Down (Jay Sean song)

"Down"
Song

"Down" is a song by British artist Jay Sean. The song was released in North America as his debut single from his debut album there, All or Nothing. In other markets, including the UK, the song serves as Jay Sean's lead single from what will be his third studio album there. The single features American rapper and label mate Lil Wayne and is produced by J-Remy and Bobby Bass. "Down" is the seventh-best selling single of 2009, having sold more than three million digital copies in the United States alone, and has been certified Platinum in several countries. The song has sold six million copies worldwide, and also received a large airplay of two billion listener impressions on radio worldwide.

The track was released to US radio on May 31, 2009 and on iTunes on June 30, 2009. "Down" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the issue dated October 17, 2009, knocking The Black Eyed Peas off the top of the chart after their 26 week reign at #1. This made Jay Sean the first British act to score a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single since Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" in 2008, and the fourth British act overall this decade. The song has also made him "the first UK Urban act ever to top Billboard's Hot 100", the ninth (second British) male solo performer to top the US charts with his debut single in the US, and the first British act to have reached #1 in the US and not in the UK with a song since Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" in 1995. It is also the best-selling single by a British/European male artist in North America since Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" in 1997, the first single by a solo artist of Asian origin to top the US charts, and the first by an British Asian artist in general since Freddie Mercury in 1980.

History

On October 15, 2008, at the MOBO Awards, Jay Sean announced that he had signed with the American hip hop record label Cash Money Records. He explained, “It’s always been a dream for me to sign to an American label. And it’s great to be accepted by the best in the game.”

It was rumoured that his first single in the US would be a remix of the single, "Tonight" featuring Lil Wayne. In fact, a remix had not been produced but the song "Down" which was originally recorded in December 2008. The song was written by Jay Sean with Jared Cotter, J Perkins and producers J-Remy and Bobby Bass. The track was originally for My Own Way: Deluxe Edition without Lil Wayne, alongside "War". The CEO of Cash Money Ronald "Slim" Williams liked the track, played it to Wayne and wanted Wayne to be on the track; Wayne loved it and added a new verse on the track.

Sean told MTV News that he recorded this song in 90 minutes, after which he received a call from Ronald "Slim" Williams. He recalled: "Slim called me up and was like, 'Yo, man, there's something wrong on the second verse that just doesn't sound right.' I was like, 'Really? What?' He played the song. All of a sudden I heard Wayne's Auto-Tune stuff, and I'm like, 'OK. What's going on? Right! That's Lil Wayne on my song right now!' That day was brilliant."

"The news was on, everything was depressing and we were like 'look at this man — everything's so down in the dumps. Why don't we write a song to take everyone's mind away from being down?'" explains Sean about how the track came about during a late night recording session in Miami's Hit Factory studio. According to Sean, "Wayne heard it, fell in love and dropped a verse on it," which resulted in the up-tempo summer record peppered with Wayne's gritty pipes.

Song info

Jay Sean said: "I'm a very positive, optimistic person and thought let me write a song about the idea that if you've got someone special in your life then nothing else really matters, how you need to appreciate the little things. The title is a play on the word 'down.' That's why Lil Wayne says, 'Are you down like the economy.' It's a fun, very easy track something to pump in your car". Lil Wayne said: "Everybody is used to what Cash Money is, and that’s why he has a new sound. It’s for the ladies. We’re used to getting in your face... and now we are getting more mature here".

After the release

The BBC reports that Jay Sean is "The Most Successful Male U.K. Urban artist in U.S chart history". "I want to do my best to represent the UK in America and let people really understand that it doesn't matter if we're from a little place called Hounslow. As long as you work hard and strive to do you best and make good music, and of course with a bit of luck, it is possible," Jay told the BBC. The success of "Down" has also led to Sean being considered the most successful European urban artist in North America.

When the track topped the Billboard Hot 100, Jay Sean was on stage with labelmate Lil Wayne, on the first night of the US rapper's London concert tour. Before he returned to the US, Jay Sean was asked, "How does it feel to have the top song of the week?", and replied, "This is insane. It's just incredible to have reached #1 with my first release in America. It's difficult for me to put into words. My head is spinning. I've been grinding hard for the last seven years releasing records independently and now to have the biggest record in the USA this week. It's just a dream come true." The second time the song hit #1 again was he performing at "The Justin Timberlake and Friends Concert Benefiting Shriners Hospitals For Children" on October 17, 2009 with Justin Timberlake.

Track listing

iTunes Digital download

1. "Down" (feat. Lil Wayne) - 3:32

Promo US CD

1. "Down" (Clean featuring Lil Wayne) - 3:32
2. "Down" (Clean without Rap) - 3:15
3. "Down" (Instrumental) - 3:32
4. "Down" (Bobbybass Dance Remix) - 4:00

UK Single CD

1. "Down" (featuring Lil Wayne) - 3:32
2. "Down" (Jason Nevins Edit) - 3:39
3. "Down" (Roll Deep Mix) - 4:05
4. "Down" (K-Warren Remix) - 5:45
5. "Down" (Chasing Pluto Remix) - 3:47

Music video

File:Jay Sean-Down Screenshot.jpg

Jay Sean and Korrina Rico in the music video for "Down".

The music video for "Down" was produced alongside the video for "Written On Her". The "Down" video was first shot in London on April 24, 2009, with Cash Money crew without Lil Wayne. The video was shot over two days. The Buckinghamshire mansion featured is Hedsor House, an enormous private mansion and park where Mark Ronson hosted his 33rd birthday and where scenes for the feature film The Golden Compass were filmed. The video was completed in Miami, with Jay Sean heading to the US to finish the video with Lil Wayne on May 20, 2009. The video features Hispanic American model Korrina Rico as the lead lady, dancers, bright blue lights and bottles. The video was produced by Shurwin Beckford and directed by Richard Pengelley for Jayded Entertainment/Guerilla Hype/Hey Buddy and edited by Jamie Mac and Adam Wood. During the rap break, Lil Wayne is seen wearing a red t-shirt with the word 'COMMUNIST' in white capitalized letters. The prelude of his previous single "Ride It" can be heard in the music video as the introduction to this song.

On July 23, 2009, the video premiered on Jay Sean's YouTube page; it was the #1 most viewed music video on YouTube for its first two weeks and had over 5 million views as of December 24, 2009. During the week of August 10, 2009, the music video was featured as iTunes' Free Music Video of the Week. The video was added to MTV's rotation on August 5, 2009 include MTV Hits and MTV America. The video was also added to the Universal Music Group's channel where the video had more than 20 million views as of November 23, 2009. The video was added to the Island Records channel where his UK fans can see the video, which had around 5 million views as of December 20, 2009. The video was also added to the Jay Sean Vevo channel, where it has more than 40 million views as of February 15, 2010.

Reception

Critical reception

Ginger Clements from Billboard gave the song a positive review, stating that Jay Sean's "melodic vocals [...] resonate with impressive tonal clarity". Billboard gave the song a score of 91/100. Alex MacGregor of UK Mix gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, stating that it "is actually a creditable offering of world beating R&B pop that reminds the listener of some of the better moments in Usher's back catalogue."

Popularity

"Down" has been included in various compilation albums, including Now That's What I Call Music! 32 (US), which debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. It has also been included in Now That's What I Call Music! 74 (UK), Clubland 16 and the Australian compilation So Fresh: The Hits of Summer 2010 & The Best Of 2009. The song has also been featured in the "Canon" episode of Melrose Place.

According to data released by Google, "Down" is one of the top five most searched-for songs of 2009 on the internet. "Down" has been used and covered in numerous user videos on YouTube, including a breast cancer awareness video by the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. A cover version of the song was also performed on Episode 2 of The Sing-Off by the a capella group Nota. After Nota went on to win the contest during the finale, Sean himself made an appearance, performing "Down" with the group in the show's ending. DJ Bikram Keith and DJ Vix made a "Desi Remix" to "Down". The single was also include on DJ Earworm's mash-up of all the Top 25 Billboard hits of the year. The title "Urban Desi Boy of 2009" was given to Jay Sean by DesiHits. On Grammy Awards 2010 where Jay Sean was, told Taylor Swift that "Down" was her favorite song of 2009.

In early December 2009, the song appeared at #20 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2009 and at #14 on the Billboard Year-End Pop Songs of 2009. Later in the month, it appeared at #4 on Z100's Top 100 Songs of 2009. It also appeared on VH1's Top 40 Music Videos of 2009 List at #20. Having sold more than three million digital copies in the United States alone, "Down" is the seventh-best selling single of 2009, in a year noted for having the highest record sales of all time. To date, it has sold six million copies worldwide.

Live performance

After the track leaked on web 21 May 2009 did Jay Sean perform the "Without Rap" version of the track for the first time live in Chicago. He has also performed the track on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, in Toronto, on Jimmy Kimmel Live, on Madison Square Garden, alongside "Do You Remember", on The Wendy Williams Show, on BBC 1Xtra Live 2009, a "Acoustic version" for Billboard.com and Yahoo! Music, and the "Candle Light Remix" for BBC Radio 1.

Chart performance

"Down" debuted at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of August 6, 2009, and stayed at #2 for three weeks. After fourteen weeks on the chart, the song reached number one for the chart week ending October 17, 2009, making Jay Sean the first Indian-origin (and Asian-origin in general) solo artist to achieve a #1 single in the US. "Down" ended the Black Eyed Peas' 26-week reign at the #1 spot on the Hot 100. Furthermore, "Down" had managed to top one of the most competitive weeks in the US charts this decade, with the top five titles (Sean's "Down", Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A.", Jay-Z's "Run This Town", Jason DeRulo's "Whatcha Say", and Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling") being "separated by the tightest point margin in more than six years." After spending a week at the top spot, "Down" was succeeded by Britney Spears' "3", but the following week, it reached #1 again. On the American Top 40, "Down" debuted at #27 on August 22, 2009, and reached #1 on October 24, 2009, his first AT40 entry to peak at the top. On the Canadian Hot 100, it debuted at #40 for the week of August 17, 2009, and peaked at #3 in the week of October 15, 2009. The song also peaked at #1 on Pop Songs, #1 on Radio Songs, #1 on Rhythmic Top 40, #2 on Digital Songs, #3 on Ringtones, and, one week before it was charted on the Hot 100, debuted-peaked at #4 on Heatseekers Songs.

On the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand singles chart, "Down" debuted at #18, and after six weeks the song peaked at #2 (where it spent four weeks) for the week of November 5, 2009. On Sverigetopplistan, "Down" debuted at #52 and, in its second week, peaked at #29 beginning November 5, 2009, where it spent ten weeks at that position. In Switzerland, for the week of October 8, 2009, the song debuted on the Swiss Music Charts at #65 and peaked at #57 five weeks later. The single debuted at #9 on October 22, 2009 on the Norwegian Singles Chart, and after two weeks the song peaked at #5. In the UK, although "Down" charted highly, it did not reach the same level of success as it did in the US market. "Down" entered and peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart and spent one week at #1 on the UK R&B Chart. It is his highest charting single in the UK since "Stolen" charted at #4 in 2004.

On Austrian Singles Chart debuted the song at #70, for the week beginning of November 5, 2009, and peaked at #52. On the Australian ARIA Charts, the song debuted at #9 that same week and peaked at #2 three weeks later. On the Belgian Singles Chart, the song peaked at #2. The song debuted at #9 on the European Hot 100 and at #94 on the Japan Hot 100 during the week dated November 9, 2009. It has so far peaked at #79 on the Japan Hot 100 on the week dated March 6, 2010.

Charts, sales and certifications

Jay Sean knocked the Black Eyed Peas out of the top spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending October 7, 2009. That makes him the first Indian-origin solo artist to top the U.S. charts with a debut single. His first single (American-debut single) with Cash Money Records and Universal Music Group became his first #1 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and first single to sell more than two million copies in America, and the second for featured artist Lil Wayne who first led for five weeks last year with "Lollipop" at #1 on Billboard Hot 100.

"Down" entered the UK Singles Chart on 1 November 2009 at #3, and #1 on the R&B Chart becoming Sean's highest charting positions on both charts.

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	2
Australian Urban Chart	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	52
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	32
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)	2
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)	3
Denmark (Tracklisten)	7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	17
European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)	9
France Download (SNEP)	21
songid field is MANDATORY FOR GERMAN CHARTS	29
Ireland (IRMA)	10
Japan (Japan Hot 100)	79
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	2
Norway (VG-lista)	5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	25
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	47
UK Singles (OCC)	3
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2009)	Ranking
Canada	40
New Zealand	12
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	20
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	14
U.S. Billboard Digital Songs	7

Sales and certifications

Country	Certification(s)	Sales
Australia	Platinum2 2× Platinum	0140000+ 140,000+
Canada	Platinum1 Platinum	0080000+ 80,000+
New Zealand	Platinum1 Platinum	0015000+ 15,000+
United Kingdom		0250000+ 250,000+
United States		3321000+ 3,321,000+
Worldwide		6000000 6,000,000

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United States	May 31, 2009	Airplay	Cash Money / Universal Republic
United Sates	June 30, 2009	Digital download
Canada
Norway	August 18, 2009	Airplay	Universal Music
Belgium	August 24, 2009	Digital
France
Sweden
New Zealand
United Kingdom	September 10, 2009	Airplay	Jayded Records / Island Records
Switzerland	September 23, 2009	Digital	Universal Music
Norway	October 13, 2009
United Kingdom	October 25, 2009	Digital, CD	Jayded Records / Island Records
Worldwide	October 31, 2009	Digital	Universal Music