Wake Me Up (song)
Encyclopedia
"Wake Me Up" is a song performed by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 pop girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...

 Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...

, taken from their second studio album What Will the Neighbours Say?
What Will the Neighbours Say?
What Will the Neighbours Say? is the second album by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2004 by Polydor Records. Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania were enlisted to produce the entire album, allowing for more inventive ideas...

(2004). The song was written by Miranda Cooper
Miranda Cooper
Miranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper has been on the UK charts longer than any other female songwriter in the country. In 2007 Harper's Bazaar wrote of her: ‘If it's a hit you want, you'd better talk to Cooper...

, Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins (producer)
Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...

 and his production team Xenomania
Xenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...

, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Composed of "boozy" lyrics and a garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

 guitar riff, "Wake Me Up" was released as a single in February 2005. Despite becoming their first single to chart outside of the top three, the single continued Girls Aloud's string of top five hits when it charted at number four 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 music video portrays Girls Aloud as rocker chicks
Rocker (subculture)
Rockers, leather boys or ton-up boys are a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. It was mainly centered around British cafe racer motorcycles and rock and roll music....

 as they ride motorcycles along a desert road. "Wake Me Up" was promoted through numerous live appearances and has since been performed on a number of the group's concert tours. The "crunchy electro" song received praise from contemporary music critics, who noted the garage rock influences.

Background and composition

Described as having a garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

 inspired guitar riff, "Wake Me Up" is a fast-paced pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...

 song with a "crunchy electro" sound. It was said that the song "marries a garage rock guitar sound to strange, almost Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...

-like sound effects ." The single faced a slight controversy due to its "boozy lyrics." The song references Bud
Budweiser
Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...

 and margarita
Margarita
The margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with orange-flavoured liqueur and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States...

s in the first verse. It was reported that Girls Aloud were going to re-record the song because "ducers are wary of playing the song on children's TV in its unaltered form." However, an edited version never surfaced. The "boozy" first verse was recorded on the last day of sessions for What Will the Neighbours Say?
What Will the Neighbours Say?
What Will the Neighbours Say? is the second album by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2004 by Polydor Records. Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania were enlisted to produce the entire album, allowing for more inventive ideas...

. Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Jane Walsh is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, television presenter and actress. She is best known for being a member of girl group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...

's "dressed up and put on my make up" line was considered a "pivotal" point in the recording process. The song is Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding
Sarah Nicole Harding is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...

's favourite from the album.

Release

The single was released on two 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...

 formats, as well as an additional 7" picture disc. The first disc included a remix of Girls Aloud's previous single, a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...

' "I'll Stand by You
I'll Stand by You
"I'll Stand by You" is a 1994 song recorded by The Pretenders from their sixth studio album, Last of the Independents. Written by Chrissie Hynde in collaboration with the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg , it was the Pretenders' most recent significant hit single, and their last...

". The second CD format included the Tony Lamezma's Love Affair remix of "Wake Me Up", as well as an exclusive b-side. The previously unreleased ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

, entitled "History", was co-written by Girls Aloud and is sung solely by Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...

 (aside from the chorus). The 7" picture disc includes the Gravitas Club Mix of "Wake Me Up" and another new b-side. Another ballad, "Loving Is Easy", was also co-written by Girls Aloud. It only appeared on vinyl until its inclusion on the special edition rarities disc of Girls Aloud's greatest hits album, The Sound of Girls Aloud
The Sound of Girls Aloud
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits anthology by British and Irish all-female pop group Girls Aloud. It was released in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2006 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, making it Girls Aloud's first number one album. As of...

.

A demo version of "Wake Me Up" with an alternate first verse appears on the special edition rarities disc of The Sound of Girls Aloud.

Critical reception

The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

's review said that the song sounds like what would happen if "you married an alarmingly fast techno thud to an implausibly dumb three-chord garage rock riff." John Murphy of MusicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...

.com noted that "Wake Me Up" sees the girls at "their magnificently feisty best [...] It sounds like the soundtrack to the greatest night out ever to which only the lucky few are privileged to have an invite." Alex Kapranos
Alex Kapranos
Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley , commonly known as Alex Kapranos, is a United Kingdom-based musician who is the lead singer and the guitarist of the Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand.-Early life:...

, the lead singer of indie rock band Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand (band)
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...

 praised the track, saying it inspired the band to work with "Wake Me Up" producer Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins (producer)
Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...

:
In 2005, "Wake Me Up" won the award for the Popjustice £20 Music Prize
Popjustice £20 Music Prize
The Popjustice £20 Music Prize is an annual prize awarded by a panel of judges organised by music website Popjustice to the singer of the best British pop single of the past year....

, an annual prize awarded by a panel of judges organised by music website Popjustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....

 to the singer(s) of the best British pop single of the past year. Girls Aloud had previously won the award in 2003 for "No Good Advice
No Good Advice
"No Good Advice" is a song by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their debut album Sound of the Underground . The song was written by Aqua's Lene Nystrøm Rasted, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...

".

Chart performance

"Wake Me Up" entered 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 ...

 at number four on 27 February 2005, making it Girls Aloud's first single to miss the top three. The song fell to number ten in its second week on the chart. The single spent a total of nine weeks in the top 75. "Wake Me Up" debuted and peaked at number six on the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

. It fell out of the top ten to number eleven the following week. The song spent ten weeks in Ireland's top fifty.

Music video

The music video for "Wake Me Up" was directed by Harvey & Carolyn.

The video opens with Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding
Sarah Nicole Harding is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...

 pulling down her bike helmet, followed by the helmeted faces of all five band members being shown with a title screen. The girls' helmets fly off their heads as they get on their motorcycles. At the front, the girls' names are on them. In subsequent scenes, the band members are shown racing on motorcycles along a desert road. Following the topic of the song, the members are seen applying fake tattoos, painting their nails, and blow-drying their hair, all still while riding on their motorcycles. At one point, the girls dismount from their bikes to dance, but eventually they return to the motorcycles and ride off into the distance.

The music video is available on Girls Aloud's 2005 DVD release Girls on Film
Girls on Film (DVD)
Girls On Film is the first music DVD by Girls Aloud and was released in 2005. The video contained all of their music videos at the time of release. It contained some of their most memorable television performances, and footage from their MTV special Girls Aloud - The Show...

and 2007's Style
Style (DVD)
Style is the fifth DVD featuring Girls Aloud, was released on November 12, 2007. It features commentary from Girls Aloud on all of their favourite and least favourite outfits from their careers, as well as fashion tips...

.

Live performances

Girls Aloud performed the song live for the first time on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

on 28 January 2005, wearing stomach-bearing tops and using motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

s as props. The motorcycles were loaned by Harley Davidson. They appeared on the show again on 4 March. They also performed the song on television programmes such as Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, CD:UK
CD:UK
CD:UK was a British music television programme. Originally run in conjunction with SMTV Live, the programme was first aired on ITV on 29 August 1998 to rival the BBC's Live & Kicking and was the replacement for The Chart Show, which had been airing on the network for nine and a half years.In...

, Ministry of Mayhem
Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown
The Ministry of Mayhem was a CITV show which broadcast on the ITV Network from January 2004. As of January 2006, the onscreen name was Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown. It was the last regular studio-based Saturday morning show on ITV....

, Popbusters, Today with Des and Mel
Today with Des and Mel
Today with Des and Mel was a British television series hosted by Des O'Connor and Melanie Sykes. The show featured celebrity guests, phone-in competitions and chat between the hosts. It was produced by Carlton Television, at The London Studios...

, Top of the Pops Saturday
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

, Wanadoo, and Xchange
Xchange (TV series)
Xchange was a factual entertainment BBC television programme for children. It was broadcast initially on BBC Two and later the CBBC Channel. The programme was transmitted live from studio TC2 at BBC Television Centre...

. The group have also performed "Wake Me Up" at Dublin's ChildLine Concert
ChildLine Concert
The ChildLine Concert is an annual pop music charity event which has taken place in Ireland since 1997. As the name suggests the money raised by the concert is donated to the young person's charity, ChildLine and many of the attendants are also children...

 in 2005 and V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...

 in 2006 and 2008.

"Wake Me Up" has been performed by Girls Aloud on all of their concert tours to an extent. For their first tour, 2005's What Will the Neighbours Say? Live
What Will the Neighbours Say? Live
What Will the Neighbours Say? Live is Girls Aloud's first concert tour, in support of the group's second studio album What Will the Neighbours Say?...

, the group performed the song in schoolgirl uniforms
School uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...

. For 2006's Chemistry Tour
Chemistry Tour
The Chemistry Tour is Girls Aloud's second concert tour, in support of the group's third studio album Chemistry. Girls Aloud performed ten dates in various arenas across the United Kingdom, making it their shortest tour. The tour began in Nottingham on 22 May 2006 and concluded in London on 3 June...

, it was performed as part of a medley alongside Chemistry album track "Wild Horses". Girls Aloud also included "Wake Me Up" on 2007's The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Tour
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Tour
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Tour is Girls Aloud's third concert tour, in support of the group's first greatest hits album The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits...

. The song was performed alongside "Walk This Way
Walk This Way
"Walk This Way" is a song by American hard rock group Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the 1975 album Toys in the Attic. It peaked at Number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit...

" for 2008's Tangled Up Tour
Tangled Up Tour
The Tangled Up Tour was the fourth concert tour third arena tour, by British pop group Girls Aloud, in support of the group's fourth studio album Tangled Up. The tour was initially announced to reach arenas across the United Kingdom in November 2007. The shows commenced in Belfast on 3 May 2008 and...

 and included in a medley of Girls Aloud's older hits for 2009's Out of Control Tour
Out of Control Tour
The Out of Control Tour is Girls Aloud's fourth arena-based concert tour and their fifth tour overall. The tour started on 24 April 2009 in Manchester's MEN Arena, with the final show on 6 June 2009 in Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena...

.

Track listings & formats

UK CD1 (Polydor / 9870425)
  1. "Wake Me Up" — 3:27
  2. "I'll Stand by You" (Gravitas Vocal Dub Mix Edit) — 6:26

UK CD2 (Polydor / 9870426)
  1. "Wake Me Up" — 3:27
  2. "Wake Me Up" (Tony Lamezma's Love Affair) — 7:01
  3. "History" (Girls Aloud, Cooper, Higgins, Cowling, Jon Shave, Tim "Rolf" Larcombe, Lee) — 4:37
  4. "Wake Me Up" (video) — 3:27
  5. "Wake Me Up" (karaoke video) — 3:27
  6. "Wake Me Up" (game)

UK 7" (Polydor / 9870427)
  1. "Wake Me Up" — 3:27
  2. "Loving Is Easy" (Girls Aloud, Cooper, Higgins, Cowling, Lee) — 3:01
  3. "Wake Me Up" (Gravitas Club Mix) — 5:29


The Singles Boxset (CD8)
  1. "Wake Me Up" — 3:27
  2. "I'll Stand by You" (Gravitas Vocal Dub Mix Edit) — 6:26
  3. "Wake Me Up" (Tony Lamezma's Love Affair) — 7:01
  4. "History" — 4:37
  5. "Loving Is Easy" — 3:01
  6. "Wake Me Up" (Gravitas Club Mix) — 5:29
  7. "Wake Me Up" (alternative version) — 3:27
  8. "Wake Me Up" (video) — 3:27
  9. "Wake Me Up" (karaoke video) — 3:27
  10. "Wake Me Up" (game)


Credits and personnel

  • Guitar: Shawn Lee
  • Keyboards: Brian Higgins
    Brian Higgins (producer)
    Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...

    , Tim Powell
  • Mastering: Dick Beetham for 360 Mastering
  • Mixing: Matt Gray, Tim Powell
  • Production: Brian Higgins, Xenomania
    Xenomania
    Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...

  • Programming: Tim Powell
  • Songwriting: Miranda Cooper
    Miranda Cooper
    Miranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper has been on the UK charts longer than any other female songwriter in the country. In 2007 Harper's Bazaar wrote of her: ‘If it's a hit you want, you'd better talk to Cooper...

    , Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Shawn Lee, Lisa Cowling, Paul Woods, Yusra Maru'e
  • Vocals: Girls Aloud
    Girls Aloud
    Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...

  • Published by Warner/Chappell Music
    Warner/Chappell Music
    Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company, and a division of the Warner Music Group. The company traces its origins back to 1811 and the founding of Chappell & Company, a music publishing company and instrument shop on London’s Bond Street that, in 1929, began a rapid...

    and Xenomania Music

Charts

> > >
Chart (2005) Peak
position
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