Rockabye (song)

Updated on Dec 09, 2023

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Released 21 October 2016 Length 4:11		Format Digital download Label Atlantic Warner
Genre Dancehall tropical house Writer(s) Jack Patterson Steve McCutcheon Ammar Malik Ina Wroldsen Sean Paul Henriques

"Rockabye" is a song by British electronic group Clean Bandit, featuring Jamaican dancehall singer Sean Paul and British singer Anne-Marie. It was released on 21 October 2016 and was their first single since Neil Amin-Smith's departure from the group. The song is about hardships of single mothers and alludes to the nursery rhyme, "Rock-a-bye Baby".

The song became the UK Christmas number one for 2016 on 23 December 2016. It is the first song in chart history to become Christmas number one after already being at the top of the charts for six weeks. In total, the song spent 9 weeks at the summit of the UK Singles Chart while also topping the charts in over 20 other countries.

Background

Clean Bandit announced the single on 21 October 2016, just two days after Neil Amin-Smith quit the band. Talking to Digital Spy, Grace Chatto said, "We've wanted to work with Sean Paul for a long, long while and it's a dream that we've managed to finally do it. Anne-Marie tells the story and we love her voice. We first heard her singing with Rudimental and we've met her at a million festivals over the past couple of years – it's been so lovely to collaborate together." Chatto went on to say that band member Jack Patterson composed the song with Ina Wroldsen, who wrote the lyrics about her son, "which is why it rings so true for us and is so emotional and special."

Composition

"Rockabye" is written in the key of A minor. It was composed in common time with a tempo of 102 beats per minute, and follows a chord progression of Am–F–G–C. The vocals span from G₃ to E₅.

Music video

The video for the song was released on 21 October 2016, and has a running time of 4 minutes and 13 seconds. It depicts a single mother acting in a pub to earn money for her kid, as well as Anne-Marie and Sean Paul singing in the pub.

Commercial performance

On 28 October 2016, "Rockabye" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 7. The following week, it climbed to 3, before high performance in streaming got it to number one on its third week, dethroning "Shout Out to My Ex" by Little Mix, making it their second number one there after "Rather Be". As of 7 January 2017, it has spent nine consecutive weeks at number one. It also became Clean Bandit's first number one single in Australia, and additionally reached number one in Austria, Finland, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland. On 23 December 2016, having already spent six weeks on top of the charts, "Rockabye" became the Christmas number one for 2016, making it the first song non-X Factor winner's song, charity single, or stunt song to be such since "Mad World" in 2003. However, it sold just 57,631 copies, becoming the lowest-selling Christmas number one of all time due to being helped by streaming (while actually being number two on the sales-only chart).

In the United States, "Rockabye" debuted at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of 24 December 2016, becoming Clean Bandit's first entry in this chart since "Rather Be" in 2014. It has since reached the Top 40, reaching a current peak of number nine, the group's highest-charting song, exceeding the number 10 peak of "Rather Be". It is also Anne-Marie's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. On Billboard's Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, the song reached number one in its 18 February 2017 issue, giving both Clean Bandit and Sean Paul their second number one on this chart, as well as Anne-Marie's first.