B-side "Burnin' Up (No-Rap)" Recorded 2008 | Format CD
digital download | |
Released June 19, 2008 (2008-06-19) Genre Pop rock
teen pop
power pop Length 2:54 (album version)
2:37 (No-Rap version) | ||
"Burnin' Up" is the lead single from American pop rock band the Jonas Brothers' third studio album, A Little Bit Longer, and was officially released via Radio Disney on June 19, 2008 as well as other radio stations, and on iTunes on June 20, 2008. In the United Kingdom, it was released as a double A-side with "When You Look Me in the Eyes". The single was a hit via digital downloads, and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's first top five single in the US and their highest-charting song as a group. Featured on Now: The Hits of Summer 2009 features American rapper Big Rob.
Contents
Background and composition
The band first performed this song on their When You Look Me in the Eyes Tour as well as at the 2008 Disney Channel Games. Their summer tour, titled the Burnin' Up Tour, is named after this song. The song also features a rap from their bodyguard, Robert "Big Rob" Feggans.
Entertainment Weekly stated that the song "was inspired by Jonas Brothers' unlikely appreciation for the work of babe magnet Prince." Nick Jonas also stated that the song is "about this girl — maybe she's at a party — and you feel that immediate connection [and] both know it's there." The song was also included on Grammy Nominees 2009.
Critical reception
Time critic Josh Tyrangiel named this the sixth best song of 2008.
Commercial performance
With strong digital sales, "Burnin' Up" debuted at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's most successful single, with more than 183,000 downloads and sold the single for the first week it went on sale. It has sold 1.9 million copies in the US.
Music video
The music video for "Burnin' Up" premiered after the premiere of the Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock on Disney Channel on June 20, 2008. In the video, the brothers read over a potential video treatment and imagine how the video would play out, in which they are portrayed as action stars. Nick as James Bond, Joe as a Sonny Crockett parody, and Kevin as a Kung Fu master. The video featured cameo appearances from Selena Gomez, David Carradine, Robert Davi and Danny Trejo. The video was directed by Brendan Malloy and Tim Wheeler. The video was nominated for Video of the Year and Best Pop Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, but both lost to Britney Spears and the video for her song "Piece of Me". The video also took notes from Spike Jonze's iconic video for "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. This can be most seen in the scenes with Joe Jonas portraying an 80's TV-style cop with a fake mustache.
Track listing
US and Europe CD single
- "Burnin' Up" – 2:54
- "Burnin' Up (No-Rap)" – 2:37