2009, for Yahoo! Music sponsored by Pepsi.[32] She performed the song with "Turnin Me On" at the 2009 BET Awards in June 2009.[33] She used the Michael Jackson reference in the song to perform a dance routine paying homage to Jackson, at the awards ceremony.[33] On July 28, 2009, Hilson performed the song on It's On with Alexa Chung.[34] Hilson performed the song and "Energy" with British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz at the MOBO Awards 2009, which she co-hosted, on October 4, 2009.[35] On January 1, 2010, she performed the song as a part of her set list of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.[36] On January 29, 2010, Hilson performed an acoustic rendition of the song on The Rachael Ray Show.[37] On February 5, 2010, she performed the song at BET's SOS: Help for Haiti Telethon, to benefit the victims of the 2010 Haitian earthquake.[38] On October 22, 2010, she performed the song in Chicago at Collins Academy High School during for the Get Schooled National Challenge and Tour.[39]