"Bottled Up" is the debut solo single by American singer

Dinah Jane Dinah Jane Milika Ilaisaane Hansen (; born June 22, 1997) is an American singer and a member of girl group Fifth Harmony. In October 2017, she featured in RedOne's single " Boom Boom" with Daddy Yankee and French Montana. After the group's hia ...

, featuring fellow American singers

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

and Marc E. Bassy. It was written by A.CHAL, Ty Dolla Sign, Bassy, and Jane. It was released on September 21, 2018. The song was noted for having a similar sound to Jane’s former group’s, Fifth Harmony, music. It is an R&B song with

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and hip-hop influences, while lyrically, it is about someone who bottles up their feelings and uses alcohol and drugs to hide them.

Background and release

"Bottled Up" was written by A.CHAL, Tyrone William Griffin Jr, Marc Griffin and Dinah Jane with the production done by James Hau, David Park, William Mosgrove, Nick Balding. It is Jane's official debut single but won't be in her upcoming debut album; instead, it serves as a transition from her former music with the group until she "finds her sound". Jane had a choice to add another artist to the song, and she chose

and Marc E. Bassy; she had previously worked with the former as a part of

Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, was an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and previously Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group sig ...

in the top-ten single, " Work from Home", and she's been wanting to work with the latter since her time in the group. She references three of the group's most famous singles: "Work from Home", " Worth It" and " Down". Jane performed the track at the New York Fashion Week during one of Teen Vogue’s performances. She made her solo TV debut on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' on Monday, October 8, performing the song alongside Marc E. Bassy and Ty Dolla $ign. In an interview with Music Choice she explained the song's similar sound to Fifth Harmony's music saying, "I remember being in the studio with Marc, and he was just like, ‘So what’s your vibe? Where do you wanna go with this? You wanna just make hits or do you wanna go global?’ I was like, ‘I wanna go global. I want a global record' ��I love this record a lot ��It’s been a year or two... and I feel like because it’s such a bop to me, it can be a bop to other people, as well.” Jane released Spanish and Portuguese versions of the song on November 8, which kept Ty Dolla Sign's verse and removed Bassy's vocals.

Composition and lyrics

"Bottled Up" is a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

, R&B song that draws influences of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and hip hop music. It contains a "light

-tinged backbeat with a simple

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

bassline." It runs for a total of three minutes and twenty seconds. Lyrically, the song is about "drinking your feelings away". In an interview with Z100, Jane said, "It’s about someone who has a hard time sharing their emotions, so they bottle up their feelings and they turn to smoking and drinking because that’s the way they’re getting it out." The song is in 97

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

Music video

The song's music video, directed by

Hannah Lux Davis Hannah Lux Davis (born May 17, 1986) is an American music video, commercial and film director. She's known for her work especially with female artists, such as Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Christ ...

, was released on November 7, 2018.

Critical reception

"Bottled Up" received both positive and negative feedback; the latter was mostly because of the song's sound, which was very similar to that of

's. Thomas Bleech said that the "chorus was way too simple" and that "not even a guest rap verse from Ty Dolla $ign could save this song and make it somewhat likeable or commercially ready." Mike Neid from ''Idolator'' said that "Jane gets a little flirty" and "she and Marc E. Bassy need a little coaxing to open up about their feelings." Matt Gehring from MTV said that they "loved the 'Work from Home and 'Worth It' references" and that they're "ready for a hit maker". ''HotNewHipHop'' called the song "upbeat and high energy" and that it tackles "the subject of bottling up emotions in romantic relationships."

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

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. *

– songwriting, vocals *

– songwriting, vocals * Marc E. Bassy – songwriting, vocals * Alejandro Chal – songwriting *James Hau – producer * David Park – producer *William Mosgrove – producer *Nick Balding – producer

Charts

References

{{authority control 2018 songs 2018 debut singles Dinah Jane songs Vocal collaborations Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by Ty Dolla Sign Ty Dolla Sign songs Songs written by A.Chal Music videos directed by Hannah Lux Davis