Turn Up the Music (Chris Brown song)
"Turn Up the Music" is a song by American singer Chris Brown. It was written by Alexander "Fuego" Palmer, Brown, Damon Thomas, Harvey Mason Jr., Michael "Mike J" Jimenez, Terence Coles and Agent X, while production was handled by Fuego and The Underdogs. "Turn Up the Music" was sent to contemporary hit radio playlists in the United States on February 7, 2012, as the lead single from Brown's fifth studio album Fortune (2012). It was released for digital download on February 10, 2012. "Turn Up the Music" is an uptempo song which draws from the genres of electronic dance and house. Instrumentation consists of pulsating beats, synthesizers, a "throbbing bass" and percussion. According to Mason Jr., the song's inspiration came from visualizing Brown as an artist, "how he dances and how he performs, and giving him something to match that energy."[1]
"Turn Up the Music"
February 7, 2012
2011
- The Record Plant (Los Angeles, California)
- Mason Sound (North Hollywood, California)
3:49
- Alexander "Fuego" Palmer
- Chris Brown
- Damon Thomas
- Harvey Mason Jr.
- Michael "Mike J" Jimenez
- Terence Coles
- Greg Bonnick
- Leon Price
- Hayden Chapman
- Peter Renshaw
- Fuego
- The Underdogs
"Turn Up the Music" garnered positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production and compared the song to Brown's previous singles "Forever" (2008) and "Yeah 3x" (2010), for its similar musical direction. Critics also noted its similarities to the work of LMFAO and David Guetta. "Turn Up the Music" achieved commercial success worldwide, becoming Brown's first number one single on the UK Singles Chart, and his eleventh top ten single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also reached the top ten in Australia and New Zealand, and the top twenty in Canada, Hungary, Ireland and Slovakia. It was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
The accompanying music video for "Turn Up the Music" was directed by Godfrey Taberez and Brown, and filmed in Los Angeles, California. It features Brown at a party filled with masked people, where he performs heavily choreographed dance routines. The video garnered positive reception from critics, for its series of dance sequences which were compared to Michael Jackson. It won Best Male Video and Best Choreography at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, and earned Taberez and Brown a nomination for Video Director of the Year at the 2012 BET Awards. Brown promoted the song with live performances on televised shows and awards ceremonies, including Dancing with the Stars, Today, the 2012 NBA All-Star Game halftime show, the 54th Grammy Awards, the 2012 Billboard Music Awards and the 2012 BET Awards. He also included the song in his set list at Supafest Australia. The official remix of "Turn Up the Music" premiered online on February 20, 2012, and features Brown's former girlfriend Rihanna.
Composition and lyrics[edit]
"Turn Up the Music" is an uptempo[17] electronic dance,[18] and house[17] song, which last for a duration of three minutes and forty-nine seconds.[8] Instrumentation is provided by pulsating beats,[15] synthesizers[15] and percussion.[16] Rap-Up described the production as "synth-heavy".[6] The song opens with Brown singing "Turn up the music cause the sun just came up / Turn up the music if they try to turn us down / Turn up the music cause I'm trying to hear the speakers blow / Turn up the music, fill your cup and drink it down".[15] It is then followed by repeated chants of "If you're sexy and you know it put your hands up in the air".[15] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard noted that the chanting was a reference to LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" (2011).[16] Andy Kellman of AllMusic likened the song to Baltimora's "Tarzan Boy" (1985).[19] It is written in a key of C# major and composed with a tempo of 130 Beats per minute[20]
Critical reception[edit]
"Turn Up the Music" garnered positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production. Christina Garibaldi of MTV News noted that the song is similar to "Yeah 3x", and that it "is destined to get people in the clubs and on the dance floor".[18] Georgette Cline of The Boombox described it as a "dance-inspired track" that "will undeniably move partygoers to showcase their best moves".[17] Liz Barker of MTV Buzzworthy described it as an "undeniably dance floor-ready" track that "deserves to be played at maximum decibels".[49] Jim Farber of the Daily News viewed "Turn Up the Music" as one of the standout tracks on Fortune.[50] A reviewer for Rap-Up described "Turn Up the Music" as a "party anthem" that "is bound to become the soundtrack for clubgoers everywhere".[6] Bryan of radio station WNOW-FM wrote that the song sees Brown taking his "music to the next level!".[51]
Mark Iraheta of Complex magazine called "Turn Up the Music" a "soon-to-be smash" that will see Brown making "substantial damage on the Top 100 charts".[52] Robbie Daw of Idolator described the song as "energetic" and wrote that it follows in the footsteps of Brown's past hits "Forever" (2008) and "Yeah 3x", "but with more dancefloor urgency".[53] Daw concluded by writing that the song "should please the same crowd" that listen to the music of LMFAO, Kesha and Lady Gaga.[53] Melinda Newman of HitFix described "Turn Up the Music" as a cousin to LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" (2011), and called it "an absolute smash".[54] Scott Shelter of PopCrush awarded the song three and a half stars out of four, and noted its similarities to the work of David Guetta and LMFAO.[15] Shetler also commented that the production was lacking originality and the song "isn't going to blow anyone away from a lyrical perspective".[15] Andrew Martin of Prefix magazine was critical of the song, writing that it sounds like a left over track from Guetta's album Nothing but the Beat (2011).[55] At the 2012 BET Awards, "Turn Up the Music" was nominated for the Viewer's Choice Award.[33]
Chart performance[edit]
In Australia, "Turn Up the Music" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number thirteen on February 20, 2012, becoming the highest new entry for that week.[56] The song also entered the ARIA Urban Singles Chart at number six.[57] The following week, "Turn Up the Music" ascended to number six on the ARIA Singles Chart and number four on the ARIA Urban Singles Chart.[58][59] The song was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of 140,000 units.[60] In New Zealand, "Turn Up the Music" debuted and peaked at number nine on February 20, 2012, and spent 11 weeks in the chart.[61] The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), denoting shipments of 7,500 copies.[62]
In the United States, "Turn Up the Music" entered the Pop Songs chart at number 36 on the chart dated February 25, 2012, becoming the highest debut for that week.[63] It also gained airplay and entered the Radio Songs chart at number 71.[64] Following Brown's performance of the song at the 54th Grammy Awards, "Turn Up the Music" debuted on the Digital Songs chart at number nine on the chart dated March 3, 2012, with 180,000 copies sold.[65] That same week, the song debuted and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Brown his eleventh top ten single on the chart.[65][66] "Turn Up the Music" also saw a 27% increase in airplay to 21 million audience impressions, moving from number 71 to number 56 on the Radio Songs chart.[65] On the chart dated March 24, 2012, the song peaked at number 24 on the Radio Songs chart.[67] As of August 2012, "Turn Up the Music" has sold a million digital copies in the United States.[68] In Canada, "Turn Up the Music" entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number 38 on the chart dated March 3, 2012.[69] It peaked at number nineteen on April 14, 2012, and spent four weeks in the chart.[70]
"Turn Up the Music" also reached the top twenty in some European countries. It peaked at number fifteen on the Hungarian Airplay Chart,[71] and number 20 on the Slovak Airplay Chart.[72] On the Irish Singles Chart, "Turn Up the Music" peaked at number 12 and spent 18 weeks in the chart.[73][74] In the United Kingdom, the song first charted on March 10, 2012, in a cover version by Beautiful People, reaching the top 100.[75] On April 7, 2012, the Chris Brown version, having sold 83,777 copies in its first week, became Brown's first UK number one single.[76][77] That same week, it also debuted at number one on the Scottish Singles Chart.[78] "Turn Up the Music" has sold 273,000 copies in the UK as of December 2012.[79]