Released February 11, 2010 Genre Funk
soul | Format Digital download Length 4:23 | |
Label Wondaland Arts Society
Bad Boy Records Writer(s) Nathaniel Irvin III
Charles Joseph II
Antwan Patton
Janelle Monáe Robinson | ||
"Tightrope" is a 2010 song by American singer Janelle Monáe, the second official single from The ArchAndroid.
Contents
The single premiered on February 11 on Pitchfork Media website, earning an immediate 9/10 rating and their coveted "Best New Music" tag with the companion song, "Cold War", debuting the following day via Monáe's official website.
The official remix, titled "Tightrope (Wondamix)", features rappers B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco. The song is also featured in the video game Just Dance 3. It was featured during the end credits for Happy Feet Two, in a version that interpolates some singing from one of the characters. The song also featured on the third season finale of teen drama 90210.
Concept
Speaking in May 2010 to UK urban writer Pete Lewis, deputy editor of Blues & Soul, Monae discussed the background to the song: "'Tightrope' is basically dealing with how in life it's important to keep your balance and not get too high or low about things during the time when you're either being praised or being criticised. Which is something that, as artists, Big Boi and I could both relate to, because there are so many peaks and dips along the journey of just being an artist on the road to success. So we both felt it was important to kinda help those everyday working people who are constantly dealing with life's obstacles, by giving them like a tutorial on how to deal with issues face-on."
Composition
"Tightrope" features futuristic, space themes; however, it has also been described to feature "serious old-school entertainer bona fides". Pitchfork Media note that the tracks sped up alien backing vocals are the only thing that keep the theme of sci-fi and of the future. The song has also been compared to singer Amerie's track "1 Thing", and Monae was likened to Katharine Hepburn for her vocals on the track. Pitchfork went on to explain "But when the chorus hits, she switches up into a classic soul-singer wail, the type of immediate retro yowl that keeps Sharon Jones in fancy shoes. And after Big Boi struts on in and rhymes 'NASDAQ' with 'ass crack', she ups the ante, rhyming 'alligators' with 'rattlesnakers,' 'another flavor,' and 'Terminator.' It's just a star performance all around, and God knows we need those lately."
Music video
Monae released the video on March 31, 2010. The music video was directed by director Wendy Morgan. In the music video she portrays an inpatient that possesses the power to walk through walls and later she catches the 'crazy/ dancing feet' with her friends. Monae talked about the video saying "'Tightrope' takes place at the Palace of the Dogs. A lot of the greats were admitted into this place, like Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix. We wanted to keep it raw and funky—just having it in an insane asylum made it that much cooler to me." The video references experimental filmmaker Maya Deren's iconic 1943 film, Meshes of the Afternoon.
Live performances
Monáe performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman on May 18, 2010, The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 26, Lopez Tonight on May 27, Last Call with Carson Daly on May 28, and on Dancing with the Stars on September 28. In the UK, the song was the "Single of the Week" on iTunes (i.e. released as a free download) for 7 days (beginning July 13, 2010) to promote the release of her album, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III). On June 25, 2011, she performed "Tightrope" along with other songs at Glastonbury Festival.
Accolades
Rolling Stone named "Tightrope" the eighth best single of 2010 in its year-end list. SPIN ranked the song at #9 on its The 20 Best Songs of 2010, and PopMatters placed it at #2 on its The 60 Best Songs of 2010. Pitchfork ranked it number 10 on its year-end list. Spinner named it #38 on its best songs of 2010. NME named the music video for "Tightrope" #1 on its 50 Best Music Video of 2010. In January 2011, The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll ranked "Tightrope" at number 2 to find the best music of 2010, behind CeeLo Green's "Fuck You".
The song was also featured in the Chevrolet Cruze Canadian commercial to promote the new vehicle and in the American retail chain Kmart Back to School commercial on 2011. It was featured on the unranked list of TIME'S ALL-TIME 100 Songs.
In February 2011, music video blog Yes, We've Got a Video! ranked the song's music video at number 10 in their top 30 videos of 2010, describing the video as "brilliant, shiny spectacle of a music video."
Cover versions
A cover version of the song was included on British singer Marcus Collins' 2012 self-titled debut album. At a 2014 event by Billboard, Scottish synthpop band Chvrches performed a cover of the song. Majesty Rose performed this song during the top 13 week on season 13 of American Idol. This song was also covered in the Glee final season second episode "Homecoming" by The Warblers and new cast character Jane Hayward. Tyanna Jones covered the song in American Idol (season 14). Nadjah Nicole sang in the Blind Auditions from The Voice (U.S. season 9).