Up (The Saturdays song)
"Up" | |
---|---|
Song | |
B-side | "Crashing Down" |
"Up" is a dance-pop song performed by British-Irish girl group The Saturdays. The song was written by Andreas Romdhane, Josef Larossi, Ina Wroldsen and produced by Quiz & Larossi for the group's debut album Chasing Lights (2008). The song was released as the group's second single on 13 October 2008 in the United Kingdom to mostly positive reviews from pop music critics.[1] It reached number five on the UK[2], number eleven in Ireland,[3] and number fifteen in Europe.[4] The song's music video, directed by Harvey B Brown, features the group performing dance routines and jumping on large pillars.[5]
Composition
"Up" is a is an upbeat dance-pop song. Written in the key of A minor, the beat is set in common time and moves at a 117 bpm. The song was constructed around a keyboard and drum arrangement that follows a -A minor-F major-D minor-E major chord series.
Una Healy sings the first verse in the first and second parts of the song, as well as backing vocals during the second chorus. Vanessa White sings the second verse in the first and second parts of the song, the bridge between second and final chorus, and backing vocals during the last chorus. Frankie Sandford, Rochelle Wiseman and Mollie King do not have any solo vocals in "Up".
Critical reception
"Up" received mostly positive reviews from pop music critics. In a review for Digital Spy, Nick Levine wrote that it had "a memorable chorus, sharp, modern production and the best use of sirens in a pop song since Mis-Teeq's "Scandalous"."[6] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian called the track "high-quality pop", but MusicOMH.com's Jamie Harper disagrees.[7] In his review, he wrote that the song "disturbingly [sounds] like someone's pressed the 'demo' button on a keyboard." He further wrote that "Up" makes The Saturdays "sound like Liberty X's crap younger sister."[8] BBC Music wrote that the song is "a massive sing-a-long song, which should make Girls Aloud very scared indeed."[9]
Music video
The music video for "Up" was directed by Harvey B Brown.[5] The video features The Saturdays performing dance routines and jumping on and off large white pillars. It begins with the group dressed in black dresses with brightly-coloured tights, singing into microphones in front of colourful backgrounds. They are then shown stepping and jumping on and off moving white pillars.
Una Healy described the filming process as being "so much fun". She also said that the group found it difficult to dance on the pillars, but were pleased with the final product.[10] The video premiered on Yahoo! Music on 2 September 2008.[10]
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Up".[1][11][12]
UK CD single
(1785660; Released 13 October 2008 )
- "Up" (Radio Edit) – 3:23
- "Crashing Down" (Benjamin Findon, Robert Puzey, Mike Myers) – 3:10
(the b-side is a cover of a Nolans track from their album, "Portrait")
Digital single
(Released 12 October 2008 )
- "Up" (Radio Edit) – 3:23
iTunes digital single
(Released 12 October 2008 )
- "Up" (Radio Edit) – 3:23
- "Up" (Wideboys Remix) – 3:04
The Remixes
- "Up" (Wideboys Remix Edit)
- "Up" (Wideboys Club Mix)
Chart performance
"Up" debuted on the UK singles chart at number #1. Since then it has spent 36 weeks inside the Top 100, 28 of these in the official Top 75. The single was also certified Silver as for the 296,000 copies sold to date.
Charts
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
---|---|
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles[4] | 1 |
Irish Singles Chart[3] | 1 |
Irish Downloads Chart[13] | 2 |
UK Singles Chart[2] | 1 |
| class="col-break col-break-2" |
Sales and certifications
Country | Certifications |
---|---|
United Kingdom | Silver
|
Personnel
The following people contributed to "Up":[14]
- Quiz & Larossi - production, keyboards, programming
- Jeremy Wheatley – additional production, mixing
- Fiasco - programming
- Graham Archer – engineering
- Richard Edgeler – mixing
- Dick Beetham – mastering
References
- ^ a b "Discography". TheSaturdays.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Chart Stats: The Saturdays". ChartStats.com. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Discography The Saturdays". Irish-Charts.com. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ a b "European Hot 100 Singles (Chart Listing for the Week of Nov 15 2008". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Harvey does it again with The Saturdays". OBManagement.co.uk. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ Levine, Nick. "The Saturdays: 'Up'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline. "Rock & pop review: The Saturdays: Chasing Lights". The Guardian. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ Harper, Jamie. "The Saturdays - Up (Fascination)". MusicOMH.com. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ Small, Elle J. "The Saturdays Chasing Lights Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
- ^ a b "See The Saturdays’ video for Up!!". TheSaturdays.co.uk. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ "The Saturdays on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ "Up The Saturdays". 7digital. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ "Top 20 Downloads, Week Ending 23 October 2008". Chart-Track. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ Chasing Lights (CD liner notes). Fascination Records. October 2008.