I've Got Nothing
Encyclopedia
"I've Got Nothing" is a song released by the participants of the BBC Two
documentary series Chartjackers
and is credited as such. The track was produced by university student Marc Dowding and its music video was filmed by YouTube
user Charlie McDonnell
. It was released by the record label
Swinging Mantis on 9 November 2009 exclusively through the iTunes Store
. The single and its release were the end product of a ten-week campaign documented on Chartjackers, which challenged the global online community
to write, record and release a pop song that would make number one on the UK Singles Chart
. The song was written entirely through crowdsourcing
, with its every aspect, such as the title, lyrics, melody and singers, having been solicited from YouTube users.
"I've Got Nothing" was a charity single
released to benefit the UK charity Children in Need
. It was sung by vocalists Miranda Chartrand
and Adam Nichols, both on the record and at live performances. Its music video featured shots of Chartrand and Nichols singing in a London
park with Children in Need mascot Pudsey Bear, as well as video clips submitted by Chartjackers viewers of themselves miming to the track. The song was generally ignored by music critics and received mostly negative reviews—it went on to sell a total of 20,000 copies worldwide and earned a chart position of Number 36 in the UK Singles Chart
.
The lyrics for "I've Got Nothing" were written on the week of 8 September. A video posted to the YouTube channel "ChartJackersProject" invited viewers to submit possible lines as comments. Viewers posted more than 4,000 comments, from which the song's lyrics were selected and compiled by YouTube user "hexachordal". The following week, another video was uploaded to "ChartJackersProject" that published the winning lyrics and announced that the song's title was to be "I've Got Nothing"—the song's chorus had been written by YouTube user "blakeisno1". The video also invited viewers to compose a melody for the completed lyrics. Viewers submitted 51 melodies as video responses, with the entry from Jonny Dark, a 19-year-old musician from London, being selected as the winner.
A new YouTube video was uploaded to "ChartJackersProject" on 25 September, offering viewers the opportunity to audition to sing "I've Got Nothing" on the final release. Hundred of viewers auditioned, with ten being selected to go through as finalists. These ten finalists auditioned in person at the Wellfield Working Men's Club in Rochdale
, where Miranda Chartrand, a 19-year-old au pair from Stroud, Gloucestershire
, and Adam Nichols, an 18-year-old musician from Essex
, were chosen to perform "I've Got Nothing" on the single.
producer. Chartrand and Nichols travelled to Newport
, South Wales
on 7 October to record the single at the recording studio of the University of Wales, Newport
. On producing the single, Dowding remarked: "It was a great help to be able to use the recording studios at the University."
"I've Got Nothing" was leaked to the internet during October 2009, before being officially released a month later by record label Swinging Mantis. As Swinging Mantis was a small record label, the budget for "I've Got Nothing" was limited, so a physical version of the single was never made available. Instead, the track was made sold exclusively as an iTunes digital download
. "I've Got Nothing" was released worldwide through the iTunes Store
at midnight on 9 November. Each copy was sold for £0.79 in the United Kingdom and $0.99 in the United States.
and did not receive many reviews—the reviews that it did receive from critics were generally negative. British music website Popjustice
called the effort "very bad", and Ellie Halfacre of Tower Review explained that "some commented that the melody was bad, and others said it was the lyrics". Halfacre also questioned whether the project was about self-promotion or charity. David Balls of Digital Spy
gave the single three stars out of five, predicting that it was "unlikely to make much of a top 40 impact". James Masterton
of Yahoo! Music
felt that the song had "fallen a long way short of" the goal of reaching number one because it had not been able to "guarantee mass public support". Record producer Mike Stock said that the song had "no killer melody" and singer VV Brown
suggested that "the lyrics could be better".
, with the synopsis of the first episode expecting it to "sell an estimated 25,000 singles". The single sold almost 20,000 copies worldwide and raised £10,000 for the charity Children in Need. Just under 8,400 copies were downloaded in the UK, which gave "I've Got Nothing" a chart placing of Number 36 in the UK Singles Chart. The following week the single fell out of the UK Top 100.
. It shows various "ChartJackersProject" viewers miming to the song, interspersed with shots of Chartrand and Nichols singing "I've Got Nothing" in a park. The video was created through crowdsourcing
, in a manner similar to the writing of the song itself. On 8 October 2009, viewers were invited via "ChartJackersProject" to film and submit video clips of themselves either singing or clapping along with the track. Shots of Chartrand and Nichols with an actor dressed as Children in Need
mascot Pudsey Bear were filmed in a park. This footage was compiled with some of the clips submitted by viewers and used to construct the final music video, which was shown nationwide on British music channels
such as 4Music
and Viva
.
Many viewers submitted clips that were literal interpretations of the lyrics. For example, some viewers held up medals and trophies for the lyric "won the greatest prize", others zoomed-in on their own eye during the line "look into my eyes" and others turned off lights for the lyric "the lights are going out". Most of the shots of Chartrand and Nichols are of them singing "I've Got Nothing" in a park with an actor dressed as Pudsey Bear, but the video also features shots of them eating ice cream
, swinging around a lamp post and dancing in front of a tree. The video begins with shots of the duo throwing a football back and forth to each other. At 2:03, the video splits into 35 equally sized smaller rectangles, each containing a clip of a "ChartJackersProject" viewer clapping in time with "I've Got Nothing". Over the next 18 seconds of the song, 11 different sets of 35 viewers (i.e. approximately 385 viewers in total) are shown clapping along with the song. The video also features a cameo from YouTube user Peter Oakley at 0:06.
in London
. Their performance was shown during the ninth episode of Chartjackers. The gig also featured performances from other YouTube users and was headlined by former pop star Chesney Hawkes
. The song was performed live for a second time four days later at Switch Live 2009, an awards show organised by BBC Switch
at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo—the event was opened by a performance of "I've Got Nothing".
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
documentary series Chartjackers
Chartjackers
Chartjackers is a British documentary series, produced by Hat Trick Productions and commissioned by BBC Switch. It premièred in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2009 on BBC Two...
and is credited as such. The track was produced by university student Marc Dowding and its music video was filmed by YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
user Charlie McDonnell
Charlie McDonnell
Charles Joseph "Charlie" McDonnell is a British vlogger and musician from Bath, Somerset, England. , his YouTube channel, charlieissocoollike, is the most subscribed in the UK...
. It was released by the record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Swinging Mantis on 9 November 2009 exclusively through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. The single and its release were the end product of a ten-week campaign documented on Chartjackers, which challenged the global online community
Online community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
to write, record and release a pop song that would make number one 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 ...
. The song was written entirely through crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
, with its every aspect, such as the title, lyrics, melody and singers, having been solicited from YouTube users.
"I've Got Nothing" was a charity single
Charity record
A charity record is a release of a song for a specific charitable cause. Some of the earliest charity records came from the Music for UNICEF Concert, with ABBA's Chiquitita and the Bee Gees' Too Much Heaven among them released as singles, with all the royalties going to UNICEF...
released to benefit the UK charity Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
. It was sung by vocalists Miranda Chartrand
Miranda Chartrand
Miranda Chartrand is a Canadian singer who is currently based in London. Born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, Chartrand studied at the John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute and played on their open girls' rugby team, before moving to the United Kingdom in 2009 to work as an au pair...
and Adam Nichols, both on the record and at live performances. Its music video featured shots of Chartrand and Nichols singing in a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
park with Children in Need mascot Pudsey Bear, as well as video clips submitted by Chartjackers viewers of themselves miming to the track. The song was generally ignored by music critics and received mostly negative reviews—it went on to sell a total of 20,000 copies worldwide and earned a chart position of Number 36 in 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 ...
.
Background and writing
"I've Got Nothing" was written in ten weeks entirely through crowdsourcing as part of a project that was documented on the BBC Two series Chartjackers. Members of the online community were asked to submit various song ideas on the YouTube channel "ChartJackersProject", with the aim that a single could be written, recorded and then released on 9 November 2009.The lyrics for "I've Got Nothing" were written on the week of 8 September. A video posted to the YouTube channel "ChartJackersProject" invited viewers to submit possible lines as comments. Viewers posted more than 4,000 comments, from which the song's lyrics were selected and compiled by YouTube user "hexachordal". The following week, another video was uploaded to "ChartJackersProject" that published the winning lyrics and announced that the song's title was to be "I've Got Nothing"—the song's chorus had been written by YouTube user "blakeisno1". The video also invited viewers to compose a melody for the completed lyrics. Viewers submitted 51 melodies as video responses, with the entry from Jonny Dark, a 19-year-old musician from London, being selected as the winner.
A new YouTube video was uploaded to "ChartJackersProject" on 25 September, offering viewers the opportunity to audition to sing "I've Got Nothing" on the final release. Hundred of viewers auditioned, with ten being selected to go through as finalists. These ten finalists auditioned in person at the Wellfield Working Men's Club in Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, where Miranda Chartrand, a 19-year-old au pair from Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
, and Adam Nichols, an 18-year-old musician from Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, were chosen to perform "I've Got Nothing" on the single.
Recording and release
"I've Got Nothing" was produced and co-written by university student Marc Dowding. Dowding learnt about the opportunity through a video posted to the YouTube channel "ChartJackersProject" and was offered the job after e-mailing his CV to a BBC SwitchBBC Switch
BBC Switch was the brand for BBC content aimed at UK teenagers. The brand launched on Saturday 20 October 2007 on BBC Two And ceased broadcasting on Saturday 17 December 2010...
producer. Chartrand and Nichols travelled to Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
on 7 October to record the single at the recording studio of the University of Wales, Newport
University of Wales, Newport
The University of Wales, Newport is a university based in Newport, South Wales. The university has two campuses; Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city and a £35 million campus on the banks of the River Usk in Newport city centre opened in 2011...
. On producing the single, Dowding remarked: "It was a great help to be able to use the recording studios at the University."
"I've Got Nothing" was leaked to the internet during October 2009, before being officially released a month later by record label Swinging Mantis. As Swinging Mantis was a small record label, the budget for "I've Got Nothing" was limited, so a physical version of the single was never made available. Instead, the track was made sold exclusively as an iTunes digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
. "I've Got Nothing" was released worldwide through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
at midnight on 9 November. Each copy was sold for £0.79 in the United Kingdom and $0.99 in the United States.
Critical response
"I've Got Nothing" was largely ignored by the mainstream mediaMainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
and did not receive many reviews—the reviews that it did receive from critics were generally negative. British music website Popjustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
called the effort "very bad", and Ellie Halfacre of Tower Review explained that "some commented that the melody was bad, and others said it was the lyrics". Halfacre also questioned whether the project was about self-promotion or charity. David Balls of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
gave the single three stars out of five, predicting that it was "unlikely to make much of a top 40 impact". James Masterton
James Masterton
James Masterton is a headline columnist for the music website Yahoo! Launch. He writes a weekly column analysing new entries in the UK Singles Chart...
of Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
felt that the song had "fallen a long way short of" the goal of reaching number one because it had not been able to "guarantee mass public support". Record producer Mike Stock said that the song had "no killer melody" and singer VV Brown
VV Brown
Vanessa Brown , also known as VV Brown, is an English singer, songwriter, model, and producer signed to Island Records in the United Kingdom and to Universal Republic Records and Capitol Records in the United States...
suggested that "the lyrics could be better".
Commercial performance
Expectations for the release of "I've Got Nothing" were high. The main goal of Chartjackers had been for the song to reach number one on the UK Singles ChartUK 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 ...
, with the synopsis of the first episode expecting it to "sell an estimated 25,000 singles". The single sold almost 20,000 copies worldwide and raised £10,000 for the charity Children in Need. Just under 8,400 copies were downloaded in the UK, which gave "I've Got Nothing" a chart placing of Number 36 in the UK Singles Chart. The following week the single fell out of the UK Top 100.
Music video
The music video for "I've Got Nothing" was edited by YouTube user Charlie McDonnellCharlie McDonnell
Charles Joseph "Charlie" McDonnell is a British vlogger and musician from Bath, Somerset, England. , his YouTube channel, charlieissocoollike, is the most subscribed in the UK...
. It shows various "ChartJackersProject" viewers miming to the song, interspersed with shots of Chartrand and Nichols singing "I've Got Nothing" in a park. The video was created through crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
, in a manner similar to the writing of the song itself. On 8 October 2009, viewers were invited via "ChartJackersProject" to film and submit video clips of themselves either singing or clapping along with the track. Shots of Chartrand and Nichols with an actor dressed as Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
mascot Pudsey Bear were filmed in a park. This footage was compiled with some of the clips submitted by viewers and used to construct the final music video, which was shown nationwide on British music channels
Music television
Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from bands, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite or cable. Music TVs may host their own shows charts, award prizes. Examples are VIVA, Scuzz, MTV, JBTV, MuchMusic,...
such as 4Music
4Music
4Music is a music and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and available on some digital television providers in the Republic of Ireland - its web component can be found at with its own and pages. It is the only channel within the Box Television Network to be branded under Channel 4 and...
and Viva
Viva (UK & Ireland)
Viva is a music video and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel was officially launched on 26 October 2009 by Alexandra Burke, with an exclusive live performance of her single "Bad Boys". The channel replaced TMF. The channel is owned by MTV Networks Europe and was...
.
Many viewers submitted clips that were literal interpretations of the lyrics. For example, some viewers held up medals and trophies for the lyric "won the greatest prize", others zoomed-in on their own eye during the line "look into my eyes" and others turned off lights for the lyric "the lights are going out". Most of the shots of Chartrand and Nichols are of them singing "I've Got Nothing" in a park with an actor dressed as Pudsey Bear, but the video also features shots of them eating ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
, swinging around a lamp post and dancing in front of a tree. The video begins with shots of the duo throwing a football back and forth to each other. At 2:03, the video splits into 35 equally sized smaller rectangles, each containing a clip of a "ChartJackersProject" viewer clapping in time with "I've Got Nothing". Over the next 18 seconds of the song, 11 different sets of 35 viewers (i.e. approximately 385 viewers in total) are shown clapping along with the song. The video also features a cameo from YouTube user Peter Oakley at 0:06.
Live performances
"I've Got Nothing" was first performed live by Chartrand and Nichols on 4 November 2009 at 93 Feet East93 Feet East
93 Feet East is a live music venue on Brick Lane in East London. It is a conversion of part of the Old Truman Brewery, and plays host to new and established acts. It has a courtyard with a BBQ.-External links:**...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Their performance was shown during the ninth episode of Chartjackers. The gig also featured performances from other YouTube users and was headlined by former pop star Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Lee Hawkes , is an English pop singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. He is best known for his 1991 single "The One and Only", which topped the charts in the UK and reached the Top 10 in the U.S.-Life and career:...
. The song was performed live for a second time four days later at Switch Live 2009, an awards show organised by BBC Switch
BBC Switch
BBC Switch was the brand for BBC content aimed at UK teenagers. The brand launched on Saturday 20 October 2007 on BBC Two And ceased broadcasting on Saturday 17 December 2010...
at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo—the event was opened by a performance of "I've Got Nothing".
Track listing
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
Credits and personnel
- Miranda ChartrandMiranda ChartrandMiranda Chartrand is a Canadian singer who is currently based in London. Born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, Chartrand studied at the John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute and played on their open girls' rugby team, before moving to the United Kingdom in 2009 to work as an au pair...
– vocals - Adam Nichols – vocals
- Jonny Dark – writer (melody)
- Marc Dowding – writer, producerRecord 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...
, engineer and mixerAudio 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...
External links
- "I've Got Nothing" at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....