| "Reach Out" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Hilary Duff | ||||
| from the album Best of Hilary Duff | ||||
| Released | November 8, 2008 | |||
| Format | CD single, digital download | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop, electro rock, New Wave | |||
| Length | 4:15 | |||
| Label | Hollywood | |||
| Writer(s) | Martin Gore, Ryan Tedder, Evan Bogart, Mika Guillory[1] | |||
| Producer | Ryan Tedder | |||
| Hilary Duff singles chronology | ||||
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"Reach Out" is a dance-pop song performed by Hilary Duff, released as the first single from Duff's final Hollywood Records album Best of Hilary Duff. The song was released digitally in December 2008 with the video premiering in October 2008. "Reach Out" later became #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Contents |
The song was produced by Ryan Tedder (of OneRepublic) and co-written by Tedder, Evan Bogart, and Mika Guillory. It is built around a sample of Depeche Mode's 1989 song "Personal Jesus". There are two versions of the song: the album version, which is currently on Duff's official YouTube channel, and is featured on the album, and the single version. The album version features The Prophet who is also featured in the music video. The single version does not feature any rap parts in the song, as this version will be used as the actual single; it is 3:27 in length, and has already been in rotation on many music choice channels in the United States. The album version of "Reach Out" had its audio premiere via Duff's official YouTube channel on October 3, 2008. Before its official release, the song was known as "Reach Out (And Touch Me)" but it later became "Reach Out".
The version that features The Prophet references two of Duff's previous songs, "Dignity" and "Play with Fire". It also references her 2005 film, The Perfect Man.
On the last episode of Total Request Live, Duff described the song by saying that "[i]t's different for me. It's a little dancey, and there's a rapper named Prophet who's on it who's really cool and kinda fresh".[2]
Duff said in September 2007 that a previously unheard song on the Dignity Tour's set list, "Reach Out", would be released as a single.[3] In an interview with remix producer Joe Bermudez in November 2007, she said that Dignity would be re-released in an edition featuring remixes of the original songs alongside two new tracks: "Reach Out" (featuring rapper Prophet) and "Holiday". Duff said she hoped to write a third new song for the re-release, and to have "Holiday" released as its first or second single;[4] the plans were eventually scrapped, which led Duff to make the decision to leave Hollywood Records and develop Best of Hilary Duff to quickly end her contract that had expected one last album.
The song was made available on the U.S. iTunes on December 18, 2008 and was sent to all mainstream U.S radio stations in January 2009. "Reach Out" also began to receive rotation on UK radio stations and UK music channels in January 2009. The official UK radio release date was January 19, 2009.
The song received mixed reviews. Popjustice gave the song a negative review, stating that "[w]ith so much medocrity in the song's three-and-a-half minute duration it's hard to pinpoint the most useless and perfunctory thing about Hilary Duff's toweringly boring new, track 'Reach Out'.[5] E! Online called "Reach Out" a "muffed attempt".[6] Digital Spy said that "The fact that Duff replaces the original lyric "reach out and touch faith" with "reach out and touch me" pretty much says it all. Originally written about Elvis's love for his wife Priscilla, the Lizzie McGuire star sacrilegiously turns this into an innuendo-laden squelch-fest. Accompanied by a video that sees Duff humping a marble statue, a tree trunk and the camera, 'Reach Out' has an unpleasant whiff of desperation about it".[7] However, Allmusic gave the song a positive review, picking the song as one of the top 3 AMG Picks in the album.[8] There's More Where That Came From gave the song a B, stating "So overall, the song is catchy. Hilary isn’t a great singer, but she has a good voice, which has always helped her in the past. The rapping in the song also, surprisingly, helps make the song better. And you have to give her some credit, she hasn’t become another X-tina, or Britney, as she goes through her 20’s. All in all, while it isn’t the strongest single out there, it certainly has the potential for being a hit."[9] NewMusicReviews gave the two versions of "Reach Out" a seven out of ten rating, calling Hilary's version a "great updated version of a classic track [Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus"]. The dance remixes are fantastic and this should bang the clubs, and could do decent on the radio." They also praised The Prophet's rapping parts stating he "has got some decent lyrics, but he’s not featured on much of the track." [10][11] Andy H of Angryape (UK) said the song "should do well, no doubt there - considering the current trend of electro-pop, with the club beat, rocky guitar sample and a confident sexiness in the vocals."[12] RightCelebrity said "while some are liking the new mature, sexy Hilary Duff, some say she tried too hard, and original songs are always better. You always get the haters when you do a remake, so it is always risky."[13] Commonsensemedia called "Reach Out" a "hit single" that "features more aggressive sexual lyrics than on previous [Hilary Duff] albums. While Dignity was OK for 11 year olds, the Best Of [Hilary Duff] compilation pushes the target age higher."
Bill Lamb from About.com praised the production on "Reach Out" writing "Duff's new pop lyrics and vocals courtesy collaboration with Ryan Tedder, leader of OneRepublic and one of the hottest producers in the pop music industry." Tatiana Wiez said, "It is clearly an attempt scrape her Lizzie McGuire image. It is strange watching Lizzie McGuire telling them to reach out and touch her."
For the 2009 MTV Italy TRL Awards, Duff was nominated for two categories including First Lady and Best #1 Video of the Year (for "Reach Out") competing against nominees such as Beyoncé and Britney Spears. Duff managed to win the First Lady Award.[14]
"Reach Out" debuted and peaked at number fifty-one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. It debuted at number seventy-one on the Japan Hot 100 on downloads alone; the following week the song dropped off the chart. "Reach Out" became Duff's third consecutive chart-topper on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play the week of December 6, 2008. It peaked at number nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Airplay.[15] The track failed to attract much attention in the UK, where it did not enter the official UK Singles Chart and only peaked at number sixty-five on the iTunes Pop Top 100, due to lack of promotion. Although, since the music video was released to the UK iTunes, the song has climbed to number twenty-six on the Top 100 Music Videos. In Italy, where it was released on January 19, 2009, "Reach Out" became a subsequent hit peaking at number three on the FIMI singles chart and reaching the number-one spot on MTV Italy's Total Request Live.[16][17] It debuted in the fourth week of 2009 at #30 on the "Italy Singles Top 50" and peaked at #13 before leaving the charts in its sixth week.
The music video for "Reach Out" was filmed on September 13–14, 2008 in Los Angeles and was directed by Philip Andelman. There are two versions of the video: The Director's Cut & The Clean Version. The Director's Cut version premiered on MySpace on October 28, 2008.[18] About.com said that "the video is cute, minus the extraneous rap".[19]
The video opens with almost-naked people streaking in the backyard of a mansion, then shows The Prophet rapping in front of a fountain. There are scenes of Duff dancing in front of a mirror; then singing on a sofa wearing a long white dress, and in the same room Hilary can be seen holding a shirtless man's leg. In another scene Duff can be seen at a dining table which is covered with food, and later with red lipstick lying on the floor and singing. This is intercut with scenes of her caressing a semi-naked man and singing. Then there's a scene where the prophet is sitting on a throne chair and rapping his part, while Duff can be seen lying on a tree in some kind of a forest & then wearing the same bone color dress singing in a pool. And in a different scene Hilary can be seen sucking a man's thumb. Also included in the video are scenes of Hilary Duff humping a statue and rubbing against the wall. The video ends with more footage of the dinner table with Duff sitting on it and more scenes of people running almost naked.
The censored version does not show Duff tied up in the beginning or the parts with Duff wearing the blindfold, it does not have the thumb sucking, and the ending is different. It also shows more of Duff on the table with the food,with almost-naked people and new scenes of Duff singing under the pool table. Also there are fewer scenes of wall rubbing and statue humping. It is said this will be the version aired on national television, instead of the thumb sucking it shows Hilary putting her necklace off.[20]
CD single (UK single/Promo)
Reach Out (The Dance Remixes)
Reach Out (The Club Remixes)
| Chart (2008/2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[21] | 51 |
| Italy (FIMI)[22] | 3 |
| Japan (Japan Hot 100)[23] | 72 |
| UK Singles Chart[24] | 193 |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[25] | 1 |
| Preceded by "Grass Is Greener" by Dave Audé featuring Sisely Treasure |
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single December 6, 2008 |
Succeeded by "Right Here (Departed)" by Brandy |
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