Remedy (Little Boots song)

"Remedy"
Single by Little Boots
from the album Hands
B-side"Love Kills"
Released15 June 2009 (2009-06-15)
Genre
Length3:19
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)RedOne
Little Boots singles chronology
"New in Town"
(2009) 		"Remedy"
(2009) 		"Earthquake"
(2009)
Alternative cover
Promotional and Japanese cover[1]

"Remedy" is a song by English recording artist Little Boots from her debut studio album, Hands (2009). Written by Little Boots and RedOne, the song was released as the album's second single on 15 June 2009 in Japan and on 17 August 2009 in the United Kingdom, becoming Little Boots' most successful single on the UK Singles Chart. A remix EP of the song was also made available on the US iTunes Store on 8 December 2009.

Background and writing

Little Boots composed "Remedy" in Los Angeles with RedOne over a two-day period. She initially found working with RedOne intimidating because their collaboration was expected to produce a hit song.[2][failed verification] According to Little Boots, "Remedy" "is about dancing and music being a remedy to some kind of poison in your life. I wanted to write a dark dance pop song a bit like Britney Spears' 'Toxic'. The lyrics are not really very personal, I was more imagining a situation."[3]

Little Boots' label, Warner, thought that the original version of the song was, "Too Euro," which led to the song having to be unpicked and a new chorus written for it. Of the final version, she told Songwriting Magazine:

"It’s kind of a big dumb pop song but it’s a good one. Even now, when I play it – even if I do an acoustic version – it’s a powerful song. They don’t go away, songs like that, they’re robust. It’s that magic formula of a great hook, a great lyric, great melody and great chord progression. Simple but powerful. When that all comes together, to take a song to the next level, that is something quite magical."[4]

Critical reception

"Remedy" received positive reviews from music critics. David Balls wrote for Digital Spy that the song "has all the right ingredients to steer the good ship Boots towards safer seas. It's got a big synthy intro, a bombastic chorus reminiscent of late eighties Kylie, and best of all a sparkling and kaleidoscopic middle 8 that's one of the finest pop moments of the year."[5]

The Guardian's Alexis Petridis stated the track "takes her love of continental pop's shameless melodicism to a saccharine extreme and winds up sounding less like a cool Giorgio Moroder-inspired Italo disco track than something a former Soviet Republic might submit to Eurovision."[6] Emily Mackay of NME magazine called the song "run-of-the-mill."[7] Pitchfork Media reviewer Marc Hogan wrote that while "RedOne lends generic club-rap swagger", he does not find the song convincing.[8]

Commercial performance

"Remedy" made its debut on the UK Singles Chart at number thirty-three for the week ending 8 August 2009.[9] Due to strong digital downloads, the song managed to climb to number fourteen the following week, selling 12,375 copies.[10] In its fourth week, "Remedy" rose to its peak position of number six,[11] making it Little Boots' highest-charting single to date.[12] In Ireland, "Remedy" debuted at number thirty-one on the Irish Singles Chart for the week of 30 July 2009,[13] ultimately peaking at number five on 10 September 2009.[14][15]

Music video

Directed by David Wilson, the music video for "Remedy" was filmed in London and was described by Little Boots as "much more conceptual and pretty much more me" than the video for "New in Town".[16] It features Little Boots dressed in a silver outfit, playing several keyboards and the Tenori-on. Scenes of Little Boots singing to the camera are intercut with scenes of kaleidoscopic geometric patterns and flashing strobe lights. This music video is not available to view on YouTube in the United States.

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Japan 15 June 2009 Digital single Warner Music [1]
20 July 2009 Digital EP [18]
United Kingdom 17 August 2009
[33]
20 August 2009 Digital EP [17]
United States 8 December 2009 Elektra [19]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Remedy – Single by Little Boots". iTunes Store Japan. Apple. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  2. ^ Robinson, Peter (27 May 2009). "Little Boots interview". Popjustice. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  3. ^ "Little Boots offers Mercury tips". Newsbeat. BBC Online. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  4. ^ "How I Wrote Remedy". Songwriting Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  5. ^ Balls, David. "Little Boots: 'Remedy'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  6. ^ Petridis, Alexis (5 June 2009). "Little Boots, Hands". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  7. ^ Mackay, Emily (27 May 2009). "Album review: Little Boots – 'Hands'". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  8. ^ Hogan, Marc (18 June 2009). "Little Boots: Hands". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  9. ^ "2009 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  10. ^ Williams, Paul (10 August 2009). "Stryder follows Number One with a number one". Music Week. Intent Media. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  12. ^ "LITTLE BOOTS". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 30 July 2009". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  14. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Little Boots". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 10 September 2009". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  16. ^ Bazley, Lewis (8 June 2009). "Little Boots: The next video will be more 'me'". inthenews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  17. ^ a b "Remedy by Little Boots". iTunes Store UK. Apple. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  18. ^ a b "Remedy by Little Boots". iTunes Store Japan. Apple Inc. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  19. ^ a b "Remedy Remixes – EP by Little Boots". iTunes Store US. Apple. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  20. ^ "Little Boots – Remedy" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  21. ^ Little Boots — Remedy. TopHit. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Little Boots Album & Song Chart History – European Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  23. ^ "Media Forest: Airplay chart". Media Forest. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  24. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100". Billboard Japan. Hanshin Contents Link. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  25. ^ "Little Boots – Remedy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  26. ^ "Top Radio Hits Russia Weekly Chart: Oct 8, 2009". TopHit. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Little Boots Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Популярные хиты 2009" [Popular hits 2009] (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart: 2009". TopHit. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  31. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2009". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  32. ^ "British single certifications – Little Boots – Remedy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  33. ^