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The Sweet Escape (song)

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"The Sweet Escape"
Song

"The Sweet Escape" is a pop song written by Gwen Stefani, Akon, and Giorgio Tuinfort for Stefani's second solo album The Sweet Escape (2006). The song, which features a doo-wop sound, is an apology for a fight between two lovers and describes a dream of a pleasant life for them. According to Stefani, the track reminded her of her time with No Doubt and put her "on the yellow brick road to the No Doubt record I might do."[1] The song received mixed reviews from music critics.

The song was released as the album's second single in early 2007 (see 2007 in music). The single was commercially successful in mainstream and adult contemporary markets. It entered the top ten of most singles charts and topped the New Zealand Singles Chart and United World Chart, becoming Stefani's most successful worldwide single to date. A music video was produced for the song, in which Stefani attempts to escape from a golden prison. So far, the song is the twenty-fourth best selling single of years 1999 to 2007 worldwide.[2]

Background and writing

Stefani's record label, Interscope Records, sent her a copy of Akon's debut album Trouble and repeatedly encouraged her to work with him. Stefani, preoccupied with her baby Kingston Rossdale, cancelled the first session with Akon and commented that she "didn't want to go through the pain of trying to work with someone [she] didn't know."[3] Jimmy Iovine, head of Interscope, called Stefani, telling her, "You can cancel everything else in your life, but don't cancel this session."[4] When she collaborated with Akon sometime later, the two wrote "The Sweet Escape" in ten minutes.[3] She had expected that Akon would want to write a generic hip hop song, but they instead wrote one that featured a doo-wop influence.[4]

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"The Sweet Escape" is a pop song composed in the key of B♭ minor.[5] The song mixes ska, New Wave, disco, and doo-wop sounds.[6] It is written in compound quadruple meter, commonly used in doo-wop, and has a tempo of 120 beats per minute. A i-III-IV-VI chord progression is used throughout the song, except for the choruses. Stefani's vocal range covers nearly two octaves, from G3 to F5.[5]

The song's lyrics discuss an argument between spouses.[7] Stefani apologizes "for acting stank" to her lover. She acknowledges her misdeeds but nonetheless pushes off some of the blame in a manner that drew comparisons to Monica's 1995 single "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" and TLC's 1999 single "I'm Good at Being Bad".[8] In contrast to her songwriting on No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom (1995), Stefani intimates a desire for a pleasant domestic life, most extensively during the chorus.[9]

Critical reception

"The Sweet Escape" received mixed reviews from contemporary pop music critics. PopMatters found that Akon contributed too few vocals to the song and that they were wasted.[8] Rolling Stone agreed, viewing the song a fumbled attempt to capitalize on the success of Akon's "Smack That" featuring Eminem.[7] All Music Guide describe the song as "an irresistible … track, driven by a giddy 'wee-oh!' hook and supported by a nearly anthemic summertime chorus."[10] OMH Media referred to "The Sweet Escape" as "a lovely, summery bouncy pop song with a very infectious chorus".[11] It compared the song to Gnarls Barkley's 2006 single "Smiley Faces",[11] and Blender compared it to the work of The Beach Boys.[9] The NME compared the song to Madonna's early work but added that it sounded "cringey and saccharine".[12] About.com called the song "a welcome change from the over-produced 'Wind It Up'," but noted that it "easily jets in one ear and out the other leaving little trace of its presence."[13] MuchMusic's video review program Video on Trial referred to the song as "incredibly intoxicating".[14]

Chart performance

Akon and Stefani performing "The Sweet Escape" in May 2007.

Although "The Sweet Escape" was released as the second single in 2007, it had been sent to radio as early as "Wind It Up" (2006). It debuted on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart at number ninety-three in December 2006,[15] and it peaked at number two in April 2007 behind Akon's subsequent single "Don't Matter".[16] The song spent fifteen consecutive weeks in the top ten and has remained on the chart for over eight months.[17] The single was successful in mainstream music, topping the Pop 100 and Pop 100 Airplay and reaching number two on the Top 40 Mainstream chart. It had strong airplay on adult contemporary stations and reached the top five of the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks.[18] In Canada, the song had equal success and reached number two on the Hot 100.[19]

"The Sweet Escape" was similarly successful outside North America. The song peaked at number two for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart. It was successful across Europe, reaching the top five in France, Ireland, Norway, and the Netherlands and the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Switzerland. The song debuted at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and remained there for six weeks, behind Hinder's "Lips of an Angel" and later Silverchair's "Straight Lines".[17] The Australian Recording Industry Association certified "The Sweet Escape" platinum for shipping 70,000 copies.[20] In New Zealand, the single debuted atop the chart[17] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand in May 2007.[21] It peaked at number twenty in Latin America.[22] "The Sweet Escape" topped the United World Chart for eight weeks[17].[23] The song is the twenty-fourth most successful song of the period from 1999 to 2007 with 6.4 million single sales.[24]

Music video

File:TheSweetEscapeVideo.jpg
The opening shot showing Stefani in a prison made of gold.

The song's music video premiered on January 10, 2007 on LAUNCHcast.[25] The video opens with scenes of Stefani and the Harajuku Girls in a golden jail. Stefani and the Harajuku Girls are shown at the dinner table with focus on empty cutlery. An artificial bird made of gold is also shown singing one of Akon's lines. After obtaining the key from a dog, they escape. Stefani is then shown in a penthouse two hours later. She lets down two long braids, allowing the Harajuku Girls to scale the building and cut off the braids. They meet Akon in a parking lot, and Stefani drives off with him. They are pursued by two of the Harajuku Girls as police officers, and the video closes with Stefani back in jail after two hours of chasing. The video is intercut with sequences of Stefani and Akon in front of a letter G in lights.

Stefani performing "The Sweet Escape" inside of a gold cage.

The video was filmed in December 2006, several days before Christmas.[26] It was directed by Joseph Kahn and produced by Maryann Tenado of H.S.I. Productions.[27] The jail and penthouse scenes in the video are symbolic of "being jailed by love". That Stefani cannot escape her metaphoric prisons represents how one cannot escape from onesself. The penthouse scene is an allusion to the nineteenth century fairy tale "Rapunzel".[26] The video features product placement for two General Motors vehicles, the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and the Buick Lucerne.

"The Sweet Escape" premiered on MTV's top-ten video chart program Total Request Live at number seven January 16, 2007,[28] and it peaked at number two the next month.[29] After its January 20 debut on MuchMusic's Countdown, it reached number one for two weeks in March 2007.[30] The video is nominated for Most Earthshattering Collaboration, one of four categories created for the reinvented 2007 MTV Video Music Awards to be held September 9, 2007.[27]

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "The Sweet Escape".

Credits and personnel

Charts

Preceded by United World Chart number-one single
March 10 2007 - April 28 2007 (8 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
"Glamorous" by Fergie featuring Ludacris
 Billboard Pop 100 number one single
April 7 2007 - April 14 2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New Zealand number-one single
March 5 2007 - March 12 2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard Hot 100 European number one single
March 17 2007 - March 31 2007 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Rihanna, Luda, Lady Sov, Kelis, Nas, Harry Potter, Angelina Jolie & More". MTV News. December 14, 2006. Retrieved December 25 2006.
  2. ^ Top Achievements Tracks Mediatraffic.de Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  3. ^ a b Swift, Jacqui. "Has Gwen really got it all?". The Sun. February 23, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Vineyard, Jennifer. "Baby On Board! Gwen Stefani's Son Joins Her On LP, Spring Tour". MTV News. December 4, 2006. Retrieved May 13, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Sheet music for "The Sweet Escape". Famous Music. 2007.
  6. ^ Gottlieb, Jed. "Stefani's material leaves No Doubt she's new Madonna". Boston Herald. December 4, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  7. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob. "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. December 12, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  8. ^ a b Huff, Quentin B. "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape". PopMatters. December 14, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  9. ^ a b Sisario, Ben. "Gwen Stefani : The Sweet Escape Review". Blender. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  10. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Sweet Escape > Review". All Music Guide. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  11. ^ a b Murphy, "Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape (Polydor)". OMH Media. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  12. ^ Miller, Alex. "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape". NME. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  13. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Gwen Stefani featuring Akon - The Sweet Escape". About.com. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
  14. ^ Video on Trial. MuchMusic. February 5, 2007.
  15. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "Beyonce Begins Third Week Atop The Hot 100". Billboard. December 21, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2007
  16. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 - Music Charts". αCharts.us. Retrieved August 15, 2007
  17. ^ a b c d e f "Gwen Stefani and Akon - The Sweet Escape - Music Charts". αCharts. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  18. ^ a b "The Sweet Escape > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". All Music Guide. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  19. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 - The Sweet Escape". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  20. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2007 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 29, 2007.
  21. ^ "Chart #1566 - Monday 28 May 2007". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  22. ^ "Ranking del 25 de Marzo de 2007 (Semana 12)". Top Latino. March 26, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  23. ^ "Tracks week 31 / 2007 - August 4". Media Traffic. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  24. ^ Top Achievements Tracks Mediatraffic.de Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  25. ^ Pastorek, Whitney. "Snap Judgment: Gwen Stefani's 'The Sweet Escape' video". Entertainment Weekly. January 10, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
  26. ^ a b "The Sweet Escape Video Shoot". Interscope Records. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  27. ^ a b "Beyonce and Justin Timberlake Lead the Way With Seven Nominations Each Followed by Kanye West and Rihanna With Five Nods and Amy Winehouse Vying for Three Moonmen". PR Newswire. August 7, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  28. ^ "The TRL Archive - Debuts". ATRL. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  29. ^ "The TRL Archive - Recap - February 2007". ATRL. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  30. ^ "MuchMusic Countdown". MuchMusic. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
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