Promiscuous (song)

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"Promiscuous"
Song
B-side"Crazy", "Undercover"

"Promiscuous" (also known as "Promiscuous Girl") is a song recorded by singer Nelly Furtado and Timbaland for Furtado's third album, Loose (2006). Furtado, Timothy "Attitude" Clayton, Timbaland and Danja wrote the song, and Timbaland and Danja produced it. The song lyrics feature a conversation between a man and woman who call each other a "promiscuous" boy or girl.

"Promiscuous" was released as the first single from Loose in North America in early 2006, and as the second single elsewhere in mid-2006 except in Latin America, where the single was released as the third single in late 2006. The song received positive reviews, and reached number one in Canada and the United States, becoming Furtado's first number-one single in North America. The song won in the Best Pop Song category at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, was nominated for the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals Grammy Award at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards and won Single of the Year at the 2007 Juno Awards. There are parodies to this song called "Ridiculous Girl" by Odd Austin and "Syphilis Girl" by the show MADtv.

Background and writing

The lyrics of "Promiscuous" describe the two sides of the relationship that the song's protagonist deals with. It was one of the first songs Furtado wrote with labelmate Timothy "Attitude" Clayton. Furtado called their teamwork something she "had never done before" because she saw the writing process as "extremely freeing" because of his different approach and style. Clayton helped Furtado experiment with interpreting the "promiscuous girl" character and the two-sided relationship she is in.[1] Furtado also described that in the process of writing lyrics "we were actually flirting, which is why the song is so playful" and that she and Clayton nicknamed the song "'The BlackBerry Song', because everything we say in the song you could text-message to somebody".[2]

Because of the preponderant musical influence of artists such as Talking Heads, Blondie, Madonna, The Police and Eurythmics, whom producers Timbaland and Danja listened to during the writing of the album, "Promiscuous" takes inspiration from pop music of the 1980s.[1] The sexuality was based on the "strong women in control" of the 1990s, such as Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Salt-N-Pepa and TLC.[3]

A reference to basketball player Steve Nash in the song's lyrics led to speculation that he and Furtado were romantically involved, but both deny the link, with Nash commenting, "I'm flattered that she put me in her song, but I'm completely in love with my wife and two little baby girls".[4] Furtado decided to include him because she and Nash are both from Victoria, British Columbia, and due to frequent citations of basketballers in songs, she decided to "give him the props".[3]

In one of the verses Timbaland introduces himself as Thomas Crown. The Thomas Crown Affair is a film about wealthy businessman who plays a cat-and-mouse/flirting game with an insurance investigator.

Timbaland only performed the song live on special occasions, such as Furtado's appearance on Saturday Night Live, [5] and the 2006 MuchMusic Video Awards.[6] Starting with Furtado's show at the 94th Grey Cup on November 19, 2006,[7] and extending into the Get Loose Tour, Timbaland's part is filled in by Canadian rapper Saukrates.[8]

Reception

Critical reviews

"Promiscuous" was well received by music critics. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone considered it a highlight in Loose. Timbaland's appearance received particular praise, which added Furtado's "high-school musical vocals" over his eighty beats according to Sheffield.[9] Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine compared it to "vintage Prince", citing "Promiscuous" as a highlight of Furtado's makeover. However, Erlewine believed that no matter how much Furtado sings about sex, she does not sound sexy and does not "generate much carnal heat."[10]

IGN review considered the song "simultaneously annoying and yet catchy beyond belief" and listed as one of Loose's "Definitely Downloads",[11] Pitchfork called it "one of the best vocal performances of his [Timbaland's] career",[12] and Billboard called the duo Furtado and Timbaland "a surprisingly good match".[13]

The song was also included in three lists of best songs of 2006: fourth on Blender,[2] sixth at The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop,[14] and 56th on Rolling Stone.[15]

Chart performance

In Canada, the song's music video debuted on MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand after an interview with Furtado, in May 8, 2006.[16] On May 4 2006, "Promiscuous" debuted inside the top five on the Canadian Singles Chart, and on June 1 it became Furtado's first Canadian number-one single. After descending from the top ten, it reascended to number two after the release of Loose. "Promiscuous" spent twenty-five weeks on the Canadian Singles Chart, but was the year's shortest-running number-one single. The song peaked at number two on the BDS Airplay Chart and became one of Furtado's most successful single releases in her home country since "I'm Like a Bird", which was released in 2000.[17]

In the U.S. "Promiscuous" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number sixty-four, the week's highest debut.[18] It topped the chart for six weeks, from July 8 2006, and it became Furtado's first U.S. number-one single. The song topped Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play and Pop 100 charts and reached the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs top forty.[19] On the Billboard year-end chart it was ranked third, the highest placing for a single by a female artist.[20]

"Promiscuous" debuted at number five on the Australian ARIA Charts and peaked at number two in its third week.[21] It was released in Europe on August 18 2006 and reached number three in the UK. On December 31, 2006 BBC Radio 1 reported that "Promiscuous" was the thirty-eighth highest selling single in the UK in 2006.[22] The single re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number sixty-six in January 2007 because of The Official UK Charts Company's new rules.[23][24] It made the top ten in most European nations. The song peaked at number four for two weeks on the United World Chart, from October 7 2006.[25]

In Latin America, the single was released as the official third single, and in some countries the song was leaked to radio (in Peru, Colombia and Mexico). The song peaked at number thirteen on the Latin America Top 40 Airplay.[26]

On December 4, 2006, "Promiscuous" won "Best Pop Single of the Year" at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, beating Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" and Sean Paul's "Temperature".[27] The song was nominated for the "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, losing to Tony Bennett & Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life".[28]

Music video

File:PromiscuousVideo2.PNG
Furtado in the yellow lighting change.
File:Promiscuous nelly.video.jpg
Nelly Furtado singing with a microphone while Timbaland playing the drum kit.

The song's music video was directed by Little X and features cameo appearances by Keri Hilson, Bria Myles and Justin Timberlake. It does not follow a storyline and per Furtado's request, focuses on scenes with dancing and flirting because she wanted to recreate the song's indicative vibe, and took the opportunity to film a club video for the first time. Furtado said of the video, "It's that whole dance that goes on. There's that mystery there, the fun, playful sexiness, the verbal Ping-Pong game".[29] Furtado and Timbaland cannot decide whether they want to begin dating or instead flirt with others on the dance floor. Their single performances are intercut with several scenes of a dancing crowd, and the lighting changes between blue, green, red, and yellow colours.

"Promiscuous" premiered on MTV's Total Request Live on May 3, 2006, where it reached number one after spending twenty-one days on the countdown.[30] After its debut on MuchMusic's Countdown, it ascended to number one for the week of July 28 2006. At the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, it was nominated for the Best Dance, Female and Pop Video Awards.[31] The video was parodied by MADtv in a segment entitled "Syphilis Girl"; in the video, Furtado (Nicole Parker) is comically portrayed as having given Timbaland (Jordan Peele) the sexually transmitted disease[32] as well as on YouTube by Train of Thought Sketch Comedy where the video is parodied by troupe member Kaci and features a puppet version of Timbaland [1].

In the website YouTube, the video had been one of the most watched music video, having 28 million views and was Furtado's second most watched music video, behind the music video of Say It Right.[33]

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Promiscuous".

Remixes

  • Promiscuous (Ralphi Rasario Dirty Vocal) (8:00)
  • Promiscuous (Ralphi Rasario Dirty Vox Mix) (9:14)
  • Promiscuous (Ralphi Rasario Dirty Dub) (9:11)
  • Promiscuous (Ralphi Rasario Radio Edit) (3:43)
  • Promiscuous (Ralphi's Revisited Dub) (10:42)
  • Promiscuous (Morel's Pink Noise Vocal Mix) (6:43)
  • Promiscuous (Morel's Pink Noise Dub) (7:02)
  • Promiscuous (Morel's Pink Noise Edit) (3:37)
  • Promiscuous (Richard Vission Rerub Mix) (5:54)
  • Promiscuous (Richard Vission Rerub Edit) (3:48)
  • Promiscuous (Axwell Remix) (6:03)
  • Promiscuous (Axwell 2008 Remix) (3:54)
  • Promiscuous (AlSween Remix) (4:09)
  • Promiscuous (Bare Club Mix) (4:01)
  • Promiscuous (Samuel Remix)
  • Promiscuous (Sweden On Blast Certified Bananas Cut)
  • Promiscuous (OrangeFuzzz Slutty Radio Mix) (4:32)
  • Promiscuous (Sam998899's Radio Mix) (3:59)
  • Promiscuous (Blaster Project Cult Jam Mix)
  • Promiscuous (Hint's Yacht House Remix) (4:21)
  • Promiscuous (DJ TiSHo Remix) (4:18)
  • Promiscuous (Eyes Of House 2006 Club Mix) (5:23)
  • Promiscuous (DJ Alant Busted Mix)
  • Promiscuous (DJ €Festo Reggaeton Remix)
  • Promiscuous (Il Hot Final Remix Part 1)
  • Promiscuous (Il Hot Final Remix Part 2)
  • Promiscuous (Mastermind Remix)
  • Promiscuous (Jay Fresco Remix)
  • Promiscuous (Sound FX Remix)
  • Promiscuous (GotdioN Remix)
  • Promiscuous (LOL Remix)
  • Promiscuous (Gospel Remix)
  • Promiscuous (Wentell Remix)
  • Promiscuous (Crunk Remix) (3:19)
  • Promiscuous (PortuX-3891's Dirty PuSSy Licks Mix) (7:57)
  • Promiscuous (PortuX-3891's Dirty PuSSy Licks Radio Mix) (3:07)
  • Promiscuous (DJ Nicky T Electro House Remix) (4:04)
  • Promiscuous (Billy Franks Re-Edit – Ralphi Rasario Dirty Vox Mix) (10:28)
  • Promiscuous (Yianni Re-Edit – Ralphi Rasario Dirty Vocal) (8:24)
  • Promiscuous (The Josh Desi Remix) (4:36)
  • Promiscuous (The Josh Desi Instrumental Remix) (4:36)
  • Promiscuous (John P. Girl Mix) (4:24)
  • Promiscuous (John P. Girl Instrumental Mix) (4:24)

Other versions

  • Promiscuous (Radio Edit) (3:42)
  • Promiscuous (Radio Version) (4:06)
  • Promiscuous (Album Version) (4:02)
  • Promiscuous (Intro/Album Version)
  • Promiscuous (Instrumental Version) (4:00)
  • Promiscuous (Acoustic Version) (3:59)
  • Promiscuous (Clean Version) (4:06)
  • Promiscuous (Full Playback) (3:03)
  • Promiscuous (Leaked Version)
  • Promiscuous (A Capella) (3:43)
  • Promiscuous (Outro)

Credits and personnel

  • Lead vocals: Nelly Furtado, Timbaland
  • Audio mixing: Marcella Araica, Demacio Castellon
  • Vocal production: Jim Beanz
  • Background vocals: Nelly Furtado, Jim Beanz
  • Engineers: James Roach, Kobla Tetey
  • Drums: Danja, Timbaland
  • Keyboards: Danja, Timbaland

Charts

Chart (2006)[25][34][21][26][19] Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 2
Austria Singles Top 75 12
Belgian Singles Chart 6
Brazilian Hot 100 5
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart 1
Chilean Singles Airplay Chart 5
Croatian Singles Chart 1
Dutch Top 40 9
Danish Singles Chart 2
European Singles Chart 2
Estonian Singles Chart 1
Finnish Singles Chart 4
German Singles Chart 6
Hungarian Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart 5
Israeli Singles Chart 1
Italian Singles Chart 8
Latvian Airplay Chart 2
Lithuanian Airplay Chart 2
Norwegian Singles Chart 3
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 1
Poland National Top 50 Chart 2
Portuguese Airplay Chart 2
Romanian Singles Chart 2
South Africa 1
Swiss Singles Chart 6
Turkey Top 20 Chart[35] 1
UK Singles Chart 3
United World Chart 4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 2
Template:Succession box two to two
Preceded by Canadian Singles Chart number-one single
June 1 2006 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart number-one single
July 24 2006 - August 28 2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
August 5, 2006 - August 19, 2006 		Succeeded by
"C'est La Vie" by Kim English

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "NELLY FURTADO — Loose". The Story. An album overview. Retrieved October 29 2006.
  2. ^ a b "100 Greatest Songs of 2006: 25-1". Blender. Retrieved 2007-05-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b Shepherd, Julianne. "How Nelly Furtado Got Her Ghetto Pass". MTV.com. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  4. ^ Koha, Nui Te. "Songbird sexy and soaring ". The Sunday Herald Sun. July 23 2006. Retrieved September 18 2006.
  5. ^ "Kevin Spacey/Nelly Furtado". Saturday Night Live. Season 31. Episode 604. 2006-05-20. NBC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ 2006 MuchMusic Video Awards (TV). MuchMusic. 2006-06-18.
  7. ^ "Nelly Furtado performs at Grey Cup halftime show". CTV. 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  8. ^ "MP3.com Live: Nelly Furtado gets Loose". MP3.com. 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  9. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2006-06-15). "Nelly Furtado: Loose". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  10. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Loose Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 August. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Ptylik, Mark (2007-03-27). "Loose Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  12. ^ "Nelly Furtado "Promiscuous Girl [ft. Timbaland]" (Track Review)". Pitchfork. 2006-06-21. Retrieved 2007-07-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |name= ignored (help)
  13. ^ ""Single Reviews"". Billboard. 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2007-05-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "Pazz & Jop 2006: Singles Winners". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2007-10-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of the Year: 50-60". Rolling Stone. 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2007-10-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "COUPLA PICS: NELLY FURTADO". muchmusic.com. 2006-05-08. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  17. ^ "Chart Data: Nelly Furtado". mariah-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  18. ^ Hope, Clover. "Rihanna Stays Strong On Hot 100". Billboard. May 11 2006. Retrieved September 23 2006.
  19. ^ a b "Nelly Furtado - Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 23 2006
  20. ^ "2006 Year End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
  21. ^ a b "NELLY FURTADO FEAT. TIMBALAND - PROMISCUOUS (SINGLE)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  22. ^ "Official UK top 40 singles of 2006". BBC. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  23. ^ "The Official UK Top 75 Singles, January 8th 2007". Music Square. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  24. ^ "Official Chart rules are changing!". BBC. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  25. ^ a b ""Nelly Furtado and Timbaland - Promiscuous"". MusicSquare. Retrieved 2006-09-23.
  26. ^ a b "Promiscuous' Top Latino Top Position". toplatino.net. Retrieved March 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Billboard's Best Albums, Singles, and Artists of 2006". fox.com. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  28. ^ "The 49th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List". Field 1 - Pop, Category 8 - Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. Announced December 7 2006.
  29. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer. "Nelly Furtado Says She Can Be Brainy, Funny and 'Promiscuous'". MTV.com. May 15 2006. Retrieved October 29 2006.
  30. ^ "Total Request Live, June 2006". The TRL Archive. Retrieved 2007-06-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ "Shakira, Red Hot Chili Peppers Dominate 2006 VMA Nominee List". Rolling Stone. 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  32. ^ "Episode 05". MADtv. Season 12. Episode 1205. 2006-11-11. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ YouTube All Time Most Watched Music Videos
  34. ^ ""Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous (Full History)"". Top40-charts.com. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  35. ^ Turkey Top 20 Chart Retrieved August 12 2006

External links


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