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S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)

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"S.O.S."
Song

"S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" is a song performed by American R&B and pop recording artist Jordin Sparks. It is the second single from her second studio album titled, Battlefield. The song was released first in New Zealand on August 14, 2009 and was sent to US radio on September 29, 2009.[1] It was released in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2009.[2]

"S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" is an uptempo electropop song which contains a sample of "Let the Music Play" by Shannon. It combines 1980s synths with modern techno-dance beats.[3] Sparks explained why she decided to go in a dancier direction with this song: "I'll always be the ballad girl from American Idol, but I wanted to try something new, though not so far that people wouldn't believe me."[4] The video was shot in Los Angeles, California on August 10, 2009, with Chris Robinson serving as the director.[5] He also worked with Sparks on the "No Air" music video.[6]

As of May 2014, the single has sold 111,000 digital downloads in the United States.[7]

Critical reception

Reviews for the song were generally positive with critics praising Sparks' attempt at dance-pop. Nick Levine of Digital Spy said "Two excursions into dance-pop territory, the stomping, Shannon-sampling 'SOS (Let The Music Play)' and the boyfriend-baiting 'Emergency (911)', also do the business".[8] The New York Times said "intriguingly, the music on that song ('Emergency 911'), and another club track, 'S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)', evokes the brazen dance-pop of Lady Gaga."[9] A critic from Rolling Stone criticized the album and said that Sparks' album "falls flat on 'S.O.S. (Let The Music Play),' a piece of bland disco that wishes it were 'Just Dance.'"[10] The Guardian appeared to praise Sparks for attempting a song that was more urban, stating that the "squelchy electronics and a relatively earthy lyric ('Look in her eyes, she's mentally undressing him') give 'SOS' an urban hue." [11]

Entertainment Weekly commented that "second single 'S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)', with its refrain copped from Shannon's 1983 dance classic, may not be thrillingly original, but resistance is futile when Sparks, showing heretofore unseen vocal dexterity, takes to the dance floor to ward off a vixen who's barking up the wrong boyfriend."[12] In the New York Post's review of the album it was said that "there are a lot of vocal and tonal departures on this disc, nowhere more so than with the thumpin' 'S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)'. This straight-outta-the-80s track (which will be her next single) is my fave on the whole album -- it's techno-summer perfection. And the hook is divine, despite its unexpected ancestry."[3]

Promotion

On August 25, 2009 it was announced that Sparks would be taking part in the 2009 VH1 Divas special on September 17, 2009 on VH1, where she performed the song.[13] On October 13, 2009, it was also performed on The Paul O'Grady Show, a UK chat show,[14] and the following day on the National Lottery Show in the UK.[15]

Music video

Sparks flaunting one of the looks in the video for "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)"

The video was shot[5] in Los Angeles, California on August 10, 2009, with Chris Robinson serving as the director. He previously worked with Sparks on the music video for "No Air". The video shows Sparks dancing while wearing a gold dress and long gold nails. In interluding scenes in the video she can be seen dancing in a club wearing a black dress and hoodie. Her friend is seen unhappily watching her boyfriend flirt around other girls and texts Sparks. Eventually her boyfriend sees her and Sparks blows a kiss to the camera.

Track list

  • Australian single
  • "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" – 3:32
  • "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" (Buzz Junkies Remix) (Club Mix) – 5:21

Official version and remixes

  • Album/Single Version
  • Video Edit
  • Buzz Junkies Club Mix
  • Buzz Junkies Radio Edit
  • Jason Nevin's Club Mix/Extended Mix
  • Jason Nevin's Radio Edit

Personnel

Source:[16]

Chart performance

The song entered the UK singles chart 3 weeks previous to its release at 39, the following week rising to 18. It then peaked at number 15, a week before its physical release. On October 18, it rose to number 13.[17] It is also her highest peaking record in Sweden, where it peaked at number 7. Her previous highest peaking record in Sweden was "No Air" in 2008, which peaked at number 10.[18] The song sold 12,000 downloads on the week of the album's release.[19] The song's sales stands at 111,000 in the US as of February 18, 2010.[20] It is Sparks' first single to ever be number 1 on a US Chart (the Billboard Dance/Club play).

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 54
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[22] 14
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[23] 46
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[24] 18
Hungarian Airplay Top 40[25] 16
Ireland (IRMA)[26] 36
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[27] 51
Romanian Top 100[28] 5
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[29] 31
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 7
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[31] 6
UK Singles (OCC)[32] 13
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[33] 31
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[34] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2009) Position
UK Singles Chart[35] 175
Chart (2010) Position
Romanian Top 100[36] 46
Preceded by U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs number-one single
December 5, 2009 		Succeeded by
"Perfect" by Depeche Mode

Radio date and release history

Country Date Format Label
New Zealand August 14, 2009[37] CD single RCA/Jive Records
Australia September 4, 2009[38] CD single Zomba Music
United States September 29, 2009[39] Airplay Jive Records
Netherlands October 2, 2009[40] Digital download Sony Music
United Kingdom October 12, 2009[2] CD single RCA Records

References

  1. ^ "All Access: Future Releases". listing. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  2. ^ a b "Music - Singles Release Diary: 2009 Archive". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  3. ^ a b Wieselman, Jarett (2009-08-06). "Jordin Sparks Does Good, Sounds Better". Blogs.nypost.com. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  4. ^ "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)". Songfacts. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  5. ^ a b Gottlieb, Steven (2009-08-17). "SHOT: Jordin Sparks - Chris Robinson, director". video STATIC. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
  6. ^ "Twitter / Jordin Sparks: Thanks 2 Chris Robinson (N". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  7. ^ "Bonus SoundScan numbers: Katharine McPhee, Jordin Sparks and more". USA Today. 2010-02-18.
  8. ^ Levine, Nick. "Music Review Battlefield (2009)Jordin Sparks'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  9. ^ NEtimes.com
  10. ^ Hoard, Christian (2009-07-20). "Jordin Sparks: Battlefield : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  11. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (2009-07-17). "Jordin Sparks: Battlefield | Music". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  12. ^ Slezak, Michael (2009-07-15). "Music Review Battlefield (2009)Jordin Sparks'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  13. ^ Jordin Sparks on Divas.
  14. ^ "Twitter / Jordin Sparks: BTW, Paul O Grady was so m". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  15. ^ "Twitter / Jordin Sparks: Oh and I'm on the National". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  16. ^ Battlefield (Liner Notes). Jordin Sparks. Jive Records. 2009.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ BBC.co.uk
  18. ^ Swedishcharts.com
  19. ^ "Jordin Sparks' album release boosts individual track sales - Idol Chatter: American Idol News, Rumors, & Information". Content.usatoday.com. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  20. ^ USAtoday.com, Idol Chatter 2-18-2010
  21. ^ "Aria Charts, The Aria Report: Aria Singles Summary – Week Commencing 5th October 2009 p. 12 (HP=High Position)" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ "Jordin Sparks – S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  23. ^ "Jordin Sparks Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 2. týden 2010 in the date selector.
  25. ^ http://www.mahasz.hu/m/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum
  26. ^ "Chart Track: Week 43, 2009". Irish Singles Chart.
  27. ^ "Jordin Sparks – S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  28. ^ "Lady Gaga domina in continuare Airplay Chart Romania". bestmusic.ro. 2010-02-28. Retrieved 2010-02-28. [dead link‍]
  29. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 20104 into search.
  30. ^ "Jordin Sparks – S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)". Singles Top 100.
  31. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  32. ^ "Jordin Sparks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  33. ^ "Jordin Sparks Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  34. ^ "Jordin Sparks Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  35. ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  36. ^ "Topul celor mai difuzate piese în România în 2010" (in Romanian). România Liberă. Retrieved 21 January 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/s.o.s.-let-music-play-single/id326701843
  38. ^ "Sos (Let The Music Play)". Sanity.com.au. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  39. ^ "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  40. ^ Radio538.nl, Radio 538 Download shop: Jordin Sparks, S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)
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