About You Now

"About You Now"
Single by Sugababes
from the album Change
B-side	"Rocks" "In Recline"
Released	24 September 2007 (2007-09-24) (see release history)
Format	CD single, download
Recorded	2007
Genre	Pop, electropop, pop rock
Length	3:09 (radio edit) 3:32 (album version)
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Lukasz Gottwald, Cathy Dennis
Producer	Dr. Luke
Sugababes singles chronology
"Walk This Way" (2007) "About You Now" (2007) "My Love Is Pink" (2007)

"About You Now" is a 2007 single by English girl group Sugababes, written by Cathy Dennis and producer Dr. Luke for the group's fifth studio album, Change (see 2007 in music). The song is the album's opening track, and was released as its leading single between September and October 2007.

Upon its release, the song became the group's highest-charting single since 2005's "Push the Button", reaching the top of the charts in Hungary and the UK, as well as the top 10 in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Spain and Belgium. An acoustic version of the song appears as a bonus track on the group's sixth studio album Catfights and Spotlights (2008).

Background

The song itself combines "pop," "rock" and "electro," much like other songs produced by Dr. Luke. The album version, which is used in the music video, is longer than the radio version and includes an extra verse by Berrabah and an extra bridge by Buchanan.

Reception

"About You Now" received generally favorable reviews from both music critics and fans alike. PopJustice reviewer Peter Robinson described the song as a "pop-electro-rock masterpiece," calling it "the best Sugababes single since Round Round." Though he noted a similarity to Kelly Clarkson's 2002 single "Since U Been Gone", Robinson praised the song's unselfconsciousness, "very pleased-to-be-exactly-what-it-is" attitude, also writing that "it doesn't sound anything like what the Sugababes have done before but it is instantly recognisable as a Sugababes song." Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy awarded the song four stars out of five and summed it as "a pop dish fit for a king [...] the lyrics are Waterman-esque perfect pop with the added spice of Sugababes kinkiness." He remarked that while "About You Now" lacked "the sauciness of a "Push the Button" or spiky attitude of "Hole in the Head", it makes up for it with robot voice effects, a pulsating electronic backbeat and a chorus so addictive that it should probably be taken away and labelled a Class A drug."

Adam Webb, writing for Yahoo! Music, called the song a "classic Sugababes: ballsy, tuneful, sassy, slightly amateurish around the edges and generally better than 99.9 per cent of whatever else masquerades under the title of pop music in 2007." Though he noted a lack of edge, blunted by the departure of former band member Mutya Buena, Webb went on declaring it "a short, sharp jolt of classic, perfect pop," giving it seven stars out of ten. By contrast, IndieLondon gave a mixed reception to the song, writing that "it taps into a breezier sound that’s designed to fizz with synths, guitars and perky beats. But it doesn’t work as well as past hits and lacks the same crossover appeal of earlier cuts "Round, Round" or, most notably, "Freak like Me." Tom Young of BBC called "About You Now" a "fierce opening shot. It’s one of their strongest tunes to date, and no surprise [...] number one." In 2008, "About You Now" was nominated for a BRIT Award for Best British Single, eventually losing to Take That's "Shine."

Chart performance

"About You Now" would make its first chart appearance in the United Kingdom, in the week beginning 17 February 2011. It debuted at number thirty five on the UK Singles Chart after the release of a remix package for legal download. A week later, a major boost in downloads, induced by the official release of the digital single, helped catapulting the song to the top of the UK chart. This feat made the Sugababes only the fourth act and second British act to chart at number-one on download sales alone. "About You Now" became the band's fourth collective chart-topper following "Freak like Me" (2002), "Round Round" (2002) and "Push the Button" (2005) and spent four weeks at number-one, surpassing the chart run of latter single. According to The Official Charts Company, it was ranked both the sixth most-downloaded and sixth best-selling single in the UK in the year of 2007. Having sold more than 485,000 copies on the UK alone as of 2011, it ranks as their best-selling single.

In Ireland, "About You Now" debuted at number ten on the Irish Singles Chart on downloads alone. A week later, it climbed to number five with the physical release, and later peaked at number two for two weeks, becoming the Sugababes' fourth single to peak on particular position. In Austria, it debuted at number 13 on the Austrian Singles Chart where it peaked at number 4 in its third week, becoming the band's third biggest hit there after "Push the Button" and "Overload". "About You Now" saw similar success in Germany where it also peaked at number four on German Singles Chart, eventually becoming the Sugababes' third biggest hit there, again behind "Push the Button" and "Overload". On the Australian ARIA chart, the song peaked at number 57. In New Zealand despite spending 21 weeks on the charts, it only managed to peak at 18. This song peaked at MTV Adria Top 20 Chart At Number 2. In Serbia, song was two weeks number one on KG9 flash list. It was revealed on 30 December 2009 that "About You Now" is the 98th best-selling song of the decade on Nihal's Radio 1 show. As well as this, PPL’s music reporting department compiled the top 50 tracks of the decade based on the number of plays on UK radio, television, online and in public, where "About You Now" was placed 5th.

On 13 July 2008, "About You Now" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 48, moving to No. 34 the next week after being prominently featured in an episode of Hollyoaks. This version, recorded for Radio 1's Live Lounge, was used for the funeral of Max Cunningham.

Music video

The music video for "About You Now" was directed by Marcus Adams and shot on 24 August 2007 at the Festival Hall in Waterloo in London, England. Although various pictures of the clip were leaked on the net the following days, it was not until 6 September the full video made its world premiere via internet. By 7 September 2007 the video had also debuted on music channels. The video is dedicated to the late Tim Royes, who directed the videos for the Sugababes's 2006 singles "Red Dress" and "Easy". The Nokia 7500 Mobile Phone is used by the two actors in the video, The male actor has the black model whereas the female actor has the white model.

Track listing

• UK CD single 1

1. "About You Now" (Radio Edit) – 3:09
2. "Rocks" (Napster Live Session) – 3:03

• UK 7"

1. "About You Now" (Album Version) – 3:32
2. "About You Now" (Kissy Sell Out Remix) – 5:23

• Int. CD single / UK CD2 single 2

1. "About You Now" (Album Version) – 3:32
2. "About You Now" (Sticky 'Dirtypop' Remix) – 4:48
3. "About You Now" (Spencer & Hill Remix) – 5:51
4. "In Recline" – 3:26

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	57
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)	4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	28
Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)	7
Denmark (Tracklisten)	12
European Hot 100 Singles	3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	19
France (SNEP)	19
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)	1
Germany (Media Control AG)	4
Ireland (IRMA)	2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	18
New Zealand (RIANZ)	18
Norway (VG-lista)	7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	40
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	21
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)	Gold	7,500^
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Year-end charts

Chart (2007)	Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)	64
Germany (VIVA)	61
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	6
Chart (2008)	Position
Germany (VIVA)	87
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	99

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000–09)	Position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	98

Chart precession and succession

Preceded by "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston

UK Singles Chart number-one single (Sugababes version) 30 September 2007 – 27 October 2007

Succeeded by "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United Kingdom	24 September 2007	Digital download	Island Records
Ireland	28 September 2007	CD single
United Kingdom	1 October 2007
Australia	6 October 2007
Germany	12 October 2007
France	25 February 2008
Spain	12 May 2008	Airplay

Miranda Cosgrove version

"About You Now"
Single by Miranda Cosgrove
from the album About You Now and iCarly and Sparks Fly: Japanese Edition
B-side	Christmas Wrapping
Released	5 February 2009
Format	Download
Recorded	2008
Genre	Teen pop, electropop, pop rock
Length	3:10
Label	Nickelodeon, Columbia
Miranda Cosgrove soundtrack singles chronology
"Stay My Baby" (2008) "About You Now" (2009) "Kissin U" (2010)

Nickelodeon star Miranda Cosgrove covered "About You Now" on the iCarly soundtrack. It was released as the fourth and final single from the soundtrack on 5 February 2009. The original lyrics were slightly altered to be made more suitable due to Cosgrove's younger audience. Cosgrove's version was promoted heavily on Nickelodeon, where the music video was played during commercial breaks. "About You Now" was featured on the hit compilation album, Now That's What I Call Music! 30. It is her favorite song from the soundtrack.

"About You Now" was met with generally positive reception, critically and commercially. In the US, the single has become her highest peaking song to date, reaching a height of 47 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. It is also her first single to chart in the United Kingdom, where it debuted and peaked at number 79 on the official singles chart. The song was heavily promoted by Cosgrove. During her first ever live performance, Cosgrove performed the song at the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade In another promotional attempt, on 5 February 2009, Cosgrove released a promotional extended play, titled after the song. The EP, which released exclusively onto iTunes, featured remixes of "About You Now" and "Stay My Baby", "F.Y.I." and "Party Girl". Aside from this performance, Cosgrove also performed the song on The Today Show on 6 September 2010, along with future single "Kissin U", and an unreleased track, "BAM", both off of her debut studio album Sparks Fly released on 27 April 2010.

Music video

The music video, directed by Billie Woodruff premiered on Nickelodeon on 5 December 2008, following the premiere of Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh. It features Mexican singer Diego González as her love interest.

Chart performance

Cosgrove's version of "About You Now" peaked at number forty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100.

Chart (2009)	Peak position
UK Singles (The Official Chart Company)[citation needed]	79
US Billboard Hot 100	47

Other versions

The original version performed by the Sugababes was a massive hit throughout the UK and Europe. The popularity of the song compelled many artists from all different genres from all over Europe to do their own versions. Below is a list of some of the most notable covers.

• An acoustic, slower composition was first covered by YouTube musician Martina (a.k.a. giftofmelody); this inspired the subsequent Radio 1 Live Lounge version found on the commercial CD single, "Changes".
• Rachel Tucker performed this song on the first week of live shows, on BBC1's I'd Do Anything.
• The Saw Doctors covered this song on The Podge and Rodge Show on 12 February 2008. Released as a charity single, with proceeds donated to cystic fibrosis charities, it reached the top of the Irish Singles Chart in October 2008.
• The Courteeners performed an acoustic cover version during a BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge session. The song was later released on the commercial CD single for their song "No You Didn't, No You Don't".
• A cover of this song is the first single from Timo Räisänen's album ...And Then There Was Timo in 2008.
• Snow Patrol have performed a cover of this song at Mencap's Little Noise Sessions, live at the Union Chapel on 25 November 2007. The recording was officially released on the 2009 compilation Up to Now.
• N-Dubz did a cover of the song on their Uncle B Tour. It was in a medley with "With You" by Chris Brown.
• The Twins, Nicola & Francine did a cover of the song during the semi-final round of Your Country Needs You, while competing to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Subsequently, Jade Ewen who rose to stardom from the same show would go to join the Sugababes in late 2009.
• In 2011 Kim Wilde covered the song for her new album Snapshots.