Mirrors (Natalia Kills song)
Encyclopedia
"Mirrors" is a song by English recording artist Natalia Kills
from her debut studio album, Perfectionist. Written by Kills, Martin Kierszenbaum
, Akon
and Giorgio Tuinfort, and produced by Akon, Tuinfort and Kierszenbaum, the song was released as the album's lead single
in August 2010. Lyrically, "Mirrors" is about sex and the pleasure one gets from control, while featuring S&M themes. The song was met with positive reviews from most music critics, who compared it to the Eurythmics
' 1983 song "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
".
Kills performed the song on Robyn
and Kelis
' All Hearts Tour. The accompanying music video is divided into three acts: "Vanity", "Control" and "Sex". The song has so far charted inside the top ten in Austria, Germany and Poland, the top fifty in Canada and the top fifty-five in Switzerland.
influences, containing a "grinding synthesized
beat" and "over-driven guitars". Lyrically, the song discusses relationships and sexual themes with the lyrics "Turning the lights out/Tighten the handcuffs/And the mirrors gonna fog tonight", whose S&M theme was compared to that of Rihanna
. Critics also noted similarities to artists such as Fergie, Depeche Mode
and the Eurythmics
, as well as Lady Gaga
's 2009 hit "Bad Romance
". Regarding the song's meaning, Kills said:
described "Mirrors" as "a pitch-black disco-pop number with a grinding synthesised beat recalling the Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams
' that treads the line between urban and euro-friendly without sounding gimmicky." Matthew Wilkening of the AOL
Radio Blog gave the song a positive review, stating, "By way of comparison, picture 'Sweet Dreams' by the Eurythmics all fueled-up on Red Bull
and steroids, and then imagine a softer-voiced but equally risque Lady Gaga on the microphone." Bradley Stern of MuuMuse called the song "a delicious, dark moment of sexy electro-pop for the up-and-coming artist."
and number two on the official Polish Airplay Chart
. In Austria, the song debuted at number fifty-eight, eventually peaking at number seven in its ninth week. It fared less well in Switzerland, where it debuted at number seventy-two and peaked at number fifty-two. Elsewhere, the single reached number forty-six on the Canadian Hot 100
(spending six weeks altogether on the chart) and number three on the US Hot Dance Club Songs.
for "Mirrors" premiered on Kills' official YouTube
/Vevo
account on 29 November 2010. It was directed by Kills and Guillaume Doubet, with whom she created the first installments of Love, Kills xx earlier in 2010. The video opens with Kills applying red lipstick in a car mirror while the instrumental of the song plays in the background, followed by the title card "Mirrors". She then leaves the car and passes by a man, who is afterwards seen standing between two women wearing plastic masks of Kills' face. The music mutes and the sound of footsteps is heard as Kills approaches a mirror that appears to be cracked. After hearing a noise behind her, she looks over her shoulder as her reflection turns to look at her. She is shown to be captured by someone before the title card of the first act, "Vanity", is displayed, where a metal skull (occasionally shown with Beats by Dr. Dre
headphones) is shown as she sings and performs in front of the mirror. From this point on, the video is intercut with duplicated images of Kills (at times holding an axe
) and scenes of her in a dark room surrounded with broken objects, chains and more. The second act named "Control" then starts as she stands on top of a glass box holding an axe, with a man inside the box filming her as she moves around the box. The video shifts to act three "Sex", showing her performing directly to the skull referencing William Shakespeare
's Hamlet
imagery. Towards the end of the video, Kills is seen handcuffed and chained while sitting on the floor, as well as seducing a blindfolded man.
Natalia Kills
Natalia Keery-Fisher is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and short-film director who performs under the stage name Natalia Kills. She released her first single "Don't Play Nice" under the name Verbalicious in February 2005...
from her debut studio album, Perfectionist. Written by Kills, Martin Kierszenbaum
Martin Kierszenbaum
Martin Kierszenbaum is a graduate of the University of Michigan and head of A&R at Interscope Records and president of Interscope's subsidiary imprint Cherrytree Records...
, Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
and Giorgio Tuinfort, and produced by Akon, Tuinfort and Kierszenbaum, the song was released as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
in August 2010. Lyrically, "Mirrors" is about sex and the pleasure one gets from control, while featuring S&M themes. The song was met with positive reviews from most music critics, who compared it to the 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...
' 1983 song "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
-Personnel:*Annie Lennox – vocals, keyboards, synthesisers, flute*David A. Stewart – guitar, keyboards, synthesisers, programming, backing vocals-Additional personnel:*Robert Crash - Guitar/ E-Drums/ Synth/ Robotic vocals...
".
Kills performed the song on Robyn
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
and Kelis
Kelis
Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
' All Hearts Tour. The accompanying music video is divided into three acts: "Vanity", "Control" and "Sex". The song has so far charted inside the top ten in Austria, Germany and Poland, the top fifty in Canada and the top fifty-five in Switzerland.
Composition
"Mirrors" is an electropop song with gothicGothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
influences, containing a "grinding synthesized
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...
beat" and "over-driven guitars". Lyrically, the song discusses relationships and sexual themes with the lyrics "Turning the lights out/Tighten the handcuffs/And the mirrors gonna fog tonight", whose S&M theme was compared to that of 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...
. Critics also noted similarities to artists such as Fergie, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
and the 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...
, as well as Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's 2009 hit "Bad Romance
Bad Romance
"Bad Romance" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the lead single from her third extended play , and second major release The Fame Monster . Written by Lady Gaga and produced by RedOne, the track was inspired by Gaga's fear of negative love relationships and the...
". Regarding the song's meaning, Kills said:
"'Mirrors' is about me. I don't know if that's a very good thing to say because it's such a badass song. Maybe if people take the wrong thing away from it, they'll be like 'oh, she's just this sex-loving, vanity control freak.' But it's not about that. It's about celebrating your own power. It's about enjoying yourself. Not just enjoying what the other person can do for you, but what you can enjoy and take away from the situation."
Critical reception
Robert Copsey of Digital SpyDigital 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....
described "Mirrors" as "a pitch-black disco-pop number with a grinding synthesised beat recalling the Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
-Personnel:*Annie Lennox – vocals, keyboards, synthesisers, flute*David A. Stewart – guitar, keyboards, synthesisers, programming, backing vocals-Additional personnel:*Robert Crash - Guitar/ E-Drums/ Synth/ Robotic vocals...
' that treads the line between urban and euro-friendly without sounding gimmicky." Matthew Wilkening of the AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
Radio Blog gave the song a positive review, stating, "By way of comparison, picture 'Sweet Dreams' by the Eurythmics all fueled-up on Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
and steroids, and then imagine a softer-voiced but equally risque Lady Gaga on the microphone." Bradley Stern of MuuMuse called the song "a delicious, dark moment of sexy electro-pop for the up-and-coming artist."
Chart performance
"Mirrors" reached number ten on the German Singles ChartMedia Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
and number two on the official Polish Airplay Chart
Polish Music Charts
The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies...
. In Austria, the song debuted at number fifty-eight, eventually peaking at number seven in its ninth week. It fared less well in Switzerland, where it debuted at number seventy-two and peaked at number fifty-two. Elsewhere, the single reached number forty-six on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
(spending six weeks altogether on the chart) and number three on the US Hot Dance Club Songs.
Music video
The 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...
for "Mirrors" premiered on Kills' official 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....
/Vevo
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
account on 29 November 2010. It was directed by Kills and Guillaume Doubet, with whom she created the first installments of Love, Kills xx earlier in 2010. The video opens with Kills applying red lipstick in a car mirror while the instrumental of the song plays in the background, followed by the title card "Mirrors". She then leaves the car and passes by a man, who is afterwards seen standing between two women wearing plastic masks of Kills' face. The music mutes and the sound of footsteps is heard as Kills approaches a mirror that appears to be cracked. After hearing a noise behind her, she looks over her shoulder as her reflection turns to look at her. She is shown to be captured by someone before the title card of the first act, "Vanity", is displayed, where a metal skull (occasionally shown with Beats by Dr. Dre
Beats By Dr. Dre
Beats By Dr. Dre is a brand of headphones and loudspeakers marketed by hip-hop/rap musician Dr. Dre and Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records chairman Jimmy Iovine under Beats Electronics LLC. There are six versions of the headphones and six versions of the earphones, which are manufactured and...
headphones) is shown as she sings and performs in front of the mirror. From this point on, the video is intercut with duplicated images of Kills (at times holding an axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
) and scenes of her in a dark room surrounded with broken objects, chains and more. The second act named "Control" then starts as she stands on top of a glass box holding an axe, with a man inside the box filming her as she moves around the box. The video shifts to act three "Sex", showing her performing directly to the skull referencing William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
imagery. Towards the end of the video, Kills is seen handcuffed and chained while sitting on the floor, as well as seducing a blindfolded man.
Track listings
- Digital download
- "Mirrors" – 3:16
- German CD single
- "Mirrors" – 3:16
- "Mirrors" (FrankmusikFrankmusikVincent Frank born Vincent James Turner is known professionally as Frankmusik is an English electropop musician. The name "Frank" is derived from the surname of his grandfather, whose name he took in tribute.-Early life:...
Obsidian Overkill Remix) – 3:20
- German digital remix EP
- "Mirrors" – 3:16
- "Mirrors" (Frankmusik Obsidian Overkill Remix) – 3:20
- "Mirrors" (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx Remix) – 4:49
- "Mirrors" (Sketch Iz DeadJake GoslingJake Gosling is a Music Producer/Songwriter/Remixer/Manager and Publisher best known for his work with artists such as Wiley and Ed Sheeran in which he produced the platinum number one album + along with the number 3 hit and also platinum selling The A Team...
Dead Remix) – 4:15 - "Mirrors" (Moto BlancoMoto BlancoMoto Blanco is an English DJ and electronic music duo consisting of Danny Harrison and Arthur Smith.They are also regularly joined by british record producer Jon Cohen.-History:...
Radio) – 2:55
- US digital remix EP
- "Mirrors" (Sketch Iz Dead Remix) – 4:15
- "Mirrors" (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx Remix) – 4:49
- "Mirrors" (Moto Blanco Dub) – 7:10
- "Mirrors" (Purple Crush Remix) – 4:06
- US digital Remixes Chapter 2 EP
- "Mirrors" (Adrian Lux Remix) – 6:33
- "Mirrors" (Frankmusik Obsidian Overkill Mix) – 3:20
- "Mirrors" (Chris Moody Remix) – 6:39
- "Mirrors" (Jeff T Club Remix) – 6:01
Personnel
- Natalia Kills – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- AkonAkonAliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
– 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... - Mark "Exit" Goodchild – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Martin KierszenbaumMartin KierszenbaumMartin Kierszenbaum is a graduate of the University of Michigan and head of A&R at Interscope Records and president of Interscope's subsidiary imprint Cherrytree Records...
– producer, instrumentationInstrumentation (music)In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually... - Robert OrtonRobert Orton (mix engineer)Robert Orton is a Grammy award-winning mixer. He has worked with many prominent artists including; Darren Hayes, Lady Gaga, Sean Kingston, Kelis, Livvi Franc, Sean Paul, Robbie Williams, Pixie Lott, Lil Jon, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Mary J...
– 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... - Giorgio Tuinfort – producer, instrumentation
- Tony Ugyal – engineer
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Poland (ZPAV Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry The Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry is the organization that represents the interests of the music industry in Poland, and the Polish chapter of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry... ) |
2 |
| 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 ... |
190 |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs | 3 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 10 August 2010 | 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... |
| Germany | 3 September 2010 | |
| United Kingdom | ||
| United States | 2 November 2010 | Digital remix EP |
| Germany | 10 January 2011 | |
| 11 February 2011 | CD single | |
| United States | 1 March 2011 | Digital download – Live at the Cherrytree House |
| United Kingdom | 18 April 2011 | CD single |
| United States | 26 April 2011 | Digital EP – Remixes Chapter 2 |