Take It Off (song)
Encyclopedia
"Take It Off" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Kesha
, from her debut album, Animal
. The song was written by Kesha Sebert
, Lukasz Gottwald
and Claude Kelly
and it was produced by Dr. Luke
with vocal editing done by Emily Wright. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album on July 13, 2010. "Take It Off"'s initial writing consisted of Kesha attending a drag show and becoming turned on by transvestite men taking their clothing off. The song is an upbeat dance pop song that uses heavy amounts of auto tune and utilizes an electro infused beat.
Critical reception of the song has been mixed to positive. A complaint amongst critics was the demonstration of overly processed vocals with the use of auto-tune
. Other critics felt the song was a strong, irresistible dance-pop
song, strictly made for the dance floor with a carefree message. Due to strong digital sales from the release of Animal, the song charted in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada
before being announced as a single. After being released as a single the song reached the top ten in Canada, Australia and the United States. "Take It Off" has sold over two million copies in the United States as of February 2011.
Two music videos for the single were released. The first video features Kesha and her friends on another planet dancing around in a mosh pit
while slowly turning into star dust as they "Take It Off". The inspiration for the video was about taking off your inhibitions and being "raw and real." The second video features Jeffree Star
and features a more dominant animal theme while drawing from 80's themed inspiration such as; Tron
, David Bowie
in Labyrinth
, and Revenge of the Nerds
. On August 13, 2010 Kesha performed "Take It Off" along side earlier singles "Your Love Is My Drug
" and "Tik Tok" on NBC's Today Show.
, alongside Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly. The song was produced by Luke with vocal editing done by Emily Wright. During an interview with Esquire
magazine Kesha explained how the song was initially written, "I have a song [...] called 'Take It Off' about when I went to a drag show, and how really turned on I was by these transvestite men taking clothes off. I was like, What does that even make me?".
song that incorporates elements of electropop. The opening of the song utilizes a "thumping, electro-infused beat with furious crescendos" The chorus along with most of the song uses a "bubblegummy electro" beat used with heavy amounts of auto-tune. Daniel Brockman from The Phoenix
described the song as "a heavily Auto-Tuned reworking" of "There's a Place in France
". Monica Herrera from Billboard however, felt that the song "lifted heavily from Robert Miles
' 1995 trance-lite hit, "Children
."
According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing, the song is written in common time
with a moderate beat rate of 120 beats per minute
. The song is written in the key
of F minor
and has the sequence of D–E–Fm as the chord progression
. Kesha's vocal range in the song spans from the note of F3 to the note of C5. Music reviewer Bill Lamb commented on the lyrical writing of the song noting that the lyrics were symbolic, stating, "[the song] manages to expand out into an anthem about free expression [...] [a] celebration of the power of the night, and a bit of alcohol, to help shed inhibitions of the daytime." Lamb further commented that the lyrics drew similar reference to that of Lady Gaga
's commenting, "followers of Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour
will be familiar with this point of view [about free expression]."
gave the song a positive review saying, "Much like the rest of the album, this new song is simply made for the dance floor. And, much like Kesha herself, the track seems to embody relentless, carefree hedonism at its best." He also noted, "And when Kesha talks about a 'place I know', where 'they go hardcore and there's glitter on the floor' in the style of a six-grade camp ditty, it's hard for anyone to not feel the urge to just take it off." Bill Lamb of About.com
gave the single four out of five stars. He was concerned with the overall lyrical depth and over-use of auto-tune but he complimented the song for its "irresistibly catchy beat and chorus" with a "celebratory mood of dropping inhibitions." He noted that "with the volume turned up and the chorus encouraging you to 'take it off,' you may just feel inspired to follow the commands. The ultimate effect by the end of the song is very cathartic as it hints strongly that there is more to "take off" than simply clothing."
Monica Herrera from Billboard
magazine criticized the song for its demonstration of overly processed vocals noting how easily an artist can "get lost in a sea of auto-tone". She went on to state that it "make[s] it hard to tell whether the California party girl can actually sing". Robert Copsey of Digital Spy
met the song with a mixed review. He commented on the choice of the single, noting "the glimpses of emotion shown on her last offering, 'Your Love Is My Drug', are as long gone as her sobriety." Although he was not completely convinced he wrote, " [though] the vocals are more processed than a cheese string [...] the combination of a playful nursery rhyme hook and Dr Luke's bubblegummy electro production make this a pretty irresistible little dancefloor ditty." He went on to give the single three out of five stars. Fraser McAlpine of BBC
met the song with a mixed review giving the song three out of five stars. Fraser criticized the choice of the song commenting, "there's a fear that if Kesha reveals that she's a sensitive young flower after all, with real feelings and a good, pure heart, her appeal with disappear like a soap bubble on a cactus, can it?".
at number ninety-two on the issue date of August 7, 2010. The song steadily ascended the charts for six weeks before eventually reaching a peak of eight on its eighth week on the chart. The song received Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) for sales of 1,000,000 units in September 2010. With this feat Kesha became the second lead artist, following Lady Gaga
, to achieve four million selling songs in 2010. The song later crossed the two million paid downloads mark in February 2011, becoming her fifth song to do so. In Canada, the song ascended and descended the chart for twelve weeks before eventually dropping off the chart. On July 13, 2010, the song re-entered the chart at eighty-six. After ascending the chart for seven weeks the single reached an eventual peak of eight. As of June 2011, the song has sold 2,134,000 copies in the United States.
In the United Kingdom the song was listed on the UK Singles Chart for one week, dropping off the following week. On the issue date of August 28, 2010 the single re-entered the chart at forty-four. After steadily ascending the charts, the song eventually reached a peak of fifteen. In New Zealand, "Take It Off" entered the chart at thirty-two on the issue date of July 12, 2010. In the succeeding week the single rose ten spots to attain position twenty-two. The song has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
(RIANZ). After eight more weeks of steadily ascending the charts the single reached a peak of eleven on its tenth total week on the chart. On August 22, 2010 the single entered the Australian Singles Chart at twenty-nine. The song ascended the chart for three weeks eventually reaching a peak of five. It has since been certified two times Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) for sales of 140,000 units.
and Dori Oskowitz. Kesha revealed the main idea behind the video in an interview explaining that "[the video was] about [her] and all [her] hot vampire babe friends breaking into a hotel on another planet, and at the end we all turn into this beautiful stardust. Once you take it all off, all your inhibitions, your clothes, we're all made up of the same thing." She explained that she did not want the video to just be about "Taking it off", that the message behind the video and the theme wasn't "just about taking off your clothes and rolling in glitter. It's also about taking off your inhibitions and being raw and real".
The video starts off with Kesha seen on a motorcycle. She proceeds to walk as her friends follow behind her as they enter a motel area. As the chorus of the song starts, Kesha and her friends start to run around the motel dancing and jumping off railings. The friends gather around an empty pool and start tearing at each others clothing; While this is happening it is revealed they that are on a different planet and Kesha is seen rolling around in sand. Slowly as some of the friends start taking off their clothing, they begin to turn into star dust. The group starts to dance in the pool with some of the party goers exploding into dust. The remainder of the friends continue to dance in the dust that is now covering the bottom of the pool. As this is happening they all begin to lose different parts of their bodies as they explode into multicolored star dust. The video ends with everyone as dust with Kesha beginning to "unzip" herself as she turns into yellow dust.
Jocelyn Vena of MTV News
met the video with a positive review. She noted that Kesha "manages to embrace her inner party animal and throw a neon-colored party at an abandoned motel in the middle of nowhere." She stated that "While the concept of "a lot of pretty people dancing at dusk" is pretty simple, the neon colors manage to amp up the video, as does the colored sand that's thrown around in the air and mixed with glitter." Her conclusion of the video and of Kesha was that as simple as it may be, "she manages to be both sexy and fun while rolling around in the desert."
, David Bowie
in Labyrinth
, and Revenge of the Nerds
.) and we made this new video for take it off. it was really fun to make. i hope you guys like it". The video was directed by Skinny
.
The video begins with a scene of a leopard
with glowing blue eyes (later revealed to be Kesha) walking down an alleyway. The song's title flashes on the screen and the video pans to Kesha. She walks down the alleyway with two men who grab another man. Kesha spray-paints a dollar sign on his chest. They come to a party where she and her friends flash their tattooed dollar signs on their wrists and forearms in order to enter. As they enter, everyone starts dancing and the party-goers' faces are shown changing into different animals'. In the following scene, Kesha is seen sitting on a chair with two men by her side. Jeffree Star
then approaches Kesha. Kesha and Star engage in a choreographed dance battle; Star then shoots Kesha with a laser chain saw which she deflects with her bracelet, Kesha responds by shooting lasers out of her hands, killing Star. After the battle the party-goers crawl around Kesha and she is seen holding a gold cup with a blue foaming liquid spilling over the top of the glass. As Kesha gives the party goers a drink, their faces turn into different kinds of animals. The video ends with everyone dancing and turning into half animal humans, Kesha however, drinks from the cup and turns back into a leopard.
" and "Tik Tok" on NBC's The Today Show. In the performance she is seen wearing boots, fishnets, glitter shorts and a loose tank top. By the second verse, her dancers, that are dressed in black start to undress as the chorus starts, revealing gold shirts and tank-tops. The performance featured smoke machines with Kesha playing notes on an electric keyboard while crawling on the floor. She has also performed the song in a set for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. "Take It Off" was performed on November 21, 2010, at the 2010 American Music Awards
. The performance started off with Kesha opening with "Take It Off" while playing on the keyboard wearing a glowing robot helmet; she soon transitioned into "We R Who We R".
Kesha
Kesha village is a small village nestled in the mountains of Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan province, China, located at latitude 29 05' 50", longitude 109 57' 9". The name is pronounced in Standard Chinese. The official language is Manderin Chinese....
, from her debut album, Animal
Animal (Kesha album)
Animal is the debut studio album by American pop singer Kesha. The album was released on January 1, 2010, by RCA Records. Kesha worked with a variety of producers and writers such as Lukasz Gottwald , Benny Blanco, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, and others...
. The song was written by Kesha Sebert
Kesha
Kesha village is a small village nestled in the mountains of Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan province, China, located at latitude 29 05' 50", longitude 109 57' 9". The name is pronounced in Standard Chinese. The official language is Manderin Chinese....
, Lukasz Gottwald
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
and Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly is an American singer-songwriter. He has a prolific discography, well known for writing for artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson, Jay Sean, Adam Lambert, Jessie J and Charice.-Career:He began playing the piano...
and it was produced by Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
with vocal editing done by Emily Wright. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album on July 13, 2010. "Take It Off"'s initial writing consisted of Kesha attending a drag show and becoming turned on by transvestite men taking their clothing off. The song is an upbeat dance pop song that uses heavy amounts of auto tune and utilizes an electro infused beat.
Critical reception of the song has been mixed to positive. A complaint amongst critics was the demonstration of overly processed vocals with the use of auto-tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
. Other critics felt the song was a strong, irresistible dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song, strictly made for the dance floor with a carefree message. Due to strong digital sales from the release of Animal, the song charted in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
before being announced as a single. After being released as a single the song reached the top ten in Canada, Australia and the United States. "Take It Off" has sold over two million copies in the United States as of February 2011.
Two music videos for the single were released. The first video features Kesha and her friends on another planet dancing around in a mosh pit
Moshing
Moshing is a dance in which participants push or slam into each other. They also flail their limbs to breakdowns of hardcore punk and its sub-genres. It is most associated with aggressive music genres, such as hardcore punk and heavy metal...
while slowly turning into star dust as they "Take It Off". The inspiration for the video was about taking off your inhibitions and being "raw and real." The second video features Jeffree Star
Jeffree Star
Jeffree Star is an American model, fashion designer, make-up artist, DJ, and singer-songwriter residing in the Beverly Hills area...
and features a more dominant animal theme while drawing from 80's themed inspiration such as; Tron
Tron (film)
Tron is a 1982 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Lisberger, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Jeff Bridges as the protagonist Kevin Flynn; Bruce Boxleitner in a dual role as security program Tron and Tron's "User", computer programmer Alan Bradley; Cindy...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
in Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
, and Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds is a 1984 comedy film satirizing social life on a college campus. The film stars Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, with Curtis Armstrong, Ted McGinley, Julia Montgomery, Brian Tochi, Larry B. Scott, John Goodman, and Donald Gibb...
. On August 13, 2010 Kesha performed "Take It Off" along side earlier singles "Your Love Is My Drug
Your Love Is My Drug
"Your Love Is My Drug" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Kesha, from her debut album, Animal. It was released as the album's third single on May 14, 2010. The song was written by Kesha, Pebe Sebert, with Ammo, who co-produced the song with Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. "Your Love...
" and "Tik Tok" on NBC's Today Show.
Writing and inspiration
"Take It Off" was written by KeshaKesha
Kesha village is a small village nestled in the mountains of Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan province, China, located at latitude 29 05' 50", longitude 109 57' 9". The name is pronounced in Standard Chinese. The official language is Manderin Chinese....
, alongside Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly. The song was produced by Luke with vocal editing done by Emily Wright. During an interview with Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
magazine Kesha explained how the song was initially written, "I have a song [...] called 'Take It Off' about when I went to a drag show, and how really turned on I was by these transvestite men taking clothes off. I was like, What does that even make me?".
Composition
"Take It Off" is an upbeat dominant dance-popDance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song that incorporates elements of electropop. The opening of the song utilizes a "thumping, electro-infused beat with furious crescendos" The chorus along with most of the song uses a "bubblegummy electro" beat used with heavy amounts of auto-tune. Daniel Brockman from The Phoenix
The Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
described the song as "a heavily Auto-Tuned reworking" of "There's a Place in France
The Streets of Cairo, or the Poor Little Country Maid
"The Streets of Cairo, or the Poor Little Country Maid", also known as "the snake charmer song", is a well-known melody in the United States. Alternate titles for children's songs using this melody include "The Girls in France" and "The Southern Part of France".- History :Purportedly the original...
". Monica Herrera from Billboard however, felt that the song "lifted heavily from Robert Miles
Robert Miles
Robert Miles is an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ in electronica and alternative music.-Biography:...
' 1995 trance-lite hit, "Children
Children (song)
"Children" is a single by electronica composer Robert Miles from his album Dreamland. "Children" is Miles' most successful single, being certified Gold and Platinum in several countries and it reaching #1 in more than 12 countries...
."
According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing, the song is written in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
with a moderate beat rate of 120 beats per minute
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
. The song is written in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of F minor
F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. The harmonic minor raises the E to E. Its key signature has four flats ....
and has the sequence of D–E–Fm as the chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
. Kesha's vocal range in the song spans from the note of F3 to the note of C5. Music reviewer Bill Lamb commented on the lyrical writing of the song noting that the lyrics were symbolic, stating, "[the song] manages to expand out into an anthem about free expression [...] [a] celebration of the power of the night, and a bit of alcohol, to help shed inhibitions of the daytime." Lamb further commented that the lyrics drew similar reference to that of Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's commenting, "followers of Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American recording artist Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her album The Fame Monster and comprising a set list of songs from that and her debut album The Fame , the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 2009 through 2011...
will be familiar with this point of view [about free expression]."
Critical reception
Amar Toor from AOL RadioAOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
gave the song a positive review saying, "Much like the rest of the album, this new song is simply made for the dance floor. And, much like Kesha herself, the track seems to embody relentless, carefree hedonism at its best." He also noted, "And when Kesha talks about a 'place I know', where 'they go hardcore and there's glitter on the floor' in the style of a six-grade camp ditty, it's hard for anyone to not feel the urge to just take it off." Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
gave the single four out of five stars. He was concerned with the overall lyrical depth and over-use of auto-tune but he complimented the song for its "irresistibly catchy beat and chorus" with a "celebratory mood of dropping inhibitions." He noted that "with the volume turned up and the chorus encouraging you to 'take it off,' you may just feel inspired to follow the commands. The ultimate effect by the end of the song is very cathartic as it hints strongly that there is more to "take off" than simply clothing."
Monica Herrera from Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine criticized the song for its demonstration of overly processed vocals noting how easily an artist can "get lost in a sea of auto-tone". She went on to state that it "make[s] it hard to tell whether the California party girl can actually sing". Robert Copsey of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
met the song with a mixed review. He commented on the choice of the single, noting "the glimpses of emotion shown on her last offering, 'Your Love Is My Drug', are as long gone as her sobriety." Although he was not completely convinced he wrote, " [though] the vocals are more processed than a cheese string [...] the combination of a playful nursery rhyme hook and Dr Luke's bubblegummy electro production make this a pretty irresistible little dancefloor ditty." He went on to give the single three out of five stars. Fraser McAlpine of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
met the song with a mixed review giving the song three out of five stars. Fraser criticized the choice of the song commenting, "there's a fear that if Kesha reveals that she's a sensitive young flower after all, with real feelings and a good, pure heart, her appeal with disappear like a soap bubble on a cactus, can it?".
Chart performance
In January 2010, due to strong digital sales, the song charted in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, debuting at numbers eighty-five, forty-five, and one hundred and twelve respectively. In the United States, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number ninety-two on the issue date of August 7, 2010. The song steadily ascended the charts for six weeks before eventually reaching a peak of eight on its eighth week on the chart. The song received Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) for sales of 1,000,000 units in September 2010. With this feat Kesha became the second lead artist, following Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, to achieve four million selling songs in 2010. The song later crossed the two million paid downloads mark in February 2011, becoming her fifth song to do so. In Canada, the song ascended and descended the chart for twelve weeks before eventually dropping off the chart. On July 13, 2010, the song re-entered the chart at eighty-six. After ascending the chart for seven weeks the single reached an eventual peak of eight. As of June 2011, the song has sold 2,134,000 copies in the United States.
In the United Kingdom the song was listed on the UK Singles Chart for one week, dropping off the following week. On the issue date of August 28, 2010 the single re-entered the chart at forty-four. After steadily ascending the charts, the song eventually reached a peak of fifteen. In New Zealand, "Take It Off" entered the chart at thirty-two on the issue date of July 12, 2010. In the succeeding week the single rose ten spots to attain position twenty-two. The song has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
(RIANZ). After eight more weeks of steadily ascending the charts the single reached a peak of eleven on its tenth total week on the chart. On August 22, 2010 the single entered the Australian Singles Chart at twenty-nine. The song ascended the chart for three weeks eventually reaching a peak of five. It has since been certified two times Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) for sales of 140,000 units.
Version One
The original video for "Take It Off" premiered on Vevo on August 3, 2010. It was directed by Paul HunterPaul Hunter (director)
Paul Hunter is a music video director known for his high-budget, visually distinctive videos for popular music singles. He has directed over 100 music videos, many television advertisements and was nominated for an Emmy for Nike's Freestyle commercial...
and Dori Oskowitz. Kesha revealed the main idea behind the video in an interview explaining that "[the video was] about [her] and all [her] hot vampire babe friends breaking into a hotel on another planet, and at the end we all turn into this beautiful stardust. Once you take it all off, all your inhibitions, your clothes, we're all made up of the same thing." She explained that she did not want the video to just be about "Taking it off", that the message behind the video and the theme wasn't "just about taking off your clothes and rolling in glitter. It's also about taking off your inhibitions and being raw and real".
The video starts off with Kesha seen on a motorcycle. She proceeds to walk as her friends follow behind her as they enter a motel area. As the chorus of the song starts, Kesha and her friends start to run around the motel dancing and jumping off railings. The friends gather around an empty pool and start tearing at each others clothing; While this is happening it is revealed they that are on a different planet and Kesha is seen rolling around in sand. Slowly as some of the friends start taking off their clothing, they begin to turn into star dust. The group starts to dance in the pool with some of the party goers exploding into dust. The remainder of the friends continue to dance in the dust that is now covering the bottom of the pool. As this is happening they all begin to lose different parts of their bodies as they explode into multicolored star dust. The video ends with everyone as dust with Kesha beginning to "unzip" herself as she turns into yellow dust.
Jocelyn Vena of MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
met the video with a positive review. She noted that Kesha "manages to embrace her inner party animal and throw a neon-colored party at an abandoned motel in the middle of nowhere." She stated that "While the concept of "a lot of pretty people dancing at dusk" is pretty simple, the neon colors manage to amp up the video, as does the colored sand that's thrown around in the air and mixed with glitter." Her conclusion of the video and of Kesha was that as simple as it may be, "she manages to be both sexy and fun while rolling around in the desert."
Version Two
The song's second video was released via Kesha's YouTube account. She revealed the video's completion, release and inspiration through a video description quote saying, "heyy to all my fans! so me [and] my friends were bored and we were really channeling some 80's [inspiration] (TronTron (film)
Tron is a 1982 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Lisberger, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Jeff Bridges as the protagonist Kevin Flynn; Bruce Boxleitner in a dual role as security program Tron and Tron's "User", computer programmer Alan Bradley; Cindy...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
in Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
, and Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds is a 1984 comedy film satirizing social life on a college campus. The film stars Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, with Curtis Armstrong, Ted McGinley, Julia Montgomery, Brian Tochi, Larry B. Scott, John Goodman, and Donald Gibb...
.) and we made this new video for take it off. it was really fun to make. i hope you guys like it". The video was directed by Skinny
SKINNY (directing team)
SKINNY is a directing team based in Los Angeles that specializes in music videos. It is composed of David Hache, Marc-Edouard Leon and Dori Oskowitz. SKINNY is known for developing its concepts through the use of creative methods that are deeply rooted in mysticism...
.
The video begins with a scene of a leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
with glowing blue eyes (later revealed to be Kesha) walking down an alleyway. The song's title flashes on the screen and the video pans to Kesha. She walks down the alleyway with two men who grab another man. Kesha spray-paints a dollar sign on his chest. They come to a party where she and her friends flash their tattooed dollar signs on their wrists and forearms in order to enter. As they enter, everyone starts dancing and the party-goers' faces are shown changing into different animals'. In the following scene, Kesha is seen sitting on a chair with two men by her side. Jeffree Star
Jeffree Star
Jeffree Star is an American model, fashion designer, make-up artist, DJ, and singer-songwriter residing in the Beverly Hills area...
then approaches Kesha. Kesha and Star engage in a choreographed dance battle; Star then shoots Kesha with a laser chain saw which she deflects with her bracelet, Kesha responds by shooting lasers out of her hands, killing Star. After the battle the party-goers crawl around Kesha and she is seen holding a gold cup with a blue foaming liquid spilling over the top of the glass. As Kesha gives the party goers a drink, their faces turn into different kinds of animals. The video ends with everyone dancing and turning into half animal humans, Kesha however, drinks from the cup and turns back into a leopard.
Live performances
On August 13, 2010 Kesha performed "Take It Off" along side earlier singles "Your Love Is My DrugYour Love Is My Drug
"Your Love Is My Drug" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Kesha, from her debut album, Animal. It was released as the album's third single on May 14, 2010. The song was written by Kesha, Pebe Sebert, with Ammo, who co-produced the song with Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. "Your Love...
" and "Tik Tok" on NBC's The Today Show. In the performance she is seen wearing boots, fishnets, glitter shorts and a loose tank top. By the second verse, her dancers, that are dressed in black start to undress as the chorus starts, revealing gold shirts and tank-tops. The performance featured smoke machines with Kesha playing notes on an electric keyboard while crawling on the floor. She has also performed the song in a set for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. "Take It Off" was performed on November 21, 2010, at the 2010 American Music Awards
American Music Awards of 2010
The 38th American Music Awards were held November 21, 2010 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from 2010. Nominees were announced on October 12, 2010. Justin Bieber was nominated for, and won, four awards, including Artist of...
. The performance started off with Kesha opening with "Take It Off" while playing on the keyboard wearing a glowing robot helmet; she soon transitioned into "We R Who We R".
Credits and personnel
- Songwriting – Kesha Sebert, Lukasz Gottwald, Claude KellyClaude KellyClaude Kelly is an American singer-songwriter. He has a prolific discography, well known for writing for artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson, Jay Sean, Adam Lambert, Jessie J and Charice.-Career:He began playing the piano...
- Production – Dr. Luke
- Instruments and programming – Dr. Luke
- Vocal Editing – Emily Wright
- Background Vocals – Claude Kelly, Aniela Gottwald, Tatiana Gottwald, Lukasz Gottwald, Graham Bryce
- Engineering – Emily Wright, Sam Holland
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Charts | 45 |
| Canadian Hot 100 | 48 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart | 54 |
| UK Singles Chart | 133 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 59 |
Certifications
| Region | Certifications |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
2× Platinum |
| New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
Gold |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Platinum |
Chart procession and succession
Radio add dates
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United States | July 13, 2010 |
| Australia | July 19, 2010 |