Do It like a Dude

"Do It like a Dude"
Single by Jessie J
from the album Who You Are
ReleasedNovember 18, 2010
Recorded2009
GenreR&B
Length3:15
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Jessie J singles chronology
"Do It like a Dude"
(2010) 		"Price Tag"
(2011)
Music video
"Do It like a Dude" on YouTube

"Do It like a Dude" is the debut single by British singer-songwriter Jessie J. The song was released as the lead single from her debut album, Who You Are. It was released as a download in November 2010 in the United Kingdom with a physical release in January 2011. "Do It like a Dude" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, "Do It like a Dude" peaked within the top ten of the charts in New Zealand. "Do It like a Dude" was awarded Best Song at the 2011 MOBO Awards.

Jessie J co-wrote the song with The Invisible Men members George Astasio and Jason Pebworth, who were former members of Orson and had penned hits for Sugababes ("Easy"), Noisettes ("Never Forget You") and Gabriella Cilmi ("On a Mission"); Jon Shave, who is also part of The Invisible Men, but had also been part of Xenomania; Kyle Abrahams, who had worked with Chipmunk and N-Dubz; and Parker Ighile, who wrote "Oopsy Daisy", a UK number-one hit for Chipmunk. Although "Do It like a Dude" was Jessie's debut single, she had previously written songs for other artists, including Miley Cyrus's international hit "Party in the U.S.A." The track was produced by The Invisible Men and Parker & James.

Background

I was writing some songs in the studio, but I was bored with the song I was writing and there were two boys—two producers called Parker and James—and one of them wears [his] trousers ridiculously low. So I just started free styling like a dude, and it was fun. I wanted to write a song that was tongue-in-cheek and a parody of a stereotypical male. But also, I wanted the song to be empowering for girls, but not kind of an "I hate men" song - because I don't, and I don't say that in the song. It's about feeling hardcore.

Jessie J[1]

"Do It like a Dude" was written by Jessie J, George Astasio, Jason Pebworth, Jon Shave, Kyle Abrahams and Peter Ighile[2] and was produced by The Invisible Men and Parker & James.[3] Cornish originally wrote the song with Rihanna in mind because "Rude Boy" was released at the time, partly inspiring Cornish to write the song. She then sent the song to her label, Island Records, before sending it to Rihanna's management. Island then insisted the song become Cornish's first single, since they thought it was 'amazing'.[4]

In 2014, after "Bang Bang", her collaboration with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, Cornish revealed she had tried getting Minaj on "Do It like a Dude" but it had "never happened".[5] However, Minaj denied this, saying that she wanted to appear on the track, but no one ever asked her.[6]

Composition

"Do It like a Dude"
A 19-second sample of "Do It like a Dude" by Jessie J, where the chorus is heard.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Do It like a Dude" is an R&B[7] song which features hip hop beats[8] and rock riffs.[9] According to the sheet music published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing at Musinotes.com, "Do It like a Dude" is set in common time with a tempo of 140 beats per minute. Written in the key of D minor, the song features a basic chord progression of Dm–F–C–B♭. J's voice spans from the low note of A3 to the high note of C6.[10] According to PopMatters' Max Feldman, J speaks patois on the song.[11] J said to Artistdirect that "Do It like a Dude" is about equality and self-confidence.[12]

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic said that "Do It like a Dude" was one of the best tracks from Who You Are.[13] Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review stating, "Now here's how to make an entrance into the capricious, peacock-packed party of pop."[8] Rolling Stone's Erika Berlin awarded the "fierce" song three out of five stars and praised its chorus.[9] Max Feldman of PopMatters called the song's chorus "chunky and cheeky, with some infectious chilli-infused pre-choral warbling", but criticised J's "patois" vocals.[11]

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, "Do It like a Dude" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 25 on 28 November 2010 as the third highest new entry of the week.[14] Following a decline during December, the single climbed 13 places to number 21 on 26 December and again climbed a further 3 places the week after to a number 18. Following the announcement that Jessie J had topped the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll, "Do It like a Dude" propelled 13 places into the top 10 at number 5 on 9 January 2011. On its second week in the Top 10, the single climbed 3 places to a peak of number 2; being beaten to the top spot only by Bruno Mars' "Grenade". The single has now gone on to sell 573,000 copies in the UK alone.[15]

In the Republic of Ireland, the single peaked at number 11 on the Irish Singles Chart.[16]

Music video

The video was filmed on 25 and 26 October 2010, The video was directed by Emil Nava, An explicit version premiered 9 November 2010 and a clean version the next day on 4 Music. In the music video for "Price Tag", as J says the words "video hoes", a scene of her wearing the same outfit as in her "Do It like a Dude" video.

The video begins with a close-up shot of Jessie's black bejeweled lips as she sings. The scene then intercuts with: someone being tattooed, a woman slicing a pig's trotter, a woman doing some chemical experiments and licking a bottle of "poison", before following Jessie dancing in an orange hoodie and entering the flat where alt-looking women are seen throughout the video. The video also features Jessie dancing with back-up dancers, and a party with people acting fiercely. The video ends with Jessie, clad in a revealing, plunging white top and black costume bra, shaking her head exaggeratedly and laying down, disappearing from the scene.

Live performances

Jessie J performed an acoustic rendition of "Do It like a Dude" at the 2011 BRIT Awards launch on 13 January 2011.[17][18] On 27 April 2011, she sang the song on MuchMusic's New.Music.Live.[19] Also, Jessie presented the song in the 2011 MTV VMAs. On 5 April 2011, Jessie J performed "Do It like a Dude" at the 2011 Music of Black Origin Awards, where she also won four awards that night.

Track listings

Digital EP[20][21]/UK Limited Edition CD Single[22]
No.TitleLength
1."Do It like a Dude" (Explicit Version)3:14
2."Do It like a Dude" (Labrinth Mix)3:42
3."Do It like a Dude" (Curtis Lynch Jnr Mix) (featuring Lady Chann)3:26
4."Do It like a Dude" (Jakwob Mix)4:27
5."Do It like a Dude" (Acoustic Version)4:19
Europe CD Single[23]
No.TitleLength
1."Do It like a Dude"3:16
2."Do It like a Dude" (Acoustic Version)4:21

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[38] Platinum 70,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[39] Platinum 60,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] Gold 7,500*
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Platinum 600,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Label Format
United Kingdom 18 November 2010[20] Universal Republic Digital download
Australia 26 November 2010[42]
United States 7 December 2010[43]
Germany 18 March 2011[44] CD single

References

  1. ^ Azzopardi, Chris (28 April 2011). "Just Jessie". PrideSource. Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  2. ^ "ASCAP ACE - Search Results". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Jessie J's Debut Album "Who You Are" Gets Pushed Up A Month". MOG. MOG Inc. 3 February 2010. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Jessie J Glad She Kept Rihanna Song for Herself". Rap-Up. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  5. ^ "Jessie J Cried After Hearing Nicki Minaj Rap On "Bang Bang"". Urban Islandz. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  6. ^ Jokic, Natasha (6 August 2021). "Here's Why There's A Bunch Of Nicki Minaj And Jessie J Disagreements Surrounding "Bang Bang" In This, The Year Of 2021". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  7. ^ Sabbagh, Dan (16 January 2011). "Universal and Sony Music plan 'instant pop' to beat piracy". guardian.co.uk. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  8. ^ a b Levine, Nick. "Jessie J: 'Do It Like A Dude'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  9. ^ a b Berlin, Erika (26 January 2011). "Jessie J - 'Do It Like a Dude'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  10. ^ "Jessie J – Do It Like a Dude Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  11. ^ a b Feldman, Max (20 April 2011). "Jessie J: Who You Are". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  12. ^ "Jessie J Talks "Do It Like a Dude", Personal Style and Spiky Lips". Artistdirect. 6 April 2011. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  13. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Who You Are at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  15. ^ "Price Tag Suits Jessie J". The Official Charts Company. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  16. ^ J debuts on Irish Singles Chart, Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  17. ^ "Jessie J – 'Do It Like A Dude' Live @ Brit Awards 2011 Launch (Video)". SoulCulture. Soul Culture Media. 16 January 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  18. ^ "Video: Jessie J Sings in Subway Station". 13 January 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  19. ^ Thompson, Jody (27 April 2011). "Duet it like a dude: Jessie J wants to team up with Rihanna at V Festival". AOL Music. AOL UK. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  20. ^ a b "Do It Like a Dude (Universal Republic, digital EP)". MusicBrainz. 25 November 2010.
  21. ^ "Do It Like a Dude (We7 listen & sales)". We7. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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  23. ^ "Jessie J - Do It Like a Dude (Europe CD Single) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  24. ^ "The ARIA Report: Issue 1094" (PDF). webarchive.nla.gov.au. 23 August 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
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  26. ^ "Jessie J – Do It Like a Dude" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  27. ^ "Jessie J – Do It Like a Dude" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  28. ^ "Jessie J – Do It Like a Dude". Tracklisten. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  29. ^ "Jessie J – Do It Like a Dude" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
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  31. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Do It Like a Dude". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  32. ^ "Jessie J – Do It Like a Dude" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
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  37. ^ "The Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of the Year". BBC. 31 December 2011.
  38. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  39. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Jessie J – Do It like a Dude" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  40. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". Radioscope. 21 August 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  41. ^ "British single certifications – Jessie J – Do It like a Dude". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  42. ^ "iTunes - Music - Do It Like a Dude - Single by Jessie J". itunes.apple.com. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  43. ^ "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  44. ^ "Do It Like a Dude (2-Track): Jessie J: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2012.