| "Who's Laughing Now" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jessie J | ||||
| from the album Who You Are | ||||
| B-side | "Abracadabra" | |||
| Released | 21 August 2011[1] | |||
| Format | CD single, digital download | |||
| Recorded | Santisound Studios, (Los Angeles, California) |
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| Genre | R&B, hip hop, pop[1] | |||
| Length | 3:54 | |||
| Label | Lava, Island | |||
| Writer(s) | Jessica Cornish, Talay Riley, Kyle Abrahams, George Astasio, Peter Ighile, Jason Pebworth, Jon Shave | |||
| Producer | Parker and James, The Invisible Men | |||
| Jessie J singles chronology | ||||
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"Who's Laughing Now" is a song by English singer-songwriter Jessie J from her debut studio album, Who You Are. The song was written by Jessie J, Talay Riley, Astasio, Pebworth, Shave - collectively known as The Invisible Men, Abrahams and Ighile and it was produced by Parker and James and The Invisible Men. It refers to people who have put down or bullied Cornish and how she is living her life as a famous R&B star. The song was released as the fourth UK single of the album on 21 August 2011.
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The song finds Jessie taking pride in her achievements in the music industry and having the last laugh at the scoffers in her younger days who doubted she could be successful.[2] She told The Sun: "This song always makes me laugh. I have had so many supporters but also many non-believers and this track is my 'haha' to them. As I say: 'Let the haters hate, they're like way too late!'"[2] Matthew Perpetua wrote for Pitchfork Media that "The track has her lashing out against acquaintances who she claims bullied her and dissed her early music, but now show an interest in her since she has attained some degree of success."[3] Eric Henderson explained for Slant Magazine that "Who's Laughing Now serves up a catty riposte to old schoolyard mates emerging from the woodwork, wanting to tag old photos of them together on Facebook."[4]
Critical reception to the song has been generally mixed. Perpetua went to said that "Who's Laughing Now" seems to be pitched as a motivational song, but it's so narcissistic and myopic that it's hard to imagine anyone connecting with the singer's petty grudges and desperate need for constant affirmation."[3] Lewis Corner wrote positively for Digital Spy that "Flanked by pounding hip-hop kick-beats and twinkling piano pinches, Ms. Cornish rightfully addresses all those hanger-ons with diva ad-libbing perfection."[1] Ailbhe Malone wrote for NME that "Who’s Laughing Now’ offers a little insight, but it’s via her grind and career rather than who Jessie actually is."[5] Caryn Ganz wrote for Spin that "Who's Laughing Now, her update of X-tina's "Beautiful," is "such a tart kiss-off, you can almost hear Jessie's neck swiveling."[6] Johnny Dee wrote for Virgin Media that the song "is a brilliant revenge song aimed at playground bullies."[7] Adam Markovitz wrote for Entertainment Weekly that "Jessie's outside-the-box persona gets buried under maximalist production and mainstream themes like bullying on Who's Laughing Now."[8]
On the week of 14 August 2011, the song debuted at number thirty-seven on the UK Singles Chart, just after the music video release, making it already Jessie's fifth top-forty hit.[9] On the week of 21 August 2011, the song climbed to number twenty-one and on the week of its release (28 August 2011), the song peaked at number sixteen. It became her first single released in the UK to not reach the top-ten.[10]
The music video directed by Emil Nava was released on 10 August 2011 and it features an actress playing a young Jessie J who overcomes school bullies. Jessie J plays a school teacher, janitor, and dinner lady in the video.[11] Speaking of the track, she said: "Music is about making a change but also being able to laugh at yourself. I think this song tells a story a lot of people have been through and I hope it will raise awareness to the serious issue of bullying."[11] The video, filmed at King's College School, Wimbledon, is set in a primary school, where an actress (Adrianna Bertola) plays younger Jessie seems to be bullied by preppy girls, while Jessie J is seen as many characters during the four minutes in the video. She is seen as a teacher, a janitor and a lunch lady. The video ends with young Jessie standing up to the bullies by emptying a fire extinguisher on the girls.
Jessie has performed the track in many live shows, including the Glastonbury Festival[12] and the Radio One Big Weekend.[13] She also performed the track on "Alan Carr: Chatty Man" on 5 August 2011.[14] Jessie performed the track on the 2011 V Festival.[15] Also she performed the song at V festival on 20 and 21 August 2011. Jessie performed the song on Red or Black on 9 September, with Adrianna Bertola reprising her role as Young Jessica on-stage. Also, the Jessie presented the song in the 2011 MTV VMAs.
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[17] | 9 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[18] | 28 |
| Scotland (The Official Charts Company)[19] | 17 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[20] | 16 |
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 21 August 2011 | Digital download airplay[1] | Lava Records, Island Records |
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