Telephone (song)
Encyclopedia
"Telephone" is a song written and performed by Lady Gaga
. It was released from her third extended play
(EP) and second major release The Fame Monster
(2009). The song, featuring American R&B
singer Beyoncé Knowles
, was written by Gaga and Rodney Jerkins
. Inspired by her "Fear of Suffocation Monster", Gaga explained that the lyrics portray herself preferring the dance floor instead of answering her lover's phone call and noted that the telephone addressed in the lyrics of the song is, in reality, a person telling her to continue working harder. Musically, "Telephone" consists of an expanded bridge
, verse-rap and an epilogue
where the voice of an operator announces that the phone line is unreachable. Knowles appears in the middle of the song, singing the verses in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats.
A critical success, most contemporary critics frequently noted "Telephone" as a stand-out track from The Fame Monster and it was Grammy
-nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
in 2011. "Telephone" charted in a number of countries due to digital sales following the album's release, namely in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Hungary. The song was particularly successful in Europe where it reached the top of the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the single sold 7.4 million digital copies
worldwide in 2010.
The accompanying music video is a continuation of the video for her 2009 song "Paparazzi
" and is also shot as a short film. After being bailed out of prison by Beyoncé, she and Gaga go to a diner where they kill the guests having breakfast. Upon escape from the diner, the two end up in a high speed police chase. The video referenced Quentin Tarantino
and his films Kill Bill: Vol. 1
(2003) and Pulp Fiction
(1994). Many critics praised the video, but some criticized its violence and themes. In memory of Alexander McQueen
, Gaga performed an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" mixed with "Dance in the Dark
" at the 2010 BRIT Awards
. It was also added to the set list of The Monster Ball Tour
in 2010. A Britney Spears
demo of "Telephone" leaked onto the web in May 2010.
. Gaga said, "I wrote it for her (Spears) a long time ago and she just didn't use it for her album. It's fine because I love the song and I get to perform it now." Additionally, the guest vocalist was originally going to be Spears, but ultimately Gaga made Knowles the featured vocalist instead. The main inspiration behind the song was Gaga's fear of suffocation
as she felt that she seldom found time to just let loose and have fun.
In May 2011, Gaga said her "emotional connection" with the song was difficult. When she was asked if it was because the song was originally written for Britney Spears, she answered: "Well that’s not exactly what happened, but I don’t want to delve into that. I could delve into it if you turn that (motions to recorder) off... But ultimately the mix and the process of getting the production finished was very stressful for me. So when I say it’s my worst song it has nothing to do with the song, just my emotional connection to it."
, LaShawn Daniels
, Lazonate Franklin and Knowles. Although constructed as a duet, Knowles' first appearance is in the middle verse. She sings her lyrics through a brief interlude, and later backs the chorus
during the rest of the song. The song starts off unassumingly, with Gaga singing in a solemn voice over a harp
melody, which changes immediately to a pounding beat. Essentially, Gaga is in a club and her boyfriend keeps ringing, but she cannot talk as she was drinking and dancing to her favourite song. The chorus runs as follows: "Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to talk anymore." "Telephone" consists of an expanded bridge
, verse-rap and an epilogue
where a voice announces that the telephone line is not reachable at that moment. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing
, the song is set in the time signature
of common time, with a tempo
of 122 beats per minute. Gaga's vocals range from the low-note of F3 to the high-note of C5. It is set in the key
of F minor
, specifically, F Dorian mode, and has a basic sequence of Fm–A–B–Fm as its chord progression
.
"Telephone"'s lyrics relate to the singer preferring the dance floor to answering someone's call. The verses are sung in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats. According to Gaga, the phone addressed in the lyrics of the song is not a physical phone, but a person in her head telling her to keep working harder and harder. Gaga explained, "That's my fear—that the phone's ringing and my head's ringing, ... Whether it's a telephone or it's just the thoughts in your head, that's another fear."
said that the song was "probably the best thing here [on The Fame Monster]." He also complimented the "brilliant bridge" and the ending of the song where the caller gets through to her voicemail. Popjustice
gave the song a positive review: "It's a little bit like Gwen
's 'What You Waiting For?
' meets Timbaland
's 'The Way I Are
' meets about fifty other things ... The structure's quite exciting ... there is something tumultuously brilliant about Beyoncé's contribution that makes everything seem fine and as if it was the plan all along." Evan Sawdey from PopMatters
said that "The much talked-about Beyoncé collaboration 'Telephone', which—with its double-time beat and rapid-fire verses—proves to be one of the most adrenaline-pumped songs that Gaga has yet crafted, the whole thing feeling like it's about to veer of [sic
] the tracks at any moment simply due to the giddy excitement shared between the two divas, easily turning it into the unquestioned highlight of The Fame Monster".
Amy Phillips from Pitchfork.com placed "Telephone" at number 55 in its "Top Tracks of 2010" saying it was "one of the less weird tracks on The Fame Monster..." Bill Lamb from About.com
listed it among the top tracks on the album and said: "The Beyoncé assisted 'Telephone' is a club stomper that will draw in R&B and Hip Hop fans as well on the radio." In a separate review, he compared it to the "Just Dance" era and commented: "An odd track for a lot of reasons. Lyrically, it is a successor to 'Just Dance'. The lyrics involve Gaga talking about not wanting to use her phone in the club. Having a track like this, when it feels like 'Just Dance' was so long ago and a different Gaga, is a little awkward. Especially when it is a planned single ... It's fun and disposable but there are better tracks on The Fame Monster to offer as singles". Mikael Woods from Los Angeles Times
felt that "Telephone" is " a carefully considered meditation on how annoying it is when a dude keeps calling you while you're throwing down at the club."
Nicki Escuerdo from Phoenix New Times
listed "Telephone" as a stand-out track from the album. Sarah Hajibagheri from The Times
and Armond White
, music and film critic for the New York Press
, were not impressed with the song. Hajibagheri said "The appearance of Beyoncé's vocal alongside ringtones on Telephone adds to the sense of utter chaos." White elaborated that "[The song] celebrates a heedless refusal to communicate; to mindlessly, heartlessly indulge pop culture—Tarantino style." Melanie Bertoldi from Billboard
gave the song a positive review, stating "Much like Kesha
's 'Blah Blah Blah
', 'Telephone' sets out to silence bugaboos, with whom featured artist Beyoncé is all too familiar. ... By the time "Telephone" surges through a wall of cellular bleeps to return to its simple introduction, Gaga and Beyoncé have left the listener with just one option: surrender to the dancefloor." "Telephone" was ranked at number three by Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
on his Top 25 Singles of the 2010 list. The single received a Grammy
nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
. On April 26, 2011, Gary Trust of Billboard
listed "Telephone" at the fourth position on his list of the 10 All-Female Hit Collaborations."
issue dated , 2009, at number thirty-five, due to digital sales. After a few weeks fluctuating up the charts, "Telephone" reached a peak of three, becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive top ten hit in the United States. The song peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart on the issue dated , 2010. On , 2010, Billboard announced that the song reached number one on the Pop Songs chart, thus becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive number-one on the chart, making her the only artist in history to do this. It also became Beyoncé's sixth number-one on Pop Songs. With this, Gaga and Beyoncé tied with Mariah Carey
for most number-ones since the Nielsen BDS-based
Top 40 airplay chart launched in 1992. As of October 8, 2011, "Telephone" has sold 3,011,000 digital downloads in the United States.
In Australia, the song has reached a peak of three. "Telephone" was certified three-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) for shipments of 210,000 copies of the single. In New Zealand, the song debuted at thirty-one, becoming the highest debut of that week. On , 2010, the song reached a peak of three on the chart. "Telephone" debuted at number fourteen on the Canadian Hot 100
and moved to a peak of three, making it Gaga's sixth consecutive top three single there. The song has been certified three times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
(CRIA) for shipments of 120,000 digital downloads.
In the United Kingdom, "Telephone" reached number twelve on the UK Singles Chart
, on , 2010. The next week "Telephone" topped the chart and became her fourth British number-one single. It has sold 635,000 copies to date. In Ireland, the song debuted at number twenty-six, and moved up to number two before reaching the summit of the chart the following week. "Telephone" debuted at thirty-three on the Swedish charts, and in the top-ten at number three on the Hungarian charts. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the song has sold 7.4 million copies across the world in 2010.
. New York
magazine reported that the concept of the video involved Beyoncé as she bails Gaga out of jail. In published photos from the set, Gaga and Beyoncé were seen shooting in a car called the "Pussy Wagon", which Uma Thurman
's character drove in Quentin Tarantino
's 2003 film Kill Bill: Vol. 1
. Other concepts of the video involve scenes at a diner, a cameo from singer Tyrese Gibson, and a prison shower scene. Gaga and Beyoncé wore "destroyed denim pieces", designed by Frank Fernández and Oscar Olima. In an interview with E! Online, Gaga explained the deeper meaning behind the video.
On February 5, 2010, Gaga was interviewed by Ryan Seacrest
on KIIS-FM
. She commented on the video, saying, "What I like about it is it's a real true pop event, and when I was younger, I was always excited when there was a big giant event happening in pop music and that's what I wanted this to be." Rock band Semi Precious Weapons
confirmed to MTV News that they would have a cameo role
in the music video.
" left off after Gaga was arrested for killing
her boyfriend by poisoning his drink. She is taken to a women's prison, where she is led to her cell by two prison guards, who strip her of shoulder-padded dress and left standing nude, while she is mocked by the other prison inmates. One of the guards comments, "I told you she didn't have a dick
", referring to the rumors that Gaga is intersex
. For the first three minutes, the video shows Gaga's activities in the prison—including kissing another female prisoner in the exercise yard, wearing sunglasses made out of half-smoked cigarette
s, and catfights in the commissary. Gaga's sister, Natali Germanotta, makes a cameo in the commissary scene. After that, Gaga answers a call from Beyoncé, and begins to sing the song. She performs the first verse and chorus with other scantily clad inmates, followed by a bridge featuring Gaga wearing only yellow "Caution" tape.
Gaga is bailed out and exits to find Beyoncé waiting for her in the "Pussy Wagon
". Beyoncé is nicknamed Honey Bee, a reference to the character Honey Bunny in Tarantino's 1994 crime film Pulp Fiction
. After an exchange of dialogues, they travel through a desert and pull over at a diner. Beyoncé sits opposite to Gibson, but tires of his stupidity and poisons him, but it does not kill him like she had hoped. The video then shifts to an intermediate sequence called "Let's Make a Sandwich". Gaga stands in a kitchen, wearing a folded-up telephone on her head, while dancers cavort behind her, holding salad tongs and assorted cutlery. Ultimately, she prepares a sandwich and eats it, after a dance sequence. In the meantime, she mixes poison into all of the dishes she is preparing for the unsuspecting customers causing Gibson and everybody else, including characters played by Semi Precious Weapons
and her Great Dane
, Lava, to die. Gaga and Beyoncé perform another dance sequence, wearing American flag inspired garments and shredded denims, while strutting around the dead bodies. They then leave in the "Pussy Wagon" and travel on a highway as news reporter (played by Jai Rodriguez
) reports the murders. The last shots show Gaga and Beyoncé travelling through a desert with police sirens wailing in the background. The video ends with the line "To Be Continued ..." followed by end credits.
and Vevo
on , 2010.
James Montogomery from MTV commented: "With 'Telephone', Gaga has entered the rarest of pop stratospheres, up there with the Madonnas and the Michael Jacksons." Matt Donnelly from Los Angeles Times
wrote that the "Telephone" music video is a "visual feast, packed with fantastic fashion, girl fights, poisoned diner food, an army of headpieces and lots of Gaga goodness." Amy Odell from New York
magazine felt that "This is Gaga's video, but Beyoncé is the best part: she actually shows the angry, crazy side that we just knew lurked beneath her too-perfect facade." Monica Herrera from Billboard wrote: "[The video] more than measures up to the hype. ... 'Telephone' clip is chock full of intrigue, prison fights, makeout scenes, mass poisoning and plenty of skin-baring versions of what you might call 'outfits'." Tanner Stransky from Entertainment Weekly commented: "Is it as good as her epic 'Bad Romance' video? Sadly, I don't think so. But it's better than anything else out there." Bill Lamb from About.com felt that "It would be nearly impossible for it to live up to the advanced hype, but the Lady Gaga video for 'Telephone' has arrived, and, to these eyes, it is worth watching."
Sandy Rios
, president of the Culture Campaign criticized the video on Fox News in an interview with Megyn Kelly
, calling it "disgusting ... poison for the minds of our kids". Critic Armond White
, of the New York Press
, described the video as "cruel and ugly" also stating that it "epitomizes the insanity of the contemporary pop mainstream" and pays "homage to Tarantino
's influence" in distorting "pop culture pleasure into nonsense". On , 2010, the video received three nominations at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
, in the categories of Best Choreography
, Video of the Year and Best Collaboration
, winning the latter and losing the former to Gaga's own "Bad Romance
" video. In May 2011, Gaga expressed some dissatisfaction with the video in an interview with Time Out, saying: "I can't even watch the Telephone video, I hate it so much. Beyonce and I are great together. But there are so many ideas in that video and all I see in that video is my brain throbbing with ideas and I wish I had edited myself a little bit more."
on , 2010, at Earls Court Exhibition Centre
. The performance was inspired by the recent death of her friend, fashion designer Alexander McQueen
. Initially she had planned a different version of the performance, but changed the concept at the last minute, since she wanted to pay tribute to McQueen. Hence she chose an acoustic version of "Telephone" and a remix of "Dance in the Dark". Before the show, she posted a message on her Twitter
account: "Tonight's performance is inspired by our friend. Mask by Phillip Treacy, Sculpture by Nick Knight, Music by Lady Gaga. We miss you." She started the performance by announcing "This is for Alexander McQueen." Gaga was dressed in a complete white outfit with a huge Marie-Antoinette style wig. The whole performance was low-key in comparison to her previous ones.
Gaga added the song to The Monster Ball Tour
's setlist, for the European leg. It was performed in the second act, titled "Subway". She was dressed in black and played a keytar
, which she had previously debuted on the BRIT awards. The keytar, composed of a number of instruments was dubbed by her as "Emma". "Telephone", as well as "Brown Eyes" (from The Fame
), was also performed on the British comedy chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
, on , 2010, for an episode that aired two days later. Gaga performed "Telephone" on the Japanese television show Music Station
on , 2010. She wore a lace cat suit and a pair of plastic batwing shoulders, designed by Somarta and Yuima Nakazato respectively. In May 2011, Gaga performed the song during Radio 1's Big Weekend in Carlisle, Cumbria. On June 26, 2011, Knowles performed the song during the Glastonbury Festival
in front of more than 175,000 fans.
demo of "Telephone" leaked onto the web. After suggestions that the demo may be a fake, the producer of the song, Rodney Jerkins, confirmed the authenticity of the song, via Twitter
. He added that the leaked version "was an early demo stage of the version [and that] it wasn't even a mixed version", moreover, denied leaking the song, arguing that, despite the fact that he has been asked to leak the full song, he did not do it. The musical style of the demo was compared with Spears' 2007 single "Piece of Me
", and the song itself generated comparisons with Spears' sound in her fifth studio album Blackout. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised Spears' version. He later included the song at number twenty-five on his Top 25 Singles of the 2010 list.
Other cover version recordings include those by HelenaMaria
, Aston, Bangin Productions, and Pomplamoose
. X Factor
winner Joe McElderry
covered the song in the Live Lounge
tent at Radio 1's Big Weekend, and in 2010 the final fourteen of series seven
covered the song during the result show. "Telephone" was covered by Lea Michele
and Charice Pempengco
for the American TV show Glee
episode "Audition
", which aired on , 2010. This version was released as a single, and reached number seventeen in Canada, eighteen in Ireland, twenty-three in the US, and thirty in Australia.
Credits adapted from The Fame Monster album liner notes.
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...
. It was released from her third extended play
Extended 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...
(EP) and second major release The Fame Monster
The Fame Monster
The Fame Monster is the third EP by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on November 18, 2009 through Interscope Records. Initially planned to be included on a re-release of Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame, she announced that the eight tracks would be included on a standalone...
(2009). The song, featuring American 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...
singer Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
, was written by Gaga and Rodney Jerkins
Rodney Jerkins
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:...
. Inspired by her "Fear of Suffocation Monster", Gaga explained that the lyrics portray herself preferring the dance floor instead of answering her lover's phone call and noted that the telephone addressed in the lyrics of the song is, in reality, a person telling her to continue working harder. Musically, "Telephone" consists of an expanded bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
, verse-rap and an epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
where the voice of an operator announces that the phone line is unreachable. Knowles appears in the middle of the song, singing the verses in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats.
A critical success, most contemporary critics frequently noted "Telephone" as a stand-out track from The Fame Monster and it was Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers collaborate...
in 2011. "Telephone" charted in a number of countries due to digital sales following the album's release, namely in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Hungary. The song was particularly successful in Europe where it reached the top of the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the single sold 7.4 million digital copies
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
worldwide in 2010.
The accompanying music video is a continuation of the video for her 2009 song "Paparazzi
Paparazzi (Lady Gaga song)
"Paparazzi" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the final single from her debut album The Fame . Written by Rob Fusari and Gaga, the song portrays Gaga's struggles in her quest for fame, as well as balancing success and love...
" and is also shot as a short film. After being bailed out of prison by Beyoncé, she and Gaga go to a diner where they kill the guests having breakfast. Upon escape from the diner, the two end up in a high speed police chase. The video referenced Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
and his films Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
(2003) and Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
(1994). Many critics praised the video, but some criticized its violence and themes. In memory of Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
, Gaga performed an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" mixed with "Dance in the Dark
Dance in the Dark
Dance in the Dark（ダンスインザダーク, June 5, 1993 - ）was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Sunday Silence with the dam Dancing Key ....
" at the 2010 BRIT Awards
2010 BRIT Awards
The 2010 BRIT Awards took place on Tuesday 16 February 2010. It was the 30th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony was held at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. The ceremony was broadcast live on ITV1, hosted by Peter Kay with Fearne...
. It was also added to the set list of The 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...
in 2010. A Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
demo of "Telephone" leaked onto the web in May 2010.
Background
The song "Telephone" was written by Lady Gaga, who originally recorded the song for Britney Spear (Who later recorded a demo version of the song which later leaked), but later as a collaboration with Beyoncé Knowles for The Fame MonsterThe Fame Monster
The Fame Monster is the third EP by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on November 18, 2009 through Interscope Records. Initially planned to be included on a re-release of Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame, she announced that the eight tracks would be included on a standalone...
. Gaga said, "I wrote it for her (Spears) a long time ago and she just didn't use it for her album. It's fine because I love the song and I get to perform it now." Additionally, the guest vocalist was originally going to be Spears, but ultimately Gaga made Knowles the featured vocalist instead. The main inspiration behind the song was Gaga's fear of suffocation
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
as she felt that she seldom found time to just let loose and have fun.
Fear of suffocation—something that I have or fear is never being able to enjoy myself, ... 'Cause I love my work so much, I find it really hard to go out and have a good time. ... I don't go to nightclubs, ... You don't see pictures of me falling out of a club drunk. I don't go—and that's because I usually go and then, you know, a whiskey and a half into it, I got to get back to work.
In May 2011, Gaga said her "emotional connection" with the song was difficult. When she was asked if it was because the song was originally written for Britney Spears, she answered: "Well that’s not exactly what happened, but I don’t want to delve into that. I could delve into it if you turn that (motions to recorder) off... But ultimately the mix and the process of getting the production finished was very stressful for me. So when I say it’s my worst song it has nothing to do with the song, just my emotional connection to it."
Composition
"Telephone" was written by Lady Gaga, Rodney JerkinsRodney Jerkins
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:...
, LaShawn Daniels
LaShawn Daniels
LaShawn Ameen Daniels is an American songwriter, best known for his work with longtime colleague Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Daniels has written several of the Darkchild Team's hit songs, among them "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy & Monica, "Say My Name" and "Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child, "You...
, Lazonate Franklin and Knowles. Although constructed as a duet, Knowles' first appearance is in the middle verse. She sings her lyrics through a brief interlude, and later backs the chorus
Chorus effect
In music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one...
during the rest of the song. The song starts off unassumingly, with Gaga singing in a solemn voice over a harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
melody, which changes immediately to a pounding beat. Essentially, Gaga is in a club and her boyfriend keeps ringing, but she cannot talk as she was drinking and dancing to her favourite song. The chorus runs as follows: "Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to talk anymore." "Telephone" consists of an expanded bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
, verse-rap and an epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
where a voice announces that the telephone line is not reachable at that moment. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly owned subsidiary...
, the song is set in the 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, with a 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 122 beats per minute. Gaga's vocals range from the low-note of F3 to the high-note of C5. It is set 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 ....
, specifically, F Dorian mode, and has a basic sequence of Fm–A–B–Fm as its 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...
.
"Telephone"'s lyrics relate to the singer preferring the dance floor to answering someone's call. The verses are sung in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats. According to Gaga, the phone addressed in the lyrics of the song is not a physical phone, but a person in her head telling her to keep working harder and harder. Gaga explained, "That's my fear—that the phone's ringing and my head's ringing, ... Whether it's a telephone or it's just the thoughts in your head, that's another fear."
Critical reception
The song has garnered positive reviews from music critics. Michael Hubbard from MusicOMHMusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
said that the song was "probably the best thing here [on The Fame Monster]." He also complimented the "brilliant bridge" and the ending of the song where the caller gets through to her voicemail. Popjustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
gave the song a positive review: "It's a little bit like Gwen
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
's 'What You Waiting For?
What You Waiting For?
"What You Waiting For?" is a song by American recording artist Gwen Stefani from her debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. . Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track, and was released as its lead single...
' meets Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
's 'The Way I Are
The Way I Are
"The Way I Are" is a song by Timbaland, released as the second single from his second album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value. The song is known in part for its incorrect grammar. The song samples "Push it", a 1987 hit by group Salt-n-Pepa, and features R&B singer Keri Hilson and uncredited vocals...
' meets about fifty other things ... The structure's quite exciting ... there is something tumultuously brilliant about Beyoncé's contribution that makes everything seem fine and as if it was the plan all along." Evan Sawdey from PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
said that "The much talked-about Beyoncé collaboration 'Telephone', which—with its double-time beat and rapid-fire verses—proves to be one of the most adrenaline-pumped songs that Gaga has yet crafted, the whole thing feeling like it's about to veer of [sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
] the tracks at any moment simply due to the giddy excitement shared between the two divas, easily turning it into the unquestioned highlight of The Fame Monster".
Amy Phillips from Pitchfork.com placed "Telephone" at number 55 in its "Top Tracks of 2010" saying it was "one of the less weird tracks on The Fame Monster..." Bill Lamb from 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....
listed it among the top tracks on the album and said: "The Beyoncé assisted 'Telephone' is a club stomper that will draw in R&B and Hip Hop fans as well on the radio." In a separate review, he compared it to the "Just Dance" era and commented: "An odd track for a lot of reasons. Lyrically, it is a successor to 'Just Dance'. The lyrics involve Gaga talking about not wanting to use her phone in the club. Having a track like this, when it feels like 'Just Dance' was so long ago and a different Gaga, is a little awkward. Especially when it is a planned single ... It's fun and disposable but there are better tracks on The Fame Monster to offer as singles". Mikael Woods from Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
felt that "Telephone" is " a carefully considered meditation on how annoying it is when a dude keeps calling you while you're throwing down at the club."
Nicki Escuerdo from Phoenix New Times
Phoenix New Times
The Phoenix New Times is a free, weekly Phoenix, Arizona newspaper, put out every Thursday. It is the founding publication of the New Times Media , but The Village Voice is now the flagship publication of that company....
listed "Telephone" as a stand-out track from the album. Sarah Hajibagheri from The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and Armond White
Armond White
Armond White is a New York-based film and music critic known for his provocative and idiosyncratic film criticism, which some have characterized as contrarian. He is currently the editor of City Arts, for which he also writes articles and reviews...
, music and film critic for the New York Press
New York Press
New York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
, were not impressed with the song. Hajibagheri said "The appearance of Beyoncé's vocal alongside ringtones on Telephone adds to the sense of utter chaos." White elaborated that "[The song] celebrates a heedless refusal to communicate; to mindlessly, heartlessly indulge pop culture—Tarantino style." Melanie Bertoldi 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...
gave the song a positive review, stating "Much like Kesha
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....
's 'Blah Blah Blah
Blah Blah Blah (song)
"Blah Blah Blah" is a song by American recording artist Kesha from her debut album, Animal. Produced by Benny Blanco, and co-written by Kesha, Blanco, Neon Hitch and Sean Foreman, it was released as the album's second single on February 19, 2010, and features 3OH!3...
', 'Telephone' sets out to silence bugaboos, with whom featured artist Beyoncé is all too familiar. ... By the time "Telephone" surges through a wall of cellular bleeps to return to its simple introduction, Gaga and Beyoncé have left the listener with just one option: surrender to the dancefloor." "Telephone" was ranked at number three by Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
on his Top 25 Singles of the 2010 list. The single received a Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers collaborate...
. On April 26, 2011, Gary Trust of 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...
listed "Telephone" at the fourth position on his list of the 10 All-Female Hit Collaborations."
Chart performance
In November 2009 due to strong digital sales, the song charted in Ireland, Australia, and the United Kingdom, debuting at numbers twenty-six, twenty-nine, and thirty respectively. The song became the top debut on the U.S. 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...
issue dated , 2009, at number thirty-five, due to digital sales. After a few weeks fluctuating up the charts, "Telephone" reached a peak of three, becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive top ten hit in the United States. The song peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart on the issue dated , 2010. On , 2010, Billboard announced that the song reached number one on the Pop Songs chart, thus becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive number-one on the chart, making her the only artist in history to do this. It also became Beyoncé's sixth number-one on Pop Songs. With this, Gaga and Beyoncé tied with Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
for most number-ones since the Nielsen BDS-based
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections...
Top 40 airplay chart launched in 1992. As of October 8, 2011, "Telephone" has sold 3,011,000 digital downloads in the United States.
In Australia, the song has reached a peak of three. "Telephone" was certified three-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 shipments of 210,000 copies of the single. In New Zealand, the song debuted at thirty-one, becoming the highest debut of that week. On , 2010, the song reached a peak of three on the chart. "Telephone" debuted at number fourteen on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
and moved to a peak of three, making it Gaga's sixth consecutive top three single there. The song has been certified three times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
(CRIA) for shipments of 120,000 digital downloads.
In the United Kingdom, "Telephone" reached number twelve on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, on , 2010. The next week "Telephone" topped the chart and became her fourth British number-one single. It has sold 635,000 copies to date. In Ireland, the song debuted at number twenty-six, and moved up to number two before reaching the summit of the chart the following week. "Telephone" debuted at thirty-three on the Swedish charts, and in the top-ten at number three on the Hungarian charts. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the song has sold 7.4 million copies across the world in 2010.
Development
The music video was filmed on , 2010, and directed by Jonas ÅkerlundJonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films...
. New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine reported that the concept of the video involved Beyoncé as she bails Gaga out of jail. In published photos from the set, Gaga and Beyoncé were seen shooting in a car called the "Pussy Wagon", which Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
's character drove in Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's 2003 film Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
. Other concepts of the video involve scenes at a diner, a cameo from singer Tyrese Gibson, and a prison shower scene. Gaga and Beyoncé wore "destroyed denim pieces", designed by Frank Fernández and Oscar Olima. In an interview with E! Online, Gaga explained the deeper meaning behind the video.
There was this really amazing quality in 'Paparazzi', where it kind of had this pure pop music quality but at the same time it was a commentary on fame culture ... I wanted to do the same thing with this video ... There certainly is a Tarantino-inspired quality in the ['Telephone'] video ... His direct involvement in [it] came from him lending me the Pussy Wagon. We were having lunch one day in Los Angeles and I was telling him about my concept for the video and he loved it so much he said, "You gotta use the Pussy Wagon."
On February 5, 2010, Gaga was interviewed by Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
on KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
. She commented on the video, saying, "What I like about it is it's a real true pop event, and when I was younger, I was always excited when there was a big giant event happening in pop music and that's what I wanted this to be." Rock band Semi Precious Weapons
Semi Precious Weapons
Semi Precious Weapons is a rock band from New York City consisting of Justin Tranter on vocals, Stevy Pyne on guitar, Cole Whittle on bass and Dan Crean on drums. Pyne replaced former guitarist, Aaron Lee Tasjan, in November 2008...
confirmed to MTV News that they would have a cameo role
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the music video.
Synopsis
The music video is over nine minutes long and begins where "PaparazziPaparazzi (Lady Gaga song)
"Paparazzi" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the final single from her debut album The Fame . Written by Rob Fusari and Gaga, the song portrays Gaga's struggles in her quest for fame, as well as balancing success and love...
" left off after Gaga was arrested for killing
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
her boyfriend by poisoning his drink. She is taken to a women's prison, where she is led to her cell by two prison guards, who strip her of shoulder-padded dress and left standing nude, while she is mocked by the other prison inmates. One of the guards comments, "I told you she didn't have a dick
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
", referring to the rumors that Gaga is intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
. For the first three minutes, the video shows Gaga's activities in the prison—including kissing another female prisoner in the exercise yard, wearing sunglasses made out of half-smoked cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
s, and catfights in the commissary. Gaga's sister, Natali Germanotta, makes a cameo in the commissary scene. After that, Gaga answers a call from Beyoncé, and begins to sing the song. She performs the first verse and chorus with other scantily clad inmates, followed by a bridge featuring Gaga wearing only yellow "Caution" tape.
Gaga is bailed out and exits to find Beyoncé waiting for her in the "Pussy Wagon
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
". Beyoncé is nicknamed Honey Bee, a reference to the character Honey Bunny in Tarantino's 1994 crime film Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
. After an exchange of dialogues, they travel through a desert and pull over at a diner. Beyoncé sits opposite to Gibson, but tires of his stupidity and poisons him, but it does not kill him like she had hoped. The video then shifts to an intermediate sequence called "Let's Make a Sandwich". Gaga stands in a kitchen, wearing a folded-up telephone on her head, while dancers cavort behind her, holding salad tongs and assorted cutlery. Ultimately, she prepares a sandwich and eats it, after a dance sequence. In the meantime, she mixes poison into all of the dishes she is preparing for the unsuspecting customers causing Gibson and everybody else, including characters played by Semi Precious Weapons
Semi Precious Weapons
Semi Precious Weapons is a rock band from New York City consisting of Justin Tranter on vocals, Stevy Pyne on guitar, Cole Whittle on bass and Dan Crean on drums. Pyne replaced former guitarist, Aaron Lee Tasjan, in November 2008...
and her Great Dane
Great Dane
The Great Dane , also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound , is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size...
, Lava, to die. Gaga and Beyoncé perform another dance sequence, wearing American flag inspired garments and shredded denims, while strutting around the dead bodies. They then leave in the "Pussy Wagon" and travel on a highway as news reporter (played by Jai Rodriguez
Jai Rodriguez
Jai Rodriguez is an actor and musician best known as the culture guide on the Bravo network's Emmy-winning American reality television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He has also co-authored a book with the other Queer Eye hosts.-Biography:Rodriguez is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent,...
) reports the murders. The last shots show Gaga and Beyoncé travelling through a desert with police sirens wailing in the background. The video ends with the line "To Be Continued ..." followed by end credits.
Release and reception
On February 15, 2010, three film stills from the music video were posted on Gaga's website. The stills depicted Gaga in three separate scenes: a kitchen scene where she wears a plastic chef's hat and a telephone made entirely of hair on her head, a scene in a diner with her dancers, where she is seen wearing an American flag patterned bikini and bandana, and a black-and-white photo of Gaga wearing a hat made from multiple triangles and corded telephones. The video was originally slated to premiere in but was pushed back to instead. On , 2010, more stills of the video were posted online. The video premiered on E! NewsE! News
E! News, previously known as E! News Daily and E! News Live, is a nightly entertainment newsmagazine program airing on E!: Entertainment Television. The program debuted on September 1, 1991 and talks about Hollywood celebrities and gossip...
and Vevo
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
on , 2010.
James Montogomery from MTV commented: "With 'Telephone', Gaga has entered the rarest of pop stratospheres, up there with the Madonnas and the Michael Jacksons." Matt Donnelly from Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote that the "Telephone" music video is a "visual feast, packed with fantastic fashion, girl fights, poisoned diner food, an army of headpieces and lots of Gaga goodness." Amy Odell from New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine felt that "This is Gaga's video, but Beyoncé is the best part: she actually shows the angry, crazy side that we just knew lurked beneath her too-perfect facade." Monica Herrera from Billboard wrote: "[The video] more than measures up to the hype. ... 'Telephone' clip is chock full of intrigue, prison fights, makeout scenes, mass poisoning and plenty of skin-baring versions of what you might call 'outfits'." Tanner Stransky from Entertainment Weekly commented: "Is it as good as her epic 'Bad Romance' video? Sadly, I don't think so. But it's better than anything else out there." Bill Lamb from About.com felt that "It would be nearly impossible for it to live up to the advanced hype, but the Lady Gaga video for 'Telephone' has arrived, and, to these eyes, it is worth watching."
Sandy Rios
Sandy Rios
Sandy Rios is the President of Culture Campaign, a Fox News Channel contributor, and a talk show host.Rios is the President of Culture Campaign a position she has held since 2004, and has previously served as President of Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian organization, from...
, president of the Culture Campaign criticized the video on Fox News in an interview with Megyn Kelly
Megyn Kelly
Megyn Marie Kelly , formerly known as Megyn Kendall, is an American journalist and news anchor employed by the Fox News Channel. Kelly currently hosts America Live from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EST live from the network’s New York City headquarters...
, calling it "disgusting ... poison for the minds of our kids". Critic Armond White
Armond White
Armond White is a New York-based film and music critic known for his provocative and idiosyncratic film criticism, which some have characterized as contrarian. He is currently the editor of City Arts, for which he also writes articles and reviews...
, of the New York Press
New York Press
New York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
, described the video as "cruel and ugly" also stating that it "epitomizes the insanity of the contemporary pop mainstream" and pays "homage to Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's influence" in distorting "pop culture pleasure into nonsense". On , 2010, the video received three nominations at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year...
, in the categories of Best Choreography
MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Awards winners for Best Choreography in a Video....
, Video of the Year and Best Collaboration
MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration was first introduced to the MTV Video Music Awards in 2007 under the name Most Earthshattering Collaboration, as the VMAs were revamped and a few new categories were added to the show. When MTV brought the VMAs back to their old format in 2008,...
, winning the latter and losing the former to Gaga's own "Bad Romance
Bad Romance
"Bad Romance" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the lead single from her third extended play , and second major release The Fame Monster . Written by Lady Gaga and produced by RedOne, the track was inspired by Gaga's fear of negative love relationships and the...
" video. In May 2011, Gaga expressed some dissatisfaction with the video in an interview with Time Out, saying: "I can't even watch the Telephone video, I hate it so much. Beyonce and I are great together. But there are so many ideas in that video and all I see in that video is my brain throbbing with ideas and I wish I had edited myself a little bit more."
Live performances
Gaga performed "Telephone" at the BRIT Awards2010 BRIT Awards
The 2010 BRIT Awards took place on Tuesday 16 February 2010. It was the 30th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony was held at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. The ceremony was broadcast live on ITV1, hosted by Peter Kay with Fearne...
on , 2010, at Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
The Earls Court Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre, conference and event venue located in west London, United Kingdom in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . It is the largest exhibition venue in central London. It is served by two underground stations, Earl's Court and West...
. The performance was inspired by the recent death of her friend, fashion designer Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
. Initially she had planned a different version of the performance, but changed the concept at the last minute, since she wanted to pay tribute to McQueen. Hence she chose an acoustic version of "Telephone" and a remix of "Dance in the Dark". Before the show, she posted a message on her Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account: "Tonight's performance is inspired by our friend. Mask by Phillip Treacy, Sculpture by Nick Knight, Music by Lady Gaga. We miss you." She started the performance by announcing "This is for Alexander McQueen." Gaga was dressed in a complete white outfit with a huge Marie-Antoinette style wig. The whole performance was low-key in comparison to her previous ones.
Gaga added the song to The 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...
's setlist, for the European leg. It was performed in the second act, titled "Subway". She was dressed in black and played a keytar
Keytar
A keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands...
, which she had previously debuted on the BRIT awards. The keytar, composed of a number of instruments was dubbed by her as "Emma". "Telephone", as well as "Brown Eyes" (from The Fame
The Fame
The Fame is the debut studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008 through Interscope Records. After joining Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2008, Gaga began working on the album with different producers, primarily RedOne, Martin...
), was also performed on the British comedy chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
, on , 2010, for an episode that aired two days later. Gaga performed "Telephone" on the Japanese television show Music Station
Music Station
is a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on tv asahi...
on , 2010. She wore a lace cat suit and a pair of plastic batwing shoulders, designed by Somarta and Yuima Nakazato respectively. In May 2011, Gaga performed the song during Radio 1's Big Weekend in Carlisle, Cumbria. On June 26, 2011, Knowles performed the song during the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival 2011
The 2011 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 22–26 June 2011. Tickets for the festival went on sale from 9 am on Sunday 3 October 2010, over 37 weeks before the festival was set to begin, with a deposit of £50 being paid, while the whole cost of a ticket is £195...
in front of more than 175,000 fans.
Other versions
On May 2, a Britney SpearsBritney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
demo of "Telephone" leaked onto the web. After suggestions that the demo may be a fake, the producer of the song, Rodney Jerkins, confirmed the authenticity of the song, via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. He added that the leaked version "was an early demo stage of the version [and that] it wasn't even a mixed version", moreover, denied leaking the song, arguing that, despite the fact that he has been asked to leak the full song, he did not do it. The musical style of the demo was compared with Spears' 2007 single "Piece of Me
Piece of Me
"Piece of Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, Blackout. It was released on November 27, 2007 by Jive Records as the second single from the album...
", and the song itself generated comparisons with Spears' sound in her fifth studio album Blackout. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised Spears' version. He later included the song at number twenty-five on his Top 25 Singles of the 2010 list.
Other cover version recordings include those by HelenaMaria
HelenaMaria
HelenaMaria is an American indie pop-rock group from New Jersey composed of identical twins Helena and Maria Mehalis.-Biography:Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Helena and Maria grew up in a self described "free-spirited" environment promoting artistic expression. Since the age of 4 they took...
, Aston, Bangin Productions, and Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose is an American indie music duo consisting of multi-instrumentalists Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. The band formed in the summer of 2008 and sold approximately 100,000 songs online in 2009.-Etymology:...
. X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
winner Joe McElderry
Joe McElderry
Joseph "Joe" McElderry is an English singer and model. He won the sixth series of the ITV show The X Factor in 2009. His first single "The Climb" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Charts. He was also crowned the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar, two...
covered the song in the Live Lounge
Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
tent at Radio 1's Big Weekend, and in 2010 the final fourteen of series seven
The X Factor (UK series 7)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent; the winner of which receives a £1 million recording contract with the Syco Music record label. The seventh series started on ITV on 21 August 2010 and ended on 12 December 2010. The winner was Matt Cardle and...
covered the song during the result show. "Telephone" was covered by Lea Michele
Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati , known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress and singer. Michele began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as Ragtime and Les Misérables. She originated the role of Wendla in the musical Spring Awakening and currently plays...
and Charice Pempengco
Charice Pempengco
Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco , popularly known by the mononym Charice, is a Filipino recording artist and actress who rose to popularity through YouTube. Dubbed by Oprah Winfrey as the Most Talented Girl in the World, she released her first international studio album Charice in 2010...
for the American TV show Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
episode "Audition
Audition (Glee)
"Audition" is the second season premiere and 23rd episode overall of the American television series Glee. The episode was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Brad Falchuk, and premiered on the Fox network on September 21, 2010...
", which aired on , 2010. This version was released as a single, and reached number seventeen in Canada, eighteen in Ireland, twenty-three in the US, and thirty in Australia.
Track listing and formats
- UK/European CD Single
- "Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)" – 3:40
- "Telephone (AlphabeatAlphabeatAlphabeat are a Danish pop band from Silkeborg, fronted by singers Stine Bramsen and Anders SG and signed to Polydor Records. Their single "Fascination" was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2007 and a significant hit in the United Kingdom in 2008...
Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:51
- UK iTunes digital single
- "Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)" – 3:40
- "Telephone (feat. Beyoncé) [Music Video]" – 9:27
- UK/France/Italy digital downloads
- "Telephone (Alphabeat Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 6:41
- "Telephone (CrookersCrookersCrookers are an Italian DJ/production duo who have worked together since 2003. When the two artists met, both were trying to branch out of their genre and explore dance music. Their first collaboration worked...
Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:49 - "Telephone (DJ DanDJ DanDJ Dan is an American electronic house music DJ and producer. Dan previously released works through the Moonshine label....
Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:59 (UK only) - "Telephone (Electrolightz Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:26
- "Telephone (KaskadeKaskadeRyan Raddon , better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ and record producer. On October 20, 2011, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, with Ultra Records Kaskade placed at #30...
Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:24 - "Telephone (Ming Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:31
- "Telephone (Passion PitPassion PitPassion Pit is an American electropop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The group, which formed in 2007, consists of Michael Angelakos , Ian Hultquist , Ayad Al Adhamy , Jeff Apruzzese and Nate Donmoyer...
Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:12 - "Telephone (Tom Neville's Ear Ringer Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:17
- 7 inch Vinyl
- "Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)" – 3:40
- "Telephone (Passion Pit Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:13
- AUS/US remix EP
- "Telephone (Alphabeat Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 6:41
- "Telephone (Crookers Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:50
- "Telephone (DJ Dan Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:59
- "Telephone (DJ Dan Vocal Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 3:28
- Only included on the digital release
- "Telephone (Doctor Rosen Rosen Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 6:25
- "Telephone (Electrolightz Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:26
- "Telephone (Kaskade Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:24
- "Telephone (Ming Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:31
- "Telephone (Passion Pit Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:13
- "Telephone (Tom Neville's Ear Ringer Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 7:14
- "The DJ Remixes" digital EP
- "Telephone (Alphabeat Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:49
- "Telephone (Crookers Dub) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:08
- "Telephone (DJ Dan Dub) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 6:22
- "Telephone (Kaskade Dub) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:40
- "Telephone (Kaskade Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 3:43
- "Telephone (Ming Dub) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:03
- "Telephone (Ming Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 3:12
- "Telephone (Tom Neville's Ear Ringer Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:18
- "Bad RomanceBad Romance"Bad Romance" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the lead single from her third extended play , and second major release The Fame Monster . Written by Lady Gaga and produced by RedOne, the track was inspired by Gaga's fear of negative love relationships and the...
(DJ Paulo's GaGa Oo-La La Remix)" – 9:41
Credits and personnel
- Lady GagaLady GaGaStefani 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...
– vocals, songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, co-producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
– vocals and songwriter - Rodney "Darkchild" JerkinsRodney JerkinsRodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:...
– songwriter, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, compositionComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, audio mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - LaShawn DanielsLaShawn DanielsLaShawn Ameen Daniels is an American songwriter, best known for his work with longtime colleague Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Daniels has written several of the Darkchild Team's hit songs, among them "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy & Monica, "Say My Name" and "Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child, "You...
– songwriter - Lazonate Franklin – songwriter
- Paul Foley – recordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
at Darkchild Studios, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... - Mike "Handz" Donaldson – recording (Gaga's vocals) at 2nd Floor Studios, Los Angeles, California; special effects
- Hisashi Mizoguchi – recording (Knowles' vocals) at Studio Groove, Osaka, JapanOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
- Mark "Spike" StentMark StentMark 'Spike' Stent is a British record producer, and audio engineer who has worked with The KLF, Björk, Keane, Depeche Mode, Muse, Erasure, Hard-Fi, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Marilyn Manson, Pet Shop Boys, Dave Matthews, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, CSS, Beth Orton,...
– audio mixing at Chalice Studios, Los Angeles, California - Gene Grimaldi – audio masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
at Oasis Mastering, Burbank, CaliforniaBurbank, CaliforniaBurbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340.... - Takayuki Matsushima - assistant
- Matty Green - assistant
Credits adapted from The Fame Monster album liner notes.
Charts
| Chart (2009–10) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
3 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
3 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
1 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization... (Wallonia) |
1 |
| Brazilian Hot 100 Airplay | 3 |
| Bulgarian Airplay Charts Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections... |
2 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
3 |
| Czech Airplay Chart | 9 |
| Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
1 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
6 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 1 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 7 |
| French Singles Chart | 3 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| Hungarian Singles Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
3 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
1 |
| Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
2 |
| Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
21 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart 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... |
3 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
1 |
| Polish Airplay Chart Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... |
2 |
| Polish Dance Club Singles Chart Polish Dance Club Singles Chart The Polish Dance Club Singles Chart is a chart compiled by ZPAV from the most popular songs in the clubs. Although the chart does not currently receive any airplay on the radio or television, the chart can be viewed on the DJ Promotion and ZPAV website.... |
9 |
| Poland (Dance Top 50 Polish Dance Club Singles Chart The Polish Dance Club Singles Chart is a chart compiled by ZPAV from the most popular songs in the clubs. Although the chart does not currently receive any airplay on the radio or television, the chart can be viewed on the DJ Promotion and ZPAV website.... ) |
7 |
| Slovak Airplay Chart | 6 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 5 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
4 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 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... |
3 |
| US Adult Contemporary | 25 |
| US Hot Latin Songs Hot Latin Songs Hot Latin Songs is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. It is often recognized as the most important music chart for Spanish language Latin music in the American music market. It was established by the magazine on September 6, 1986 with La Guirnalda by Rocío Dúrcal being the first song... |
23 |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs | 1 |
| US Pop Songs Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
1 |
Certifications
| Country | 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... |
3× Platinum |
| Belgium | Gold |
| Canada Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
3× Platinum |
| Denmark | Gold |
| France | Gold |
| Germany Bundesverband Musikindustrie The Bundesverband Musikindustrie or simply BVMI represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 350 labels and music industry related enterprises.... |
Gold |
| Italy Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
Platinum |
| Japan Recording Industry Association of Japan The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry... |
Gold |
| 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... |
Platinum |
| Spain | Gold |
| Switzerland | Gold |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 20 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 36 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) | 11 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) | 9 |
| Canadian Hot 100 | 15 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 23 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 45 |
| European Hot 100 | 12 |
| German Singles Chart | 50 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart | 33 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 8 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 18 |
| Japan Hot 100 | 87 |
| Romanian Top 100 | 61 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 20 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 44 |
| UK Singles Chart | 15 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs | 38 |
| US Mainstream Top 40 | 11 |
Chart procession and succession
Release history and radio add dates
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States | January 26, 2010 | Top 40, Rhythmic Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may... , Urban, Hot AC |
| France | February 15, 2010 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
| United States | March 2, 2010 | The Remixes EP Extended 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... – Digital Download |
| United Kingdom | ||
| Canada | ||
| France | ||
| Denmark | ||
| Sweden | ||
| Switzerland | ||
| Belgium | ||
| Ireland | ||
| Netherlands | ||
| United Kingdom | March 15, 2010 | CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... , 7 inch Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... , Digital download |
| United States | March 30, 2010 | The Remixes EP – CD Single |
| Germany | April 2, 2010 | CD single |
| France | April 5, 2010 | Digital Download |
| April 6, 2010 | CD single |