"Strip That Down" is the debut solo single by English singer and songwriter Liam Payne, featuring guest vocals from American rapper Quavo, and Lil sauxe. It was released as the lead single for his forthcoming debut studio album on 19 May 2017, via Capitol Records in the UK and Republic Records in the US. The song was written by Payne, Ed Sheeran--who contributes uncredited vocals to the song, Steve Mac and Quavo. It was serviced to US contemporary hit radio on 23 May 2017. The song's accompanying music video was released on 2 June 2017. The lyrical content is supposed to reflect Payne's freedom to venture into raunchy musical elements after departing from the British-Irish boy band One Direction.
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Background
After One Direction went on a hiatus, Liam, who co-wrote songs on each of the group's five albums, intended to focus only on songwriting. He told Billboard:
To be honest with you, I wasn't going to do a solo venture. I was just going to go into songwriting and carry on and do that. But then I was like, 'You've been trying to do this since you were 14 years old. You would be ridiculously stupid to turn down the option to have a deal.' Coming out of the band, we had some pretty good opportunities around us. I had to do something.
The singer met Ed Sheeran in London in late summer of 2016, "We went in, sat around and discussed a bunch of things about life, and [the song] basically just came together," said Payne. After working with Sheeran and producer Steve Mac, Payne decided to add Migos member Quavo into the mix as the song's featured artist. While talking about how that collaboration came together in an interview with iHeartRadio, Payne said; "I was thinking, like rapper time, it was going to take two or three weeks. But, we got it, played it straight away, and we were like, 'We absolutely love it.' He's a great man to have on the team."
Stripper Dance Video Video
Composition
"Strip That Down" is a trap and hip hop-influenced pop and R&B track. Payne croons over "pulsating" synth-bass and chants with minimalist production style. Lyrically, the song contains themes of wealth, celebrity appeal and newfound career independence. While talking about the song, Payne said; "It just sets a few things straight, but then also the chorus is more about stripping back the music. I like to hear it loud sometimes, but sometimes you got to strip it back." For the concept of the song, Payne stated that they contemplated what Justin Timberlake would release as his debut solo single in 2017.
"Strip That Down" contains an interpolation of 2000 single "It Wasn't Me", written by Orville Burrell "Shaggy", Rikrok, Shaun Pizzonia, and Brian Thompson. "It Wasn't Me" interpolates War's "Smile Happy", composed by Sylvester Allen, Harold Ray Brown, Morris Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles William Miller, Lee Oskar, and Howard E. Scott. Therefore, they are also credited as songwriters.
Critical reception
Rolling Stone staff called it a "summer club banger". Writers from Billboard thought Payne "seems to be aiming for a DJ Mustard/Tyga vibe," and concluded that "the song's fun: The swaggering, Directioner-baiting pre-chorus especially, which is probably the JT-est thing any of the five members have done since going solo." Comparing it to One Direction's catalogue, Jordan Harris from Express and Star opined it "is a lot more danceable, incredibly fun to listen to" and added, "Another similarity, and one which Liam would do well to use as a benchmark going forward, is the vocal style of Justin Timberlake." In Digital Spy, Laurence Mozafari wrote "the song screams of trying to be grown up."
Music video
On 18 May 2017, the lyric video for "Strip That Down" was uploaded to Payne's Vevo channel. The music video for the song was released on the same channel on 2 June 2017. It starts with a female dancer performing, followed by a black-and-white scene with Payne. As the video transitions from black and white to colour, it shows Payne in a neon world of bright lights, dancing, and an appearance from featured artist Quavo.
Reviewing the "sleek, colorful" clip, Rolling Stone staff wrote: "Payne rocks gently in what appears to be the inside of tanning bed." In Digital Spy, Justin Harp opined Payne "sheds One Direction's wholesome image in the sexy music video," and added, "The promo clip does exactly what it says on the tin, as the former boybander demonstrates his newfound hip-hop vibe while slinking around with twerking back-up dancers." Mike Wass from Idolator wrote that the video is "as awkward as the song", saying: "The Migos rapper appears completely at ease in his surroundings, while Liam looks like he accidentally wandered on to the set."
As of September 2017, the video has over 140 million views on YouTube, becoming Payne's first Vevo-certified video.
Chart performance
"Strip That Down" charted within the top 5 in the charts of Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The single reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated 16 September 2017, becoming Payne's first top ten as a solo artist and Quavo's fourth. With his top ten, Payne becomes the third member of One Direction to achieve a solo Billboard Top 10 song, following Zayn and Harry Styles. In addition, One Direction joins The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and New Edition to have at least 3 members with solo Hot 100 songs reach the top 10.
Live performances
On 26 May 2017, Payne performed the song for the first time on The Graham Norton Show. The singer also performed "Strip That Down" at the Capital FM's Summertime Ball on 10 June, and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 22 June.
Track listing
- Digital download
- "Strip That Down" - 3:24
- Digital download - Acoustic
- "Strip That Down" (Acoustic) - 3:04
- Digital download - Nevada Remix
- "Strip That Down" (Nevada Remix) - 3:44
Charts
Certifications
Release history
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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