Can I Get a Moment

Background and release

"Can I Get a Moment?" was written by Antonio Dixon, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes, Carmen Reece, Leon Thomas III and Helen Jane Culver. It was produced by Edmonds, Dixon and The Rascals. Mauboy was gifted the song by Edmonds after she was given the rare opportunity to write and work with him in Los Angeles in September 2014. On working with Edmonds, Mauboy said: "Working with someone like him is something I have always dreamt with and we had had three good writing sessions when he played me 'Can I Get a Moment?'. It's so funky and cool that as soon as I heard it I told them 'This is my track!'"

On 28 September 2014, it was announced that "Can I Get a Moment?" would be released as Mauboy's next single. The song was then made available to pre-order the following day. An audio teaser of "Can I Get a Moment?" was uploaded to Mauboy's Vevo account on 30 September 2014. The song was released both digitally and physically on 17 October 2014, as the fifth overall single from Mauboy's third studio album, Beautiful, and the first single from the album's platinum edition. The physical release features a Carl remix of the album's fourth single "Never Be the Same". An acoustic version of "Can I Get a Moment?" was released digitally on 13 March 2015.

Composition

"Can I Get a Moment?" is an up-tempo funk and soul song with a duration of three minutes and twenty-five seconds. Its instrumentation consists of a percussion, horns, "chunky beats" and handclaps. Naomi Janes of Renowned for Sound noted that "Can I Get a Moment?" features "'Blurred Lines' style backing vocals" and compared Mauboy's vocals to Christina Aguilera. Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that the song "sounds like a winning mix of B'Day-era Beyoncé and Jessie J's 'Bang Bang'", while Kathy McCabe of News.com.au felt it was reminiscent of Pharrell Williams' "Come Get It Bae". "Can I Get a Moment?" opens with a purring vocal style by Mauboy as she sings: "Too hot to touch, I'm burnin’ up, Have you heard the news? I'm on the move". In the chorus, Mauboy sings: "No disrespect, I'm not impressed, right now I'm doing me. You do the most, you're way too close, it's hard for me to breathe! Can I get a moment?". In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mauboy described the song as "sexy" and "sassy" and said "it is about being in a really great place, my head is clear and I am just having a moment and I'm celebrating that moment".

Reception

Naomi Janes of Renowned for Sound awarded "Can I Get a Moment?" three stars out of five and called it a "catchy" track that "is a fresh and new sound" for Mauboy. Janes also praised Mauboy's "impressive vocals", noting that it is "the most redeeming feature" on "Can I Get a Moment?". Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that the song "sounds like an on-trend, percussion-heavy club-banger", while Take 40 Australia described it as a "sassy new anthem" and "certified bop". "Can I Get a Moment?" earned Mauboy a nomination for Best Female Artist at the 2015 ARIA Music Awards.

For the issue dated 27 October 2014, "Can I Get a Moment?" debuted at number five on the ARIA Singles Chart and became Mauboy's eighth top-ten single, fifth top-five single and her third top-ten debut. It also became the third top-ten single from Beautiful, following "Pop a Bottle (Fill Me Up)" and "Never Be the Same". The song spent its first two weeks in the top-ten. "Can I Get a Moment?" was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for sales exceeding 70,000 copies.

Background and synopsis

The music video was directed by Stu Gosling and filmed at Crown casino in Melbourne. It premiered on Mauboy's Vevo account on 29 October 2014. A first look at the video was shown on Sunrise earlier that day. The video opens with a close-up shot of Mauboy who appears in front of a gold background. She is then seen performing on stage with her band, while wearing a black form-fitted jumpsuit with a diamond choker necklace. This is intercut with scenes of Mauboy wearing a green cut-out dress and singing in front of a blue background. The video then shows Mauboy and her two female backup singers sitting in a dark room, while wearing black pantsuits. This is followed by scenes of Mauboy singing in front of the gold background, while split screen and mirrored shots of men from her band playing instruments are shown. The video then returns to Mauboy performing on stage with her band. This is intercut with mirrored shots of Mauboy and her backup singers, singing in front of a black and white background. Scenes from throughout the video are then intercut with each other. The video ends with Mauboy posing to the camera.

Reception

Idolator's Mike Wass called it a "cute (but familiar) video" and noted that it drew inspiration from Beyoncé's "Love on Top" video, writing "It's hardly surprising given [Mauboy's] love for all things Queen Bey and the format fits the song perfectly". Natalie Miller of Nova noted that Mauboy channeled "a bit of Mariah 'diva' Carey attitude" in the clip. Chris Urankar of InStyle magazine also thought that Mauboy channeled Carey, noting that she unleashed "a little of her inner diva". Sarah Sayers of the Daily Mail noted that the video saw Mauboy "singing like a diva from the Motown era of R&B".

The video received mixed opinions from fans on YouTube and Twitter, complaining about everything from Mauboy's outfits to the budget of the clip. One fan said "the video looks like it cost $2", while another fan noted "All her outfits were not very flattering of her figure. This to me is her worst video". Adam Bub of MusicFix defended the video, writing "What's the fuss all about? There's no twerking, boozing or gratuitous body shots like other pop stars' clips... but does that make it a boring watch? Jess' music videos do tend to err on the safe side, but there's nothing wrong with that either."

Promotion

Mauboy promoted "Can I Get a Moment?" with radio interviews on Smallzy's Surgery (3 October 2014), Fitzy and Wippa (23 October 2014) and Joy 94.9 (31 October 2014). On 20 October 2014, she performed the song during the grand final live decider show of the sixth series of The X Factor Australia. For the performance, Mauboy wore a gold outfit covered in tassels and performed in front of a background of honeycomb patterns. Bianca Soldani of the Daily Mail wrote that her performance "was a particular stand out" and noted that "she pulled out some incredible Beyoncé-esque moves". Similarly, Take 40 Australia wrote that they loved "the sassy Beyoncé-style" choreography. Annabel Ross of The Sydney Morning Herald described Mauboy's performance as "vivacious".

Mauboy also performed "Can I Get a Moment?" on Sunrise (22 October 2014) and at Sony Foundation's Wharf4Ward fundraiser in Sydney (23 October 2014). On 26 November 2014, she performed the song at the 2014 ARIA Music Awards and wore a strapless, blue sequin jumpsuit. Writers of the Daily Mail noted that Mauboy was channeling Beyoncé again as she "stomped around on stage" and "flicked her hair about". On 4 December 2014, Mauboy performed "Can I Get a Moment?" at the Sydney Opera House in a lemon dress to launch the 2015 Australia Day celebrations. She also performed "Can I Get a Moment?" at iHeartRadio's first Ultimate Pool Party at the Ivy Pool Club in Sydney on 6 December 2014.

Credits and personnel

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