The Boy Does Nothing

"The Boy Does Nothing"
Single by Alesha Dixon
from the album The Alesha Show
Released 10 November 2008
(see release history)
Format CD, Maxi Single, Digital Download
Genre Mambo, swing, R&B, jazz
Length 3:34
Label Asylum
Writer(s) Alesha Dixon, Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Xenomania, Carla-Marie Williams
Producer(s) Xenomania
Alesha Dixon singles chronology
"Knockdown"
(2006)		 "The Boy Does Nothing"
(2008)		 "Breathe Slow"
(2009)

"The Boy Does Nothing" is a song performed by English singer-songwriter Alesha Dixon. It is the lead single from her second studio album, The Alesha Show. The song was written by Alesha along with the help of Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Carla-Marie Williams, and other members of Xenomania.[1] The single was her first since 2006 after "Knockdown" was released in October of that year. It was also her first since signing with her new record label Asylum Records.

The song, described as being "the stand-out track" on The Alesha Show,[2] received predominately good reviews and became a commercial success, charting within the top 10 on the majority charts it entered and entering the charts in over 20 different territories worldwide. The single was certified Gold in the United Kingdom and sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide.[3][4] Dixon stated that despite the song's title, "The Boy Does Nothing", the song is "not a male-bashing kind of record,"[5] explaining that "the lyrical content is just cheeky more than anything".[5]

Background

Dixon had worked with Brian Higgins, of Xenomania, on her previous single, "Knockdown", but it failed to enter the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart, resulting in Dixon being dropped by her record label, Polydor Records. In early 2007, still with no recording contract, Dixon received a phone call from Higgins, who asked if she would like to continue working together.[6] Dixon stated, "The plan was to make the whole record with Brian without talking to any record labels, we were just going to wait until we had made something special and then approach people with a finished album."[6] However Dixon's profile was raised when she signed up to compete in Strictly Come Dancing, which she eventually won. Soon afterwards, Dixon signed a deal with Asylum Records.[7] "The Boy Does Nothing", by this time already written, was originally intended to be a jazz orientated track, but Dixon and Higgins decided to change the genre, incorporating mambo influences, due to her experience on Strictly Come Dancing.[6] Dixon described the song as "a very tongue-in-cheek record"[5] and Higgins likened the song to "bottled happiness".[5]

Music and lyrics

"The Boy Does Nothing" is a pop-mambo song with an up-tempo beat consisting of 88 beats per minute.[8] The original key is E♭ minor.[8] The instruments used were the bass guitar, drums, guitar and the keyboard.[9]

The lyrics focus on the men in Dixon's past relationships and their lazy attitudes. The chorus states her frustration with men not completing everyday housekeeping tasks; "Does he wash up? Never wash up/Does he clean up? No he never cleans up/Does he brush up? He never brushed up". The in final verse the lyrics state, "And if the man can't dance/He gets no second chance"; a reference to her refusal to date men if they cannot dance. In an interview Dixon explained in further detail about the lyric, saying "I have to be honest, I do like a man who can dance, but it's not a deal-breaker. It's nice if they can dance, but if they can't we'll just have to work on other areas!"[10]

Promotion

Dixon performed her new single on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing on 19 October 2008, with the show's professional dancers, including her professional partner whilst on the show in 2007, Matthew Cutler. On 8 November, Dixon performed a 5-song set at London's G-A-Y Club. On 14 November, she presented and performed for Children in Need 2008. She presented at the beginning of the show in the BT Tower, monitoring the calls and donations, and later performed in the BBC Television Centre. On Saturday 13 December, Dixon sang at Miss World 2008,[11] which is said to have been watched by over 2 billion people worldwide. She also performed at GMTV, and on 31 December 2008 she performed on the BBC as part of the New Year celebrations. On 20 February 2009 Dixon performed the single at Le Grand Journal on French TV to promote her single and album in France.[12] Alesha promoted the album in Spain, performing "The Boy Does Nothing" on Operación Triunfo,[13] a reality television show similar to Star Academy. She also performed on other Spanish television shows, such as El Hormiguero.[14] In Australia, the song was used to promote the 2009 season of the Australian Dancing with the Stars and has since seen an Australian release, seeing regular radio play. On 20 November 2009, Dixon performed "The Boy Does Nothing" as the opener to Children in Need 2009, which she also co-hosted, alongside Terry Wogan and Strictly Come Dancing colleague Tess Daly.[15]

Critical reception

Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song stars:

"The Boy Does Nothing", a song that bears more than a passing resemblance to "Mambo No. 5", is a smart choice of comeback single from Dixon. She could easily have wiggled her hips to its salsa-pop rhythms on Strictly, and the cheeky, lighthearted lyrics suit her personality. "If the man can't dance, he gets no second chance," she sings towards the end. On this evidence, Dixon has grabbed hers by the horns.[16]

Pop Justice gave the song a positive review and rated the song :

Starts off like "Mambo No. 5". Ends up like Perez Prado's "Guaglione". Has a brilliant "HEY!" bit in it. Has about 28 different hooks and catchy bits. Will appeal as much to Strictly Come Dancing viewers as it does to annoying self-appointed internet pop 'sophisticates' like us lot.[17]

Music video

Dixon flanked by her dancers in the video of "The Boy Does Nothing"

The video for "The Boy Does Nothing" is directed by the art director from the film Moulin Rouge!, Michael Gracey, and Pete Commins. The choreography for the music video was created by Ashley Wallen.[18]

The video, filmed in Tottenham Town Hall,[19] takes place in a theatre style ballroom, where two children are spying from a balcony onto the stage below, with one worrying that they shouldn't be watching. Dixon is dancing on a stage with six other girls dressed in pink. There are also around fifty other audience members, dressed in 1950s style clothing, dancing along as well enjoying the show. Towards the end of the video, everyone starts to sing the last lines of the songs a cappella, and various male dancers try to impress Dixon with their dancing while everyone repeats the verse "If the man can't dance, he gets no second chance".

The Daily Mail noted that Dixon bore a resemblance to American singer Beyoncé in the music video, saying that "the British singer is a dead ringer for the 'Crazy in Love' star in the video for her new single 'The Boy Does Nothing', complete with flowing extensions and shimmering thigh-skimming dress".[20] "The Boy Does Nothing" was nominated in the 'best video' category at the 2009 MOBO Awards,[21] however the award was given to "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by Beyoncé.[22]

Chart performance

"The Boy Does Nothing" debuted at #84 on the UK Singles Chart. The single became her first solo single to reach the top 10, following a 76 spot jump from #84 to #8 on downloads alone, selling 27,683 copies. On 16 November 2008, "The Boy Does Nothing" had advanced to #5 on the chart after the physical release of the single.[23] The song spent 16 weeks in the UK Top 40. On the Irish Singles Chart, the song peaked at #19 on 11 November 2008 and falling to #20 the following week.[24]

On the Swedish Singles Top 60 the song debuted at #30, becoming her first ever chart appearance in Sweden. The following week, it jumped a further eight places to #22. On 12 February 2009 the song peaked at #11.

"The Boy Does Nothing" debuted in the top twenty on the Finnish Singles Chart at #19. The following week, it jumped to the #5. It has now reached a peak of number #2. The single entered the French Single Charts at #2.

In Spain, the song debuted at #35. It jumped in the following weeks to #16, but the massive success came when she performed live the single in Operación Triunfo, a famous talent show in Spain. After that performance "The Boy Does Nothing" jumped to #5, and peaked at #2 for three non consecutive weeks. Finally it achieved 2x Platinum certification due to the 80,000 copies sold.

Alesha's debut single charted in the Dutch Top 40 28 February, at #35. The following week saw the chart rose to #26. The song continued to gain some popularity and gained more and more airplay, which resulted in a 12th place on the top 40. This fact means that "The Boy Does Nothing" became Dixon's first top-20 single in The Netherlands so far, after 3 attempts with Mis-Teeq which all peaked just outside the top-20. After 10 weeks the song peaked at a chart high of #17. The single was a major club and radio hit in Finland, charting #2, and spent eleven weeks at #1 in the Czech Republic.

In Australia, the song was a sleeper hit. It entered the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number 43 on 3 August 2009. On 14 September, it peaked at number eight, where it stayed for one week, and spent a total of five weeks in the top ten. It peaked higher than Mis-Teeq's most successful Australian single "Scandalous", which reached #9 in June 2003.[25] In the United States it has been released digitally via the iTunes site, it was released on 20 February 2009.[26]

Track listing

Maxi Single
  1. "The Boy Does Nothing" - 3:30
  2. "The Boy Does Nothing" (Fred Falke Remix) - 6:39
  3. "The Boy Does Nothing" (Crazy Cousinz Remix) - 4:21
  4. "The Boy Does Nothing" (Video)
Digital Download
  1. "The Boy Does Nothing" - 3:34
  2. "The Boy Does Nothing" (Bimbo Jones Remix Radio Edit) - 2:42
  3. "The Boy Does Nothing" (Fred Falke Remix) - 6:38
  4. "The Boy Does Nothing" (Crazy Cousinz Remix) - 4:20

Credits and personnel
  • Guitar: Nick Coler, Jason Resch
  • Keyboards and programming: Tim Powell, Brian Higgins, Nick Coler, Matt Gray, Owen Parker, Gary Sanctuary
  • Producer: Brian Higgins, Xenomania

Charts

Chart (2008–2009) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[27] 8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[28] 34
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[29] 16
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[30] 18
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[31] 1
Denmark (Tracklisten)[32] 31
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 5
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[34] 5
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[35] 2
France (SNEP)[36] 2
Germany (Media Control Charts)[37] 39
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[38] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[39] 19
Italy (FIMI)[40] 8
Norway (VG-lista)[41] 3
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[42] 8
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[43] 16
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[44] 2
Spanish Airplay Chart[45] 5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[48] 5

End-of-year charts

Chart (2008) Position
UK Singles Chart[49] 48
Chart (2009) Position

Year-end charts

Chart (2009) Position
Australian Singles Chart[50] 68
Hungarian Airplay Chart[51] 3
Italian Singles Chart[52] 47
Spanish Singles Chart[53] 12
Swiss Singles Chart[54] 35
UK Singles Chart[55] 111

Sales and certifications

Chart Certification Sales/Shipments
UK Gold 400,000
Finland Gold[56] 5,983
Spain 2x Platinum[57] 80,000
Australia Gold 35,000

Release history

Country Release Date Format Label
United Kingdom 10 November 2008 CD Single, Maxi Single, Digital download Asylum Records
Ireland 22 November 2008
Sweden 8 January 2009 Digital download Warner Music
Norway 13 January 2009
Finland 18 January 2009[58] CD Maxi, Digital download
Italy 6 February 2009 Digital download
Spain 16 February 2009
United States 20 February 2009
Brazil 18 March 2009 Radio, Digital download
Germany 24 April 2009[59] CD Single, Maxi Single, Digital download

References

  1. ↑ Van Der Kamp, Aufrett (13 October 2008). "The Xenomania Discography". GeoCities. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  2. ↑ Gill, Andy (20 November 2009). "Album: Alesha Dixon, The Alesha Show – Encore (Asylum)". The Independent (London). Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Sarah Swain (2011-06-09). "Alesha and I are a team ... it's like a second marriage!". Evening Times. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
  4. ↑ "Photo by carlamarieuk". Instagram. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Talking Shop: Alesha Dixon". BBC. 7 November 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "This time it's strictly Alesha's show". Dudley News. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "Music - News - Alesha discusses record label axe". Digital Spy. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Alesha Dixon: The Boy Does Nothing". Sheet music direct.com. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  9. ↑ The Alesha Show liner notes. Asylum Records
  10. ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/interviews/a132930/alesha-dixon.html
  11. ↑ http://www.aleshadixon.co.uk/blog,happy-christmas-from-alesha_23.htm
  12. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_-HG3NKSTY
  13. ↑ http://www.aleshadixon.co.uk/news,alesha-dixons-classic-performance-at-operacion-triunfo-in-spain_97.htm
  14. ↑ "Dixon sale starts today". The Sun (London). 19 May 2009.
  15. ↑ "In pictures: Children in Need 2009". BBC News. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  16. ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a132941/alesha-dixon-the-boy-does-nothing.html
  17. ↑ http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2991&Itemid=279
  18. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8yhnwbDcrM
  19. ↑ http://uk.real.com/music/blog/2008/12/11/alesha-dixon-interview
  20. ↑ "Who's that girl? Alesha Dixon transforms herself into Beyonce for new video". Daily Mail (London). 6 October 2008.
  21. ↑ Singh, Anita (26 August 2009). "Mobo Awards 2009 nominations unveiled". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  22. ↑ http://www.mobo.com/2009
  23. ↑ UK Singles Chart
  24. ↑ Peak positions of The Boy Does Nothing
  25. ↑ http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1U50
  26. ↑ iTunes Website
  27. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  28. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  31. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200918 into search.
  32. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing". Tracklisten.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  34. ↑ "Alesha Dixon Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Alesha Dixon.
  35. ↑ "Alesha Dixon: The Boy Does Nothing" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  36. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing" (in French). Les classement single.
  37. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Dixon,Alesha > The Boy Does Nothing – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  38. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  39. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 47, 2008". Irish Singles Chart.
  40. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing". Top Digital Download.
  41. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing". VG-lista.
  42. ↑ Romanian Top 100
  43. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200919 into search.
  44. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing" Canciones Top 50.
  45. ↑ "Promusicae (Week: January 1, 2009)" (PDF). Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  46. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing". Singles Top 60.
  47. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing". Swiss Singles Chart.
  48. ↑ "Alesha Dixon: Artist Chart History" UK Singles Chart.
  49. ↑ "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  50. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  51. ↑ "Éves összesített listák - MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 (súlyozott)". Mahasz. Mahasz.
  52. ↑ "FIMI - Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana - Ricerche e dati di mercato". Fimi.it. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  53. ↑ "Chart: PROMUSICAE 2009" (PDF). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  54. ↑ "2009 Year End Swiss Singles Chart". Swiss Music Charts. 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  55. ↑ John, Alan (30 January 2010). "Bad Romance is back on top". Music Week. Retrieved 6 February 2010. Total sales for 2009 was 882,059
  56. ↑ Kulta- ja platinalevyt IFPI.fi
  57. ↑ Promusicae SEMANA 33: del 10.08.2009 al 16.08.2009(In Spanish)
  58. ↑ "The Boy Does Nothing release dates". top40-charts.com. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  59. ↑ http://www.warnermusic.de/aleshadixon/music/?allreleasespage=1