Maneater (Nelly Furtado song)
Encyclopedia
"Maneater" is a song written by Nelly Furtado
, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley
, Jim Beanz
and Nate "Danja" Hills for Furtado's third album, Loose
(2006). It was co-produced by Timbaland and Danja and includes influences of 1980s music by artists such as Eurythmics
and Hall & Oates
. Furtado stated that Hall & Oates
' song of the same name
was an influence during the writing and recording of the song.
Released as the album's first single
in Europe in May 2006, "Maneater" became one of Nelly Furtado's most popular singles, topping the singles charts in Poland
and the UK, and reaching the top ten across much of Continental Europe
. It served as the album's second single in Australia, where it reached the top five, and in North America, where it became a club
hit but was less commercially successful than the lead single, "Promiscuous
". It received favorable reviews from many music critics.
. She has described the song as an analogy of how she incorporated the "creative energy" of Timbaland and his production crew into Loose. When making the album, Furtado and Timbaland were influenced by the work of musicians from the 1980s such as Talking Heads
, Blondie
, Madonna
, The Police
and Eurythmics
. "Eurythmics had this spooky, keyboard
-driven pop sound", Furtado said. Final production of the track was delayed after a speaker caught fire in the studio control room.
Furtado has characterized "Maneater" as "a 'couture pop' song", explaining that it is "in your face and very fashionable, stylistic and of-the-moment." In an interview with MTV News
, she compared it favorably to eating too much cheesecake
: "It's got a crazy loud beat, and the vocals are bitchy and loud. A lot of people say it sounds like Peaches
, because of the delivery, the spooky vocals." According to Furtado, the song is related to how people become "hot on themselves" when dancing in their underwear in front of a mirror. "[It] truly has a life of its own; it makes you move", she said. Media sources compared it to the Hall & Oates
single "Maneater
", released in 1982 (see 1982 in music
), which Furtado has cited as an influence on the song.
Furtado recorded a remix of "Maneater" with rapper Lil Wayne
; it was only released as part of a compilation album, Timbaland's Remix & Soundtrack Collection, she also used the instrumental of the song during many television performances of "Maneater". In Australia, the CD was released in two formats, although one version (the international single) had an extremely limited run and was not widely available. The Australia-exclusive "Maneater" CD single
includes a cover of Gnarls Barkley
's "Crazy
" recorded on BBC Radio 1
's Live Lounge
program, on which "Maneater" was covered three times, by pop punk band Panic at the Disco, dance music duo Basement Jaxx
and rock band Boy Kill Boy
, whose cover was released on the album Radio 1's Live Lounge.
song that combines 80's electro
synths
and a more dance
-oriented beat. The up-tempo song has prominent electropop and synth pop influences and is lyrically related to how people become "hot on themselves" when dancing in their underwear in front of a mirror. "[It] truly has a life of its own; it makes you move", she said. Media sources compared it to the Hall & Oates
single "Maneater
", released in 1982 (see 1982 in music
), which Furtado has cited as an influence on the song.
The song has a dance
tempo and it is composed in the key of D major
with a tempo
of 132 beats per minute.
of Rolling Stone
stated that while not a Hall & Oates
cover, the song "bumps hard enough to qualify as a sequel, and that's high praise indeed." Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine
cited "Maneater" as a highlight of Furtado's makeover, but believed that no matter how much Furtado sings about sex, she does not sound sexy and does not "generate much carnal heat."
About.com
's Bill Lamb gave the song 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the "powerful thumping beat and insanely catchy chorus", but considering the song repetitive and more suitable for the dance floor than radio stations. IGN
's review considered it too similar to British singer M.I.A.
: "the blatant attempt to capitalize on [M.I.A.] that ultimately causes the track to crumble." The song was later ranked as the twentieth best single of 2006 at The Village Voice
s Pazz & Jop
poll.
) on May 22. It was released on maxi CD as the album's first single outside North America on May 26 in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and on June 5 in the United Kingdom and other European markets. It debuted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart
the week before its physical release, and a week later (on June 11, 2006) it went to number one. "Maneater" was the seventh highest selling single in the UK in 2006, with 296,000 units sold. In early 2007, chart rules were changed to allow tracks not accompanied by physical singles to appear on the singles chart, and "Maneater" subsequently re-entered the top forty on downloads alone.
The single became a hit elsewhere in Europe, reaching the top five in Austria
, Switzerland
, Germany, Ireland and Norway
, the top ten in Belgium
, Finland
and the Netherlands
and the top twenty in France. "Maneater" was released on U.S. national television at the Fashion Rocks event on September 8, 2006. It entered the Billboard Hot 100
at number sixty-two, the highest debut of the week, and peaked at number sixteen; it also reached the top twenty on Billboards Pop 100
. "Maneater" reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play
chart, but it was not as commercially successful in the U.S. as the preceding single, "Promiscuous
", which reached number one on all three charts. The single debuted on the Australia ARIA Singles Chart on September 25 and rose to the top five the following week, peaking in its seventh week at number three. The ARIA accredited "Maneater" as a gold single for selling over 35,000 copies.
In Canada, where "Promiscuous" topped the singles chart
, "Maneater" reached number twenty-two on November 23, 2006 (its fifteenth week). Its underperformance was attributed to the limited release of the CD single, which had been sold through retailers as early as "Promiscuous". "Maneater" received substantial radio airplay and peaked inside the BDS
Airplay Chart top five. On November 16, it debuted on the Canadian Dance Chart, on which it reached number one in February 2007, becoming her first single to do so. "Maneater" was the eighth best-selling digital track of 2006 in Canada with 38,800 downloads. "Maneater" was nominated for a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song. It was also awarded a 2007 NRJ Music Award for Best International Song.
was directed by Anthony Mandler
. The video features former So You Think You Can Dance contestant Jamile McGee
as a dancer. Nelly Furtado had to schedule extra practicing sessions for her own dancing in the video.
The video does not have a substantial plot and, per Furtado's request, focuses on simultaneously celebrating and parodying the "maneater cliché". It begins with Furtado searching for her runaway Great Dane
, Toby, at night in a seemingly deserted industrial district of an unnamed city. She follows the dog to the basement of a dark, dilapidated building, where she encounters a silent crowd of people in the middle of what MTV News
described as a "Fight Club
-esque party". Furtado positions herself in the middle of the crowd and, as the initial beat of the song emerges, begins to dance with "a sense of abandon", according to Furtado. This serves as the catalyst for a dance party that continues as the song plays. Towards the end of the video, Furtado moves to the roof of the building and dances in front of the rising sun. In the end she leaves the party at dawn, finding her dog sitting at the stairhead near the exit. "I like to walk on the dangerous side of life", Furtado said of the filming of the video.
In the U.S., the video premiered on Yahoo! Music
on September 6 and was given a "First Look" on MTV
's Total Request Live on September 8. It debuted on the show's top ten video countdown on September 11 and peaked at number nine, remaining on the countdown for three consecutive days. The video entered the MuchMusic
Countdown
in Canada in the week ending September 22, and it peaked at number one in the week ending December 8.
At the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
, Furtado was nominated in the category of Female Artist of the Year for "Maneater" and "Say It Right
".
German 4-Track Single / UK CD Single
Australian CD Single
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, Jim Beanz
Jim Beanz
James David Washington, better known under his stage name Jim Beanz, is an American vocal producer, songwriter, musician, singer and record producer from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, now working out of Philadelphia, signed to Timbaland Productions and Sunset Entertainment Group...
and Nate "Danja" Hills for Furtado's third album, Loose
Loose (Nelly Furtado album)
Loose is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was released in North America on June 20, 2006 by Geffen Records. Timbaland and his then-protégé Danja produced the bulk of the album, which incorporates influences of dance, R&B and hip hop...
(2006). It was co-produced by Timbaland and Danja and includes influences of 1980s music by artists such as Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
and Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
. Furtado stated that Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
' song of the same name
Maneater (Hall & Oates song)
"Maneater" is a single recorded by American duo Hall & Oates from their 1982 album H2O. It reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 18, 1982...
was an influence during the writing and recording of the song.
Released as the album's first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in Europe in May 2006, "Maneater" became one of Nelly Furtado's most popular singles, topping the singles charts in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and the UK, and reaching the top ten across much of Continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
. It served as the album's second single in Australia, where it reached the top five, and in North America, where it became a club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
hit but was less commercially successful than the lead single, "Promiscuous
Promiscuous (song)
"Promiscuous" is a dance-pop/R&B song by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, from the album, Loose . It was written by Furtado, Timothy "Attitude" Clayton, Timbaland and Nate "Danja" Hills, with the latter pair handling production of the song...
". It received favorable reviews from many music critics.
Writing and recording
"Maneater" was one of the first songs Furtado and Timbaland worked on in the Hit Factory Criteria recording studios in Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. She has described the song as an analogy of how she incorporated the "creative energy" of Timbaland and his production crew into Loose. When making the album, Furtado and Timbaland were influenced by the work of musicians from the 1980s such as Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
and Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
. "Eurythmics had this spooky, keyboard
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
-driven pop sound", Furtado said. Final production of the track was delayed after a speaker caught fire in the studio control room.
Furtado has characterized "Maneater" as "a 'couture pop' song", explaining that it is "in your face and very fashionable, stylistic and of-the-moment." In an 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...
, she compared it favorably to eating too much cheesecake
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit , pastry or sponge cake. They may be baked or unbaked...
: "It's got a crazy loud beat, and the vocals are bitchy and loud. A lot of people say it sounds like Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...
, because of the delivery, the spooky vocals." According to Furtado, the song is related to how people become "hot on themselves" when dancing in their underwear in front of a mirror. "[It] truly has a life of its own; it makes you move", she said. Media sources compared it to the Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
single "Maneater
Maneater (Hall & Oates song)
"Maneater" is a single recorded by American duo Hall & Oates from their 1982 album H2O. It reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 18, 1982...
", released in 1982 (see 1982 in music
1982 in music
This is a list of notable events in music from 1982. 1982 was a big year in music with Madonna making her debut as well as the year that Michael Jackson released Thriller which became the world's best selling album and it still holds that title today....
), which Furtado has cited as an influence on the song.
Furtado recorded a remix of "Maneater" with rapper 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...
; it was only released as part of a compilation album, Timbaland's Remix & Soundtrack Collection, she also used the instrumental of the song during many television performances of "Maneater". In Australia, the CD was released in two formats, although one version (the international single) had an extremely limited run and was not widely available. The Australia-exclusive "Maneater" CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
includes a cover of Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo comprising Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green. Their first studio album St. Elsewhere was released in 2006; along with its first single "Crazy". Both single and album were a major commercial success and have been noted for their large sales by download...
's "Crazy
Crazy (Gnarls Barkley song)
"Crazy" is the debut single from Gnarls Barkley, a musical collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green, and is taken from their 2006 debut album St. Elsewhere...
" recorded on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Live Lounge
Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
program, on which "Maneater" was covered three times, by pop punk band Panic at the Disco, dance music duo Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx are a British electronic dance music duo from London, England consisting of Felix Buxton born 1971 and Simon Ratcliffe born 1 December 1969. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s...
and rock band Boy Kill Boy
Boy Kill Boy
Boy Kill Boy were an English rock band based in Leytonstone, East London. Perhaps Best known for their highest charting single "Suzie", the band produced two studio albums and six singles before splitting in 2008.- History :...
, whose cover was released on the album Radio 1's Live Lounge.
Music structure and composition
"Maneater" is an uptempo electro rockElectro rock
Electronic rock, also commonly referred to as synthrock, electro rock or digital rock, is rock music generated with electronic instruments...
song that combines 80's electro
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
synths
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and a more dance
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
-oriented beat. The up-tempo song has prominent electropop and synth pop influences and is lyrically related to how people become "hot on themselves" when dancing in their underwear in front of a mirror. "[It] truly has a life of its own; it makes you move", she said. Media sources compared it to the Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
single "Maneater
Maneater (Hall & Oates song)
"Maneater" is a single recorded by American duo Hall & Oates from their 1982 album H2O. It reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 18, 1982...
", released in 1982 (see 1982 in music
1982 in music
This is a list of notable events in music from 1982. 1982 was a big year in music with Madonna making her debut as well as the year that Michael Jackson released Thriller which became the world's best selling album and it still holds that title today....
), which Furtado has cited as an influence on the song.
The song has a dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
tempo and it 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....
with a tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 132 beats per minute.
Critical reception
"Maneater" got favorable reception by music critics. Rob SheffieldRob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield is an American music journalist and author. He is currently a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, writing music reviews and essays on pop culture. Prior to that, he was a contributing editor at Blender before the print version of the magazine folded in 2009, and at Spin...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
stated that while not a Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
cover, the song "bumps hard enough to qualify as a sequel, and that's high praise indeed." Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
cited "Maneater" as a highlight of Furtado's makeover, but believed that no matter how much Furtado sings about sex, she does not sound sexy and does not "generate much carnal heat."
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....
's Bill Lamb gave the song 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the "powerful thumping beat and insanely catchy chorus", but considering the song repetitive and more suitable for the dance floor than radio stations. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's review considered it too similar to British singer M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
: "the blatant attempt to capitalize on [M.I.A.] that ultimately causes the track to crumble." The song was later ranked as the twentieth best single of 2006 at The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
s Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
poll.
Chart performance
"Maneater" was made available as a download (via the Apple iTunes StoreITunes 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...
) on May 22. It was released on maxi CD as the album's first single outside North America on May 26 in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and on June 5 in the United Kingdom and other European markets. It debuted at number eight 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 week before its physical release, and a week later (on June 11, 2006) it went to number one. "Maneater" was the seventh highest selling single in the UK in 2006, with 296,000 units sold. In early 2007, chart rules were changed to allow tracks not accompanied by physical singles to appear on the singles chart, and "Maneater" subsequently re-entered the top forty on downloads alone.
The single became a hit elsewhere in Europe, reaching the top five in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Germany, Ireland and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the top ten in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the top twenty in France. "Maneater" was released on U.S. national television at the Fashion Rocks event on September 8, 2006. It 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 sixty-two, the highest debut of the week, and peaked at number sixteen; it also reached the top twenty on Billboards Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
. "Maneater" reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart, but it was not as commercially successful in the U.S. as the preceding single, "Promiscuous
Promiscuous (song)
"Promiscuous" is a dance-pop/R&B song by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, from the album, Loose . It was written by Furtado, Timothy "Attitude" Clayton, Timbaland and Nate "Danja" Hills, with the latter pair handling production of the song...
", which reached number one on all three charts. The single debuted on the Australia ARIA Singles Chart on September 25 and rose to the top five the following week, peaking in its seventh week at number three. The ARIA accredited "Maneater" as a gold single for selling over 35,000 copies.
In Canada, where "Promiscuous" topped the singles chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
, "Maneater" reached number twenty-two on November 23, 2006 (its fifteenth week). Its underperformance was attributed to the limited release of the CD single, which had been sold through retailers as early as "Promiscuous". "Maneater" received substantial radio airplay and peaked inside the BDS
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections...
Airplay Chart top five. On November 16, it debuted on the Canadian Dance Chart, on which it reached number one in February 2007, becoming her first single to do so. "Maneater" was the eighth best-selling digital track of 2006 in Canada with 38,800 downloads. "Maneater" was nominated for a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song. It was also awarded a 2007 NRJ Music Award for Best International Song.
Music video
The single's music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director, who has written and directed music videos for several artists. His most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna...
. The video features former So You Think You Can Dance contestant Jamile McGee
Jamile McGee
Jamile McGee is an African American b-boy and hip hop dancer. He is also known by his dancing name 'Jamz'. Jamile performed on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance. Jamile dances to various style of music...
as a dancer. Nelly Furtado had to schedule extra practicing sessions for her own dancing in the video.
The video does not have a substantial plot and, per Furtado's request, focuses on simultaneously celebrating and parodying the "maneater cliché". It begins with Furtado searching for her runaway Great Dane
Great Dane
The Great Dane , also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound , is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size...
, Toby, at night in a seemingly deserted industrial district of an unnamed city. She follows the dog to the basement of a dark, dilapidated building, where she encounters a silent crowd of people in the middle of what 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 as a "Fight Club
Fight Club (film)
Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
-esque party". Furtado positions herself in the middle of the crowd and, as the initial beat of the song emerges, begins to dance with "a sense of abandon", according to Furtado. This serves as the catalyst for a dance party that continues as the song plays. Towards the end of the video, Furtado moves to the roof of the building and dances in front of the rising sun. In the end she leaves the party at dawn, finding her dog sitting at the stairhead near the exit. "I like to walk on the dangerous side of life", Furtado said of the filming of the video.
In the U.S., the video premiered on 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...
on September 6 and was given a "First Look" on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Total Request Live on September 8. It debuted on the show's top ten video countdown on September 11 and peaked at number nine, remaining on the countdown for three consecutive days. The video entered the MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
Countdown
Countdown (MuchMusic TV series)
The MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown is a ninety-minute music video program block, that airs on Canadian music television station MuchMusic. Countdown is one of the oldest programs that continues to be aired on Much Music since its debut...
in Canada in the week ending September 22, and it peaked at number one in the week ending December 8.
At the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
2007 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, re-naming many of the remaining awards, and having only four...
, Furtado was nominated in the category of Female Artist of the Year for "Maneater" and "Say It Right
Say It Right
"Say It Right" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, from her third studio album, Loose . Written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Nate "Danja" Hills, the song was inspired by, as Furtado described it, the "spooky, keyboard-driven pop sound" of the band Eurythmics,...
".
Track listings
German 2-Track Single- "Maneater" (Radio Version)
- "Undercover"
German 4-Track Single / UK CD Single
- "Maneater" (Radio Version)
- "Undercover"
- "Maneater" (Waata House Mix)
- "Maneater" (Video)
Australian CD Single
- "Maneater" (Radio Version)
- "CrazyCrazy (Gnarls Barkley song)"Crazy" is the debut single from Gnarls Barkley, a musical collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green, and is taken from their 2006 debut album St. Elsewhere...
" (Radio 1 Live LoungeLive LoungeThe Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
Session) - "Maneater" (JoshJoSH (band)Josh is a Montreal-based Indian/Pakistani fusion band. Present members are "Rup" and "q" . Their songs showcase both modern and traditional bhangra beats and music, but are strongly influenced by hip hop and pop music.JIn 2009 Josh Performed in coke studio along with Pakistani Leading artist...
Desi Remix) - "Maneater" (Video)
Personnel
Credits adapted from the Loose liner notes- Nelly FurtadoNelly FurtadoNelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
– lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, background vocals - Danja – 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...
, drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:... - TimbalandTimbalandTimothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
– producer, background vocals - Jim BeanzJim BeanzJames David Washington, better known under his stage name Jim Beanz, is an American vocal producer, songwriter, musician, singer and record producer from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, now working out of Philadelphia, signed to Timbaland Productions and Sunset Entertainment Group...
– lyrics, background vocals, vocal production - Demacio "Demo" Castellón – engineering, 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...
, recording - Marcella "Ms. Lago" AraicaMarcella AraicaMarcella Araica is an American recording and mixing engineer, who has recorded and mixed tracks for artists including Britney Spears, Madonna, Pink, Duran Duran and Keri Hilson.-Biography:...
– additional recording, additional mixing - James Roach – second engineering
- Ben Jost – second engineering
- Kobla Tetey – second engineering
- Vadim Chislov – second engineering
- Recorded at The Hit FactoryThe Hit FactoryThe Hit Factory was a recording studio in New York City famous for its clientele. It was officially closed for business April 1, 2005 whereas other Hit Factory studio locations remained open, such as in Miami, Florida.-History:...
, Miami, Florida - Mixed at Thomas Crown Studios, Virginia Beach, VirginiaVirginia Beach, VirginiaVirginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
Peak positions
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end
| Chart (2006) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 21 |
| Australian Urban Singles Chart | 12 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 18 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) | 44 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) | 19 |
| German Singles Chart | 12 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 12 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 45 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart | 7 |
Certifications
| Country | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia | Gold |
| Sweden | Platinum |
| Switzerland | Gold |