Talk Dirty (Jason Derulo song)

Background and release

Producer Ricky Reed originally made the song for Missy Elliott. The song contains a sample of "Hermetico" by the Israeli band Balkan Beat Box from their 2007 album Nu Med. During an interview with Digital Spy, Derulo stated that the prospect of his first single with a guest appearance made him "really excited": he called "Talk Dirty" "shocking" and "out there", and felt that listeners would "be thinking 'Hmm, really?!'", but also that "it was so much fun". The song was released to digital retailers in New Zealand on August 2, 2013, with a release in Australia following on August 9: it was released in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2013. The cover artwork features the hand of Derulo's girlfriend Jordin Sparks. On December 17, Derulo released the official acoustic version of the song. Following the success of the song Derulo re-recorded the song and premiered the official Spanish version of the single ‘Háblame sucio‘ also with the guest vocals of 2 Chainz on February 27, 2014, and was released digitally on March 11, 2014. On March 25, 2014, Derulo released the official remix version of the song on his Soundcloud account which features 2 Chainz's original verse on the 1st verse, Derulo's 2nd verse from the original version, & a new verse from rapper Sage The Gemini on the 3rd verse.

Composition

"Talk Dirty" largely eschews the pop and electronic influences found in Derulo's earlier work, instead drawing prominently from pop-rap and contemporary R&B. The song opens and closes with a woman speaking words in broken English: Spin magazine considered this one element of an attempt to encompass an "international polyglot/clusterfuck pop atmosphere" similar to that found in the production work of Timbaland in the early 2000s. Ricky Reed's instrumentation, which contains a sample of "Hermetico" by Israeli group Balkan Beat Box, incorporates percussion as well as the "honky-horns" that back the chorus, which Spin likened to those found in "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and "Somewhereinamerica" by Jay-Z. The track is in the Phrygian dominant scale, with a tonal centre of F sharp minor. A version with a sax solo in place of the rap verse was also released to mainstream radio. The chorus also uses a sample from Balkan Beat Box' song "Hermetico".

Critical reception

James Rettig of Billboard commended Derulo for "taking [more] risks" with the song's composition than in "The Other Side", citing the horn sounds backing the chorus as an example. Spin criticized Derulo's sexualised lyrics for demonstrating "cultural ignorance", but concluded that the song as a whole "is the craziest song that could be a hit right now", in that Derulo's lyrics make those performed by 2 Chainz "appear almost tasteful". Writing for MSN, Kathy Iandoli described the song as "horn-heavy, splashy, braggy", and wrote that 2 Chainz's lyrics lend the song "X-rated fun" by "balancing [out] the PG-rated verses" of Derulo.

Rap-Up noted how "Talk Dirty" demonstrates a "more scandalous side" of Derulo. Kathy Iandoli's review of the song for MSN contains the subtitle "Apparently the booty speaks a universal language", based on Derulo's lyrics – which he partly speaks in a patois – claiming that even if he cannot speak the language of a foreign woman, her "booty don't need explaining", and his reference to "lipstick stamps" on his passport. DJBooth reviewer Richard quipped that "Talk Dirty" demonstrates how when Derulo "spit[s] game to beautiful women... [he] always manages to make himself understood".

Live performances

Derulo performed "Talk Dirty" for the first time, along with an acoustic cover of his previous single "The Other Side", at the House of Blues music hall in Orlando as part of the "Presents Hook Up #4" series of concerts organised by American radio station 102 JAMZ. He also performed the song at the iHeart Radio Live Coca-Cola Summer Concert Series in July 2013. He performed the song at the Capital FM Jingle Bell Ball on December 8, 2013. Derulo performed the track live on the Australian morning show Sunrise on December 27, 2013.

Derulo performed the track live for the first time in the United States on January 23, 2014 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, his second televised performance of the song was performed on The Arsenio Hall Show on February 6, 2014. The song's third television performance was on the season 18 opener of the competitive reality show, Dancing with the Stars, which premiered on St. Patrick's Day in 2014. He sang the song during iHeartRadio Album Release Party in April 2014. On July 4, 2014, Derulo performed the song on Good Morning America as part of its Summer Concert Series. On August 10, 2014, Derulo performed it at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards. Variety described the performance as a highlight of the ceremony.

Background

The music video for "Talk Dirty" was directed by Colin Tilley – who also directed the videos for the previous Derulo singles "It Girl", "Breathing", "Fight for You" and "The Other Side" – with filming taking place on July 14, 2013. The video was released via Derulo's channel on the video sharing website YouTube on August 7, 2013. Tilley claimed that he wanted to incorporate an "international vibe" into the video, by embracing a variety of dance from different cultures: "We've got girls from different cultures that came and danced and brought out a different energy and just created this beast that was really fun and exciting."

Reception

Although Jenna Hally Rubenstein of MTV claimed that the video was thematically shallow, writing that it contained "no real plot... other than "ass"... "hot babes playing saxophone" and "flexing pecs", she complimented Derulo's choreography and dancing, observing him to "[shake] it like a bawse while scoping out those hot babes playing saxophone" as he "dances and twerks around the video's many colorful sets", and quipped "The more pec-flexin', the better!"

In popular culture

In February 2014, American band Set It Off released a cover of "Talk Dirty". British singer Chlöe Howl also covered the song at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. On March 16, 2014, Lifetime used the song as part of a second-season promotion campaign for its hit comedy-drama Devious Maids, featuring the cast appearing alongside Derulo, who recreated the song's video and performance. In May 2014, actor Kevin Spacey and late night talk host Jimmy Fallon did an a capella barbershop quartet rendition of the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Saturday Night Live has also done a parody entitled "Dongs". Malin Akerman performed the song on episode 7 of Lip Sync Battle, while Jorgie Porter did the same on Lip Sync Battle UK.

Chart performance

"Talk Dirty" first appeared on the New Zealand singles chart issue dated August 12, 2013, debuting at number 27: it reached its peak position of number two in its fifth week on the chart. In Australia, "Talk Dirty" debuted at number one the ARIA Singles Chart, making it Derulo's second song to do so in the country, after his 2010 single "In My Head", as well as 2 Chainz's first Australian number one. In Europe, it topped the German Media Control Charts and reached number 7 on the Dutch Top 40 in the Netherlands, and number 1 on the Ultratop 50 chart in the Flanders region of Belgium. The single sold nearly 100,000 copies in the UK three days after its release and was predicted to reach number one. In seven days it sold nearly 160,000 copies in the UK, making it Derulo's fastest selling single within the region, and debuted at number one. This became Derulo's third number one song in UK, after "In My Head" and "Don't Wanna Go Home", and 2 Chainz's first in the country as well. "Talk Dirty" remained number 1 on the UK charts for the second consecutive week.

In its fifth week on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US, the song jumped nine places from fifteen to six, selling 194,000 copies. The following week the song rose to position of number 4, giving Derulo his first top ten hit since his 2010 single, "Ridin' Solo" and fourth overall, selling an additional 234,000 copies. "Talk Dirty" has peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also topped the Pop Songs Billboard chart, becoming his third leader on that chart after "Whatcha Say" in 2009 and "In My Head" in 2010. "Talk Dirty" reached its 3 million sales mark in the US in May 2014, and 4 million October 2014. It became the sixth best-selling song of 2014 in the United States with 3.96 million copies sold in that year. It has sold 4,360,000 copies in the US as of April 2016.

Credits and personnel