| "Call the Shots" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Girls Aloud | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Tangled Up | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Rehab" (Live Lounge cover) "Blow Your Cover" |
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| Released | 26 November 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD, digital download | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | London, England | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Electropop, Europop | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:43 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Fascination | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Lisa Cowling, Giselle Somerville | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Xenomania | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Girls Aloud singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Call the Shots" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up (2007). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Inspired by an article about the advance of women in business, "Call the Shots" showed a more mature side of Girls Aloud and proved to be commercially successful upon its release in November 2007. It charted at number three in the band's native United Kingdom, continuing Girls Aloud's five-year streak of top ten hits, and received a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry.
The music video was filmed in Los Angeles, California. "Call the Shots" was promoted through numerous live appearances, including a high-profile performance on The X Factor, and has since been performed on all of Girls Aloud's subsequent concert tours. The song, described as "an elegant electro-pop ballad," received positive reviews from most contemporary music critics. Music journalist, Peter Robinson, who runs the successful Popjustice describes the song as the "greatest pop song of the 21st century".
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Described as "an elegant electro-pop ballad delivered with a restraint and maturity to rival groups of twice their age,"[1] the song juxtaposes guitar against an introduction and chorus heavy on synthesizer. The song is written in D major with a time signature in common time and a tempo of 126 beats per minute.[2] The vocal range spans from B3 to B4.[2] The chord progressions vary throughout the song, but include Bm, G♯m, G, Em, A, and D.[3] The song follows verse-chorus form, which is rare for a Girls Aloud song to do.[4][5]
The song's lyricist, Miranda Cooper, said that "Call the Shots" was actually "inspired by an article she read on something called (coincidentally) the Miranda Complex, named after the ambitious lawyer in Sex and the City, about how women are earning more than men and pushing ahead."[6] The song's music was initially composed by Xenomania in 2005.[7] The lyrics were written a year later during a songwriting session in Paris, France.[7][8] "Call the Shots" was almost put forward as a single for Girls Aloud's 2006 greatest hits compilation The Sound of Girls Aloud, but the song was deemed "too downbeat, when a greatest hits single needs to be a celebration."[8] Cheryl Cole told the Daily Star that the song is her favourite from Tangled Up, and that it "gives me goosebumps".[9]
The single leaked weeks ahead of schedule. Despite this, a 30-second clip appeared on the group's official website in October 2007 ahead of the official radio premiere. Unusually for Girls Aloud's promotional campaigns, the song's first televised performance was not until their appearance on The X Factor on 17 November 2007,[10] although they performed the song at a UNICEF charity ball.[11] During promotion, Girls Aloud announced details of their 2008 Tangled Up Tour.
"Call the Shots" was made available digitally alongside the release of Tangled Up on 19 November 2007. A physical CD single followed a week afterwards. One version of the CD single includes Girls Aloud's version of the Amy Winehouse song "Rehab", as performed on the BBC Radio 1 programme Jo Whiley's Live Lounge.[12] The second disc includes an original composition entitled "Blow Your Cover", co-written by Girls Aloud.[13] It also includes the Xenomania Club Mix of "Call the Shots".[14] The Tony Lamezma's Sniper Mix was released as an exclusive digital download on the iTunes Store.
"Call the Shots" was mostly praised by contemporary music critics, who felt the song showed a more elegant and mature side to Girls Aloud.[1] Marie Claire described the song as having "a wonderfully ambient feel, echoing an arty electro band."[15] Digital Spy also praised the song, calling it "more tasteful than some of the more lurid, poke-you-in-the-eyes pop glories of previous hits".[16] Kim Dawson, a writer for the Daily Star, said that it was "one of their best yet".[17] The Daily Star described the song as "classy electronic Euro-pop with real edge" in their exclusive track by track review of Tangled Up on 7 November 2007.[18] However, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian noted that "its structure and production seem a bit commonplace coming from the people who made Biology, an audacious three-minute pop single on which the chorus didn't turn up for a full two minutes."[4] John Murphy of musicOMH agreed but still liked the song: "It's sheer normality sounds a bit jarring at first listen, given the slightly unhinged nature of much of their previous singles, but that naggingly insistent chorus soon wears its way into the brain."[5]
Digital Spy placed it at number 17 in their countdown of the top singles of 2007, nothing that the song "proved Girls Aloud hadn't lost their knack for making supremely catchy pop hits."[19] In 2008, the song won the Popjustice £20 Music Prize - Girls Aloud's fourth win. Popjustice writer Peter Robinson referred to "Call the Shots" as the "greatest pop song of the 21st century."[8]
Following the availability of "Call the Shots" due to the release of Tangled Up, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number nine.[20] It became their seventeenth consecutive top ten single, as well as their second single to chart in the top ten on downloads alone. The following week, "Call the Shots" rose six places to peak at number three.[21][22] It managed to stay at number three the following week,[23] but slipped to number five in its fourth week.[24] Through the Christmas week chart, the single managed to stay in the top ten, returning to its debut position of number nine.[25] It then returned to number seven for two weeks.[26] Following its seven consecutive weeks in the top ten, "Call the Shots" fell to number eleven.[26] The single spent a total of twenty-five weeks in the chart; it briefly reentered in November 2008 following the popularity of "The Promise".[26] "Call the Shots" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.[27]
The video was directed by Sean de Sparengo, who previously directed Take That's video for "I'd Wait for Life". The video was filmed in October 2007 in Malibu, California, while Girls Aloud were filming The Passions of Girls Aloud.[28] The video features the girls in purple dresses performing on Malibu Beach at night with flames and white fabric surrounding them.
The girls are also shown in different locations with individual story lines. Cole is simply seen looking out of a sunny window. Walsh is sat in front of a mirror, putting on make-up; her boyfriend comes to get her and they hug, though she appears to be sad. Coyle is seated on a couch, flipping through photographs with her and a man. She takes a lighter to the photos and sets them alight. Roberts is lying down by a swimming pool, running her fingers through the water. Her boyfriend walks up to her with a bouquet of flowers and tosses them into the water. Harding watches her boyfriend in the shower and goes through his phone.
The video premièred on The Box, Smash Hits! TV and The Hits on 17 October 2007.
"Call the Shots" received its first televised live performance on The X Factor.[10] Girls Aloud wore coordinated white or black dresses with gold or silver embellishment, performing a simple dance routine against a glittered backdrop. The performance ended with an explosion of pyrotechnics. The group also performed the song on The Paul O'Grady Show, This Morning, and the Top of the Pops Christmas special. The band visited BBC Radio 1 to sing an acoustic version of "Call the Shots" on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge, alongside an acoustic cover of Robyn's "With Every Heartbeat", and they also visited 96.4FM BRMB to perform the song as a part of their Live at the Local set. Girls Aloud also performed "Call the Shots" at a UNICEF charity ball and at London gay nightclub G-A-Y for a World AIDS Day charity event,[29] in addition to their appearance at 2008's V Festival. The song was showcased on the ITV1 special The Girls Aloud Party.
Girls Aloud have performed "Call the Shots" on each of their concert tours since its release. They performed the song in gold sequined minidresses on 2008's Tangled Up Tour. The following year, the song was the final in a section performed in the middle of the venue on the Out of Control Tour. "Call the Shots" was also performed at Wembley Stadium when Girls Aloud opened for Coldplay.
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
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