Down to Earth (Justin Bieber song)
Encyclopedia
"Down to Earth" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber
, included as a track on his debut release, My World, released on November 17, 2009. It was written by Bieber, who was assisted by Carlos and Steven Battey of The Jackie Boyz
, as well as the song's producers, Mason "MdL" Levy, and Kevin Risto and Waynne Nugent of Midi Mafia
. "Down to Earth" is a teen pop
song, with lyrics that were inspired by the divorce of Bieber's parents. It also contains lyrical content about growing up. The song received universal acclaim from critics, who embraced the song as a shift in the puppy love
content of the album. After the release of My World, due to digital sales, the song charted in the lower regions of charts in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
, and Kevin Risto and Waynne Nugent of Midi Mafia
. It was recorded at Icon Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and it was mixed at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, California. The track was one of three songs on the standard edition of My World that Bieber co-wrote. In an interview in the November 14, 2009 issue of Billboard
, Bieber explained the meaning behind the song stating,
"Down to Earth" is a down-tempo pop
song with a length of four minutes and five seconds, which includes influences of teen pop
. Written in common time, with a tempo of 80 beats per minute, the song is composed in the key of D major
. Bieber's vocals span from the low note of B3 to the high note of D5. It follows a simple chord progression
of G-D-A-Bm. Monica Herrera of Billboard noted that lines such as "So we fight through the hurt, and we cry and cry and cry and cry/ Then we live and we learn, and we try" revealed a "deeper side" to the singer. Bieber performed the song while accompanying Taylor Swift
on the United Kingdom leg of the Fearless Tour
, as well as his own My World Tour
. During the latter performance, Bieber sits on a stool, accompanied by only a piano background.
noted "Down to Earth" was the essential track from My World. Allison Stewart of the Washington Post listed the song was one of her recommended tracks from the album. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
said that "Down to Earth" and "One Less Lonely Girl
" were "uncomplicately beautiful and earnest." Although Ashante Infantry of Toronto Star
said a turn-off of the song was the "Mafia" tag by the production team, Midi Mafia, at the beginning of the song, she called "Down to Earth" one of the best tracks on the album. After praising Bieber's delivery of "poignant lines" in the song, Monica Herrera of Billboard
said "it's hardly a stretch to imagine Bieber racking up more hits in the next decade to come."
and the Canadian Hot 100
. The song debuted at number forty-three on the Hot Digital Songs
chart in the US, and therefore consecutively appeared at number seventy-nine on the Hot 100. In Canada, it debuted at number sixty-one. It dropped off both charts the following week. In both territories it was also the highest non-previously released song from My World to appear on the charts. In the United Kingdom, after the release of My World, "Down to Earth" appeared at number 149 on the UK Singles Chart
.
Source
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
, included as a track on his debut release, My World, released on November 17, 2009. It was written by Bieber, who was assisted by Carlos and Steven Battey of The Jackie Boyz
The Jackie Boyz
The Jackie Boyz are an American multi-platinum singer/songwriter tandem that consists of two brothers, Carlos Battey and Steven Battey...
, as well as the song's producers, Mason "MdL" Levy, and Kevin Risto and Waynne Nugent of Midi Mafia
Midi Mafia
Midi Mafia is a hip hop/R&B production duo consisting of American Bruce Waynne from Brooklyn, New York and Canadian Dirty Swift from Ottawa, Ontario...
. "Down to Earth" is a teen pop
Teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards teenagers. Teen pop copies genres and styles such as pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, country and rock....
song, with lyrics that were inspired by the divorce of Bieber's parents. It also contains lyrical content about growing up. The song received universal acclaim from critics, who embraced the song as a shift in the puppy love
Puppy love
Puppy love is an informal term for feelings of love or infatuation felt by young people during childhood and adolescence, so-called for its resemblance to the adoring, worshipful affection that may be felt by a puppy. 'Simple infatuation is often called a "crush" or "puppy love"...
content of the album. After the release of My World, due to digital sales, the song charted in the lower regions of charts in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Background and composition
"Down to Earth" was written by Bieber, Mason "MdL" Levy, Carlos and Steven Battey of The Jackie BoyzThe Jackie Boyz
The Jackie Boyz are an American multi-platinum singer/songwriter tandem that consists of two brothers, Carlos Battey and Steven Battey...
, and Kevin Risto and Waynne Nugent of Midi Mafia
Midi Mafia
Midi Mafia is a hip hop/R&B production duo consisting of American Bruce Waynne from Brooklyn, New York and Canadian Dirty Swift from Ottawa, Ontario...
. It was recorded at Icon Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and it was mixed at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, California. The track was one of three songs on the standard edition of My World that Bieber co-wrote. In an interview in the November 14, 2009 issue of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, Bieber explained the meaning behind the song stating,
"It's a balladBalladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
about the feelings I had when my parents split up and how I helped my family get through it. I think a lot of kids have had their parents split up, and they should know that it wasn't because of something they did. I hope people can relate to it."
"Down to Earth" is a down-tempo pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song with a length of four minutes and five seconds, which includes influences of teen pop
Teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards teenagers. Teen pop copies genres and styles such as pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, country and rock....
. Written in common time, with a tempo of 80 beats per minute, the song is composed in the key of D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
. Bieber's vocals span from the low note of B3 to the high note of D5. It follows a simple chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
of G-D-A-Bm. Monica Herrera of Billboard noted that lines such as "So we fight through the hurt, and we cry and cry and cry and cry/ Then we live and we learn, and we try" revealed a "deeper side" to the singer. Bieber performed the song while accompanying Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
on the United Kingdom leg of the Fearless Tour
Fearless Tour
The Fearless Tour was the first concert tour by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The tour was in support of her second studio album, Fearless. On the tour, she was joined by guests Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Teen singer, Justin Bieber joined her for the tour when she went to...
, as well as his own My World Tour
My World Tour
The My World Tour is the debut concert tour by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. It is Bieber's first concert tour which supports his two-part debut album My World and My World 2.0. The tour was officially announced on March 16, 2010, a week before My World 2.0 was released...
. During the latter performance, Bieber sits on a stool, accompanied by only a piano background.
Critical reception
Mark Hirsh of The Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
noted "Down to Earth" was the essential track from My World. Allison Stewart of the Washington Post listed the song was one of her recommended tracks from the album. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said that "Down to Earth" and "One Less Lonely Girl
One Less Lonely Girl
"One Less Lonely Girl" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. The song was written and produced by Bieber's mentor, Usher, as well as Ezekiel Lewis, Balewa Muhammad of The Clutch, and A-Rex duo Sean Hamilton and Hyuk Shin...
" were "uncomplicately beautiful and earnest." Although Ashante Infantry of Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
said a turn-off of the song was the "Mafia" tag by the production team, Midi Mafia, at the beginning of the song, she called "Down to Earth" one of the best tracks on the album. After praising Bieber's delivery of "poignant lines" in the song, Monica Herrera of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
said "it's hardly a stretch to imagine Bieber racking up more hits in the next decade to come."
Chart performance
On the week ending December 5, 2009, due to digital sales after the release of My World, "Down to Earth" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
. The song debuted at number forty-three on the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
chart in the US, and therefore consecutively appeared at number seventy-nine on the Hot 100. In Canada, it debuted at number sixty-one. It dropped off both charts the following week. In both territories it was also the highest non-previously released song from My World to appear on the charts. In the United Kingdom, after the release of My World, "Down to Earth" appeared at number 149 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Credits and personnel
- Songwriting - Justin BieberJustin BieberJustin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
, Kevin Risto, Waynne NugentMidi MafiaMidi Mafia is a hip hop/R&B production duo consisting of American Bruce Waynne from Brooklyn, New York and Canadian Dirty Swift from Ottawa, Ontario...
, Mason Levy, Carlos Battey, Steven BatteyThe Jackie BoyzThe Jackie Boyz are an American multi-platinum singer/songwriter tandem that consists of two brothers, Carlos Battey and Steven Battey... - ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Midi Mafia, MdL - Vocal recordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
- Chris Krauss - Vocal productionSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
- Kevin Risto - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Tim Stewart - MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Jaycen-Joshua Fowler and Dave Pensado, assisted by Giancarlo Lino.
Source
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... ) |
149 |