Ready or Not (Bridgit Mendler song)

Writing and composition

In an interview with Kidzworld Media about the song, Mendler said: "It’s a fun song about a girl who is feeling like she has been the wallflower her whole life and she wants to go out there and take charge. It has the romantic element of her going for the guy rather than waiting for the world to come to her. I wrote it with some great writers and producers. We wrote most of the album together."

Mendler has spoken again, then, over the song: I’m thrilled to finally share my songs with the world. I wanted to write something that was empowering for girls. I consider myself to have been that girl sitting on the curb waiting for the world to notice". Mendler co-wrote the song with Emanuel Kiriakou, Evan Kidd Bogart, Andrew Goldstein, Thom Bell, and William Hart. Kiriakou also co-produced it with Andrew Goldstein. The chorus is based on the 1996 song "Ready or Not" by the American hip hop group the Fugees.

The song is an up-tempo pop track with a strong undercurrent of soul. According to Popdust, they say that "every detail is where it should be, from the multi-tracked vocals on the chorus to the synth sound effects that provide punctuation and punchlines to the verses, to some of the more clever rhymes in the lyrics—which include pairing "Oprah" with "Boca" and "I’m like a crook tonight" with "I could be your kryptonite." The song consists of "layers of synths and backing vocals adding a musical and emotional intensity totally absent from the carefree verses." The song also mentions Prince William and Kate Middleton. Mendler's vocals span from the low note of A₃ to the high note of Eb₆.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Andrew Unterberger of Popdust was very positive with his review, saying that the song "is a playful, swinging and just impossibly catchy—the catchiest we’ve heard since our girl Carly Rae—pop number". He also praised Mendler's vocals and chorus. He concluded his review saying that "Will that out-of-placeness hurt the chances of [Ready or Not] becoming the smash it deserves to be, though? Well, it didn’t seem to hurt "Want U Back" any, so we’re hoping that people can see that this song is basically a smarter, more interesting and infinitely catchier version of that already-quite-good Cher Lloyd song. But it’s on all of us to spread the world that that song scraping the bottom of the iTunes chart isn’t just another kiddie-pop anthem from the latest made-for-Disney movie—it’s one of the best songs of the year, and one you’d have to be a pretty sullen sort of person to not love at least a little bit." Devin Alessio of Seventeen said that "[Mendler] is in line to be the next superstar off the Disney Channel". She praised her vocals, saying that "her sound is a mix between Carly Rae Jepsen and Demi Lovato" and described the music video as "super fun". She concluded that "[Ready or Not] is a total girl anthem — perfect for listening to when you're just chilling with your friends or getting ready for homecoming."

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and debuted at number 80 on the Canadian Hot 100, later peaking at number 43 in the latter, making it her second song to chart there. The song also debuted at number 14 on the US Top Heatseekers, later peaking at number three. It has also debuted at number 17 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, becoming her first Top 20 hit internationally. In its 11th week on Billboard Hot 100 the single jumped from position 94 to its peak of 49 selling 138,552 digital copies. On January 11, 2013, the song was certified Gold in the US. In the United Kingdom, "Ready Or Not" debuted at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, selling 38,208 digital copies in its first week. As of March 31, 2013, the song has stayed in the top ten for four consecutive weeks and sold over 250,000 copies in UK.

Background

The music video was directed by Philip Andelman and it filmed at multiple locations in Los Angeles, California. The official music video for the single was released on August 10, 2012. It shows the course of a scavenger hunt from day to evening, as items are checked off a list.

Lyric video

The lyric video was released on Mendler's VEVO channel on August 3, 2012. The video starts with the camera showing Mendler's hands grabbing a box labelled "scavenger hunt". When she opens it, inside are pictures from the music video and below the pictures are the lyrics of the song. In the end, she closes the box and the label changes to the song title and leaves the box there.

Synopsis

The music video starts with Mendler singing and hanging out with her friends at the top of Mulholland Drive. Then they drive off to start their "scavenger hunt". In the chorus, they are seen driving around Hollywood. Then they visit a restaurant called Hama Sushi in Venice, California and they all take a picture behind the sushi bar, which is one of their scavenger hunts. Then in the second verse of the song, they go to North Venice and Mendler is seen singing in a rowboat and all of them take a picture in the rowboat along with her. Then some of her friends are seen in a skate park where a person is skateboarding and jumps over a guy who is lying upwards—another one of their scavenger hunts. Then in the chorus again, they are seen hanging out downtown and in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the end, they are done with their scavenger hunt and they are seen in a rooftop partying. KISS member Gene Simmons can be seen in the video.

Live performances

The song was performed in all dates of her tour, Bridgit Mendler: Live in Concert. The acoustic version of "Ready or Not" was performed on Off the Charts, on Clevver TV, on October 19, 2012. In October 20, Mendler performed the song on Radio Disney and Disney Channel show Total Access. She performed at The Morning Show in Toronto, Canada on August 27, 2012. Then she performed song on New Music Live in Toronto, Canada on August 28, 2012. Mendler also performed the song on Good Morning America on November 14, 2012, and Live! with Kelly and Michael on November 15, 2012, respectively.

The song also was performed on The X Factor semi-final results show on December 13, 2012. The performance has received mixed reviews. Sam Lansky to Idolator comments that Mendler was very nervous and didn't have a good start. He said "Mendler started off a little shaky, but eventually found her footing". Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush said about the performance: "Looking sexy and sweet in a black tank, black shorts and thigh-high black boots, the 19-year-old blond diva-in-training turned in a punchy performance, complete with just the right sprinkle of sass." Despite the mixed reviews, Mendler fronted up and admitted she was nervous about the whole performance and she was also nervous to sing for Britney Spears, according to Pop Stop.

Cover versions