Talking to the Moon (song)
Encyclopedia
"Talking to the Moon" is a song by singer-songwriter Bruno Mars
. The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine
, Albert Winkler, and Jeff Bhasker, while being produced by The Smeezingtons
, for Mars' debut studio album
, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
(2010). The song is part of the soundtrack
of Brazilian telenovela Insensato Coração
and reached number one on Brazil Hot 100 Airplay
.
, It's Better If You Don't Understand
, released on May 11, 2010 under Fueled by Ramen
. When asked about the lyrical content of the EP, Mars stated, "I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There's no tricks. It's honesty with big melodies. And I'm singing the s*** out of them." The track was later included on his debut studio album
, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
, released on October 4, 2010, almost five months later. "Talking to the Moon" was also included in an acoustic piano version on charity
compilation album
Songs for Japan
, released on March 25, 2011. As part of the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera Insensato Coração
, Warner Music released as an official single there, after high airplay. "Talking to the Moon" is a power R&B
ballad that lasts for three minutes and twenty-eight seconds. The song is composed in the key
of C# minor and is set in time signature
of common time
, with a ballad tempo
of 73 beats per minute. Mars vocal range spans from G4 to C6. It follows chord progression
E-G7-Cm-B-A.
considered said "Talking to the Moon" "is possibly the weakest simply because the heavy production threatens to overwhelm the centerpiece of Bruno Mars' singing. It is a big power ballad that would work well from the stage." Mike Diver of BBC Music
considered the song "a ballad devoid of detectable emotion", and Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
, while reviewing the debut studio album, said, "a malt-shop heart beats beneath the digital skin of tracks like the buoyant "Marry You
" and woebegone "Talking to the Moon"." Despite not being released as a single, the song reached number one on Billboard Brasil Hot 100 Airplay
and number one on the Hot Pop & Popular
component chart.
|}
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
. The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine
The Smeezingtons
The Smeezingtons is the name of a songwriting and production team consisting of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine.They have produced and written songs for artists and groups such as the Sugababes, Travie McCoy, B.o.B, Brandy Norwood, K'naan, Lil Wayne, Flo Rida, Chad Hugo, Lil Eddie, Bad...
, Albert Winkler, and Jeff Bhasker, while being produced by The Smeezingtons
The Smeezingtons
The Smeezingtons is the name of a songwriting and production team consisting of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine.They have produced and written songs for artists and groups such as the Sugababes, Travie McCoy, B.o.B, Brandy Norwood, K'naan, Lil Wayne, Flo Rida, Chad Hugo, Lil Eddie, Bad...
, for Mars' debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Doo-Wops & Hooligans is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, released on October 4, 2010. Mars' writing and production team The Smeezingtons were credited with writing all songs and serve as the album's executive producers...
(2010). The song is part of the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of Brazilian telenovela Insensato Coração
Insensato Coração
Insensato Coração is a Brazilian telenovela that first aired on Rede Globo in 2011.-Cast:* Eriberto Leão - Pedro Brandão* Gabriel Braga Nunes - Léo Brandão* Paola Oliveira - Marina Drumond* Glória Pires - Norma Pimentel Amaral...
and reached number one on Brazil Hot 100 Airplay
Brasil Hot 100 Airplay
Brasil Hot 100 Airplay is the official music singles charts in Brazil. It has been compiled by Crowley Broadcast Analysis and published monthly by Billboard Brasil since the release of the magazine, in October 2009....
.
Background and composition
"Talking to the Moon" was first recorded by Mars for his debut extended playExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, It's Better If You Don't Understand
It's Better If You Don't Understand
-Credits:*Bruno Mars — lead vocals, background vocals, songwriting*Bobby Simmons, Jr. — vocals, songwriting*Thomas Callaway — vocals*The Smeezingtons — background vocals, songwriting, producer*Keshown Cassell — producer*Albert Winkler — songwriting...
, released on May 11, 2010 under Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen is an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is based in New York City...
. When asked about the lyrical content of the EP, Mars stated, "I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There's no tricks. It's honesty with big melodies. And I'm singing the s*** out of them." The track was later included on his debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Doo-Wops & Hooligans is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, released on October 4, 2010. Mars' writing and production team The Smeezingtons were credited with writing all songs and serve as the album's executive producers...
, released on October 4, 2010, almost five months later. "Talking to the Moon" was also included in an acoustic piano version on charity
Charity record
A charity record is a release of a song for a specific charitable cause. Some of the earliest charity records came from the Music for UNICEF Concert, with ABBA's Chiquitita and the Bee Gees' Too Much Heaven among them released as singles, with all the royalties going to UNICEF...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Songs for Japan
Songs for Japan
Songs for Japan is a charity compilation album created to benefit relief efforts for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. A collaborative project between the music industry's "big four" record labels , the album was released through the iTunes Store on March 25, 2011 through Universal...
, released on March 25, 2011. As part of the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera Insensato Coração
Insensato Coração
Insensato Coração is a Brazilian telenovela that first aired on Rede Globo in 2011.-Cast:* Eriberto Leão - Pedro Brandão* Gabriel Braga Nunes - Léo Brandão* Paola Oliveira - Marina Drumond* Glória Pires - Norma Pimentel Amaral...
, Warner Music released as an official single there, after high airplay. "Talking to the Moon" is a power R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
ballad that lasts for three minutes and twenty-eight seconds. The song is composed 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 C# minor and is set in time signature
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....
of common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
, with a ballad tempo
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:...
of 73 beats per minute. Mars vocal range spans from G4 to C6. It follows 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...
E-G7-Cm-B-A.
Reception
The song received mixed reviews from music critics. While reviewing the debut EP, Bill Lamb of About.comAbout.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....
considered said "Talking to the Moon" "is possibly the weakest simply because the heavy production threatens to overwhelm the centerpiece of Bruno Mars' singing. It is a big power ballad that would work well from the stage." Mike Diver of BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
considered the song "a ballad devoid of detectable emotion", and Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, while reviewing the debut studio album, said, "a malt-shop heart beats beneath the digital skin of tracks like the buoyant "Marry You
Marry You
"Marry You" is a song by American recording artist Bruno Mars, released as the fourth single internationally from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Mars wrote the song with his production team The Smeezingtons, who also produced the track. "Marry You" incorporates influences of Reggae...
" and woebegone "Talking to the Moon"." Despite not being released as a single, the song reached number one on Billboard Brasil Hot 100 Airplay
Billboard Brasil
Billboard Brasil is a monthly Brazilian magazine launched on October 10, 2009, with a print-run of over 40,000 copies. It is distributed nationwide by Brazil's biggest distributor Dinap...
and number one on the Hot Pop & Popular
Billboard Brasil
Billboard Brasil is a monthly Brazilian magazine launched on October 10, 2009, with a print-run of over 40,000 copies. It is distributed nationwide by Brazil's biggest distributor Dinap...
component chart.
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Brazil Hot 100 Airplay Brasil Hot 100 Airplay Brasil Hot 100 Airplay is the official music singles charts in Brazil. It has been compiled by Crowley Broadcast Analysis and published monthly by Billboard Brasil since the release of the magazine, in October 2009.... (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... ) |
1 |
| Brazil Hot Pop Songs Billboard Brasil Billboard Brasil is a monthly Brazilian magazine launched on October 10, 2009, with a print-run of over 40,000 copies. It is distributed nationwide by Brazil's biggest distributor Dinap... (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... ) |
1 |
|}