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Stephen (song)

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"Stephen"
Song

"Stephen" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Kesha, taken from her debut studio album Animal (2010). The song was written by Kesha in collaboration with David Gamson, Pebe Sebert, Oliver Leiber. The song was produced by David Gamson with additional production done by Oliver Leiber. The song's instrumentation was completed by Gamson, with the exception of the accordion which was performed by Kesha. Kesha wrote the song with her mother when she was sixteen about a boy named Stephen that she had been stalking and who had refused to call the singer. The song's lyrics mirror its inspiration and depict the tale of Kesha's inability to get the protagonist to call her. "Stephen" is a dance-pop song that incorporates elements of country music.

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics up its release. After the release of Animal, "Stephen" charted on the lower regions of the South Korea Gaon International Chart, peaking eighty-nine. A music video for the song was directed by the production team Skinny, and was released on the repackaging of the singer's debut album, Animal + Cannibal.

Writing and inspiration

"Stephen" was written by Kesha Sebert, in collaboration with her mother Pebe Sebert, David Gamson, and Oliver Leiber. The song's production was yielded by Gamson with additional production by Lieber.[1] Gamson is responsible for providing the song's instruments, with the exception of the accordion which was performed by Kesha.[1] The song's recording was commenced at ACME Recording, Long Island, California, and at Ollywood Studios, Hollywood, California, by Gamson.[1] While being interviewed by Rolling Stone, Kesha was asked about her writing technique and how her songs come to fruition, which she explained using "Stephen" as an example. The singer explained that the song's conception was auto-biographical and stemmed from a male that the singer had been "stalking since [she] was 15." The song was written when the singer was sixteen, in collaboration with her mother. After the song was written, Kesha found producer Gamison who later produced the song. The singer recalled the collaboration, stating: "I found this guy named David Gamson who was in Scritti Politti. He does all the keyboard stuff, he's amazing, a crazy cynical genius guy, and he liked my voice and my thing, and I really liked his thing, so we decided to work together."[2]

Kesha was inspired to write the song after continual rejection from the protagonist in the song, Stephen, refused to call the singer, which she stated: "I'm really excited for people to hear the song called 'Stephen' that I wrote about this guy that I've been stalking since I was, like, 15, but he's a total loser, so I don't want to glorify him in any way, but I'm really excited for the song. He wouldn't call me, and I could not wrap my brain around why he wouldn't call me, that was a victorious mission in the end. Ha! I have the last laugh."[3] In February 2010, after the release of the song, Stephen attended one of the singer's concerts and upon doing so preceded to get up on stage and "kissed a transvestite." Speaking to Total Access on 96.4FM The Wave, the singer recalled the experience and said that Stephen may be a homosexual: "he came to see my show at this huge gay bar in New York and it was totally off the chain. He gets up on stage, takes all his clothes off except his underwear and starts making out with a tranny. I was like, 'Wait a minute, have I been barking up the wrong genre of tree?'"[4]

Composition

"Stephen" is a song composed in the dance-pop genre that also incorporates elements of country music.[5][6] According to digital sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony-ATV Music Publishing, the song is written in the key of D major and the tempo moves at 100 beats per minute at a moderately fast rate.[5] Kesha's vocal range in the song spans from the lower note of E3 to the higher note of D5.[5] The lyrics begin with Kesha singing "Stephen, Stephen, why won't you call me?."[5] The song's lyrics depict the tale of the singer stalking her then crush, Stephen, who ultimately would not call the singer.[3] "Stephen" opens with layered a cappella harmonies, later transitioning into a dominantly driven pop song.[7] According to the singer, "Stephen" showcases her more vulnerable side and encompasses humor throughout its lyrics: "'Stephen' shows the vulnerable side of me but it's still a funny pop song. It's me saying I'm totally obsessive and in love with this guy, but he's blowing me off in a pretty funny way."[8]

Fraser McAlpine of BBC called the song "a vulnerable ode to an unreliable crush."[7] Daniel Brockman of The Phoenix thought that the song's lyrics were "an ode to forcing your sexual advances on your high-school history teache."[9] According to Andrew Burgess of musicOMH, the song "tells the story of that one guy Ke$ha can't bag: 'What the hell? I can charm the pants off anyone else, but you.'"[10] Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times felt that the song was experimental, comparing it to the group Animal Collective.[11]

Critical reception

"Stephen" received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Fraser McAlpine of BBC used "Stephen" as an example of the songs on Animal (2010) that exemplified the singer's vocals, writing that: "Ke$ha can really properly sing, and she does."[7] McAlpine's consensus regarding the song was "Stephen, a vulnerable ode to an unreliable crush, begins with beautiful layered a cappella harmonies. Sure, it tumbles into clunky pop straight afterwards, but then, that also seems to be what she does: beautiful things are bashed against ugly things, pretty melodies ruined by silly noises, emotional lyrics stuffed with buzzwords."[7] Daniel Brockman of The Phoenix wrote that "in a post–'Birthday Sex' pop landscape, there's plenty of room for dumb if it's done well. How dumb?" Brockman used the song as an example of this, writing that it was an "ode to forcing your sexual advances on your high-school history teacher."[9] Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times felt that the song exemplified the album's more experimental side, comparing the song to an Animal Collective record, calling it a "country-in-space" rendition and further wrote that "instead of some wistful, Brian Wilson-loving artiste at the song's center, there's this girl, rolling her eyes and snapping her gum."[11]

musicOMH's writer Andrew Burgess wrote that the album was composed of "obligatory ballads" and used "Stephen" as an example to solidify this premise.[10] Burgess noted that the song was "fine – but the Ke$ha we care about is the sweaty, trashy, inebriated party girl." His consensus regarding the album's ballads was that "Perhaps Ke$ha is, in fact, a more complex and multi-faceted party girl than she seems like on the surface."[10] Nick Levine, a writer for Digital Spy, was positive in his review of the song. Levine first commented that "there's massive potential for irritation here, but what keeps Ke$ha the right side of bitchy – for the most part, anyway – is her willingness to show her vulnerable side." The song "Stephen" was used as evidence of the following, with Levine writing "she admits she can't take rejection on the country-tinged 'Stephen'." His consensus regarding the album's ballads was that "even when she's baring her soul, Ke$ha doesn't skimp on those crowd-pleasing choruses. The result? The scattering of ballads doesn't interfere with what is essentially a bop-til-you-drop, chat-til-you're-slapped, drink-til-you're-sick party record – and a very entertaining one at that."[6]

Music video

A still from the music video showing Kesha getting in a verbal altercation with her inanimate dummy boyfriend.

A music video for "Stephen" was directed by the production team Skinny, who have also directed videos for Kesha's songs "Animal", and an alternative video of "Take It Off".[12] The video was released on the deluxe repacking of her debut album Animal, under its re-release entitled Animal + Cannibal.[12] It was later uploaded to the singer's Vevo account on April 4, 2011.[13] The video is comprised of still shots that show the singer "going to some extreme lengths to show 'Stephen' how much she's feeling him."[14] The video opens with the singer looking through a scrapbook; following this the video then proceeds into depicting the singer's interactions with the protagonist. The video's first setting is located at a bar where the singer gets into a verbal altercation with the man's girlfriend. Kesha, who later leaves with the then unconscious man, takes him back to her house to takes pictures of him and later cuts off some of his hair for her shrine. The singer then duct-tapes the man and locks him in her closet; which he later escapes from. Following this, the singer is distraught and then builds another man out of a dummy, and using the hair she had clipped earlier, proceeds to bring the dummy to a bar, getting into another altercation with it and later leaving it in the street – ending the video.[13]

Track listing

  • Digital download[15]
  1. "Stephen"  – 3:32

Credits and personnel

Recording
  • Recorded by David Gamson at ACME Recording, Long Island, California; and at Ollywood Studios, Hollywood, California.
Personnel
  • Songwriting – Kesha Sebert, David Gamson, Pebe Sebert, Oliver Leiber
  • Production – David Gamson, Oliver Leiber
  • Instruments and programming – David Gamson
  • Accordion – Kesha

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Animal, Kemosabe Recordings, via RCA Records.[1]

Charts

Upon the release of Animal, "Stephen" debuted and peaked at number at eighty-nine on the issue date of January 3, 2010, on the South Korea Gaon International Songs Chart. The song was was the ninth highest debuting album track from its parent album.[16]

Chart (2010) Peak
position
South Korea Gaon International Chart[16] 89

References

  1. ^ a b c d (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Format= ignored (|format= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Type= ignored (|type= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Scaggs, Austin (2010-01-26). "Party Animal: Behind Ke$ha's Big Debut". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  3. ^ a b Vena, Jocelyn (2009-12-14). "Ke$ha Would 'Totally' Collaborate With Taylor Swift. 'But I think I would scare her, to be honest,' she tells MTV News". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  4. ^ Balls, David (2010-02-22). "Music Ke$ha: Stephen might be gay". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  5. ^ a b c d "Ke$ha – D.I.N.O.$.A.U.R Sheet Music (Digital Download)". Musicnotes.com. Sony-ATV Music Publishing. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  6. ^ a b Levine, Nick (2010-02-21). "Ke$ha: 'Animal'". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  7. ^ a b c d McAlphine, Fraser (2010-01-29). "BBC – Music – Review of Ke$ha – Animal". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  8. ^ French, Dan (2010-03-01). "Home > Music > Interview – Music – Ke$ha". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  9. ^ a b Brockman, Daniel (2010-01-08). "Kesha | Animal". The Phoenix. The Phoenix Media/Communications Group. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  10. ^ a b c Burgess, Andrew. "Ke$ha – Animal – album reviews – musicOMH". musicOMH. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  11. ^ a b Powers, Ann (2010-01-05). "Ke$ha is a wisecracking 'Animal'". Los Angeles Times. Eddy Hartenstein. Retrieved 2012-06-12. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ a b (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Format= ignored (|format= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ a b "Ke$ha – Stephen". Youtube/Vevo. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  14. ^ Ryan, Chris (2010-11-19). "New Videos: Ke$ha, 'Animal' And 'Stephen'". MTV Buzzworthy MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  15. ^ "Animal". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  16. ^ a b "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week, January 3, 2010 to January 9, 2010)" (To access the applicable chart, change "년 (Year)" to "2010" and select the week) (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
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