Look at Me Now
| Look at Me Now | |
|---|---|
| Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes | |
| publication | February 1, 2011 |
| length | 3:43 |
| Genre (s) | Hip hop |
| Author (s) | Chris Brown , Wesley Pentz , Jean Baptiste , Ryan Buendia , Dwayne Carter , Trevor Smith |
| Publisher (s) | Jive Records |
| album | FAME |
Look at Me Now is a song by the American singer Chris Brown . The rappers Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes appear as guest musicians. The title was released on February 1, 2011 as the second single from Brown's fourth studio album FAME , after which it rose to number six on the Billboard Hot 100 . In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 44 on the charts, in Germany it did not reach any position. At the Grammy Awards 2012 , the title was nominated twice, but received no award. From a commercial point of view, it was significantly more successful than previous Brown publications. For example, the song reached number one in the rap genre in the 2011 US annual charts.
The composition of the title was positively highlighted in some reviews, whereas the text was criticized as arrogant. The music video received mixed reviews. Some reviewers were impressed by the dance aspects and the color scheme, while others labeled the concept as not very innovative.
Background and publication
The song was written by Chris Brown, Wesley Pentz, Jean Baptiste, Ryan Buendia, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, according to the album booklet. Wesley Pentz (as Diplo ) and Afrojack also served as producers . They were supported by Free School, who appeared as co-producers. The recordings took place at The Record Plant , a recording studio in Los Angeles , and were directed by Brian Springer . The blend was created by Brian Stanley in the MSR Studios in New York City made.
One of the producers, Diplo , commented on the genesis of the song in an interview with Vibe magazine . So at first he assumed that it would be used for a mixtape of browns. However, after guest musicians Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes contributed to the title, it changed to a more radio-friendly song and it was felt to be unsuitable for a mixtape.
| country | date | format |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | February 1, 2011 | Download |
| France | ||
| Ireland | ||
| Netherlands | ||
| New Zealand | ||
| United States | ||
| United States | February 8, 2011 | Contemporary hit radio |
composition
"Look at Me Now" was described as a Dirty South- inspired hip-hop song that also featured rappers Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes . Chad Grischow stated that "throbbing basses, freaky synthesizers and siren noises" can be heard from the song . In addition, electronic background music can be recognized. The Idolator website said the song had a beat that evoked memories of the Cali Swag District hip-hop group's “ Teach Me How to Dougie ” track . When MTV News they wrote that the song by Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne and Brown get a "quick-rapping bustle of fantastic restraint", but at the same time an "uncanny beat slow" have.
The title text was widely criticized as arrogant. The website Idolator described that Brown raps first about how, despite what happened, he still plays an important role in the music industry before moving on to a "typical tasteless discussion about his manhood." The "incidents" mentioned related to his argument with Rihanna . In a review by the New York Times it was said that the text deals several times with the mutual relaxation of girlfriends.
Music video
background
The video was directed by Colin Tilley , who had previously worked with Brown on numerous occasions . It was filmed on February 16, 2011 in Los Angeles . The next day, pictures of the shoot appeared on the Internet for the first time, showing the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car and the ambulance from the video. It finally leaked on March 9, and was officially released a day later. In an interview with MTV News , Brown commented on the concept of the video. He noted that this was his first rap video and that he wanted it to look “old school”. The term referred to his youth in the 1990s.
Summary
In the first pictures you can see Brown spraying graffiti on a wall , then Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne are briefly faded in. Then the name of the song can be seen in white letters on a black background. In the first scene of the video, Brown, dressed in a mirrored mask, can be seen in a kind of bird cage, before the camera switches to an underground car park, which is covered with smoke and graffiti. In between, sequences are faded in in which some people dance in the garage. When Brown starts rapping, he's standing next to Busta Rhymes, wearing horn-rimmed glasses , a red baseball cap and a white baseball jersey, reminiscent of Mars Blackmon from the movie Nola Darling . Then you show Rhymes standing next to Brown and now sitting on a staircase as well. Finally, Lil Wayne raps his verse in front of a car that is also in the underground parking lot.
reception
Entertainment Weekly's Brad Wete said that "Busta's rapid movements and Weezy's frenetic verse" practically "drove Brown out of the video." However, he also said that Brown more than made up for his lyrical weaknesses with his dancing skills. Ed Easton noted that the video was "cool" and fun to watch. He also added that "the arbitrary sequence of colors displayed by Brown and his companion ensures that the viewer continues to watch the video". Amanda Hensel of PopCrush described the video as "a solid foundation for Brown's potentially big comeback in the music scene." Becky Bain criticized the clip, however, for having "a similar concept to many other videos in the past".
Awards and nominations
At the BET Awards 2011 the video won in the category "Video of the Year". At the MTV Video Music Awards 2011 in Los Angeles it was nominated in the categories "Best Hip-Hop Video" and "Best Collaboration", but it was against " Super Bass " by Nicki Minaj and " ET " by Katy Perry and Kanye West lost. At the BET Hip Hop Awards 2011 the clip won in the category "Best Hip Hop Video". Latifah Muhammad of The Boombox named the video seventh on their list of the best hip-hop and R&B videos and wrote that it was "an ode to old-school rap music".
success
reception
Jon Caramanica of the New York Times praised the title, highlighting the producers' “fabulous, insidiously memorable production”. In his opinion, the song is also the highlight of the album FAME . Hannah Ash was also convinced of the song and wrote that it demonstrated "fantastic raps by all the artists involved". At Yahoo! Music called it the "top track" of the album, which benefits from the "really excellent production and vocal savagery that is missing everywhere else". Ed Easton Jr. called the track an "imaginary hip-hop-based song," adding that Brown's rapper skills are nowhere near Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes' levels. Compared to the other two it would show how little personality Brown exuded in his own songs. In addition, he seems almost invisible through the two others.
Commercial win
| Annual charts USA (2011) | Highest position |
|---|---|
| Hot 100 songs | 21st |
| Hot digital songs | 13 |
| Hot R&B / hip-hop songs | 3 |
| Rap songs | 1 |
| Rhythmic songs | 9 |
| Hot 100 airplay | 27 |
| Ringtones | 3 |
| Hot R & B / Hip-Hop Songs Airplay | 3 |
| R&B / Hip-Hop Digital Songs | 5 |
| Mainstream R&B songs | 4th |
| Rap digital songs | 4th |
In Germany, Switzerland and Austria, the song did not enter the charts. In the USA it reached number 62 of the Hot R & B / Hip-Hop Songs in the first week , and after nine weeks it reached number one on this hit list. It stayed at this rank for a total of eight weeks. In the hit list of hot rap songs , the title was also able to place itself at number one. He stayed there for ten weeks. It was Brown's second number one finish on the list. He had previously succeeded in doing this in 2006 as a guest musician on Bow Wows “ Shortie Like Mine ”.
On the cross-genre Billboard Hot 100 , the song debuted at position eleven in February. After falling out of the top 30 in the charts, it reached its highest position in April at number six. With the entry into the top ten, it also became Brown's tenth hit among the top ten places on the Billboard Hot 100, although he only appeared as a guest musician on three songs. It was also his highest ranking since " Forever " reached second position in 2008. By December 2011, around 3,178,000 records had been sold in the USA alone.
| Charts | Highest position |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
44 (7 weeks) |
 United States
|
6 (27 weeks) |
| Hot R & B / Hip-Hop Songs (USA) |
1 (36 weeks) |
| Hot Rap Songs (USA) |
1 (31 weeks) |
Awards and nominations
The song received several nominations and awards. So Brown won with the help of the title at the BET Awards 2011 in the categories "Viewer's Choice Award" and "Best Collaboration". At the Soul Train Music Awards he was nominated in the category “Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year”, but lost to Nicki Minaj's “ Moment 4 Life ”. The song also won twice at the BET Hip Hop Awards : "Reese's Perfect Combo Award", "Verizon People's Champ Award". At the Grammy Awards 2012 , which took place on February 12, 2012, the title was nominated in the categories "Best Rap Performance" and "Best Rap Song". He lost to " Otis " by Jay-Z and Kanye West and " All of the Lights " by Kanye West featuring Rihanna , Kid Cudi & Fergie .
The song also landed on several leaderboards, including one from Rap-Up . There it took fourth place in the best song of 2011.
Awards for music sales
- Australia
Remixes and cover versions
On February 4, 2011, the American R&B singer Trey Songz posted a remix version of the song on his Twitter page with the addition of "Triggamix" . He asked in a verse why Brown had not asked him to contribute to the title. A so-called “ So-So-Def remix” of the title, recorded by rapper Da Brat , was published on the Internet on April 13th. The pop music duo Karmin uploaded a cover version of the piece of music to YouTube in April 2011 , which received 560,000 clicks within three days. The American rapper Mac Lethal also uploaded a cover version of the title on YouTube, which shows him baking pancakes while he sings the song at the same time. On April 14, 2011, Canadian singer Justin Bieber covered the title on his My World Tour in Tel Aviv , Israel .
Live performances
Brown sang Look at Me Now regularly during his FAME tour . When he was in Sydney in April 2011 for this reason , he was a surprise guest at a concert on Justin Bieber's My World Tour , where they sang the song together. At the BET Awards 2011 , where Brown was nominated seven times, he also appeared and sang “ She Ain't You ” and “ Paper, Scissors, Rock ” in addition to Look at Me Now . Here appeared Busta Rhymes in a brightly lit cube on the stage, which he left after his verse right back.
Contributors
Source: album booklet
- Chris Brown - songwriter, lead vocals
- Wesley Pentz - songwriter, producer
- Jean Baptiste - songwriter
- Ryan Buendia - songwriter
- Dwayne Carter / Lil Wayne - songwriter, guest musician
- Trevor Smith / Busta Rhymes - songwriter, guest musician
- Afrojack - producer
- Free School - co-producer
- Brian Stanley - Mixdown
- Mike Layos - Mixdown (Assistant)
- Ryan Kelly - Mixdown (Assistant)
- Brian Springer - recording
- Iain Findlay - Admission (Assistant)
Individual evidence
- ^ V Exclusive: Diplo Talks Producing Chris Brown's 'Look At Me Now;' Impressed With Breezy's MC Skills . vibe.com. March 30, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Look At Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes) - single . iTunes Store (Australia). Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Look At Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes) - single . iTunes Store (France). Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Look At Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes) - single . iTunes Store (Ireland). Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Look At Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes) - single . iTunes Store (Netherlands). Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Look At Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes) - single . iTunes Store (New Zealand). Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Look At Me Now: Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes . amazon.com. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases . All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ CHRIS BROWN . urchicago.com. March 22, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ A b Ed Easton Jr .: Chris Brown Drops Two New Tracks . 923now.radio.com. January 28, 2011. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ Chad Grischow: Chris Brown: FAME Review . au.music.ign.com. March 22, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ a b Hannah Ash: Chris Brown FAME review . harberherald.com. April 25, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ a b Chris Brown Rings In 2011 With “Look At Me Now” . idolator.com. January 3, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Akshay Bhansali: Afrojack Discusses His Part In Chris Brown's 'Look At Me Now' . mtv.com. January 19, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ^ A b Jon Caramanica: Critics' Choice: New CDs . nytimes.com. March 21, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ a b First Look at Chris Brown's 'Look at Me Now' Video with Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes . rap-up.com. February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ Video: Chris Brown f / Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes - 'Look at Me Now' . rap-up.com. March 9, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ a b Rebecca Thomas: Chris Brown Calls 'Look At Me Now' His 'First Rap Video' . mtv.com. March 21, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ a b Becky Bain: Chris Brown, Lil Wayne And Busta Rhymes Go Wild In “Look At Me Now” Video . idolator.com. March 11, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ a b Brad Wete: Chris Brown raps alongside Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes in 'Look At Me Now' video: Watch it here . music-mix.ew.com. March 11, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ Ed Easton Jr .: Chris Brown Says “Look At Me Now” In New Video with Busta & Weezy + Announces FAME Track List . 923now.radio.com. March 10, 2011. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ Amanda Hensel: Chris Brown Says 'Look At Me Now' In Hip New Underground Dance Video . popcrush.com. March 15, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ a b BET Awards 2011: Winners List . gigwise.com. June 27, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ↑ William Earl: 2011 MTV Video Music Awards Winners! . hollywoodlife.com. August 28, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ↑ a b BET Hip Hop Awards 2011 . bet.com. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ Latifah Muhammad: Best Videos of 2011 - Hip-Hop and R&B . theboombox.com. December 14, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Hot 100 ( Memento from December 9, 2011 on WebCite )
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Hot Digital Songs ( Memento from December 9, 2011 on WebCite )
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Hot R & B / Hip-Hop Songs ( Memento from December 9, 2011 on WebCite )
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Hot Rap Songs ( Memento from December 9, 2011 on WebCite )
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Rhythmic Airplay Charts ( Memento from December 9, 2011 on WebCite )
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Hot 100 Airplay ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Ringtones
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Hot R & B / Hip-Hop Songs Airplay ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Annual charts USA: R & B / Hip-Hop Digital Songs ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Mainstream R&B Songs ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Annual charts USA: Rap Digital Songs ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Chart trend USA: Rap, R & B / Hip-Hop
- ^ Gary Trust: Katy Perry Takes Third Week Atop Hot 100 with Airplay Boost . billboard.com. April 13, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Chart trend USA: Hot 100
- ↑ Paul Grein: Week Ending March 20, 2011: Songs: The Chris Brown Matter . music.yahoo.com. March 23, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Sales: Look at Me Now
- ↑ Chart placement UK
- ↑ Chart placement USA
- ↑ BET Awards 2011 Nominations Announced . thatgrapejuice.net. May 17, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
- ↑ Justin Joseph: Centric Announces 2011 Soul Train Awards Nominees, Chris Brown Leads With 5 Nominations . blogs.centrictv.com. October 20, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ↑ Justin Joseph: SOUL TRAIN AWARDS 2011 WINNERS . blogs.centrictv.com. November 27, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ↑ 2011 BET Hip Hop Award Winners . fashionably-early.com. October 11, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ Elena Gorgan: Grammys 2012: Nominations Announced . news.softpedia.com. December 1, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ↑ Top 2012 Grammy Awards winners . focus.de. February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ↑ Rap-Up's 10 Best Songs of 2011 . rap-up.com. January 4, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: Australia
- ^ New Music: Trey Songz - 'Look at Me Now (Triggamix)' . rap-up.com. February 4, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ↑ New Music: Da Brat x Jermaine Dupri - 'Look at Me Now (So So Def Remix)' . rap-up.com. April 13, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ↑ Hillary Busis: Watch Boston duo Karmin's amazing cover of Chris Brown's 'Look at Me Now' . music-mix.ew.com. April 15, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ↑ Kyle Bylin: Mac Lethal Rides 'Pancake Rap' to Big Social 50 Debut . billboard.com. December 8, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ↑ Video: Justin Bieber Raps to Chris Brown's 'Look at Me Now' . rap-up.com. April 14, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ↑ Jocelyn Vena: Chris Brown Takes Stage With Justin Bieber In Australia . mtv.com. April 28, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ↑ Mawuse Ziegbe: Chris Brown, Busta Rhymes Rip Avant-Garde BET Awards Performance . mtv.com. June 26, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
