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Say It Right

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"Say It Right"
Song
B-side"What I Wanted"

"Say It Right" is a song written by Nelly Furtado, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and Nate "Danja" Hills for Furtado's third album, Loose (2006). It was co-produced by Timbaland and Danja and released as the album's third single in North America and Australia, with its U.S. radio release on October 31 2006 (see 2006 in music). The song served as the album's fourth single in Europe and Asia; it was released in the United Kingdom in March 2007 as a download-only single. The song was the album's fifth single in Latin America; in Mexico it is the fourth radio single and, according to MTV, the third single accompanied by a video.

According to Media Traffic, it is the second most successful single of 2007, despite only peaking at number two on the United World Chart. It is also the most successful single for Nelly Furtado and Geffen Records, her label. The song is also nominated for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Background

The process of creating the song began in the recording studio one morning at around 4:00am, when Timbaland recommended that Furtado go home because she was tired. Furtado, who had heard that the band U2 wrote many of their songs in the studio control room, said "Really? I'll show you", put on her hoodie and began to "jam".[1] Nate Hills and Timbaland soon joined her, writing and producing as they went, and according to Furtado this process intensified as she sang. The team used four microphones in the live room and moved them around during recording, about which Furtado said, "...when you listen to it — there's a lot of dimension. It kind of sounds like [Timbaland]'s in another country".[1] Afterwards they picked the best vocals and "perfected" them, before inserting "reverbs and weird alien sounds" onto them. "[W]e experimented a lot with depth and different sounds", Furtado said of the making of the song. "[It] affected my vocals a whole lot."[1]

Furtado has cited the "spooky, keyboard-driven pop sound" of the band Eurythmics, particularly their song "Here Comes the Rain Again" (1983), as an influence on "Say It Right" and other tracks on Loose. "I'm not 100 percent sure what ["Here Comes the Rain Again" is] about, but it always takes me away to another place, and I love it", she said.[2] She said that she does not really know what "Say It Right" is about, "but it captures the feeling I had when I wrote it, and it taps into this other sphere."[2] The song is written in F minor.

The song is featured on the U.S. compilation album Now 24 and the UK compilation album Now 66. Bloc Party covered the song on Jo Whiley's radio show on April 11, 2007.[3] The song was played during the Miss Universe 2007 Introductory Ceremony,[4] the 2006 American Music Awards, [5] and Concert for Diana.[6] When the song is played live, the guitar solo at the end is extended and somewhat brought to life. On the studio version, the solo is short and repetitive.

Critical reception

'Say It Right' is generally well-received by pop critics. Billboard magazine called the song "a Pussycat Dolls-inspired contempo jam, high on hooks and of-the-moment production. Well done, if in the most generic sense."[7] About.com's Bill Lamb gave the song 4/5 stars, saying that with "Say It Right", "many pop music fans are likely to take a second look at purchasing [Loose]". He described the song as "the foundation of Loose" and "a welcomed presence in the pop top 40".[5] IGN Music calls the song "...one of the brightest moments on the album" and "another throwback to the '80s" which "...lets loose with the most hypnotic chorus".[8] All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered the song "a dark meditative piece that would have fit on [Furtado's] previous records".[9]

Music video

File:SayItRightVideo2.PNG
Furtado singing on rooftop with Los Angeles skyline.

The music video for "Say It Right" was directed by British duo Rankin & Chris and filmed at various locations in Los Angeles, California in late October 2006,[10] shot back-to-back with the video for "All Good Things (Come to an End)" (the album's third single in Europe).[11] The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live in the U.S. on November 6 and on Canada's MuchMusic in the week ending November 16. It reached number nine on the Total Request Live top ten video countdown on November 8, its first day on the countdown;[12] it returned to the countdown on December 14 and peaked at number one twice.[13] The video reached number one on the MuchMusic series Countdown for the week ending February 16.[14] The "Say It Right" video became Furtado's first retired video on TRL, after it spent forty days on the countdown.[15]

The clip starts with a helicopter landing on top of a black helipad with Furtado's name on it in Downtown Los Angeles, and Furtado getting out. The short black dress she is wearing was designed specifically for her by Australian designer Alex Perry.[16] She is shown on the roof of the building throughout the video, with the Los Angeles skyline in the background. The video features mostly face shots of her and Timbaland intercut with shots of dancers. Furtado described the clip as "a throwback to the '80s" because the shots of her and Timbaland reminded her much of those of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart in videos for Eurythmics' singles, and "the strange relationship [they] had, where ... you get this intense vibe from it. And Tim and me, we're partners, we vibe on a serious creative level, so the video captures that energy."[11] The video ends with Furtado climbing back into the helicopter, which flies off.

At the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, Furtado was nominated in the category of Female Artist of the Year for "Say It Right" and "Maneater".[17]

Chart performance

The song entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in late-November at number ninety-three,[18] and it reached number one in its fourteenth week,[19] becoming Furtado's second number-one single after "Promiscuous" (2006).[20] The song stayed in the top ten for fourteen weeks and on the Hot 100 for thirty weeks. "Say It Right" contributed to sales of the album Loose, and was credited as being responsible for its return to the top ten on the U.S. Billboard 200.[21] "Say It Right" was the fourth most played song on U.S. radio in 2007,[22] and on the year-end chart of Billboard, it ranked at number nine.[23]

"Say It Right" peaked at number one for ten weeks on the Canadian BDS Airplay Chart, which it entered in early December,[24] becoming Furtado's second Canadian number-one single.[25] In April 2007, it became Furtado's second number-one single on the Canadian Dance Chart.[26] "Say It Right" peaked at number two for three consecutive weeks on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, becoming her fifth top ten hit and third number-two single; ARIA accredited it as a platinum single.[27]

The single was very successful in Europe, reaching the top five in most countries. It reached number ten on the UK Singles Chart based solely on download sales on March 2007.[28] By doing so, it broke the record for the highest chart placing for a digital-only single,[29] tied in October 2007 by Oasis' "Lord Don't Slow Me Down".[30] In France, the song debuted at number one,[31] and in Germany, it debuted at number two, where it stayed for nine non-consecutive weeks. The song had a number-one debut in Italy. It peaked at number eight in Ibero-America, and reached number eighteen in Latin America.

"Say it Right" is Nelly Furtado's most successful song in Australia,[32] Austria,[33] and Sweden.[34] It is Furtado's second most successful single in Norway, the Netherlands and France (after "All Good Things (Come to an End)").[35][36][37]

On Media Traffic's United World Chart, "Say It Right" was more successful than Furtado's previous singles, "Maneater" and "Promiscuous". It debuted at number twenty-four in late December and reached number two,[38] becoming her highest-peaking worldwide single. It stayed on the chart for fifty-one weeks, twenty-nine of which were in the top ten.[31]

Credits

Formats and track listings

Charts

Certifications and sales

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