Drag Me Down
"Drag Me Down" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by One Direction | ||||
from the album Made in the A.M. | ||||
Released | 31 July 2015[1] | |||
Genre | Pop rock[2][3] | |||
Length | 3:12 | |||
Label | Syco | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Julian Bunetta | |||
One Direction singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Drag Me Down" on YouTube |
"Drag Me Down" is a song recorded by English-Irish boy band One Direction as the lead single for their fifth studio album, Made in the A.M. (2015).[4] The song was released worldwide on 31 July 2015 and was the band's first single since Zayn Malik's departure earlier that same year. "Drag Me Down" debuted atop the charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Austria, Australia, and New Zealand. It became the group's first number-one single in France and Australia, as well as their fourth number-one in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won the fan-voted 'Best Video Award' at the 2016 Brit Awards.[5]
Background and release
"Drag Me Down" marked One Direction's first single since Zayn Malik's departure in March 2015.[6] The announcement of the release, with no previous promotion or marketing, was done by Liam Payne on his Twitter handle, followed by the rest of the members on 31 July 2015.[1]
Composition
"Drag Me Down" is a midtempo pop rock track written by Jamie Scott, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan, who wrote and produced several songs on One Direction's previous two albums Midnight Memories (2013) and Four (2014).[7] According to Los Angeles Times's editor Mikael Wood, the production contains springy guitars that recall The Police or "Rude" by Magic!.[2][8] The song is written in C minor with a tempo of 138 beats per minute. It was composed in England.[9]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Billboard | [3] |
Digital Spy | [10] |
Jason Lipshutz of Billboard gave the song three and a half out of five stars and stated that the song offers a more "mature sound". He also commented "for those worried that a four-member incarnation of the group can't get the job done, "Drag Me Down" assuages those fears by keeping the overall quality level high" and "the group compensates for Malik’s absence by giving each member ample time to shine, and the harmonies admirably resonate on the call-and-response portions of the pre-chorus".[3] Writing for Idolater, Robbie Daw commented that the song "comes across perhaps like the first One Direction song that might appeal to an audience outside of the band’s screaming core fan base".[11]
Gaby Hernandez of Rolling Stone described the song as a "pop-rock track shifts the band’s sound from the softer folk of their last album, Four, back to the more upbeat, electronic heavy elements of their first two albums".[12] Jamieson Cox of The Verge called the song "a slight departure from the music the band was making with Malik in tow" while commenting that "there's a bit of The Police in the loping, reggae-lite bass line and guitar riffs, and the song's structure is cribbed from the last few years' finest EDM-pop crossovers" and that "when you fold in the melody, the whole package reminds me of Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble," and that qualifies as praise in this space".[13] Noelle Devoe, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described the song as "rocking an even edgier, mature sound" and "a love song to their fans" while commenting on Styles' high notes.[14] The Herald wrote that "in true One Direction style, Drag Me Down is a catchy love song with a poppy beat".[15] Lewis Corner of Digital Spy gave the song three out of five stars, and stated that "Drag Me Down" is "one of their most pop-centric releases to date" and that "they may have taken a hit with the exit of Zayn, but One Direction are far from down and out".[16]
Mikael Wood with the Los Angeles Times gave a more negative review, stating that the song is "all too accurately titled" and that it is "decidedly smaller-scaled" and "carries no such charge" compared to the band's previous songs. He added "we’re basically talking about a midtempo pop-rock jam with springy guitars that recall The Police" and the song is "more or less what you’d expect from a band of four good-looking white guys".[17]
Past member Zayn Malik took to social media and praised the single, describing it as "sick" and stating that "he was proud of his boys."[18]
Music video
The video for "Drag Me Down" was directed by Ben and Gabe Turner and filmed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and premiered on Vevo alongside the song. The video includes the band being put through their paces as though they are astronauts preparing for a space mission.[19] It won the fan-voted 'Best Video Award' at the 2016 Brit Awards[20] and as of 9 May 2022, it has been viewed over 1 billion times on YouTube.
Remixes
In Fall 2015, the Big Payno Remix was released which features American rapper Lunchmoney Lewis which appears on their Perfect EP.
Live performances
One Direction gave their first performance of the song on their On the Road Again Tour in Indianapolis on 31 July 2015 until the end of their concert tour. The song was then performed live as part of a series of free summer concerts in New York City for Good Morning America on 4 August 2015.[21] The band also performed the song on several television programmes including The Ellen DeGeneres Show,[22] The Jonathan Ross Show[23] and Alan Carr: Chatty Man.[24]
Usage in media
An instrumental version of the song is heard in the television series Grey's Anatomy (season 13 episode 8).
The track is present on the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera Totalmente Demais (2015).[25]
Song appears in the soundtrack of the video game Madden NFL 19 ("Longshot: Homecoming" only)
A cover of the song by the Finnish-American hard rock band Santa Cruz plays in "Best Friends, For Never", the second episode of the first season of the DC Extended Universe Max series Peacemaker.
Commercial performance
"Drag Me Down" sold 349,000 digital copies in the United States and had 17.7 million streams worldwide in its first week of release.[26] It broke the record on Spotify for most streamed track in one day, earning 4.75 million global streams (it has since been surpassed by Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill" both receiving over 6.18 million global streams).[27][28] The song also debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, the second-highest debut of the year, with 349,000 downloads sold in its first week (making it the group's third number-one hit on the Digital Songs chart and the boy band's best sales week for a song).[29][30]
Furthermore, the song topped the charts in twelve countries, including Austria, Australia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.
Charts
Weekly charts |
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[88] | 5× Platinum | 350,000‡ |
Belgium (BEA)[89] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada)[90] | 3× Platinum | 240,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[91] | Platinum | 60,000^ |
Germany (BVMI)[92] | Gold | 200,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI)[93] | 2× Platinum | 100,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON)[94] | 3× Platinum+Gold | 210,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[95] | Platinum | 15,000* |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[96] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV)[97] | 4× Platinum | 80,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[98] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Sweden (GLF)[99] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[101] | Platinum | 1,180,000[100] |
United States | — | 1,208,000[102] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ a b Bradle, Lars (31 July 2015). "One Direction Shares First Track Without Zayn Malik, 'Drag Me Down'". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ a b Spanos, Brittany. "One Direction Plot Post-Zayn Future With New Song 'Drag Me Down'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ a b c Lipshutz, Jason (31 July 2015). "One Direction, 'Drag Me Down' Single Review: 1D Becomes Larger Than Life". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Goodman, Jessica (22 September 2015). "One Direction announce album name, Made In The A.M.". Entertainment Weekly. United States. Retrieved 22 September 2015 – via Time Inc.
- ^ "One Direction win Best Video at Brits in fans vote". ITV News. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Trevor (31 July 2015). "One Direction's 'Drag Me Down' Tops Trending 140 There are many fictional stories on Wattpad, describing fictionally how the members of this band wrote the album, Made in the Am, in every fictional way. For example, 'Another Whisper in the Wind' and 'I'd lie' ! Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction Releases Drag Me Down, Its First Single Since Zayn Malik Quit the Boy Band—Listen Now!". E! News. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Is One Direction's 'Drag Me Down' all too accurately titled?". Los Angeles Times. 3 August 2015.
- ^ One Direction "Drag Me Down" Sheet Music musicnotes.com
- ^ Corner, Lewis (22 July 2013). One Direction: 'Best Song Ever' – Single review. Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- ^ "One Direction Drop New Single "Drag Me Down," Which Sounds Like Taylor Swift Meets The Police: Listen". Idolator.com. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ Spanos, Brittany (31 July 2015). "Hear One Direction's First Post-Zayn Song". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ Cox, Jamieson (31 July 2015). "Listen to One Direction's first post-Zayn single, 'Drag Me Down'". The Verge. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ Devoe, Noelle (31 July 2015). "BREAKING: One Direction Randomly Drop New Single "Drag Me Down"". Seventeen.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "One Direction release first track without Zayn Malik". Independent.ie. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ Corner, Lewis (31 July 2015). "One Direction's new single 'Drag Me Down' first review – Signals a glossier output". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "Is One Direction's 'Drag Me Down' all too accurately titled?". Los Angeles Times. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "Zayn Malik on One Direction's 'Drag Me Down': 'The New Single Is Sick'". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "One Direction Are Made of the Right Stuff in Their 'Drag Me Down' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "One Direction win best video for Drag Me Down - but only Louis and Liam collect it as other members snub the Brits". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "One Direction Delivers 'Drag Me Down' Debut TV Performance on 'Good Morning America'". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "One Direction Performs "Drag Me Down" On 'The Ellen Degeneres Show': Watch". Idolator.com. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "The Jonathan Ross Show Episode 6". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "One Direction Drag Me Down Live on Alan Carr Chatty Man's Christmas". Gostudioone.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Trilha sonora de 'Totalmente Demais' tem One Direction, Anitta, Emicida e mais". Gshow.globo.com. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (7 August 2015). "One Direction Earns First No. 1 Single in Australia With 'Drag Me Down'". Billboard.
- ^ Brandel, Lars (9 August 2015). "One Direction's 'Drag Me Down' Cruising to U.K. No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 11 August 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Ed Sheeran has broken Spotify's 'day one' streaming record". Yahoo. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- ^ Trust, Gary (10 August 2015). "Can't Feel My Face" tops Hot 100, One Direction debuts at number 3". Billboard.
- ^ "The Hot 100 - the week of August 29, 2015". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "Top 100". 6 January 2015. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "One Direction Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 51. týden 2015 in the date selector.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 32. týden 2015 in the date selector.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down". Tracklisten. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "Top 20 Ingles" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino.RadioNotas. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "One Direction Chart History (Euro Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction: Drag Me Down" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "Digital Singles Charts – Greece". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ "Chart Track: Week 32, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction". The Official Lebanese Top 20. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "One Direction Chart History (Luxembourg Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 August 2015. [dead link]
- ^ "Top 20 Ingles" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. RadioNotas. 7 September 2015. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – One Direction" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down". VG-lista. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ "One Direction - Portuguese Charts". Retrieved 20 February 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201543 into search.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201532 into search.
- ^ "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2015-09-15". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Gaon Digital Chart: 2015.08.02~2015.08.08". GAON. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction – Drag Me Down". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "One Direction Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "One Direction Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ "One Direction Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 2015". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2015". Ultratop. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Canadian Hot 100 Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2015" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ "Single Top 100 - eladási darabszám alapján - 2015". Mahasz. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Classifiche "Top of the Music" 2015 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digitali" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2015". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2015" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Airplay – podsumowanie 2015 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Årslista Singlar – År 2015" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2015 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^ "Hot 100: Year End 2015". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ "Pop Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2016". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – One Direction – Drag Me Down". Music Canada. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "Danish single certifications – One Direction – Drag Me Down". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (One Direction; 'Drag Me Down')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Italian single certifications – One Direction – Drag Me Down" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 15 March 2022. Type One Direction in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Drag Me Down in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – One Direction – Drag Me Down". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ "Norwegian single certifications – One Direction – Drag Me Down" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2017 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
- ^ "Spanish single certifications – One Direction – Drag Me Down". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Sverigetopplistan – One Direction" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ Levine, Nick (14 June 2023). "One Direction: Official Top 20 biggest songs ever in UK revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "British single certifications – One Direction – Drag Me Down". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Billboard: One Direction's Career Sales". Billboard. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- 2015 singles
- 2015 songs
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Australia
- Number-one singles in Greece
- Number-one singles in Hungary
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Number-one singles in Scotland
- One Direction songs
- Song recordings produced by Julian Bunetta
- Songs written by Jamie Scott
- Songs written by John Ryan (musician)
- Songs written by Julian Bunetta
- Syco Music singles
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles