"Cut to the Feeling" is a song recorded by Canadian singer and songwriter

Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...

, from the Canadian-French animated film '' Ballerina'' (2016). It was released as a single on May 26, 2017, to promote the film's release under the title ''Leap!'' in the United States. The song was written by Jepsen, Simon Wilcox, and Nolan Lambroza, and produced by Lambroza. The song serves as the theme song for the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

reality series '' Siesta Key''. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', '' The Guardian'', '' Pitchfork'', '' Rolling Stone'' and '' Vanity Fair'' named it one of the best songs of 2017 in their respective year-end lists. Commercially, the single was successful in Japan where it reached the top twenty, peaking at number 13, and was certified gold by the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include p ...

Background

"Cut to the Feeling" was written during the creation of Jepsen's third studio album, '' Emotion'' (2015), but was not included on the album because it was too "cinematic and theatrical". It was later intended for the album's follow-up EP, '' Emotion: Side B'', but was then slated for release with '' Ballerina'' after Jepsen signed on for the film and felt the song was fitting for the story. The track was one of two songs, along with "Runaways", that Jepsen contributed to the film. "Cut to the Feeling" was included on the new edition of ''Emotion: Side B'', released exclusively in Japan on September 13, 2017 and re-titled ''Emotion: Side B+''. It was also used as the theme song for the

reality television show '' Siesta Key''.

Composition

"Cut to the Feeling" was originally published in the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

in common time with a tempo of 115 beats per minute. Jepsen's vocals span from A₃ to the high note of F#₅. The song begins with a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

of the opening synth note from "Lucky Star" by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Critical reception

J. Lynch of ''

'' called the song "flawlessly constructed", adding it is "the closest we'll get to Whitney Houston's late-'80s dancefloor euphoria in 2017". Hayden Manders of '' Nylon'' describes "Cut to the Feeling" as a "masterclass" of the "best, sweetest pop music" today, celebrating the "possibility of big love" with a "chorus that blasts off to stars and doesn't let up for the rest of the song's duration". She further describes the song as being like the "butterflies you get before a first date with a crush". It was featured as '' Pitchfork''s "Best New Track", with Laura Snapes describing it as "bombastic and gaudy" while praising it for being "distinctly Jepsen, her coaxing vocal creakiness convincing her paramour to stop denying what they want and just fucking go for it with her". '' Rolling Stone'' wrote Jepsen "saved 2017 with her bracing rejoinder to Xanax-pop

malaise As a medical term, malaise is a feeling of general discomfort, uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an infection or other disease. The word has existed in French since at least the 12th century. The term is often used ...

", and that her "boisterous vocal adds extra urgency to this jump-along anthem's much-needed e•mo•tional rescue". ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' wrote the single is her best since "

Call Me Maybe "Call Me Maybe" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen for her EP ''Curiosity'' (2012) and later appeared on her second studio album and first international album ''Kiss'' (2012). The song was written by Jepsen and T ...

", adding that it "delivers breathless,

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

vocals over a measured handclap beat before the whole thing erupts into its euphoric hook." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' praised the song for deemphasizing ''Emotion''s "explicit '80s posing, using that well-worn

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

chug for something brighter, bigger, and more bombastic." DJ Louie XIV of '' Vanity Fair'' praised Jepsen's directness, as she "cuts straight through the crap...No artifice. No posturing". He described the song as an ecstatic celebration of "diving in headfirst with a new guy (or girl)", providing "the smile we all needed in 2017".

Year-end lists

Music video

The music video for "Cut to the Feeling" was filmed on July 26, 2017, directed by Gia Coppola with whom Jepsen had worked on the " Your Type" video. It begins with behind-the-scenes footage of making this video, which shows the singer and her team getting ready for the shoot. As a clock positioned in the corner counts down from 1 minute and 32 seconds, Jepsen is seen having her make-up applied, posing with her team outdoors, making coffee and playing around the studio. She then arrives at the filming set and the clip launches into the black-and-white performance-style music video, which sees Jepsen's singing the last chorus of the song into a microphone, surrounded by her band. The video premiered on September 15, 2017. before the official music video, a lyric video for the song was released in June 2017.

Track listings

* Digital download/Streaming # "Cut to the Feeling" – 3:27 * Digital download/Streaming (Remix) # "Cut to the Feeling" (Kid Froopy Remix) – 3:13

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs 604 Records singles Schoolboy Records singles Interscope Records singles Carly Rae Jepsen songs Power pop songs Songs written by Carly Rae Jepsen Songs written by Simon Wilcox Songs written by Sir Nolan Songs written for animated films