Get 'Em Girls

Background and development

In January 2010, Mauboy revealed that she would soon be heading to Los Angeles and New York to record the follow-up to her debut studio album Been Waiting (2008). She said, "We're going to meet some up and coming producers who are around my age and they are really hitting it hard in LA... I think it's their sound which is really catching me at the moment". Mauboy later told Who magazine that she would be working on the album there in February and March. In an interview for The Daily Telegraph in June 2010, Mauboy explained that the album's concept would be "all about women and the power of women". Mauboy also revealed that during her time in Los Angeles, she worked with producers Harvey Mason, Jr. and Rodney Jerkins. She said, "I'd always wanted to go to the States and work with songwriters and producers who have worked with my idols... I've been able to go into the studio and have a strong point of view on what I want and what I want my album to sound like."

Recording and production

Mauboy wrote and recorded most of the songs on Get 'Em Girls in several recording studios in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York City in 2009–2010. Mauboy spent most of her time there by herself without her manager or any of her friends around her. The experience of being so isolated gave her many things, including "strength and courage", which made her fearless. Mauboy would occasionally find herself in studios at three o'clock in the morning. She would sometimes begin working at nine o'clock at night and would finish until the next morning. Mauboy recorded thirty songs for the album; fourteen of which were selected for the track list.

During the early stages of production, Mauboy had booked a studio session with producer Rodney Jerkins, which began at nine o'clock in the morning. During the first two hours of the session, they sat in silence, and Jerkins soon left. He later returned at one o'clock in the afternoon, still having not spoken to Mauboy, and he began to essay a rhythm track. They worked until midnight and Jerkins decided that a Jamaican dancehall tune was the best outcome. Mauboy described the finished song as "interesting" and said it was not chosen for recording. During many sessions, Mauboy would find herself in a studio where her male counterparts had the invariable entourage. She said, "they all had their little posses, with the smoke blowing, and it was just like that Notorious movie." At one studio session in Atlanta, Mauboy worked with producer Jazze Pha, who was asleep almost the entire time she was in the studio recording his song, "Handle It". An assistant handled the actual recording work.

Most of the songs on the album were mixed by Phil Tan at Soapbox Studios in Atlanta, while the title track was mixed by Fabian Marasciullo at Paramount Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. "Fight for You" and "Here for Me" were mixed Harvey Mason, Jr. Most of the songs were mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York, while the title track was mastered by Dave Kutch at The Mastering Palace in New York.

Release and promotion

The album's official cover and track listing was revealed on 1 October 2010. On 1 November 2010, four days before its scheduled release, the album premiered on several websites, including The Daily Telegraph and Take 40 Australia. The standard edition of Get 'Em Girls was released simultaneously with the limited CD edition. The standard edition included the iTunes bonus track "Not Me", while the limited edition included "Forget Your Name". Get 'Em Girls was re-released as an expanded double-disc deluxe edition on 12 August 2011. In addition to the original track listing, the deluxe edition included five additional songs and remixes of the album's title track, "Saturday Night", "What Happened to Us", and "Inescapable".

During the album's first two days of release, Mauboy toured shopping malls in Melbourne, Mackay and Sydney performing several of the album's songs and signing CDs. The album was also promoted by Mauboy through live televised performances of "Saturday Night" on The X Factor Australia on 8 November 2010 and Hey Hey It's Saturday on 27 November 2010. She performed several of the album's songs and answered presubmitted questions from fans during her YouTube Sessions program on 4 December 2010. Mauboy performed "Saturday Night" and "Scariest Part" on Today on 7 December 2010. Ahead of Oprah Winfrey's visit to Melbourne, Mauboy performed at Federation Square on 10 December 2010. In April 2011, she served as a support act for Chris Brown's Australian F.A.M.E. Tour.

Singles

"Get 'Em Girls", featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg, was released on 17 September 2010 as the album's lead single. The song received a mixed response from critics and peaked at number 19 on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Saturday Night", featuring American rapper Ludacris, was released as the second single on 27 October 2010. It peaked at number seven on the ARIA Singles Chart and certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling 140,000 copies.

The third single "What Happened to Us", featuring English recording artist Jay Sean, was released on 11 March 2011 and peaked at number 14 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was certified platinum for selling 70,000 copies. The re-release of "What Happened to Us" featured guest vocals from Stan Walker. The album's fourth overall single and first single from the deluxe edition, "Inescapable" was released on 15 July 2011. The song peaked at number four and was certified double platinum. "Galaxy", featuring Stan Walker, was released as the album's fifth single on 28 October 2011. The single peaked at number 13 and was certified platinum.

Galaxy Tour

In November 2011, it was announced that Mauboy and Walker would embark on a month-long Australian tour to celebrate the release of their duet "Galaxy". The tour began on 13 January 2012 and ended on 11 February 2012.

Reception

Get 'Em Girls received mixed reviews from critics. Jacqueline Smith of The New Zealand Herald gave the album a rating of three out of five and commented that "many of the songs... lack stickability and will probably merge into a fluoro-tainted pool of background pop played in cheap clothing stores." Majhid Heath of ABC Online Indigenous gave the album two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that it's "a non-cohesive mess of similar sounding, auto-tuned ravaged pop/R&B." Simon Sweetman of Stuff.co.nz listed Get 'Em Girls as one of the worst albums of 2011, criticizing its use of the vocoder for "slurring... meaningless words into place, buttering up the dodgy pitch and lame phrasing and allowing it to slide in and around the big crashes of the drum machine." Alasdair Duncan of Rave magazine awarded the album three stars and gave it a positive review, complimenting its "sassy floor fillers and ballads" for sounding well-produced.

Get 'Em Girls debuted at number six on the ARIA Albums Chart on 15 November 2010, and became Mauboy's second top-ten album. It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of more than 70,000 units. Get 'Em Girls won 'Album of 2010' at the POPrepublic.tv IT List Awards, and was nominated for 'Album of the Year' at the 2011 National Indigenous Music Awards.

Deluxe Edition

Personnel

Credits adapted from album booklet.