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Take It Off (Kesha song)

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"Take It Off"
Song

"Take It Off" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Kesha, from her debut album, Animal. The song was written by Kesha Serbet, Lukasz Gottwald and Claude Kelly and it was produced by Dr. Luke with vocal editing done by Emily Wright. It was released as the fourth official single from the album on July 13, 2010. "Take It Off"'s initial writing consisted of Kesha attending a drag show and becoming really turned on by transvestite men taking their clothing off. The song is an upbeat dance pop song that uses heavy amounts of auto tune and utilizes an electro infused beat.

Critical reception of the song has been mixed to positive. A complaint amongst critics was the demonstration of overly processed vocals with the use of auto-tune. Other critics felt the song was a strong, irresistible dance-pop song, strictly made for the dance floor with a great carefree message. Due to strong digital sales from the release of Animal, the song charted in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada before being announced as a single. After being released as a single the song reached the top ten in Canada, Australia and the United States. "Take It Off" has sold over a million copies in the United States as of October 2010.

Two music videos for the single were released. The first video features Kesha and her friends on another planet dancing around in a mosh pit while slowly turning into star dust as they "Take It Off". The inspiration for the video was about taking off your inhibitions and being "raw and real." The second video features Jeffree Star and features a more dominant animal theme while drawing from 80's themed inspiration such as; Tron, David Bowie in Labyrinth, and Revenge of the Nerds. On August 13, 2010 Kesha performed "Take It Off" along side earlier singles "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Tik Tok" on NBC's Today Show.

Writing and inspiration

"Take It Off" was written by Kesha, alongside Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly. The song was produced by Luke with vocal editing done by Emily Wright. During an interview with Esquire magazine Kesha explained how the song was initially written, "I have a song [...] called 'Take It Off' about when I went to a drag show, and how really turned on I was by these transvestite men taking clothes off. I was like, What does that even make me?".[1]

Composition

"Take It Off"
"Take It Off" is an upbeat dominant dance-pop song that uses an electro-infused beat with furious crescendos
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Take It Off" is an upbeat dominant dance-pop song that incorporates elements of electropop.[2] The opening of the song utilizes a "thumping, electro-infused beat with furious crescendos"[2] The chorus along with most of the song uses a "bubblegummy electro" beat[3] used with heavy amounts of auto-tune.[4] Daniel Brockman from The Phoenix described the song as "a heavily Auto-Tuned reworking" of "There's a Place in France".[5] Monica Herrera from Billboard however, felt that the song "lifted heavily from Robert Miles' 1995 trance-lite hit, "Children."[4] According to sheet music published at Musicnotes, the song is written in common time with a moderate beat rate of 120 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of F minor and Kesha's vocal range in the song spans from the note of F3 to the note of C5.[6] Music reviewer Bill Lamb commented on the lyrical writing of the song noting that the lyrics were symbolic, stating, "[the song] manages to expand out into an anthem about free expression [...] [a] celebration of the power of the night, and a bit of alcohol, to help shed inhibitions of the daytime."[7] Lamb further commented that the lyrics drew similar reference to that of Lady Gaga's commenting, "followers of Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour will be familiar with this point of view [about free expression]."[7]

Critical reception

Amar Toor from AOL Radio gave the song a positive review saying, "Much like the rest of the album, this new song is simply made for the dance floor. And, much like Kesha herself, the track seems to embody relentless, carefree hedonism at its best." He also noted, "And when Kesha talks about a 'place I know', where 'they go hardcore and there's glitter on the floor' in the style of a six-grade camp ditty, it's hard for anyone to not feel the urge to just take it off."[2] Bill Lamb of About.com gave the single four out of five stars. He was concerned with the overall lyrical depth and over-use of auto-tune but he complimented the song for its "irresistibly catchy beat and chorus" with a "celebratory mood of dropping inhibitions."[7] He noted that "with the volume turned up and the chorus encouraging you to 'take it off,' you may just feel inspired to follow the commands. The ultimate effect by the end of the song is very cathartic as it hints strongly that there is more to "take off" than simply clothing."[7]

Monica Herrera from Billboard magazine criticized the song for its demonstration of overly processed vocals noting how easily an artist can "get lost in a sea of auto-tone". She went on to state that it "make[s] it hard to tell whether the California party girl can actually sing".[4] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy met the song with a mixed review. He commented on the choice of the single, noting "the glimpses of emotion shown on her last offering, 'Your Love Is My Drug', are as long gone as her sobriety." Although he was not completely convinced he wrote, " [though] the vocals are more processed than a cheese string [...] the combination of a playful nursery rhyme hook and Dr Luke's bubblegummy electro production make this a pretty irresistible little dancefloor ditty."[3] He went on to give the single three out of five stars.[3] Fraser McAlpine of BBC met the song with a mixed review giving the song three out of five stars. Fraser criticized the choice of the song commenting, "there's a fear that if Kesha reveals that she's a sensitive young flower after all, with real feelings and a good, pure heart, her appeal with disappear like a soap bubble on a cactus, can it?".[8]

Chart performance

In January 2010, due to strong digital sales, the song charted in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, debuting at numbers eighty-five,[9] forty-five,[10] and one hundred and twelve respectively.[11] In the United States, the song re-entered in the Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety-two on the issue date of August 7, 2010,.[12] The song steadily ascended the charts for six weeks before eventually reaching a peak of eight on its eighth week on the chart.[13] The song has received Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 1,000,000 units.[14] In Canada, the song ascended and descended the chart for twelve weeks before finally dropping off the chart.[15] On July 13, 2010, the song re-entered the chart at eighty-six.[16] After ascending the chart for seven weeks the single reached an eventual peak of eight.[17]

In the United Kingdom the song was listed on the UK Singles Chart for one week, dropping off the following week.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page). On the issue date of August 28, 2010 the single re-entered the chart at forty-four.[18] After steadily ascending the charts, the song eventually reached a peak of fifteen.[18] In New Zealand, "Take It Off" entered the chart at thirty-two on the issue date of July 12, 2010. In the succeeding week the single rose ten spots to attain position twenty-two.[19] The song has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).[20] After eight more weeks of steadily ascending the charts the single reached a peak of eleven on its tenth total week on the chart.[19] On August 22, 2010 the single entered the Australian Singles Chart at twenty-nine.[21] The song ascended the chart for three weeks eventually reaching a peak of five.[21] It has since been certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for sales of 35,000 units.[22]

Music videos

Version One

Kesha in the music video as she "unzips" herself in which she transforms into dust.

The original video for "Take It Off" premiered on Vevo on August 3, 2010.[23] It was directed by Paul Hunter and Dori Oskowitz.[24] Kesha revealed the main idea behind the video in an interview explaining that "[the video was] about [her] and all [her] hot vampire babe friends breaking into a hotel on another planet, and at the end we all turn into this beautiful stardust. Once you take it all off, all your inhibitions, your clothes, we're all made up of the same thing."[25] She explained that she did not want the video to just be about "Taking it off", that the message behind the video and the theme wasn't "just about taking off your clothes and rolling in glitter. It's also about taking off your inhibitions and being raw and real".[26]

The video starts off with Kesha seen on a motorcycle. She proceeds to walk as her friends follow behind her as they enter a motel area. As the chorus of the song starts, Kesha and her friends start to run around the motel dancing and jumping off railings. The friends gather around an empty pool and start tearing at each others clothing; While this is happening it is revealed they that are on a different planet and Kesha is seen rolling around in sand. Slowly as some of the friends start taking off their clothing, they begin to turn into star dust. The group starts to dance in the pool with some of the party goers exploding into dust. The remainder of the friends continue to dance in the dust that is now covering the bottom of the pool. As this is happening they all begin to lose different parts of their bodies as they explode into multicolored star dust. The video ends with everyone as dust with Kesha beginning to "unzip" herself as she turns into yellow dust.

Jocelyn Vena of MTV News met the video with a positive review. She noted that Kesha "manages to embrace her inner party animal and throw a neon-colored party at an abandoned motel in the middle of nowhere." She stated that "While the concept of "a lot of pretty people dancing at dusk" is pretty simple, the neon colors manage to amp up the video, as does the colored sand that's thrown around in the air and mixed with glitter." Her conclusion of the video and of Kesha was that as simple as it may be, "she manages to be both sexy and fun while rolling around in the desert."[27]

Version Two

Kesha deflecting a laser beam shot from Star in the music videos choreographed dance battle sequence.

The songs second video was released via Kesha's YouTube account.[28] She revealed the videos completion, release and inspiration through a video description quote saying, "heyy to all my fans! so me [and] my friends were bored and we were really channeling some 80's [inspiration] (Tron, David Bowie in Labyrinth, and Revenge of the Nerds.) and we made this new video for take it off. it was really fun to make. i hope you guys like it".[28]

The video begins with a scene of a leopard with glowing blue eyes (later revealed to be Kesha) walking down an alleyway. The song's title flashes on the screen and the video pans to Kesha. She walks down the alleyway with two men who grab another man. Kesha spray-paints a dollar sign on his chest. They come to a party where she and her friends flash their tattooed dollar signs on their wrists and forearms in order to enter. As they enter, everyone starts dancing and the party-goers' faces are shown changing into different animals'. In the following scene, Kesha is seen sitting on a chair with two men by her side. Jeffree Star then approaches Kesha.[28] Kesha and Star engage in a choreographed dance battle; Star then shoots Kesha with a laser chain saw which she deflects with her bracelet, Kesha responds by shooting lasers out of her hands, killing Star. After the battle the party-goers crawl around Kesha and she is seen holding a gold cup with a blue foaming liquid spilling over the top of the glass. As Kesha gives the party goers a drink, their faces turn into different kinds of animals. The video ends with everyone dancing and turning into half animal humans, Kesha however, drinks from the cup and turns back into a leopard.

Live performances

On August 13, 2010 Kesha performed "Take It Off" along side earlier singles "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Tik Tok" on NBC's The Today Show.[29] In the performance she is seen wearing boots, fishnets, glitter shorts and a loose tank top. By the second verse, her dancers – dressed head to toe in black – started to appropriately undress to the music as the chorus starts revealing gold shirts and tank-tops. The performance featured smoke machines with Kesha playing notes on an electric keyboard while crawling on the floor.[30] She has also performed the song in a set for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend.[31]

Track listing

  • Digital download[32]
  1. "Take It Off" – 3:35

Credits and personnel

  • Songwriting – Kesha Sebert, Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly
  • Production – Dr. Luke
  • Instruments and programming – Dr. Luke
  • Vocal Editing – Emily Wright
  • Background Vocals – Claude Kelly, Aniela Gottwald, Tatiana Gottwald, Lukasz Gottwald, Graham Bryce
  • Engineering – Emily Wright, Sam Holland

Source[33]

Charts and certifications

Chart procession and succession

Order of precedence
Preceded by Hungarian Airplay Chart number-one single
December 6, 2010 - December 12, 2010 		Succeeded by

Radio add dates

Country Date
United States July 13, 2010[46]
Australia July 19, 2010[47]

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Matt (August 13, 2009). "Kesha and the Not-Quite-72 Virgins in Her Own Personal Heaven". Esquire. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Toor, Amar (June 15, 2010). "Kesha, 'Take It Off' – New Song". AOL Radio. AOL Inc. Retrieved June 15, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  3. ^ a b c Copsey, Robert. "Kesha: 'Take It Off'". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved September 9, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Herrera, Monica (January 6, 2010). "Kesha – Animal – Album Review". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  5. ^ Brockman, Daniel (January 8, 2010). "Kesha | Animal". The Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  6. ^ "Kesha, 'Take It Off' – 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)
  7. ^ a b c d Lamb, Bill (August 18, 2010). "Kesha – "Take It Off"". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 18, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  8. ^ McAlpine, Fraser (September 13, 2010). "Kesha – 'Take It Off'". BBC Chart Blog. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved September 13, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  9. ^ "Billboard (January 23, 2010) Take It Off US Entry". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  10. ^ "Billboard (January 23, 2010) Take It Off Canadian Entry". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  11. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending February 13, 2010". ChartsPlus (442). Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd: 3. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |journal= (help)
  12. ^ "Billboard (August 7, 2010) Take It Off US Re-Entry". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  13. ^ a b "Ke$ha Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  14. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum: Kesha Singles and Albums". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  15. ^ "Billboard (January 23, 2010) Take It Off Canadian Entry". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  16. ^ "Billboard (July 31, 2010) Take It Off Canadian Re-Entry". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  17. ^ a b "Ke$ha Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  18. ^ a b c "Kesha: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
  19. ^ a b c "Ke$ha – Take It Off". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  20. ^ a b "October 3, 2010: Radio Scope". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  21. ^ a b c "Ke$ha – Take It Off". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  22. ^ a b "ARIA Charts — Accreditations – 2010 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  23. ^ Wete, Brad (August 3, 2010). "Kesha and friends have a psychedelic party in her new "Take It Off" Video". Music Mix. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 3, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  24. ^ Gottlieb, Steven (June 29, 2010). "BOOKED: Kesha – Paul Hunter + Dori Oskowitz, dir". Video Static. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
  25. ^ Escudero, Nicki (July 20, 2010). "Kesha Comes to Marquee Theatre; Talks Roadkill, Glitter and 'SNL'". Phoenix News Times. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  26. ^ Montgomery, James (July 21, 2010). "Kesha Strips Down And Glitters Up In 'Take It Off' Video Singer says getting naked in the new clip is all about being 'raw and real.'". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved July 21, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  27. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (August 3, 2010). "Kesha Throws A Desert Party In 'Take It Off' Video". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved August 4, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  28. ^ a b c Brockington, Ryan (October 7, 2010). "Kesha releases 'Take It Off' Pt. 2 – my insides feel like burning". NY Post. NYP Holdings, Inc. Retrieved October 7, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  29. ^ "Spotted: Kesha Heats Up 'Today'". MTV Newsroom. MTV Networks. Retrieved August 13, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  30. ^ Vick, Megan (August 13, 2010). "Kesha performs on "Today" show". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  31. ^ "BBC – Radio 1's Big Weekend – Kesha". BBC. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  32. ^ "Take It Off (United States Album Track listing)". Itunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved August 3, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  33. ^ [[Animal (Kesha album)|Animal]] digital album booklet via iTunes. RCA (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  34. ^ "Ke$ha – Take It Off" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  35. ^ "Ke$ha – Take It Off" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  36. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 44. týden 2010 in the date selector. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  37. ^ "Ke$ha – Take It Off". Tracklisten. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  38. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
  39. ^ "Chart Track: Week 37, 2010". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  40. ^ "Ke$ha Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard.
  41. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Ke$ha" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  42. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201041 into search.
  43. ^ "{{{artist}}} – {{{song}}}" Canciones Top 50.
  44. ^ "Ke$ha – Take It Off". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  45. ^ "Ke$ha Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
  46. ^ "Available For Airplay: 7/13 Rhythm Crossover". FMQB. Friday Morning Quarterback. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  47. ^ "Issue 796 – Kesha Take It Off (SME)". The Music Network. Peer Group Media. Retrieved July 21, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)

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