Feel This Moment

Background

On October 16, 2012, Pitbull's official website gave a list of possible collaborators who were expected to appear on the album, with Christina Aguilera being one of them. A 1-minute, 37-second snippet of the track, leaked online on October 23, 2012, while the full track leaked on November 13, 2012. Pitbull spoke about the collaboration with Aguilera in an interview, stating:

"'Feel This Moment' is a special record, and to work with Christina Aguilera is an honor, a blessing, someone that I highly respected, as far as her talent, her voice, her range that she can take it, and I think 'Feel This Moment' is gonna be a great record, because it's got a very powerful sample and everybody's gonna dance too. On top of that, when I say 'Feel this Moment' is basically, 'feel life, don't live life for a moment, live life for life, that is your moment.'"

Composition

"Feel This Moment" was written by Nasri Atweh, Chantal Kreviazuk, Adam Messinger, Sir Nolan, DJ Buddha, Pitbull and Aguilera, while production was handled by Adam Messinger, Nasri Atweh, Sir Nolan and DJ Buddha. It interpolates the hook from Norwegian synthpop band A-ha's famous 1985 hit "Take on Me," and the band members themselves, who wrote "Take on Me," received writing credits for "Feel This Moment."

The song is a dance-pop song about stopping to take a moment to appreciate life. Set to a thumping club beat, the rapper spits, "Let's stop time and enjoy this moment," followed by Aguilera belting, "One day when my light is glowing, I'll be in my castle golden; But until the gates are open, I just wanna feel this moment." Pitbull makes reference to E.L. James's best-selling erotic novel, 50 Shades of Grey, when he raps, "She read books, especially about red rooms and tie-ups." According to Jason Lipshut of Billboard, "Feel This Moment" is structured much like Pitbull's "Get It Started," which in turn featured Shakira Ripoll. With the chord progression of Am—D—G—C—G/B, the song is written in the key of G major. According to the sheet music at musicnotes.com, the song is written in common time with a tempo of 136 beats per minute.

Critical response

"Feel This Moment" received generally positive reviews from music critics. David Jeffries of Allmusic picked the song as one of the album's standout tracks, calling it a "glorious disco explosion." Entertainment Weekly's journalist Ray Rahman thought that "Feel This Moment" was "the best song on the album," writing that "it whisks a 'Take On Me' sample to places it's never been before." Sarah Godfrey of The Washington Post agreed, recommending the track, as one of the three best tracks on the album. Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times wrote that "it turns A-ha's '80s synth-pop curio 'Take on Me' into the stuff of a Las Vegas bachelorette bash." Jeremy Thomas of 411 Mania praised Aguilera's appearance, writing that she "adds some musical substance to Pitbull's style and makes for a track that, if not necessarily good, at least is very listenable."

Sam Lanksy of Idolator called it "doozy," praising Aguilera's part, calling it a "memorable chorus," adding that the song "fares better than her yowling on Chris Mann's cover of 'The Blower's Daughter.'" Jason Lipshut of Billboard also praised her vocals, calling it "gorgeous pipes." Rick Florino of Artistdirect also praised her part, writing that "Aguilera delivers a shimmering refrain as Pitbull's flow drives the verses smoothly." Nicolle Weeks of 4Music also enjoyed, writing: "This is actually quite a catchy tune to dance to and it boasts a sick hook. It doesn't feature any misogyny, which is nice."

Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of Spin wrote a mixed review, stating that "the Christina Aguilera collab should be a major crossover situation — she chips in a slightly cheesy, Selena-alluding diva vocal combined with Miami-worthy sub-bass, but a-ha's 'Take on Me' hook played on a handsy techno synth overrides both vocalists." But an editorial writer from Popjustice was negative towards both "Feel This Moment" and will.i.am's song "Scream & Shout" (2012), stating that what the "two songs represent is pop music writhing around in its own shit."

Chart performance

"Feel This Moment" made its first chart appearance on December 15, 2012, debuting at number 169 on the French Singles Chart. The following week, the song did a climb to number 63. In its third week charting, the single jumped to number 35, becoming Pitbull's 13th top-40 single on the chart and Aguilera's 16th. "Feel This Moment" kept fluctuating on the chart for the next two weeks, until it climbed to number 26 on January 19, 2013. In its seventh week, the song peaked at number 23. In Austria, "Feel This Moment" debuted at number 29 on the Austrian Singles Chart on November 30, 2012. Later, the single climbed to number 27 and remained two further weeks before dropping out of the chart. On January 25, 2013, the song re-entered at number 11, while in its sixth week, it jumped to number 7, becoming Pitbull's 13th and Aguilera's 10th top-ten single. On March 15, 2013, "Feel This Moment" peaked at number 2 on the chart.

In Switzerland, "Feel This Moment" debuted at number 40 on the Swiss Singles Chart on December 2, 2012. It peaked at number 7 on April 21, 2013 and stayed there for two weeks. On the Swedish Singles Chart, the song gained moderate success, peaking at number 22 on the chart. Despite that, the single was certified platinum by the Swedish Recording Industry Association. In Germany, the song peaked at number 9 on March 25, 2013 on the German Singles Chart. Thanks to the chart success, it was certified platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie. In Norway, "Feel This Moment" debuted at number 17 on the Norwegian Singles Chart on January 26, 2013. In its eighth week on chart, the song peaked at number 6. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Pitbull's 10th top ten hit in the country and Aguilera's 17th. It was also a success on the dance market in the country, peaking at number one on the UK Dance Chart. "Feel This Moment" was a commercial success throughout Europe, peaking at number five on the Euro Digital Songs chart.

In Australia, "Feel This Moment" debuted at number 12 on the Australian Singles Chart on March 13, 2013. On March 17, 2013, the song peaked at number 6 and stayed there for two weeks, becoming Pitbull's 10th top ten hit in Australia and Aguilera's 17th. Due to the chart success, the single was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) thanks to the digital sales of 70,000 copies. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 17 on February 25, 2013. On April 8, 2013, it peaked at number 12 and remained for 3 weeks.

Before release as an official single, "Feel This Moment" debuted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 at number 24 due to strong airplay and streaming. After several weeks, the song has peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single marks Pitbull's 8th top ten Hot 100 hit and Aguilera's 10th. It also peaked at number 4 on the Canadian Singles Chart, becoming Pitbull's and Aguilera's thirteenth top ten single on the chart. As of July 2013, the song has sold over 3 million copies in the United States.

Music video

The music video was first released onto Pitbull's official VEVO channel on March 15, 2013. It was directed by David Rousseau. It was shot in black and white scene. The video is centered on the rapper's 2012 Planet Pit World Tour. In the video, the tour hit several big cities including Paris, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Aguilera is also featured in the video, with big curly hair and black outfit. The video has received over 390 million views.

The video for "Feel This Moment" received mainly positive reviews. Tom Goodenough from The Sun praised the look of Aguilera in the video, stating that "curvy singer Christina showed off her full-bodied blonde locks for the promo [...] also turned on the style by modelling a stunning leather jacket for the shoot." Rap-Up agreed, wrote, "Mr. Worldwide [Pitbull] reflects on his journey to the top, performing shows across the globe, while the pop diva looks gorgeous as she vamps for the camera in the black-and-white clip." Trent Fitzgerald from PopCrush wrote that "Aguilera is looking rather svelte in her all-black leather outfit as she flirts for the camera."

Live performances

Pitbull and Aguilera first performed "Feel This Moment" on November 18, 2012 at the 2012 American Music Awards ceremony with a medley of the song "Don't Stop the Party." On March 23, 2013, the pair performed the song at the 2013 Kids' Choice Awards. Pitbull also performed the song himself at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Indian Premier League.

Aguilera and Pitbull performed this song live at MGM Grand during the 2013 Billboard Music awards with a surprise appearance from Morten Harket from the group A-ha, whose members had originally written and composed "Take On Me." Pitbull and Aguilera performed the song at the season finale of the fourth season of the talent show The Voice on June 18, 2013.

Popular culture

"Feel This Moment" was used in the promos for Chilean reality show Salta si puedes. It was also used in the first trailer for The LEGO Movie which was released on February 7, 2014.

Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart wrote and perform a satirical version, "I Just Want To Film This Moment" as the opening of their #NoFilterShow performance.

"Feel This Moment" was used in the promos for Australian reality show So You Think You Can Dance Australia.

"Feel This Moment" was performed by the all artists during the ending of RCTI's 25th Anniversary on August 23, 2014.

"Feel This Moment" is featured in the rhythm game Just Dance 2014.

Track listing and formats

1. "Feel This Moment" (featuring Christina Aguilera) – 3:49

1. "Feel This Moment" (featuring Christina Aguilera) – 3:51
2. "Don't Stop the Party" (featuring TJR) (R3hab & ZROQ Remix) – 3:36

1. "Feel This Moment" (Riddler Reid Stefan Remix) – 6:32

Credits and personnel

Source:

Certifications

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