User:Coolmarc/sandbox
| "I Need You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by N-Dubz | ||||
| from the album Against All Odds | ||||
| Released | 9 November 2009 | |||
| Studio | The Farm (Chiddingfold) | |||
| Length | 3:20 | |||
| Label | All Around the World | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| N-Dubz singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "I Need You" on YouTube | ||||
"I Need You" is a song by English hip hop trio N-Dubz from their second studio album, Against All Odds (2009).
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Critical reception to "I Need You" was mostly positive upon release. In The Observer, Ben Thompson praised Dappy's "dexterous use of half-rhyme" and Tulisa's "mastery of pathos".[1] Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music gave the track four out of five stars, appreciating its "bonkers happenstance" and noting, "Pop songs are so safe, and N-Dubz seem to wander over the lines of acceptable behaviour almost as if they don't realise they are there."[2] David Balls of Digital Spy also gave it four out of five stars, describing the song as the trio's "biggest, most bombastic yet" with "appeal that extends far beyond the back of the bus".[3] AllMusic's Jon O' Brien called the song's lyrics "quirky". [4] Will Dean of The Guardian was less impressed, finding the references to Facebook grating.[5]
Chart performance[edit]
"I Need You" debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart with first-week sales of 49,616 copies, becoming N-Dubz's first top-10 and highest-charting single as a lead artist.[6][7] The song dropped to number nine the following week with sales of 31,349 copies.[6] It spent 12 weeks on the chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for track-equivalent sales of 400,000 units.[8][9] In Ireland, "I Need You" peaked at number 22 and spent four weeks on the Irish Singles Chart.[10] The song also debuted on the European Hot 100 Singles chart at number 18.[11]
Charts[edit]
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[11] | 18 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 22 |
| Scotland (OCC)[12] | 8 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[13] | 5 |
| UK Dance (OCC)[14] | 1 |
Certifications[edit]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[9] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References[edit]
- ^ Thompson, Ben (1 November 2009). "N-Dubz and the second coming of Brit pop". The Observer. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ McAlpine, Fraser (3 November 2009). "BBC - Chart Blog: N-Dubz - 'I Need You'". BBC Music. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ Balls, David (5 November 2009). "Singles Reviews - N-Dubz: 'I Need You'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ O'Brien, Jon. "Against All Odds - N-Dubz". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ Dean, Will (13 November 2009). "N-Dubz: Against All Odds". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ a b Jones, Alan (28 November 2009). "Chart analysis: Finalists take the X tally to 13". Music Week. p. 24.
- ^ Jones, Alan (21 November 2009). "Chart analysis: Peas take Halfway the whole way...". Music Week. p. 36.
- ^ "N-Dubz full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ a b "British single certifications – N-Dubz – I Need You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Irish-charts.com – Discography N-Dubz". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Hits of the World – European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 47. 28 November 2009. p. 55.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
Critical reception[edit]
- B. Sassons of PopMatters: succeeds so well as an opener for Bicep’s sophomore release. All of the characteristics that were loved in the 2017 debut are here but with greater maturity and confidence. The signs of progression and drawing of new, more unlikely, influences begin here and progress throughout the album. The staples of the “Bicep-sound” are expertly crafted into an exciting and visceral track. Offbeat melodic loops cascade into one another, syncopated beats contort through off-kilter developments, and compelling use of broad but subtle dynamic contrast permeates every layer of this track. Atlas” is a how-to guide on creating an expansive and highly developed piece with limited melodic material. It is real excitement.
- Carlos Hawthorn of Resident Advisor: The main themes of Bicep's sound—breakbeats, dazzling earworms, bags of emotion—remain intact on Isles, but there's a freshness to the overall texture. New sounds, new energy, the colours louder in tone. This all hits you like a wave on the opening two tracks, starting with the soaring smash "Atlas," this album's "Glue." A modular earworm writhes in the blinding sunlight.
- Ben Jolley of NME: trades on Bicep’s early penchant for obscure vocal samples, cathartic opener ‘Atlas
- Helen Brown of The Independent: The international influence is signposted by an opening song called “Atlas”: an ecstatic track featuring a scribbly top-line synth that slides bright and frictionless over it like a felt tip on a whiteboard. The yearning, female vocal layered over it sounds like it’s travelled across centuries of sand dunes to reach us.
- Gareth O'Malley of Beats Per Minute: caught between euphoric escapism and melancholic introspection. Opener “Atlas” exemplifies this contrast, its burbling central hook and ethereal vocal sample drawing the listener back into Bicep’s world with a bittersweet update of their established sound.
- Alexis Petridis of The Guardian: anyone who remembers Future Sound of London’s 1991 hit Papua New Guinea and Orbital’s Halcyon is going to feel a certain degree of nostalgia when confronted with opening track Atlas’s cocktail of syncopated beats, ineffably melancholy wordless female vocal samples and warm electronics
- Chris Taylor of DIY: the closest relation to the likes of ‘Glue’ and ‘Orca’, takes on a different feel.
- Nick Smith of musicOMH: embodies a mild euphoric synth blueprint, yet it also imbued with melancholy from the bittersweet vocal samples from the late Ofra Haza that the world and his wife can relate to currently.
- Luke Pearson of Exclaim!: starts invitingly with the classic '90s ambient pads of "Atlas," setting the stage with a nimble lead melody that slots in tightly to the first of many expertly-crafted breakbeats
- Ben Cardew of Pitchfork : Bicep sounded so miserable on comeback single “Atlas,” a song whose Ofra Haza sample and synth squiggles suggest an (inverted) cross between Richie Hawtin’s F.U.S.E. project and the Sisters of Mercy: the live shutdown has left them like heirs to a knife factory in the age of big soup.Isles is at its best when the gloom sinks in. “Atlas” has a wonderfully hangdog feel;
- Nick James of God Is In the TV: certainly taking us on a trip within our own space. spicy introduction. makes it clear that Isles won’t be found lacking any of the qualities that saw Bicep
- Skott Bennett of Spectrum Culture: Ghostly vocal samples floating over the squelchy synth hook of “Atlas” recall Future Sound of London’s signature banger “Papua New Guinea
- David Smyth of Evening Standard: the breakbeats still kick with considerable heft
- Sofie Lindevall of Gigwise: instantaneously soaks its listener in waves of euphonic yet achingly nostalgic synths. Rich layers and textures of electronics
- Reef Younis of Loud and Quiet: "the slow-burn magic of ‘Atlas Bicep artfully find ways of channeling nagging, wistful emotions – ostensibly the antithesis of the club – into progressive, exhaling euphoria.
- Sean Griffiths of Crack Magazine: Atlas are both rightly on their way to sitting alongside Glue and Just as fan favourites.
- Stephen Dalton of Uncut: "Anthemic '90s superclub dynamics loom large. The galloping breakbeat euphoria and soaring vocals recall vintage Orbital".
Live performances[edit]
- https://www.gigwise.com/reviews/3396690/live--stream-review---bicep--26-02-2021
- https://www.nme.com/reviews/live/bicep-live-in-london-irish-dance-duo-raise-the-bar-for-livestreams-2891269