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Blah Blah Blah (Kesha song)

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For the Iggy Pop song, see Blah Blah Blah (album).
"Blah Blah Blah"
Song

"Blah Blah Blah" is a song by American recording artist Kesha from her debut album, Animal. Produced by Benny Blanco, and co-written by Kesha, Blanco, Neon Hitch and Sean Foreman, it was released as the album's second single on February 19, 2010, and features 3OH!3. Initial writing of the song took place when Kesha, Blanco, Hitch and Foreman were discussing which sex talked more and which one was more "obnoxious." The song is a midtempo electropop song that lyrically speaks of men in the same way that they have talked about women in the music industry.

Critical reception of the song has been generally mixed to positive with critics praising the track for its effective delivery of lyrics. Although the song has been well received, a common complaint amongst critics was the appearance of 3OH!3 stating it was "superfluous". The single achieved commercial success by reaching the top five in Australia and Canada, whilst charting within the top ten in the United States and New Zealand. It has gone on to sell over two million copies in the United States as well as being certified two times platinum in Canada. Kesha and 3OH!3 performed the song on ninth season of American Idol.

Writing and inspiration

"Blah Blah Blah" was written by Kesha alongside Neon Hitch, Sean Foreman and Benny Blanco who also produced the song. Kesha said that the song originated from a discussion they had in the studio on the politics of female-male relationships which Kesha later explained,

"The song came about when the people that wrote it — me, Benny Blanco, Neon Hitch and [3OH!3's] Sean Foreman — all got in a room, and they were talking about how chicks talk too much," [...] "And me and Neon were like, 'No, no, no, guys talk too much," [...] "So, we had this war of who were more obnoxious, chicks or dudes. And the song kind of came around from that conversation. I think I make a pretty fair point both in this video and in the song, that dudes are way more annoying."[1]

Music and lyrics

Kesha "Blah Blah Blah"
"Blah Blah Blah" is a midtempo dance song composed in D minor.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Blah Blah Blah" is a midtempo dance song drawing from the dance-pop and electropop genres.[2] The song combines heavy Auto-tune with drum machines while infusing hints of R&B.[3] According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing, the single is set in compound time with a moderate beat rate of 120 beats per minute. It is written in in key of D Minor and Kesha's vocal range in the song spans from the note of D3 to the note of D5.[4]

Lyrically, "Blah Blah Blah" takes a shot at the way men objectify women by speaking about them the way that they do in the music industry. "[1] Fraser McAlpine of BBC noted that it was cultural progress that a woman can now "sing a song[...] as dirty [...] as her male peers".[5]

Critical reception

"Blah Blah Blah" received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics. Fraser McAlpine of the BBC was impressed with the song saying "it's a sign of cultural progress that a modern pop lass can sing a song which is exactly as dirty as the kind of song her male peers would risk." He compared Kesha's vocal delivery to that of Eminem, he also compared the hook, "you tah-tah-tawkin' that Blah Blah Blah" to "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga, stating that the song was a "rural, farm-girl spin" of it.[5] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News stated that the track "could become the 'whatever' anthem of the season."[6] The song was well received by Bill Lamb of About.com, commenting on the lyrics, he said "Let's cut to the chase here, Kesha says, Shut up, let's have sex. That is the complete gist of "Blah Blah Blah", and most likely no one could deliver it more effectively and in a more catchy fashion. Throw in a sea of synths and drum machines and this is the second major hit from Kesha." Lamb however listed 3OH!3's appearance as a con, stating that it is superfluous.[7] It was described by the Winnipeg Free Press as a "hard pop-hop cut with pogo-worthy beats."[8] Daniel Brockman of The Phoenix thought that Kesha "intone[d] in a lusty, disturbingly carefree tone" on the song.[9]

Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times said that "Blah Blah Blah" was one of those "moments on Animal that are nearly as experimental as an Animal Collective record, but instead of some wistful, Brian Wilson-loving artiste at the song's center, there's this girl, rolling her eyes and snapping her gum."[10] Melanie Bertoldi from Billboard magazine also thought that the verse by 3OH!3 "severely slow[ed] down the momentum and never quite gel[ed] with Kesha's catty, aggressive delivery," but praised the song for its "danceability".[11] Andrew Burgess of MusicOMH said that while "3OH!3 makes a lame attempt to assert the case for male equality [on the song], Kesha comes off as so infectiously dominating, it's hard to take [3OH!3] seriously."[12] Mayer Nissim of Digital Spy gave the song two out of five stars, stating that it was not as catchy as her debut, slamming the lyrics for being "thick" and adding that she failed to deliver on many lines, calling them "faux-outrageous, faux-feminist trash".[13]

Chart performance

Without being announced as a single "Blah Blah Blah" debuted on the Irish Singles Chart, the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100 at number twenty-six,[14] seven,[15] and three[16] respectively due to strong digital sales following the release of the album in early January 2010. This marked Kesha's second top thirty hit in Ireland, and second top ten hit in the US and Canada. In the United States the single also debuted on the Hot Digital Songs chart at number two, selling a total of 206,000 downloads[15] and has since sold more than two million copies in the US alone as of April 2010.[17] In March 2010 the single was certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for sales of 80,000 units.[18]

In Australia, the song charted at number seven, where it was the highest debut of the issue dated January 18, 2010.[19] The song later reached a peak of three and has since been certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[20][21] The song debuted and peaked at number seven in New Zealand.[22] In May 2010 the single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for sales of 7,500 units.[23] "Blah Blah Blah" made its debut onto the UK Singles Chart at number eleven on the issue dated February 7, 2010[24] with sales of 27,161.[25]

Music video

Background and Reception

Kesha in the music video being hit on by a guy in which she responds by duct taping his mouth closed.

The music video for the song was directed by Brendan Malloy and was shot in Los Angeles in January 2010. It premiered on February 23, 2010, on Vevo.[26] Both members of 3OH!3 make an appearance in the video.[27] Kesha told MTV that the video primarily involves men (described as "douchey") hitting on Kesha, while she declines their advances. "At one point," Kesha says "I get to be strapped to this harness and bouncing around everywhere, and it was really cool."[1]

Melanie Bertoldi of Billboard said that the clip was "thoroughly entertaining".[28] Bill Lamb of About.com noted that the video "well may be her "Poker Face" moment that identifies Kesha as a seriously creative pop force to be reckoned with." Lamb commented on the appearance of 3OH!3 stating, "they have a cameo role in the video, but it really is all Kesha", "there is little doubt she has serious star power."[29]

Synopsis

In the first scene, outside of a club, Kesha is hit on by comedian Bret Ernst. He tries to convince Kesha that they would make a good couple, meanwhile Kesha texts someone, describing the man as a "major douchemaster". The next scene has Kesha at a bar playing pool near a man, where she duct-tapes him, later pulling down his pants, after describing him as a "tool bag" in a text message. In an arcade, Kesha pushes a man away who is making conversation with her. The third suitor attempts to serenade Kesha with a guitar, to which Kesha replies by stuffing paper in his mouth. In the final sequence, a man tries to talk to Kesha in a bowling alley. She loses interest when his toupée falls off his head. She shoves the hairpiece into his mouth, in vein of the previous arcade scene. The video ends with Kesha and 3OH!3 singing and dancing together in the bowling lanes.[28][30]

Live performances

The song was first performed live for MTV Push, a program broadcast by MTV Networks worldwide.[31][32] It was also performed on January 18, 2010, at MuchOnDemand, broadcast on Canadian cable music channel, MuchMusic.[33] Kesha performed for the first time a heavily censored version of the song on the ninth season of American Idol with 3OH!3 on March 17, 2010.[34]

In the United Kingdom, Kesha made two appearances to perform the song. The first was on February 18, 2010, Alan Carr: Chatty Man.[35] It was followed by a performance on breakfast television show GMTV, on February 19.[36] She also performed the song in a set for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend,[37] as well as Willkommen Bei Mario Barth Live in Germany and So You Think You Can Dance in Australia.[38]

Track listing

Credits and personnel

  • Songwriting – Kesha Sebert, Benny Blanco, Neon Hitch, Sean Foreman
  • Production – Benny Blanco
  • Instruments and programming – Benny Blanco
  • Recording – Benny Blanco
  • Engineering – Benny Blanco

Source [42]

Charts and certifications

Radio add dates and release history

References

  1. ^ a b c Vena, Jocelyn (2010-02-08). "Kesha Gets Into Battle Of The Sexes With 3Oh!3 For 'Blah Blah Blah' Video". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved 2010-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  2. ^ Norman, Ben. "Kesha - Animal". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2010-09-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  3. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Kesha - "Blah Blah Blah" featuring 3OH!3". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2010-05-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  4. ^ "Kesha, 'Blah Blah Blah' – Composition Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Alfred Publishing. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. ^ a b McAlpine, Fraser (2010-02-03). "BBC - Chart Blog: Ke$ha ft 3Oh3! - 'Blah Blah Blah'". BBC Chart Blog. British Broadcasting Corportation. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  6. ^ Farber, Jim (2010-01-05). "Kesha, 'Animal'". Daily News. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  7. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Kesha - "Blah Blah Blah" featuring 3OH!3". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2010-02-02. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  8. ^ "Kesha - Animal (RCA)". Winnipeg Free Press. FP Canadian Newspapers. 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2010-01-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  9. ^ Brockman, Daniel (2010-01-08). "Kesha | Animal". The Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  10. ^ Powers, Ann (2010-01-05). "Kesha is a wisecracking 'Animal'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  11. ^ Bertoldi, Melanie (2010-02-26). "Kesha Blah Blah Blah on Billboard". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  12. ^ Burgess, Andrew (2010-02-01). "Kesha - Animal". MusicOMH. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  13. ^ Nissim, Mayer (2010-03-01). "Ke$ha ft. 3OH!3: 'Blah Blah Blah'". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 2010-06-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  14. ^ "Irish Recorded Music Association Chart Track Entry". Irish Recorded Music Association. chart-track.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-05-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  15. ^ a b Pietroluongo, Silvio (2010-01-13). "Kesha Holds On Hot 100; Doubles Down On Digital Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  16. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 - Week of January 23, 2010". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 2010-01-23. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  17. ^ Grein, Paul (2010-04-14). "Blah Blah Blah United States 2 million Sales". Yahoo Music. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2010-04-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  18. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum certifications". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  19. ^ "Australian Singles Chart Entry". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  20. ^ a b "Ke$ha feat. 3OH!3 – Blah Blah Blah". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  21. ^ a b "ARIA Charts — Accreditations – 2010 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  22. ^ "charts.org.nz - Kesha feat. 3OH!3 - Blah Blah Blah Entry". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-05-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  23. ^ a b "May 2 2010: Radio Scope". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  24. ^ "Chart Stats - Singles Chart For 13/02/2010". Chartstats.com. Chart Stats. Retrieved 2010-05-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  25. ^ Jones, Alan (2010-02-08). "Album sales jump as Alicia tops the charts". Music Week (United Business Media)
  26. ^ "Kesha Blah Blah Blah Music Video Debut". Vevo. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  27. ^ Messer, Lesley (2010-02-03). "First Look at Ke$ha's Latest Video Shoot". People magazine. Time Inc. Retrieved 2010-02-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  28. ^ a b Bertoldi, Melaine (2010-02-24). "Kesha Crushes men's balls In 'Blah Blah Blah' Video". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2010-02-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  29. ^ Lamb, Bill (2010-02-24). "Ke$ha's "Blah Blah Blah" Video Is a Star Move". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2010-08-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  30. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (2010-02-24). "Ke$ha Teaches Boys A Lesson (Or Four) In 'Blah Blah Blah' Video". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved 2010-02-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  31. ^ "Watch Ke$ha on MTV Push!". columbia.com. Columbia Records. Retrieved 2009-11-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  32. ^ "MTV NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL ROLLS-OUT MTV WORLD STAGE & MTV PUSH" (Press release). MTV Networks. Viacom. Retrieved 2009-11-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  33. ^ "Ke$ha - Jan 18, 10'". MuchMusic. CTVglobemedia. Retrieved 2010-01-21. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  34. ^ Roberts, Soraya (2010-03-18). "Ke$ha performing on American Idol". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  35. ^ "Series 3 | Episode 3 | Alan Carr: Chatty Man". Alan Carr: Chatty Man. Channel 4. 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2010-02-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  36. ^ "KE$ha Television Appearance | What's on GMTV". GMTV. ITV. 2010-02-12. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  37. ^ "BBC - Radio 1's Big Weekend - Ke$ha". BBC. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  38. ^ Cameron (2010-02-09). "Ke$ha to perform on 'So You Think You Can Dance Australia'". TV Centeral. Retrieved 2010-09-02. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  39. ^ a b "Blah Blah Blah - Kesha (Australia CD Single)". JB Hi-Fi. jbhifionline.com.au. Retrieved 2010-02-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  40. ^ a b "Kesha (Australia Digital Download Release)". bandit.fm. Sony Music Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-02-21. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  41. ^ a b "Ke$ha: Blah Blah Blah (feat. 3OH!3) (United Kingdom EP)". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved 2010-03-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  42. ^ [[Animal (Kesha album)|Animal]] digital album booklet via iTunes. RCA (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  43. ^ "Ke$ha feat. 3OH!3 – Blah Blah Blah" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  44. ^ "Ke$ha feat. 3OH!3 – Blah Blah Blah" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  45. ^ "Ke$ha feat. 3OH!3 – Blah Blah Blah" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  46. ^ "Ke$ha Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  47. ^ "Ke$ha – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Ke$ha. Retrieved 2010-06-03. [dead link]
  48. ^ "Ke$ha feat. 3OH!3 – Blah Blah Blah" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  49. ^ "Chart Track: Week 10, 2010". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  50. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 10, 2010" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  51. ^ "Ke$ha feat. 3OH!3 – Blah Blah Blah". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  52. ^ "Ke$ha – Blah Blah Blah". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  53. ^ "Ke$ha feat. 3OH!3 – Blah Blah Blah". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  54. ^ "Kesha: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  55. ^ "Ke$ha Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  56. ^ "Available For Airplay: 2/2 Rhythm Crossover". FMQB. Friday Morning Quarterback. Retrieved 2010-03-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  57. ^ "Kesha - Blah Blah Blah (United Kingdom CD Release)". HMV Group. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  58. ^ Amazon Mp3. "Blah Blah Blah (German Cd Release)". Amazon.de. Amazon. Retrieved 2010-04-23. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

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