Rocketeer (song)

"Rocketeer"
Single by Far East Movement featuring Ryan Tedder
from the album Free Wired
Released October 29, 2010 (2010-10-29) (US)
February 21, 2011 (UK)[1]
Format Digital download
Recorded 2010
Genre Alternative hip hop, europop
Length 3:31
Label Cherrytree
Writer(s) Bruno Mars, Jae Choung, James Roh, Kevin Nishimura, Virman Coquia, Jonathan Yip, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus, Philip Lawrence
Producer Stereotypes, The Smeezingtons
Far East Movement singles chronology
"Like a G6"
(2010)		 "Rocketeer"
(2010)		 "2gether"
(2011)

"Rocketeer" is the second single off Far East Movement's 2010 album Free Wired. The track features Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. It was produced by Stereotypes and The Smeezingtons. It peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In a response to the common misconception regarding the similarities between "Rocketeer" and Justin Bieber's "Somebody to Love", the group has stated via their Twitter account that both tracks were produced by the same production team, the Stereotypes. "Rocketeer" was produced first while the latter actually uses samples of their song.[2]

While Bruno Mars co-wrote the song and sing's the vocals in the original version, Ryan Tedder's version was the one selected for the album.

Contents

Background

Speaking about the song in March 2011 to noted UK urban writer Pete Lewis - Assistant Editor of Blues & Soul - group member Kev Nish stated: "'Free Wired' was basically a slang-word we came up with back in the day, that we'd use whenever we'd do something that was outside the box, that was original, that was fresh, and that mashed-up things that maybe SHOULDN'T be mashed-up! Which is why, when it came to titling this latest album, it made so much SENSE!... You know, we'd basically go in the studio and take hip hop-style drums, electronic synths, alternative-style hooks and just - as I say - mash it all UP! Which in turn became the inspiration behind a track like 'Rocketeer'... And, by featuring Ryan Tedder on the song, we were then also able to cover that credible, alternative ROCK base."[3]

Music video

Directed by Marc Klasfeld, the music video for the song premiered on Vevo and YouTube on October 29, 2010 and has a cameo appearance by DJ Quik.[4] The skateboarder in the video is Samuel Tan, a high school student from California. Steve Terada, Victor Kim and Hokuto Konishi from the b0boy dance group Quest Crew also makes brief appearances. Famous YouTube personalities Phil and Wes from Wong Fu Productions make a short cameo posing for a picture. The video features also a cameo of princess Ai Co-created by Courtney Love and D.J. Milky, Princess Ai was written and illustrated by Misaho Kujiradou and featured character designs by Ai Yazawa.

Track listing

Digital single
  1. "Rocketeer" (feat. Ryan Tedder) – 3:31
Rocketeer Remixes
  1. "Rocketeer" (Chew Fu Remix) - 5:34
  2. "Rocketeer" (Frankmusik Remix) - 3:23
  3. "Rocketeer" (DJ Enferno Remix) - 4:33
  4. "Rocketeer" (Ruxpin Remix) - 4:39
  5. "Rocketeer" (Z-Trip Afterburner Dub Remix) - 3:12
  6. "Rocketeer" (DJ Spider & Mr. Best Remix) - 5:21
Rocketeer Live At Cherrytree House
  1. "Rocketeer" (Live At Cherrytree House) [feat. Frankmusik] - 3:47

Credits and personnel

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2010–11) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 14
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[6] 9
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[7] 9
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[8] 22
Czech Republic (IFPI)[9] 50
Germany (Media Control AG)[10] 40
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[11] 10
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[12] 47
New Zealand (RIANZ)[13] 4
Scotland (The Official Charts Company)[14] 19
Slovakia (IFPI)[15] 11
UK R&B (The Official Charts Company)[16] 4
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[17] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 7
US Pop Songs (Billboard)[19] 7
US Rap Songs (Billboard)[20] 9

Certifications

Country Certification
Australia Platinum[21]
New Zealand Gold

Year-end charts

Chart (2011) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 58

References

  1. ^ Praxis Media. "Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples Downloads". Radio1.gr. http://www.radio1.gr/music/forthcoming_uk_singles.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-09. 
  2. ^ "Response". Far East Movement. http://twitter.com/fareastmovement/status/14849549495443456. 
  3. ^ Far East Movement interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' March 2011
  4. ^ "Far East Movement - Rocketeer ft. Ryan Tedder". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcmKbTR--iA. Retrieved 2011-01-09. 
  5. ^ "Top 50 Singles Chart 14/3/2011". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1U50. Retrieved March 13, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Ultratop.be – Far * East Movement feat. Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic – Rocketeer" (in Dutch). Ultratip. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  7. ^ "Ultratop.be – Far * East Movement feat. Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic – Rocketeer" (in French). Ultratip. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  8. ^ "Far East Movement Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Far East Movement. Prometheus Global Media.
  9. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201111 into search. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  10. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  11. ^ "Japan Hot 100: Week of April 09, 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/japan-hot-100?chartDate=2011-04-09. Retrieved April 7, 2011. 
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Far * East Movement feat. Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic – Rocketeer" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
  13. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Far * East Movement feat. Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic – Rocketeer". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
  14. ^ "Archive Chart". Scottish Singles Top 40. The Official Charts Company.
  15. ^ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201111 into search. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  16. ^ "Archive Chart" UK R&B Chart. The Official Charts Company.
  17. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
  18. ^ "Far East Movement Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Far East Movement. Prometheus Global Media.
  19. ^ "Far East Movement Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for Far East Movement. Prometheus Global Media.
  20. ^ "Far East Movement Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Rap Songs for Far East Movement. Prometheus Global Media.
  21. ^ "Top 50 Singles Chart". (G) in Brackets. ARIA - Australian Recording Industry Association Ltd.. http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1U50. Retrieved 20 March 2011. 
  22. ^ "Best of 2011: Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-year-end/hot-100-songs?year=2011. Retrieved 2011-12-09. 
Far East Movement
Kev Nish · Prohgress · J-Splif · DJ Virman
Studio albums
Folk Music · Animal · Free Wired
Singles
"Like a G6" · "Rocketeer" · "2gether" · "If I Was You (OMG)"
Featured singles
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