Cameo Lover

"Cameo Lover"
Single by Kimbra
from the album Vows
Released29 March 2011 (2011-03-29)
Recorded2010
Genre
Length4:02
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Kimbra singles chronology
"Settle Down"
(2010) 		"Cameo Lover"
(2011) 		"Somebody That I Used to Know"
(2011)

"Cameo Lover" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist Kimbra from her debut studio album, Vows. The song was released in New Zealand and Australia as the album's second single on 29 March 2011. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2011 Kimbra won Best Female Artist for the song, while its video was nominated for Best Video.[1][2] The song, written by Kimbra, was nominated for 'Song of the Year' at the 2012 APRA Music Awards.[3][4]

In July 2011, the song won the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition.[5][6] Earlier that year, Gotye had first noticed Kimbra when both were short-listed as finalists for the competition.[7] Gotye subsequently invited Kimbra to feature as the lead female vocalist on his recording of "Somebody That I Used to Know".[7]

Background

The song is about a guy who lives in the dark, he's brooding and the one who's singing the song, in this case Kimbra, is trying to bring him out.

Composition

This song is composed in the key of C♯, and has the bpm of 128. The song features heavy synth and percussion. The vocals span 2 octaves and a semitone excluding harmonies, the lowest note being G3 and the highest being G♯5.

Track listing

  1. "Cameo Lover" - 4:05
  2. "Cameo Lover" (Mic Newman Remix) - 7:48
  3. "Settle Down" (Live @ Sing Sing) - 4:28
  4. "Settle Down" (Penguin Prison Remix) - 4:55

Official Remixes

Music video

The official music video for "Cameo Lover" was posted on Kimbra's YouTube channel on 25 April 2011.[9] The video run time is 3 minutes 58 seconds. In the video, Kimbra is on a white set, wearing a pink dress, and facing five men in desks all wearing black tuxedos and black blindfolds. As the chorus comes in, young girls appear with Kimbra, all playing tambourines, and it shows that the tuxedos, blindfolds, and nails of the men begin to change into bright colours of the rainbow as the music continues. But the man in the middle, who is supposed to be Kimbra's "cameo lover," does not change colours until later on in the song, as the men next to him encourage him by lip syncing and hitting their desks to the beat. As the set goes dark, the two girls from Kimbra's "Settle Down" music video join her, dressed in blue, they lip sync with Kimbra and begin to play tambourines as all the other girls. In the end, confetti falls around the girls and Kimbra as the songs begins to end and they dance around happily. The men in the desks all change colours of their suits, and the man in the middle takes off his blindfold revealing his blue eyes to Kimbra.

References

  1. ^ "2011 ARIA Awards Winners by Year". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  2. ^ "The Countdown Begins....Nominations Announced". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Nominations > Song of the Year – 2012". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 2012. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  4. ^ "APRA nomination". Kimbramusic.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  5. ^ "Past Winners". APRA AMCOS. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  6. ^ "2011 Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition – Winners Announcement". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 15 July 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b Nimmervoll, Ed. "Gotye". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music (Ed Nimmervoll). White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Settle Down - EP on iTunes". apple inc. Archived from the original on 2014-05-20. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  9. ^ "Kimbra - "Cameo Lover" Official Music Video". Youtube.com. 2011-04-25. Archived from the original on 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2012-09-30.