Lucky Strike (song)

Background

"Lucky Strike" was written by Maroon 5's lead singer Adam Levine together with Ryan Tedder and Noel Zancanella, who also served as producers of the song. Tedder and Zancanella also co-wrote and co-produced another song for Overexposed titled "Love Somebody". "Lucky Strike" was engineered by Smith Carlson at the Patriot Studios in Denver and Noah "Mailbox" Passovoy at the Conway Studios in Los Angeles; Eric Eylands served as the engineering assistant. Serban Ghenea mixed the song at the Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach. John Hanes served as engineer for mix, while Phil Seaford as mixing assistant. All the programming and keys were provided by Tedder and Zancanella.

Composition

"Lucky Strike" is a funk song that features dubstep and soul influences and lasts for three minutes and five seconds. The song's instrumentation consists of piano, "driven guitar" accompanied with Levine's vocals. "Lucky Strike" is written in the key of B♭ minor, in common time, with a tempo of 144 beats per minute. Levine's vocal range spans from the low note of A₄ to the high note of B₅. According to Robert Copsey of Digital Spy, the song contains the same "bells-and-whistles template" that is present in the band's previous single "Moves Like Jagger". Chuck Arnold of People shared the same opinion as Copsey and described the song as "lightning-paced". Lyrically, the song discovers the theme of sexual intercourse that can be seen through the lines, "Your body rockin', keep me up all night/One in a million, my lucky strike".

Critical reception

Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly labeled "Lucky Strike" together with "Payphone" best tracks on Overexposed and described the former as "a funk-spiked strut". Similarly as Markovitz, Suzanne Byrne of RTÉ.ie wrote that "Lucky Strike" alongside "Daylight", "The Man Who Never Lied" and "Love Somebody" are potential single releases. Digital Spy's Robert Copsey named the track together with "One More Night" and "Ladykiller" as a worthy for digital download. Chris Payne of Billboard wrote that on the song "Maroon 5's guitars finally come out to play in the opening bars here. Though not a rock song per se, it still packs the energy of the band's earlier, more band-based material." Cameron Adams of Herald Sun described "Lucky Strike" as "uncharacteristically clubby".

Contact Music's Alex Lai wrote that Levine has exchanged his "angelic vocals for singing in favor of more universal hooks" such as the "backing to disco dancer 'Lucky Strike'." Evan Sawdey of PopMatters called the song a "danceable carbon copy" of "Second Chance" (Gimme Some, 2011) by Peter Bjorn and John. According to him, "Lucky Strike" imitates the latter "down to the guitar tone" and replaces the original by also adding additional dance beats.

Chart performance and live renditions

Upon the release of Overexposed, due to strong digital downloads "Lucky Strike" debuted on the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number two on June 24, 2012, with sales of 53,090 copies. The next week it fell to number four and sold additional 39,392 copies. As of 9 February 2013, the song remains at number 78, having spent 34 consecutive weeks on the Gaon chart. Following the release of the album, the song did not enter the US Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number nine on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

"Lucky Strike" was included on the set list for Maroon 5's fourth worldwide tour, the Overexposed Tour (2012—13).

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Overexposed, A&M/Octone Records.