Person of Interest (song)
Encyclopedia
"Person of Interest" is a song by American recording artist Rebecca Black
. It was released on the iTunes Store
under the label RB Records, as Black's third single on November 15, 2011. The accompanying music video was released later that evening. The song received poor reviews from critics, though they were not as critical as for her previous singles. Some noted the reduced amount of Auto-Tune
used on Black's voice.
that she was in the filming process of her music video for her upcoming single. Five days later Black confirmed that the title of the upcoming single was "Person of Interest". Later that day, Black spoke with mun2
, a Latino broadcast channel. She stated "My next single coming out is called 'Person of Interest.' The basis of it is that it's a love song but it's not a love song. It's about almost teenage crushes — when you're not in love yet but you really like a guy — which I'm really excited about because I don't think there are too many out like that. It's very much a dance type song. It will make you get up and dance and sing along in your car." On November 10, she revealed the cover artwork for "Person of Interest" on her Facebook page.
admitted that the song "could totally pass as a throwaway Selena Gomez
or early Miley Cyrus
track, so she’s got that going for her in the teen-pop realm." James Montgomery of MTV News
criticized the use of pitch correction on Black's vocals saying "Her voice is still lacquered with studio sheen, particularly on the chorus and the "emotive" breakdown toward the back end, when all the instrumentation falls away and we're left with nothing more than Black's squelched-yet-slippery vocals." Nora Gasparian of HollyscoopTV described the song as "corny" and said "The song actually sounds a lot like Katy Perry
's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
" Lauren Croteau of KOvideo stated "The lyrics are lacking a bit but it's a far cry better than what we saw in "Friday"."
channel and again on November 10 with a small sneak peak of the song playing in the background. "Person of Interest" and its music video were released on November, 15, 2011. Within 48 hours of its release, the video received over 1,000,000 views on YouTube.
The video opens with the camera zoomed in on a police line. Black is then seen inside the police line describing to a police officer the appearance of her "person of interest" while the officer draws a sketch on a piece of paper. She is then seen competing in fun activities in an amusement park with her person of interest (portrayed by Alex Constancio) such as mini-golf and riding on go karts. The video ends with Black walking off with her person of interest outside the police line. The video was shot at Golf N' Stuff in Norwalk, California
, which is also known for having been a location in the movie The Karate Kid.
Rebecca Black
Rebecca Renee Black is an American pop singer who gained extensive media attention with the 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release through the record label ARK Music Factory. The song was co-written and produced...
. It was released on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
under the label RB Records, as Black's third single on November 15, 2011. The accompanying music video was released later that evening. The song received poor reviews from critics, though they were not as critical as for her previous singles. Some noted the reduced amount of Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
used on Black's voice.
Background
On October 25, 2011, Black announced via TwitterTwitter
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 she was in the filming process of her music video for her upcoming single. Five days later Black confirmed that the title of the upcoming single was "Person of Interest". Later that day, Black spoke with mun2
Mun2
mun2 is a national cable television broadcast network in the United States owned by NBC Universal and aimed at young Latinos. It is the sister network of Telemundo and was mostly digital television subchannels launched in 2001. The programming of mun2 is primarily music videos and shows designed...
, a Latino broadcast channel. She stated "My next single coming out is called 'Person of Interest.' The basis of it is that it's a love song but it's not a love song. It's about almost teenage crushes — when you're not in love yet but you really like a guy — which I'm really excited about because I don't think there are too many out like that. It's very much a dance type song. It will make you get up and dance and sing along in your car." On November 10, she revealed the cover artwork for "Person of Interest" on her Facebook page.
Composition
The song opens with addressing lyrics, "When I talk, you listen, I like that/When you listen, you smile and I like that/Why you lookin' lookin' at me just like that?" Near the end of the song, Black sings "Can't deny, you're implicated/In the mayhem in my mind/What has got me so frustrated/You should be mine, you should be mine"Critical reception
"Person of Interest" received poor reviews from some critics, but not universally. Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment 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...
admitted that the song "could totally pass as a throwaway Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place...
or early Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
track, so she’s got that going for her in the teen-pop realm." 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...
criticized the use of pitch correction on Black's vocals saying "Her voice is still lacquered with studio sheen, particularly on the chorus and the "emotive" breakdown toward the back end, when all the instrumentation falls away and we're left with nothing more than Black's squelched-yet-slippery vocals." Nora Gasparian of HollyscoopTV described the song as "corny" and said "The song actually sounds a lot like Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
"Last Friday Night " is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. The song was produced by Lukasz Gottwald and Max Martin, who also co-wrote the song with Perry and Bonnie McKee for Perry's third studio album, Teenage Dream. Perry stated that she was inspired to write the track after a night...
" Lauren Croteau of KOvideo stated "The lyrics are lacking a bit but it's a far cry better than what we saw in "Friday"."
Music video
On November 3, 2011, Black posted a teaser of the official music video on her YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel and again on November 10 with a small sneak peak of the song playing in the background. "Person of Interest" and its music video were released on November, 15, 2011. Within 48 hours of its release, the video received over 1,000,000 views on YouTube.
The video opens with the camera zoomed in on a police line. Black is then seen inside the police line describing to a police officer the appearance of her "person of interest" while the officer draws a sketch on a piece of paper. She is then seen competing in fun activities in an amusement park with her person of interest (portrayed by Alex Constancio) such as mini-golf and riding on go karts. The video ends with Black walking off with her person of interest outside the police line. The video was shot at Golf N' Stuff in Norwalk, California
Norwalk, California
Norwalk is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 105,549 at the 2010 census, up from 103,298 at the 2000 census, making it the 58th most populous city in California and the 255th nationally....
, which is also known for having been a location in the movie The Karate Kid.