Don't Wanna Go Home

Background and composition

"Don't Wanna Go Home" was written by Jason Derulo, Chaz Mishan, David Delazyn, William Attaway, Irving Burgie, Allen George and Fred McFarlane. Production for the song was handled by The Fliptones, with additional production by Tim Roberts and Heather Jeanette. It was recorded at Serenity West Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California and was mixed by Serban Ghenea at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia. On May 3, 2011, a 34-second preview of the song premiered online and its cover art was also unveiled. "Don't Wanna Go Home" was sent to contemporary hit radios in the United States on May 10, and was released for digital download on May 20.

"Don't Wanna Go Home" is an up-tempo electropop and dance-pop song. "Don't Wanna Go Home" makes use of a thumping Euro disco beat and some Auto-Tune vocals. Its hook features the lyrics, "Day-o, me say day-o / Daylight come and we don't wanna go home", as it is partially constructed from lyrics of "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" by Harry Belafonte, while a sample of "Show Me Love" by Robin S. runs throughout the song. In an interview with MTV UK, Derulo commented on the "Show Me Love" sample: "I'm in love with that bassline, it's just really hypnotic and I just wanted to play around with it in the studio. I heard it a bunch of times in the club and I fell in love with it, like most people do." Meena Rupani from DesiHits noted that the song borrows lyrics from Lil Wayne, while Shahryar Rizvi from Dallas Observer noted that its pre-chorus line "from the window / to the wall" comes from Lil Jon's 2003 single "Get Low".

Critical reception

"Don't Wanna Go Home" received mixed reviews from music critics. Bill Lamb from About.com awarded "Don't Wanna Go Home" a rating of four stars out of five, praising the song's "ingratiating party mood" and Derulo's "energetic vocal performance". He also went on to say that "Jason Derulo should have no problem taking back his place on pop radio playlists and pulling the Beluga Heights sound back into the spotlight." Scott Shelter from PopCrush wrote that, "Despite the track's lack of originality, the beat is irresistible, and its lyrics about staying out all night are likely to resonate with summer partiers," and concluded by writing that it is "a song that succeeds in spite of its shortcomings." A writer for Beatweek magazine praised Derulo for sampling "Day-O" into the song's chorus, writing that "'Don't Wanna Go Home' is yet the latest evidence that Derulo can create a song in any genre, using any kind of samples, and turn it into a hit." Robbie Daw from Idolator wrote that, "Compared to his last few mediocre offerings, this single actually seems to have some fire" courtesy of the samples in the song. However, Daw concluded by writing that "if Derulo wants to achieve any kind of credibility in the pop world, he'd better establish his own sound fast." Meena Rupani from DesiHits felt that Derulo "should think twice before he takes his lyrics from others." Shahryar Rizvi from Dallas Observer called Derulo a "lousy sampler", writing that "all this song boasts is Derulo throwing airballs". At the 2011 Teen Choice Awards, "Don't Wanna Go Home" was nominated for 'Choice R&B/Hip Hop Track' accolade.

Chart performance

During the week of May 28, 2011, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 39 on the US Pop Songs chart, and peaked at number ten on July 16, 2011. On the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 92 during the week of June 4, 2011, and peaked at number 14 on July 2, 2011. The song also reached number four on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. "Don't Wanna Go Home" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of 500,000 copies. As of September 2011, the song has sold over 1,000,000 digital copies in the US. In Canada, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 24 on the Canadian Hot 100 during the week of June 11, 2011, and later peaked at number eight on July 23, 2011. The song was certified gold by Music Canada (MC), denoting sales of 40,000 digital copies.

In Australia, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 34 on the ARIA Singles Chart on May 29, 2011, serving as the highest debuting single of that week. It later peaked at number five for two consecutive weeks. "Don't Wanna Go Home" also peaked at number two on the ARIA Urban Singles Chart. The song was certified five times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting sales of 350,000 copies. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 33 on May 30, 2011, and peaked at number 17 on June 27, 2011, and spent a total of twelve weeks on the chart. The song also attained top-ten positions on the Austrian Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart, both at number eight. In the United Kingdom, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, selling 76,581 copies in its first week, and became Derulo's second number-one single in that country, following "In My Head", which topped the chart in 2010.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Don't Wanna Go Home" was directed by Rich Lee and filmed in early May 2011. During the video shoot, Derulo spoke to MTV News about the video's concept, saying, "Basically, [it's] not about going to the club, [it's about] never leaving the club. [The video features] these creatures who can't get enough of this amazing party. But it's not a club – it's a warehouse and we live here." On May 23, 2011, a 30-second teaser of the music video was released online, showing Derulo dancing with former Pussycat Dolls member, Melody Thornton. The video premiered on MTV on May 25, 2011.

The video opens in an industrial warehouse, and shows Derulo reclining on a couch while his friends are passed out beside, around and on top of him. As he sings a portion of the song's chorus, Derulo reminisces about the previous night. The scene then shifts to Thornton, who is still awake standing on the other side of the warehouse surrounded by smoke. Derulo then stands up and walks towards her while performing solo dance moves. During the chorus, the two begin to do sexual dance routines together and eventually everyone wakes up. Derulo can then be seen doing various choreographed routines with male and female back-up dancers, as the crowd surrounding them hold up flashlights. In the final scene, a fire sprinkler in the warehouse goes off, and Derulo and his female dancers continue dancing. Towards the end of the video, the crowd ends up dancing with each other, while Derulo dances with a female. A writer for MTV News commented that the video could have easily starred Kesha, Jennifer Lopez or Britney Spears, and described it as being "glossy and fun, a complete reflection of the tune's party-anthem vibe."

Live performances

On August 3, 2011, Derulo performed a medley of "Don't Wanna Go Home" and "It Girl" on America's Got Talent, dressed in a white singlet and black jeans. He also performed the song at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards on August 7 with a troop of dancers. For the performance, Derulo wore a black leather jacket, T-shirt, skinny jeans and black leather gloves. On September 29, Derulo made a guest appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly to perform "Don't Wanna Go Home" and "It Girl". During a promotional tour in Australia, he performed the song at the Westfield Parramatta shopping centre in Parramatta, Sydney on October 16. He also performed a medley of "Don't Wanna Go Home" and "It Girl" on The X Factor Australia on October 18.

Track listing

1. "Don't Wanna Go Home" – 3:25

1. "Don't Wanna Go Home" – 3:25
2. "Don't Wanna Go Home" (Club Junkies Club Mix) – 7:07

1. "Don't Wanna Go Home" – 3:25
2. "Don't Wanna Go Home" (Club Junkies Club Mix) – 7:07
3. "Don't Wanna Go Home" (Club Junkies Radio Mix) – 3:42
4. "Don't Wanna Go Home" (7th Heaven Club Mix) – 7:54
5. "Don't Wanna Go Home" (7th Heaven Radio Edit) – 4:04

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for Future History.