The Middle (song)
| The Middle | |
|---|---|
| Zedd , Maren Morris & Gray | |
| publication | 23rd January 2018 |
| length | 3:03 |
| Genre (s) | Dance pop |
| Author (s) | Sarah Aarons, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Kyle Trewartha, Michael Trewartha, Anton Zaslavski |
The Middle ( English "The Center") is a song of the German-Russian DJs Zedd , in cooperation with the US American country - singer Maren Morris and coming also from the United States Electric - Duo Gray.
Creation and artwork
The song was written jointly by the Australian author Sarah Aarons, the American producer team The Monsters & Strangerz (consisting of: Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson and Marcus Lomax), the two Gray members Kyle and Michael Trewartha and Anton Zaslavski ( Zedd). The single was produced by the two Gray members, The Monsters & Strangerz and Zedd. The mix was done by the two Gray members, the American musician Tom Norris and Zedd. The song was released under the music label Interscope Records and published by BMG Platinum Songs , Copyright Control Shares, Kobalt Songs Music Publishing, R8D Music Publishing, Solo Ace, Sony / ATV Songs , Universal Music Publishing and Zedd Music Empire. On the cover of the maxi single - next to the artist name and song title - a shot flower can be seen. The background of the cover picture is kept green, in the middle there is a picture of a flower that was shot through in the middle.
Publication and promotion
Zedd first presented The Middle on 11 January 2018 in which he on his various social media channels a short compilation presented the song. The single was first released as a single download on January 23, 2018.
The single was advertised and supported by the second largest US retailer, Target Corporation , which made the piece the soundtrack of its “Target's spring style marketing campaign”. Target placed the piece for self-marketing in a commercial that was shown during the 2018 Grammy Awards . In order to further promote the piece, all three artists performed together during the Billboard Music Awards 2018.
background information
In The Middle is already the fourth one common single by Zedd and the US electro duo Gray. The two first worked together in 2016 for the single Candyman. Shortly afterwards they released the single Starving together . The piece was released on July 22, 2016 and was created together with the American pop singer Hailee Steinfeld , on whose album Haiz (Japanese Edition) the piece was also to be found. The single entered the charts worldwide and has sold over 3.5 million copies so far. In Germany, the piece was awarded a gold record for 200,000 units sold . Two months later, both parties released their third single, Adrenaline, on September 2, 2016. However, this failed to build on the first success and missed a chart entry.
Zedd already presented the piece last August. In an interview with Chris Martins from Billboard magazine , he played the demo version of The Middle for him. In this, the co-author Sarah Aarons can be heard as a singer. The interview was published on August 10, 2017. According to Universal Music , a total of 15 singers sang the song, with Morris' version ultimately prevailing.
content
The lyrics to The Middle are in English; Translated into German, the title means something like "Die Mitte". The music and the lyrics were written jointly by Sarah Aarons, the producer team The Monsters & Strangerz, the two Gray members and Zedd. Musically, the song moves in the area of dance pop . The tempo is 107 beats per minute . The song is based on two verses, a bridge and a chorus . The song begins with the first verse followed by the chorus. The same process occurs with the second stanza. The second chorus is followed by a bridge and finally the chorus again for the third time. The singing of the song comes from Maren Morris, the voice of Zedd can be heard in the background. Otherwise, Gray (guitar and drums) and Zedd (keyboard) only contribute to the instruments and the production.
- Refrain, original excerpt
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- Refrain, translation
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Music video
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A total of two music videos have been released for The Middle . First, on January 23, 2018, a poetry video premiered on YouTube . Directed by Chris Lowery and Dillon O'Neal of WE WRK WKNDS. The actual music video premiered on January 28, 2018, as part of the Grammy Awards . At the beginning of this one can see Morris who gets into an elevator and takes it to the top floor of a high-rise building. To order the elevator, she presses a red and white button that looks like a target, an allusion to the trademark of the Target Corporation . During the journey the picture suddenly pans around and you can see her on a stage, together with Zedd and dancers, singing the song. The stage structure resembles a skyline and there are circles on the stage floor that form a tunnel-like center. During the performance, Zedd is placed on one of the skyscrapers in the background and Morris sings the song on stage. During the rest of the course, only Morris can be seen with the dancers, in connection with a fireworks and light show. At the end of the video everyone meets in the middle of the stage and forms a red and white target - another allusion to the trademark of the Target Corporation. The total length of the video is around 3:04 minutes. Directed by the American director Dave Meyers . The shooting dragged on for 15 hours. To date, both music videos have over 56 million views on YouTube (as of February 2018).
Contributors
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Song production
Artwork (music video)
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Companies
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reception
Reviews
Kat Bein from Billboard magazine compared the piece “sonically” with Zedd's predecessor Stay and described it as “sparse” and “sweet”. In the same year, Bein named the song one of the 20 best "Poolside Songs" for the summer.
Brittney McKenna from Rolling Stone also drew comparisons to Stay and gave the song a "catchy tune" character.
MTV News' Madeline Roth joined Bein and McKenna. She not only compared the song to Stay , but also sees comparisons to Starving . The piece is a “catchy catchy tune” and she can imagine that the piece “dominates” the radiogram.
Taste of Country’s Billy Dukes described The Middle as "an impossible combination of electronic dance music (EDM) , 90s pop and modern country music ."
Henry Einck from the German-language music portal dance-charts.de described The Middle as a great “dance-pop number” with plenty of potential for the single charts. The extreme similarity to Stay is undisputed, but actually hardly plays a role. The song got its very own note due to the singer's distinctive singing. Zedd and Gray had taken up stylistic devices from Stay anew and packaged them in a new guise. This style is unique and you don't hear it a second time in the “mainstream area”. Particularly noteworthy is the harmony between vocals and instrumental .
Charts and chart placements
The Middle reached position 15 in the single charts in Germany and stayed in the charts for a total of 24 weeks. Furthermore, the single was placed in the official German dance top 20 for 24 weeks and reached its highest rating with position three. In Austria, the single reached position twelve in 27 chart weeks and in Switzerland position 27 in 26 chart weeks. In the UK, The Middle reached position seven and stayed in the top 10 for five weeks and in the charts for 31 weeks. In the United States, the single reached position five on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the top 10 for 16 weeks and in the top 100 for 40 weeks. Zedd also reached the top position in Singapore with The Middle and topped the US charts for the fourth time. American hot / dance electronic songs. In 2018, the single was placed 49th in the German annual single charts and 35th in Austria , 68th in the Swiss annual hit parade , 35th in the United Kingdom and eighth in the annual single charts in the United States .
For the two Gray members, it is the second chart success in all functions (authors, interpreters and producers) after Starving . It is also her first Top 10 success in the United Kingdom and her first in the United States. Morris reached the singles charts in the United States for the sixth time with The Middle , and with this she celebrated her first chart success in Europe. It's her first top 10 win in the United States. For Aarons it is the second worldwide chart success after Stay and also the second top 10 success as an author in the United States and the United Kingdom.
For Zedd as an interpreter, The Middle is the tenth chart success in the United States, as well as the ninth in Germany and the United Kingdom, the eighth in Austria and the seventh in Switzerland. It's his fourth top 10 hit in the United States and the United Kingdom. As a writer, this is Zedd's eleventh chart success in the United States, as well as his tenth in the United Kingdom, the ninth in Germany, the eighth in Austria and the seventh in Switzerland. It is his fifth top 10 win in the United States and third in the United Kingdom. As a music producer, The Middle is his twelfth chart success in the United States, as well as tenth in Germany and the United Kingdom, ninth in Austria and eighth in Switzerland. It's his fifth top 10 hit in the United States and fourth in the United Kingdom.
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Awards for music sales
In July 2018, The Middle was awarded a triple platinum record in Canada. In total, the single received three gold and 17 platinum records worldwide and, according to record awards and sources, has sold over 2.5 million times.
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
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 Australia (ARIA)
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 3 × platinum
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210,000 |
 Belgium (BEA)
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platinum
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30,000 |
 Brazil (PMB)
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platinum
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40,000 |
 Denmark (IFPI)
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platinum
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90,000 |
 Germany (BVMI)
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 gold
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200,000 |
 France (SNEP)
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gold
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100,000 |
 Italy (FIMI)
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platinum
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50,000 |
 Canada (MC)
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4 × platinum
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320,000 |
 Mexico (AMPROFON)
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platinum
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60,000 |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
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platinum
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30,000 |
 Sweden (IFPI)
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gold
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20,000 |
 United States (RIAA)
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3 × platinum
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756,000 |
 United Kingdom (BPI)
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platinum
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600,000 |
| All in all |
3 × gold 17 × platinum |
2,506,000 |
Main article: Zedd / Music Sales Awards
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Zedd, Maren Morris, Gray (28) - The Middle. discogs.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ a b repertoire search. online.gema.de, accessed on February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Zedd (Sort Of) Teased His New Single: Watch. billboard.com, accessed February 9, 2018 .
- ^ Zedd, Maren Morris and Gray Team Up with Target to Debut Performance of New Single 'The Middle'. people.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ 2018 Billboard Music Awards , National Broadcasting Company , May 20, 2018.
- ↑ Zedd, Dance Music's Anti-Bro, on Making Hits for Selena, Kesha and Liam and Why DJs Should 'Speak Up' On Trump. billboard.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ The Middle feat. Maren Morris & Gray. universal-music.de, accessed on February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ BPM for 'The Middle' by 'Zedd'. songbpm.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Music Videos. wewrkwknds.com, accessed July 28, 2018 .
- ^ A b Zedd, Maren Morris & Gray Lose Their Heads Over Love on 'The Middle': Listen. billboard.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Kat Bein: 20 Poolside Songs For Summer. billboard.com, May 6, 2018, accessed August 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Hear Maren Morris Sing on Vibrant New Zedd Song 'The Middle'. rollingstone.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Maren Morris Goes Pop On Zedd's Addictive New Song 'The Middle'. mtv.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Maren Morris Makes EDM Debut With Zedd, 'The Middle'. tasteofcountry.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Music video »Zedd feat. Maren Morris & Gray - The Middle. dance-charts.de, accessed on February 8, 2018 .
- ^ Zedd / Maren Morris / Gray - The Middle (Dance). officialcharts.de, accessed on September 2, 2018 .
- ↑ RIAS Charts April 6, 2018 ( Memento from April 24, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ RIAS Charts April 13, 2018 ( Memento from May 5, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Zedd. billboard.com, accessed February 8, 2018 .
- ^ Zedd / Maren Morris / Gray - The Middle. officialcharts.de, accessed on April 3, 2018 .
- ^ Zedd / Maren Morris / Gray - The Middle. austriancharts.at, accessed on March 22, 2018 .
- ^ Zedd / Maren Morris / Gray - The Middle. hitparade.ch, accessed on March 25, 2018 .
- ^ Zedd / Maren Morris / Gray. officialcharts.com, accessed March 31, 2018 .
- ↑ Top 100 annual single charts 2018. officialcharts.de, accessed on December 23, 2018 .
- ↑ Singles 2018 Hit Parade. Austriancharts.at, accessed on January 13, 2019 .
- ^ Swiss annual hit parade 2018. hitparade.ch, accessed on January 13, 2019 .
- ↑ End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2018. officialcharts.com, accessed January 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Hot 100 Songs - Year-End 2018. billboard.com, accessed December 4, 2018 .
- ↑ ARIA single charts. ariacharts.com.au, accessed February 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Goud en platina - Singles 2018. ultratop.be, accessed on June 16, 2018 (Dutch).
- ↑ Certificados. pro-musicabr.org.br, accessed December 4, 2018 (Portuguese).
- ↑ Zedd, Maren Morris And Gray "The Middle". ifpi.dk, accessed on June 11, 2019 (Danish).
- ↑ Gold / platinum database. musikindustrie.de, accessed on July 5, 2018 .
- ^ Les Certifications. snepmusique.com, accessed September 19, 2019 (French).
- ^ Certificazioni. fimi.it, accessed on September 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Gold / Platinum. musiccanada.com, accessed October 18, 2018 .
- ^ Certificaciones. amprofon.com.mx, accessed October 25, 2019 .
- ↑ NZ Music Charts. nztop40.co.nz, accessed March 23, 2018 .
- ↑ Sverigetopplistan. sverigetopplistan.se, accessed March 23, 2018 (Swedish).
- ↑ Matt Bjorke: Top 30 Digital Singles: January 15, 2019. roughstock.com, accessed February 9, 2019 .
- ^ BRIT Certified. bpi.co.uk, accessed July 27, 2018 .