"Backtrack" is a song recorded by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soul recording artist

Rebecca Ferguson Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born 19 October 1983) is a Swedish actress. She began her acting career with the Swedish soap opera ''Nya tider'' (1999–2000) and went on to star in the slasher film ''Drowning Ghost'' (2004). She came to in ...

, taken as the lead single from the deluxe edition of her debut album ''

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

'' (2012). The song was written by Ferguson and

Jonny Lattimer Jonny Lattimer is a songwriter, musician, and producer, who first came to prominence through his work with Ellie Goulding. Jonny co-wrote with Goulding two singles which appear on her double platinum selling debut album, ''Lights''. Those singles ...

, who produced the track with Tim Baxter as well. The song was released on 14 October 2012 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the day before the release of the deluxe edition of ''Heaven''. The single already features as a bonus track on the U.S. version of ''Heaven''. "Backtrack" contains elements of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and pop. The single entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number 15, making it Ferguson's second top twenty hit.

Background

"Backtrack" was announced as Ferguson's next single via her official website on 23 August 2012. It was released on 14 October 2012, a day before the release of a deluxe edition of her debut album. In an interview with the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

, Ferguson talked about "Backtrack", stating: "I wrote Backtrack about someone who cheated on me," explains the singer. "But, I tried to put my own little spin on it and made it really upbeat. I recorded it with an amazing writer called Jonny Lattimer. It's a break-up song, but we put a positive spin on it so it's really fun, happy and something everyone can sing along to."

Critical reception

The song "Backtrack" has received positive views from critics.

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

rated the song 4 out of 5 stars. They reviewed the song as a "neat and sassy soul-pop ditty".

Chart performance

''Backtrack'' entered the UK charts at number 15, becoming Ferguson's second top-twenty single in the UK and became her second-highest charting after " Nothing's Real But Love", which charted at number 10. The following week, "Backtrack" dropped 5 places to number 20 in the UK. The single also charted at number 32 in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In its second week it climbed 9 places to 23 equaling her previous best "Nothing's Real But Love" on the chart and made her third Irish top 100 hit. The single also appeared on the charts in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

for one week, at number 27.

Live performances

On 14 October, Ferguson performed "Backtrack" during ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' results show. She also performed the song on ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

'' on 22 October.

Music video

The music video premièred on 3 September 2012 via Ferguson's official

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

. The video charts the journey of the song from conception when Ferguson discovers her boyfriend has cheated on her, to the recording of the track in a studio and finally her performing it in a club. The video was directed by Ben Peters.

Track listing

* Digital EP # "Backtrack" – 3:07 # "Backtrack" (7th Heaven Club Mix) – 6:40 # "Backtrack" (DEVolution Remix) - 5:55 # "Backtrack" (RAW Club Mix) - 6:19

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Rebecca Ferguson (singer) songs 2011 songs Songs written by Jonny Lattimer Syco Music singles