"Contaminated" is a song by American singer and songwriter

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

from her third studio album, '' III'' (2019).

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

released it on July 10, 2019, as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album. It was produced by

BJ Burton BJ Burton is an American record producer, songwriter, engineer, and mixer. He is known for his work with Bon Iver, Francis and the Lights, Low, Charli XCX, and The Japanese House, and has also worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, ...

and written by Banks, Kevin Owen Garrett, and Brandon Treyshun Campbell.

Background

On July 9, 2019,

shared a sample of "Contaminated" and announced its release date on her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account. It serves as the third single from ''III''. A stripped-down, acoustic version of "Contaminated" appears on Banks' first live

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''Live and Stripped'' (2020). It was ultimately released on July 10, the next day, for digital download and streaming in various countries, through

Composition and lyrics

"Contaminated" was written by

, Brandon Treyshun Campbell and

Kevin Garrett Kevin Rashard Garrett (born July 29, 1980) is a former American football player. Garrett attended Southern Methodist University and was drafted in the 2003 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He has previously played football with the St. Louis Ra ...

and produced by

. Lyrically, the song is about adjusting to a unhealthy relationship. In the chorus, she sings: "And I wish I could change it / And we're always gonna be contaminated / I know what you need / You start letting me go, our love is tainted". Gabriel Aikins from '' Substream Magazine'' referred to the song's sound as a "haunting mix" of instruments and Burton's production. Rania Aniftos from '' Billboard'' said the song used a "heavy

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

-based melody" alongside Banks' airy vocals.

Reception and promotion

Mike Nied from ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' called the single haunting and a bold choice for a single, following "Gimme" and "Look What You're Doing to Me". An accompanying

lyric video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was released in support of the single on August 21, 2019 to Banks'

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 ...

channel on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. "Contaminated" premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

's Beats 1 radio show. Banks performed the song at ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...

'' on September 9, 2019. Nina Corcoran from ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

'' noted how Banks performed with "her trademark vibrato" which contrasted with the song's lyrical content.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of '' III''.

Recording

* Engineered at Precious (

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

) * Mixed at

Conway Recording Studios Conway Recording Studios is a recording studio in Hollywood, California. People and awards Conway started in the early 1970s as a mastering studio. In 1976, the studio began recording albums, including projects by Elton John and Stevie Wond ...

(Los Angeles, California) and

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten we ...

(New York City, New York) * Mastered at HM Mastering (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Personnel

– vocals *

– production, engineering, vocal production, guitar, piano, synthesizers, drums, programming * Aron Forbes – engineering, vocal production * Sam Tusa – engineering assistance * Mark Mcgee – programming * Jake Hanson – guitar * Ben Lester –

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...

* Trevor Hagen – trumpet *

Tom Elmhirst Tom Elmhirst (born 8 June 1971) is a British mix engineer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Beck, David Bowie, Cage the Elephant, Lady Gaga, Residente, and Amy Winehouse, among many others. Elmhirst has received numerous accolades ...

– mixing * Brandon Bost – engineering for mix * Huntley Miller – mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Banks (singer) songs Harvest Records singles Songs written by Banks (singer) Songs written by Kevin Garrett (musician)