Night Is Young
Encyclopedia
"Night Is Young" is an electropop song by Canadian
recording artist Nelly Furtado
. It was written by Furtado, Salaam Remi and Staybent Krunk-A-Delic, and produced by the latter pair for Furtado's greatest hits compilation album, The Best of Nelly Furtado
(2010). The song follows a dance and electronic style, which Furtado said that she is happy with because she never had a straightforward dance-pop song. The lyrics to the song were written by Furtado, who said it is "not necessarily a love song" but is about "having a good time and enjoying life."
The song premiered on BBC Radio 1
on October 3, 2010 and was released for digital downloading on October 12, 2010. The song itself received positive critical reception. It was described as being a "feel good dance-pop" song and for having a "having a rather infectious beat and a great sing-along chorus." The song was most successful in Slovakia, peaking at number seven on its charts. It also reached the top twenty on the Canadian Hot 100 and was moderately successful elsewhere, where it charted. The music video for the song was directed by Alan Ferguson and was filmed for two days in the downtown area of Toronto in Canada.
and Staybent Krunk-A-Delic, and produced by the latter pair. It was one of two songs that had not been properly finished and had leaked onto the internet. In response to the leaks, Furtado said that she decided to "finish them and put them out properly on the greatest hits album." In an interview with Beatweek, Furtado said that a conversation between her and a friend about the "past, present & future" is what inspired the concept of the song. Furtado had told PopEater
that the song is "not necessarily a love song
", adding that it is "about relationships in many different forms [...] and having a good time and enjoying life" Furtado said that she was happy with the song because she never had a "straightforward song that has been dance pop
." She cited "[I]t’s definitely a pop track, but it’s obviously quite a high BPM
. I think it’s 130 or something. It’s a really fast song." When writing the song, Furtado said that it started out as a poem before she presented the lyrics
to Salaam Remi. She recalled, "I wrote all the lyrics and then I came to the studio and Salaam had this really great beat." It was mixed by Robert Orton, and recorded by Franklin Socorro and Gleyder Disla at Instrument Zoo studio in Miami, Florida.
characterized the song as "electrically charged pulse that persists from jolting start to glorious finish." Digital Spy
's Nick Levine gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a "feel good dance-pop" song. Levine also commended Furtado's vocals, saying that her "ever-distinctive vocals and a chorus as stealthily catchy as a self-mutating virus." About.com
described the song as "having a rather infectious beat and a great sing-along chorus." Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine
described the song as a "four-four stomp, swirling electronic effects, and club-and-party lyrics." He also mentioned that the song "signals another outward shift in Furtado's style."
for "Night Is Young" was directed by Alan Ferguson and filmed in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the days of October 13 and 14 in 2010. Fefe Dobson
appears in the video, playing a DJ. The video begins with Furtado conducting a choir. During this, a male and female member of the choir look at each other while performing. For the video shoot, fans of Furtado were cast to be featured as cyclists, dancers and party-goers. After the choir performs, Furtado and the members of the choir, including the night cyclists, dancers, skaters and young people are seen going to a party. At the end of the video, the male and female, previously seen at the beginning of the video, kiss as the clip ends.
, and was produced by Sketch iz Dead. It features grime
recording artist Wiley
. DJ Earworm
has remixed "Night Is Young" along with various other tracks by Furtado that were included on her greatest hits album. The remix was entitled, "Free at Night" and was released for digital downloading in early 2011. A remix EP of "Night Is Young" has been released on iTunes
. The remixes were produced by Burns and Manhattan Clique. In early January, remixes produced by Jamaican producer The Wizard were released, entitled, "Night Is Young (Psychadelic Remix)" and "Night Is Young (Drum Groove Remix)".
Digital Download - Single
Digital Download - The Remixes
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
recording artist Nelly Furtado
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...
. It was written by Furtado, Salaam Remi and Staybent Krunk-A-Delic, and produced by the latter pair for Furtado's greatest hits compilation album, The Best of Nelly Furtado
The Best of Nelly Furtado
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album a four out of five star rating, noting the variety on the album and commended that "Not one of Nelly Furtado’s albums sounds like the one that came before", calling it an "admirable trait"...
(2010). The song follows a dance and electronic style, which Furtado said that she is happy with because she never had a straightforward dance-pop song. The lyrics to the song were written by Furtado, who said it is "not necessarily a love song" but is about "having a good time and enjoying life."
The song premiered 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...
on October 3, 2010 and was released for digital downloading on October 12, 2010. The song itself received positive critical reception. It was described as being a "feel good dance-pop" song and for having a "having a rather infectious beat and a great sing-along chorus." The song was most successful in Slovakia, peaking at number seven on its charts. It also reached the top twenty on the Canadian Hot 100 and was moderately successful elsewhere, where it charted. The music video for the song was directed by Alan Ferguson and was filmed for two days in the downtown area of Toronto in Canada.
Background and writing
"Night Is Young" was written by Nelly Furtado, Salaam RemiSalaam Remi
Salaam Remi Gibbs, better known as Salaam Remi, is a hip hop producer and keyboard player, known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, and his reggae-tinged approach to production...
and Staybent Krunk-A-Delic, and produced by the latter pair. It was one of two songs that had not been properly finished and had leaked onto the internet. In response to the leaks, Furtado said that she decided to "finish them and put them out properly on the greatest hits album." In an interview with Beatweek, Furtado said that a conversation between her and a friend about the "past, present & future" is what inspired the concept of the song. Furtado had told PopEater
Popeater
PopEater.com was an American gossip news web site owned by AOL Television. It was one of the most popular gossip blogs in America, ranking in the top 20s on Technorati's Top 100 and ranks #28 on Pikimal. On 11 July 2011, Arianna Huffington and PopEater co-announced PopEater had "a new home" at...
that the song is "not necessarily a love song
Love song
A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...
", adding that it is "about relationships in many different forms [...] and having a good time and enjoying life" Furtado said that she was happy with the song because she never had a "straightforward song that has been dance pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
." She cited "[I]t’s definitely a pop track, but it’s obviously quite a high BPM
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:...
. I think it’s 130 or something. It’s a really fast song." When writing the song, Furtado said that it started out as a poem before she presented the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics 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...
to Salaam Remi. She recalled, "I wrote all the lyrics and then I came to the studio and Salaam had this really great beat." It was mixed by Robert Orton, and recorded by Franklin Socorro and Gleyder Disla at Instrument Zoo studio in Miami, Florida.
Critical reception
Amar Toor of AOL Radio BlogAOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
characterized the song as "electrically charged pulse that persists from jolting start to glorious finish." 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....
's Nick Levine gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a "feel good dance-pop" song. Levine also commended Furtado's vocals, saying that her "ever-distinctive vocals and a chorus as stealthily catchy as a self-mutating virus." 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....
described the song as "having a rather infectious beat and a great sing-along chorus." Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
described the song as a "four-four stomp, swirling electronic effects, and club-and-party lyrics." He also mentioned that the song "signals another outward shift in Furtado's style."
Commercial performance
"Night Is Young" was most commercially successful in Slovakia, peaking at number seven in its sixth week on the Radio Top 100 chart. The song was a commercial failure in Austria, debuting on the charts at number seventy-two. It then peaked at number sixty-nine the next week and fell off the charts the following week after that. "Night Is Young" was moderately successful in the Czech Republic, entering the charts at number thirty-seven and peaking at number thirty-six two weeks later. The song spent three more weeks on the chart before dropping out at number fifty-four.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 "Night Is Young" was directed by Alan Ferguson and filmed in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the days of October 13 and 14 in 2010. Fefe Dobson
Fefe Dobson
Felicia Lily "Fefe" Dobson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Her self-titled debut album earned her two Juno Award nominations. Her second album, Sunday Love, was not released and she was terminated from her recording company...
appears in the video, playing a DJ. The video begins with Furtado conducting a choir. During this, a male and female member of the choir look at each other while performing. For the video shoot, fans of Furtado were cast to be featured as cyclists, dancers and party-goers. After the choir performs, Furtado and the members of the choir, including the night cyclists, dancers, skaters and young people are seen going to a party. At the end of the video, the male and female, previously seen at the beginning of the video, kiss as the clip ends.
Other versions
Furtado has recorded a live acoustic version of "Night Is Young" for Walmart Soundcheck, and a video was recorded and released. A remix was released, which has been played on BBC Radio 1XtraBBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
, and was produced by Sketch iz Dead. It features grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
recording artist Wiley
Wiley (rapper)
Richard Kylea Cowie , better known by his stage name Wiley is a prolific British music producer, MC and recording artist, and rapper with roots from Trinidad...
. DJ Earworm
DJ Earworm
Jordan Roseman is a San Francisco/London-based mashup artist who has achieved recognition for his technically sophisticated, songwriting oriented music and video mashups...
has remixed "Night Is Young" along with various other tracks by Furtado that were included on her greatest hits album. The remix was entitled, "Free at Night" and was released for digital downloading in early 2011. A remix EP of "Night Is Young" has been released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. The remixes were produced by Burns and Manhattan Clique. In early January, remixes produced by Jamaican producer The Wizard were released, entitled, "Night Is Young (Psychadelic Remix)" and "Night Is Young (Drum Groove Remix)".
Track listing
German CD Single- "Night Is Young" — 3:32
- "Night Is Young" (Manhattan Clique Remix) — 6:48
Digital Download - Single
- "Night Is Young" — 3:32
- "The Best of Nelly Furtado Minimix" — 5:36
Digital Download - The Remixes
- "Night Is Young" (Burns Vocal Remix) — 6:17
- "Night Is Young" (Burns Dub Remix) — 6:47
- "Night Is Young" (Manhattan Clique Remix) — 6:49
- "Night Is Young" (Eclectic Dancehall Mix) — 3:58
- "Night Is Young" (Psychadelically Wiz Mix) — 3:59
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the The Best of Nelly Furtado liner notes.- Nelly Furtado – lead vocals, background vocals
- Salaam Remi – 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...
, arranger, drums, keyboards - Staybent Krunk-A-Delic – producer, arranger, drums, keyboards
- Franklin Emmanuel Socorro – recording engineer
- Gleyder Disla – recording engineer
- Robert Orton – mixing engineerMixing engineerA mix engineer is the person responsible for incorporating all the different recorded elements of music to make the final version of a song. These mixing professionals have many years of experience and training with audio equipment which has enabled them to master the art of audio mixing...
- Greg Calbi – mastering
Charts
| Chart (2010/2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... ) |
69 |
| Canada (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... ) |
20 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... ) |
33 |
| Polish Dance Chart (ZPAV 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... ) |
41 |
| Germany (German Top 100) | 54 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | October 3, 2010 | Airplay | Polydor Records Polydor Records Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone... |
| Australia | October 12, 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... |
Universal Music Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
| Austria | |||
| Belgium | |||
| Denmark | |||
| Italy | |||
| Finland | |||
| New Zealand | |||
| Norway | |||
| Portugal | |||
| Spain | |||
| Sweden | |||
| Switzerland | October 15, 2010 | ||
| Netherlands | |||
| France | October 18, 2010 | ||
| Canada | October 19, 2010 | ||
| United States | Geffen Records Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:... |
||
| Germany | October 29, 2010 | Digital Single | Universal Music |
| United Kingdom | December 6, 2010 | Digital Single, Digital Remixes EP | Polydor Records |
| Germany | December 28, 2010 | CD Single | Universal Music |
External links
- "Night Is Young" at VEVOVevoVevo 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...