I Can Transform Ya
Encyclopedia
"I Can Transform Ya" is a song by American singer Chris Brown. The song features Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...

 and Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...

. It was written by Brown, Wayne and Beatz, and produced by the latter. Originally known simply as "Transformer", the song was Brown's first official release since his altercation with former girlfriend, Barbadian singer Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

. The song was released as the lead single from his third album Graffiti
Graffiti (Chris Brown album)
Graffiti is the third studio album by American R&B and pop recording artist Chris Brown. It is the follow-up to his successful second album Exclusive . The album was produced during 2008 to 2009 by several record producers, including Polow Da Don, Swizz Beatz, The Runners, and Brian Kennedy...

on September 29, 2009. The electro
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

-composed song is infused with hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

, crunk
Crunk
Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003–2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and...

, and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 influences, while making use of robotic tones. It is lyrically about introducing someone to a life of luxury.

"I Can Transform Ya" received mostly positive reviews, noting the song's club feel and catchiness. The song peaked the highest in New Zealand, at number seven, and was also certified Platinum in the country. It peaked in the top twenty of the United States, at twenty-one in Australia and Ireland. The song also charted in the top thirty in the United Kingdom, becoming a top ten hit on the UK R&B Chart
UK R&B Chart
The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...

. The dance-heavy accompanying music video, coined a "shiny, sexy, throwback" features choreography with hooded ninjas, and makes puns on the Transformers series.

Background

The song was originally titled "Transformer" according to producer and featured guest Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...

 in a September 2009 interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...

. The song was set to be the first real record that Brown had released since his altercation with then-girlfriend Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

 at the beginning of the year. Another song "Changed Man", an "apologetic ode to Rihanna" written by Brown, and several other tracks were leaked but Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

 said the material was old. Swizz Beatz said that Brown had recorded "60 or 70" songs for the album, and that "He's got something to prove." Beatz also commented on Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...

's contribution to the song, saying, ""The Wayne part is just nothing to talk about, He really showed his ass on this one. It's probably the best feature verse since the 'It's Me [Bitches]' remix. He really went in on the 'Transformer' joint." It was originally supposed released on September 30, 2009, but Brown stated on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 that the song would be released a day early on September 29, 2009.

Composition

The song, influenced by hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, has been described as an "upbeat tune", is composed of pounding drums, and features referee whistles and hand claps. It also has synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

 elements, featuring a "synthesized guitar riff." Mikael Wood of The Los Angeles Times says the song has a robo-crunk
Crunk
Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003–2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and...

 groove. According to James Montgomery of MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...

, the song is an "adult club track". Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

said that the song is one of the album tracks featuring an "aggressive stance" and "club banger" that would "sound fantastic on the dancefloor". The song is lyrically about introducing someone new to a luxurious life. The song makes references to the Transformers film and series.

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews. Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

gave the song a positive review, calling it a "club banger". Thomas Gonlianpoulous of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

commended Swizz Beatz' "bombastic production", Wayne's "energetic yet nonsensical rap", and Brown's "joyful, brisk vocals." Dan Gennoe of Yahoo! Music UK
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...

said the song, serving as lead single, says "Brown's promise for the future is to be an altogether more interesting kind of R&B artist." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

referred to the song as a "swaggering" lead single. 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...

referred to the song as a type that he has made his specialty, and called it an "electric, brassy collaboration." Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

 called the song one of "the hottest sounds of the fall" and said it was "addictive." Although Nick Levine 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....

 called the song "a brutal, tuneless hunk of industrial R&B - as musically ugly as something like 'With You' was pretty", he said "for that matter, this track rocks", commenting "Whatever you may think of him, you can't deny that Chris Brown lacks balls." Jude Rogers of BBC Music
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

the song was catchy, but was one of the album's tracks that were a "pale imitation of Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

 album tracks."

Chart performance

In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard 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...

 at number fifty-two. After weeks of ascending and descending the charts the single reached a peak of twenty on its eighth week on the chart, giving Brown his eighth top twenty hit in the United States. Also in the U.S., the song peaked at number eleven on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. In Canada, the song entered the charts at seventy-five. The song fluctuated around the charts for seven weeks before finally peaking at fifty-four on its eight week.

It reached five on the Flanders and Wallonia Belgian Tip Charts. The song peaked at number seven in New Zealand, where it spent seven weeks on the chart. "I Can Transform Ya" peaked in the top thirty in the United Kingdom, and Ireland, whilst reaching number nine on the UK R&B Chart
UK R&B Chart
The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...

. In Australia it peaked at twenty-one, where it spent eighteen weeks on the chart. It reached fifty-seven on the Mega Single Top 100
Mega Single Top 100
The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is...

 in the Netherlands, having a seven week stint. "I Can Transform Ya"'s charting in European marks propelled it to debut and peak at seventy-six on the European Hot 100. The song was certified Platinum in New Zealand by the RIANZ and Gold in Australia by the ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

.

Background

The song's music video was directed by Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn is an American music video, advertising, and feature film director.-Early life:Kahn was born in Jersey Village, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He is of Korean ancestry. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Livorno, Italy until his family moved to Texas...

. Kahn, who also directed the video for Brown and Ester Dean
Ester Dean
Ester Renay Dean is an American singer and songwriter, and record producer signed to Zone 4 Records/Interscope Records. She is most notable for her dual appearance on Rio: Music From The Motion Picture and her 2009 US hit single "Drop It Low", which featured singer Chris Brown...

's "Drop It Low
Drop It Low
"Drop It Low" is the first single released by American singer-songwriter Ester Dean. The official version features vocals from R&B singer Chris Brown. This is also released as the second single from the soundtrack for the film More Than a Game. The original version of the song did not have Chris...

", said that Brown played him tracks from his album on the set, and had a clear idea of what he wanted for the "I Can Transform Ya" video. Kahn said,
"...obviously, him going in there and dancing and turning into cars and trucks is right up my alley. His interests, in terms of kung fu and special effects and science fiction and all the boy-culture stuff, it falls directly in line with what I like. "His talent is phenomenal. I'm still struggling to try and capture that talent on film, and it's a challenge. Here's a guy who can literally do anything. If you watch this thing, he's doing nunchuck tricks, and I'm a huge kung fu aficionado, and they're mind-blowing. I've never seen stuff like that before in kung fu flicks. I would say it's like a pure aesthetic dance video from the very fiber of it. Everything dances onscreen. Everything has movement. Everything has a certain mechanical rhythm. He actually created a dance style for this that is mechanical. It's sort of a hyper-intense version of the robot. Even the transformations go directly in line with the movements."


Kahn also said that instead of taking the song's lyrics and being "pretentious" about it, he wanted to show the audience exactly what Brown was singing about, commenting, "What if we just got ambitious and demonstrated the lyrics? The trick is to do it in a creative way. Let's try to display the lyrics and the feeling of the dance at the same time." On October 2009, Brown released screencaps for the video, coincidentally the same day Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

 released her video for "Russian Roulette
Russian Roulette (song)
"Russian Roulette" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from her fourth studio album Rated R . The song premiered on radio stations on October 20, 2009 and was released as the album's lead single on October 26, 2009 through Def Jam Recordings. It was written and produced by...

". The photos showed several scenes, including Brown in the middle of a squadron of black storm troopers, Brown in a gray suit, and him giving a karate kick in mid-air. Another was also of Brown, Wayne and Swizz Beatz standing confidently against a white backdrop.

Synopsis and reception

The video premiered on MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...

 on October 27, 2009. The music video opens with Brown transforming from a black sports car, and spray painting the name of the single onto the screen, indirectly referencing his forthcoming album Graffiti
Graffiti (Chris Brown album)
Graffiti is the third studio album by American R&B and pop recording artist Chris Brown. It is the follow-up to his successful second album Exclusive . The album was produced during 2008 to 2009 by several record producers, including Polow Da Don, Swizz Beatz, The Runners, and Brian Kennedy...

. The video, set entirely on an all-white backdrop, focuses on Brown's dance moves, as Brown performs alongside hooded ninjas. Several other "transformations" are made in the video including from motorcycles and helicopters. Swizz Beatz appears in the clip, as well as Lil Wayne, playing an electric guitar. Transformers star Tyrese Gibson makes a cameo appearance.

Jocelyn Vena of MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...

described the video as "glossy" and "fast-paced". James Montgomery of MTV News called the video a "shiny, sexy throwback". Montgomery also said, "It's a blockbuster, loaded with eye-popping special effects — the titular transformations are particularly great looking, as are the scene-to-scene transitions — and frighteningly precise pop-and-lock moves from Brown himself." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

said the clip was "snazzy-looking", but commented, "it feels … kind of gross." Judging from a video preview of Brown dancing, Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

 said the video seemed "well worth watching." BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

's Sound Off Blog said, "the visual embodies exactly what the title represents- transforming into abnormal objects while doing splits and showing off some several thick wasted PYT’s."

Charts

> > > > > > > > > > > >
Chart (2009) Peak
position

Certifications

Country Certification
Australia
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

Gold
New Zealand
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...

Platinum


End-of-year charts

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (2009)
!Position
|-
|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 ...


| style="text-align:center;"|196
|-

Credits and personnel

  • Songwriting - Chris Brown, Jason "Pooh Bear" Boyd, J.Thomas, Kasseem Dean, Joeseph "Lonny" Bereal, Dwayne Carter
  • Production
    Record producer
    A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

     - Swizz Beatz
  • Mixing
    Audio 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...

     - Manny Marroquin, assisted by Christian Plata and Erik Madrid
  • Recording - Brian Springer
  • Guitar
    Guitar
    The 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...

     - Rayfield "Ray-Ray" Holloman


Source

Release history

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Region
!Date
!Format
|-
|rowspan="2"|United States
|September 29, 2009
|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...


|-
|October 5, 2009
|Rhythmic
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...

 and urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...

airplay
|}
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK