Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)

"Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)" is the debut single by Irish pop duo Jedward. The song is a mashup of "Under Pressure", originally recorded in 1981 by Queen and David Bowie, and "Ice Ice Baby", recorded by Vanilla Ice in 1989. Vanilla Ice also provides vocals for the track. The song was released as a digital download in the UK on January 31, 2010,^[1] followed by a physical release on February 15, 2010. The song was also simultaneously released in Ireland. This is the duo's only single to be released on the Sony Music label. The physical release of the single included a double-sided poster and full lyrics.^[2] The single peaked at #1 on the Irish Singles Chart, followed by an entry at #2 in the UK Singles Chart.

Tracklisting

1. "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)" - Radio Edit
2. "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)" - Karaoke Version

Promotion

Jedward first performed the song on the sixth live show of the sixth series of The X Factor. The first official performance of the song occurred on 20 January 2010, where Vanilla Ice joined the duo at the National Television Awards in London. The song had its first radio airplay on 24 January with performances on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, The Chris Moyles Show, GMTV, This Morning, The Saturday Night Show and RTE1 following. Jedward were also scheduled to perform on the 5:19 show, however, pulled out due to contractual issues.

Reaction

Vanilla Ice praised the twins. He stated: "I think they're great — I didn't know much about them until a couple of weeks ago. I checked them out on YouTube and I went 'no way', and after I got over the laugh, they invited me to come out."^[3] Louis Walsh said about the release: "Jedward really captured the public's imagination while on The X Factor. Love them or hate them, you can't deny that they were the talking point of the series. As "Under Pressure" was the track that really catapulted the boys to fame, it seemed only fitting to release the song as their first single."^[4][5] Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy reviewed the song negatively, giving it an average 2/5, saying "Quite where Jedward go next remains to be seen — can they squeeze out an entire album of corny pop-rap covers?"^[6]

Music video

The music video^[7] was released in its entirety on 2 February 2010. It was shot in the Mill Lane Studios in London and the dance moves were choreographed by American choreographer Brian Friedman, who worked with the twins when they were on The X Factor. The video is directed by well-known American director Dale "Rage" Resteghini and produced by Luti Fagbenle with his production company "Lut! Media". Oliver Kester was first assistance director and Joseph Labisi the director of photography. Laura Johnstone was the art director and Portobello Post's John Holloway (editor/colorist) and Amarjeet (VFX). The video was commissioned by Dan Millar.^[8] The video features Jedward performing in front of a gigantic screen, displaying name Jedward and title UNDER PRESSURE as well as various words from the song lyrics. Jedward later also join a large dance routine with pyrotechnics. Vanilla Ice joins the twins in a later scene, performing in front of a graffiti design prepared by Thomas Dolan. At the end of the video, Vanilla Ice sprays the word ICE on the camera screen in red spray paint, then covers the entire picture in paint as the song fades out.

Chart performance

On 5 February 2010, "Under Pressure" entered the Irish Singles Chart at number 1, following strong digital downloads.^[9] The following week, on 12 February, the single fell to number 2, following the release of the Helping Haiti "Everybody Hurts" single. However, on 19 February, the single climbed 1 place to resume its current peak of number 1. On 7 February, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 2, just missing out on the top spot with 24 copies less than "Fireflies" by Owl City. The following week, the single dropped 10 places to number 12. However, on 21 February, following the CD Single release, the single climbed 1 place to number 11.

Chart succession

References