4th of July (Fireworks)

"4th of July (Fireworks)"
Single by Kelis
from the album Flesh Tone
Released June 8, 2010
Format Digital download, CD single
Genre
Length 5:40
Label will.i.am, Interscope
Writer(s) Kelis Rogers, Jean Baptiste, Damien Leroy, Jamie Munson, Anthony Burns, Vanessa Fischer, Ronald Morris, Jeff Scheven
Producer(s) DJ Ammo
Kelis singles chronology
"Acapella"
(2010)		 "4th of July (Fireworks)"
(2010)		 "Scream"
(2010)

"4th of July (Fireworks)" is the second single from Kelis' fifth album, Flesh Tone. It samples "You're My Heart (Pilotpriest Remix)" by Lioness.[1] The song was listed at #51 on the list of the NME's best tracks of 2010.[2] Three different art works have been made for the single, one for the CD single and digital EP releases in the UK,[3] the digital remixes single in the US[4] and the international single.[5]

Reception

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Gavin Haynes from NME has said that the song is "mainly frazzled, sonically-saturated electro that reminds us of The Love Below at its most boxing-clever".[6] Robert Copsey from Digital Spy rated it with 4/5 stars, saying "This latest single has a head-spinning structure that sets it apart from the average club track, while the singer uses the accompanying video as an excuse to rock a Native American headdress. However, it's the "You make me high" breakdown that's the real cherry here, making '4th Of July' that rare handbag house banger that's also a lovely, uplifting song about motherhood".[7] A negative review came from Fraser McAlpine from BBC Chart Blog who rated it 2/5 stars, saying "There are dance noises, there is singing, there are words, but they don't ever synthesise into something that makes any kind of impact whatsoever".[8] The Unreality Shout review was positive, awarding it 4/5 stars, saying "'4th Of July (Fireworks)', is a wonderfully written love song. It recalls the same kind of production that was the norm for dance tracks back in 2000-2004, whilst enlisting the help of DJ Ammo to update things to create a songs that is both stuttering and slurring, both cold and warm, both happy and melancholy, with a pulsing bass-line, and Kelis' brassy vocals showering the track with icy classiness".[9] The song was a Track Pick from the Allmusic review from Flesh Tone.[10]

Chart performance

The song was a hit on the US Hot Dance Club Songs Chart, where it peaked at 4. It also became a top 40 hit on the official charts in Belgium, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. As well as a top 10 dance hit on the UK Dance Chart.

Music video

The video was co-directed by Kelis, John "Rankin" Waddell and Nicole Ehrlich in the desert outside of Los Angeles.

Synopis and concept

The video begins with kelis walking on a desert, there is another scene of her wearing a white fur dress suit on the desert, In the chorus it shows her in front of a red laser ball, The next scene shows her in a glass box with flames and fire coming outta the ground, the next chorus shows kelis with a microphone in front of a lamp what turns orange coloured but normally something for a fake sun, A new scene shows her in a pool full of warm water and dancing in front of fireworks, holding sparkerlers. As the video ends it shows kelis waving her arms in the air with effects of fire burning.

Release and reception

The video debuted June 16th on YouTube and VEVO. A making version (Behind The Scenes version) of the video was uploaded 18, June 2010 On VEVO. It started filmimg in late May 2010. John Rankin Waddel said about the video and he said, The video for the 4th of July, is kinda a mix of ideas, it is a very hot video, that the idea of, the minute you hear the song you feel good right away, so we wanted it, to make a warm video. The material in the video is wearing big long dresses, Normally, the dresses are shoulder-ed or none-shoulder-ed. The video uses heat or electrical stuff, with light. The music video was filmed one day from an early morning to a late night. Photos of the video was posted a few days before the video premiered. It made UK Television Late June 2010. A teaser was posted June 11, 2010.

Live performances

Kelis performed the song for the first time on North American television on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 18th.[11] Kelis performed the song on The Today Show and 106 and Park.[12] In the UK, Kelis performed the song on Later with Jools Holland,[13] the Glastonbury Festival 2010[14] and on July 4, 2010 she performed it on T4 on the Beach as well as Alan Carr: Chatty Man which aired that same night.[15]

Track listing

  1. "4th of July (Fireworks)" - 5:29
  1. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Radio Edit) - 3:10
  2. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Calvin Harris Remix) - 5:38
  1. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Club Version) - 3:39
  2. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Richard X Remix) - 6:20
  3. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Calvin Harris Remix) - 5:38
  1. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Rusko Remix) - 4:10
  2. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Richard X Remix) - 6:20
  3. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Burns Remix) - 5:22
  4. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Calvin Harris Remix) - 5:39
  5. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Fernando Garibay Remix) - 5:17
  1. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (DJ DLG Lazor Arena Remix) - 7:07
  2. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (WaWa Remix) - 3:10
  3. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Saul Ruiz Club Mix) - 7:33
  4. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Hector Fonseca Remix) - 8:56
  5. "4th of July (Fireworks)" (Zoned Out Remix) - 7:47

Credits and personnel

"4th of July (Fireworks)" was recorded at Casa de Kelis and was mixed at Paper V.U. Studios.

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
Position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[21] 2
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[22] 36
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[23] 41
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[24] 37
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 32
UK Dance (Official Charts Company)[26] 6
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[27] 4

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United States June 8, 2010[16] Digital download will.i.am music
United Kingdom July 4, 2010[28] Polydor Records
July 5, 2010[29] CD single

References

  1. ↑ Flesh Tone (Booklet). Kelis. will.i.am Music Group (Interscope-Geffen-A&M). 2010. p. 4.
  2. ↑ Nme's Best Tracks of 2010 List NME Retrieved 2010-12-02
  3. ↑ "4th Of July (Fireworks) (Club Version): Kelis: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  4. ↑ "4th Of July (Calvin Harris Remix): Kelis: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  5. ↑ "4th of July [Fireworks]: Kelis: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  6. ↑ Kelis, 'Flesh Tone' - First Listen NME Retrieved 2010-12-02
  7. ↑ 4th of July (Fireworks) Digital Spy Review Digital Spy Retrieved 2010-12-01
  8. ↑ Kelis '4th of July' Review BBC Retrieved 2010-11-24
  9. ↑ {4th of July} Unreality Shout Review Unreality Shout Retrieved 2010-11-26
  10. ↑ Allmusic Flesh Tone Review Allmusic Retrieved 2010-11-23
  11. ↑ "'4TH OF JULY' VIDEO TO PREMIERE WORLDWIDE WED JUNE 16th". Iamkelis.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  12. ↑ "Kelis performs 4th of July on The Today Show". MSNBC. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  13. ↑ “” (2010-05-11). "Kelis performing 4th of July on Jools Holland". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  14. ↑ “”. "Kelis performing 4th of July at Glastonbury". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  15. ↑ "Kelis on UK television". Iamkelis.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "4th of July on Amazon". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  17. ↑ "Kelis - 4th of July CD Single at". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  18. ↑ "4th of July (Fireworks) - EP by Kelis — Download 4th of July (Fireworks) - EP on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  19. ↑ "4th Of July — The Remixes: Kelis: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  20. ↑ "4th Of July — The Remixes Remixed: Kelis: MP3 Downloads". Masterbeat.com. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Kelis – 4th Of July (Fireworks)" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Kelis – 4th Of July (Fireworks)" (in French). Ultratip.
  23. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201033 into search.
  24. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201027 into search.
  25. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2010-07-17" UK Singles Chart.
  26. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2010-07-17" UK Dance Chart.
  27. ↑ "Kelis Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Kelis.
  28. ↑ "The single at iTunes UK". iTunes. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  29. ↑ "CD single". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-09.

External links

"4th of July (Fireworks)" at MusicBrainz (list of releases)