"Domino" is a song by English singer and songwriter
Jessie J from her debut studio album, ''
Who You Are'' (2011). The song was released on 29 August 2011 as the fifth single from the album. Musically, "Domino" is an
electropop,
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
, &
dance-pop song.
Jessie J co-wrote "Domino" with its producers,
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...
and
Cirkut
Henry Russell Walter (born April 23, 1986), known professionally as Cirkut, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has co-produced and co-written for Dr. Luke, Katy Perry, Becky G, Ava Max, Nicki Minaj, R. City, The Weeknd, Kesha, C ...
, with extra writing from
Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
and
. Domino was included on the platinum or deluxe edition of "Who You Are" only.
The song became Jessie J's second number-one single in the UK, following her previous collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly titled "
Price Tag
A price tag is a label declaring the price of an item for sale. It may be a sticker or attached by twist tie or other means.
Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the pri ...
" (2011). In the United States, the song peaked at number 6 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, become her first top 10 in nation. The song also was nominated for the
Brit Award
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
for Best British Single at the
2013 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards 2013 was held on 20 February 2013. This was the 33rd edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London, and was presented for the third time in three years by J ...
.
Background and composition
"Domino" was written by
Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald,
Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
,
,
Henry "Cirkut" Walter, and Jessie J herself, while production was helmed by Dr. Luke and Cirkut.
In July, 2011, Jessie J teased her fans via her official
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 ...
profile whilst posting 21-second clip of the song. "Domino" officially premiered on 16 August 2011 on Jessie J's official
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...
account. During an interview with
MTV Buzzworthy, Jessie J further explained the concept behind the song, "People have heard 'Domino' and said 'it's nothing like you.' But I'm like well the album's really eclectic anyway, and I never go into the studio and say 'I wanna do another song that's like '
Price Tag
A price tag is a label declaring the price of an item for sale. It may be a sticker or attached by twist tie or other means.
Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the pri ...
' or another song like '
Do It Like a Dude'." In the same interview Jessie J unveiled that she often listened to
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...
and
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
, so she came up with an idea to write a song that is "timeless, fun and uplifting". The song was released as lead single from the platinum edition of Jessie J's debut album ''
Who You Are'' and fifth overall.
"Domino" has a beat that was described as "funky and disco-like".
It is written in the key of
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable composi ...
with a tempo of 127
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 ...
, following the chord progression G
5–G
sus4–G–G
sus4. Jessie's vocals span from D
4 to G
5.
2012 lawsuit
On 27 June 2012 songwriter Will Loomis sued Jessie J and her record label Universal Music Group for copyright infringement alleging that the melody in "Domino" (2011) was identical to the melody in his song "Bright Red Chords" (2008). Loomis made a mashup of the two songs which Universal attempted to take off YouTube prompting
Wikinews to cover the story. Loomis, on his Facebook page, posted a letter from Jessie J's record label dated 5 May 2010, in which they expressed interest in the song and asked him to send them a copy. In 2016, the lawsuit was dismissed by the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* District ...
because Loomis could not prove the songwriters had access to the song.
Critical reception
While critics praised the vocals on "Domino", they were divided on the heavy production and similarities to
Katy Perry's ''
Teenage Dream'' (2010).
Robert Copsey from
Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, giving the single four out of five stars. Copsey wrote that although the song's guitar riff is dangerously similar to Perry's "
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", (2011), "'Domino' is easily
essie Js glossiest outing since 'Price Tag'".
He commended the package of "catchy hooks" and "saucy lines" present throughout the song, likening it to "
eadingout for a night on the tiles."
James Masterson of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
said that "Domino" is an "amazing pop record".
Sarah Deen from ''
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'' gave the song a positive review, writing "The beat is funky and disco-like, with Jessie's powerhouse vocals adding that extra punch to a melodic and feel-good song."
Amanda Dobbins of ''
New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
'' commented, "Jessie lands the high notes just fine, and 'Domino' shows off her pure pop abilities, if not her soul, to solid effect."
Dobbins called the song a "total jam," reminiscent of ''Teenage Dream''.
Katherine St Asaph from Popdust gave the single three and a half out of five stars, writing that, although it was better than Jessie J's other singles, it was still "completely useless".
St Asaph criticised the song as generic, saying "it’s almost impossible to imagine 'Domino' offending someone and just as hard to imagine people disliking it ''specifically''".
Chart performance
In the United Kingdom, "Domino" debuted at number 54 on 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 ...
issued for 31 December 2011.
It then registered a 20-position climb to number 34,
becoming Jessie J's sixth consecutive top 40 hit in the United Kingdom.
On 14 January 2012, "Domino" climbed a further 26 places to number eight with sales of 30,192,
becoming Jessie J's fifth top ten hit from ''Who You Are''.
The single then rose seven places to replace
Flo Rida's "
Good Feeling" at the top of the UK Singles Chart, registering Jessie J's second number-one hit in the United Kingdom following "Price Tag" in 2011.
It was number-one for two consecutive weeks, selling 64,255 copies and 12.01% more in its second week at number-one. The song has sold 749,000 copies in the UK in 2012, finishing at number 8 on the UK end of year chart.
"Domino" debuted on the
ARIA Charts
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offic ...
of Australia at number 12, and peaked at number five the following week. It became her third top ten hit and her second highest peaking single. The song stayed on the charts for 22 weeks.
It has since been certified triple platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...
(ARIA) for sales of 210,000 units.
On 12 September 2011, the single debuted at number three on the New Zealand RIANZ charts, becoming her fourth consecutive top ten hit there. It spent 21 weeks on the chart and was certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for sales of 15,000 units.
In the United States, the song debuted at number 96 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated October 29, 2011, where it peaked at number 6 on the chart dated February 18, 2012, becoming her first top 10 on the chart. The song was
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 7, 2012, for sales of 1,000,000 units in the US.
Music video
Live montage version
After the release of the single in August 2011, there were initial plans to film a music video for the song. The concept of the music video would involve Jessie J sitting on a throne surrounded by an army of purple haired dancers whose behavior she conducts. Due to the injury on her foot which prompted her to pull out of Katy Perry's "
California Dreams Tour
The California Dreams Tour was the second concert tour by American singer Katy Perry, in support of her third studio album '' Teenage Dream''. The tour played 124 shows beginning February 20, 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal and concluding on January 22 ...
" under doctor's orders in 2011, she was unable to dance in the video. Jessie J remarked by saying: "If I can't dance then why not get fifteen amazing dancers that can?" Another scene would show Jessie J standing and shaking her hips while golden glitter is being thrown at her. It was directed by Emil Nava, who previously directed her video for "
Price Tag
A price tag is a label declaring the price of an item for sale. It may be a sticker or attached by twist tie or other means.
Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the pri ...
" and "
Nobody's Perfect". However, the music video was never released. Instead, a live montage was uploaded at Jessie J's VEVO channel on 14 October 2011. The video shows scenes of live shows, backstage footage, cover shots, and external performances. It served as a promotional video for a time before the actual music video was released.
Studio version
After recovering from her injury, Jessie J then resumed filming and by 11 November she announced on her official Twitter page that they had finished shooting the video. It eventually premiered on 26 December 2011, and is directed by
Ray Kay
Reinert K. Olsen (born 10 July 1978), known professionally as Ray Kay, is a Norwegian director and photographer who is currently based in Los Angeles. He is a music video and advertising director.
Ray Kay mostly directs music videos and has wo ...
. Jessie J is the only person in the video.
Live performances
Jessie J presented the song at the
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced. Katy Perry received the most nominations this year at ten, ...
where she served as the show's house artist, performing various songs from her debut album and covers of many popular songs during commercial breaks.
She performed the full version of the song on the
American version of ''The X Factor'' during the week 3 result show on 10 November 2011. It was also performed at Capital FM's
Jingle Bell Ball
The Jingle Bell Ball is a concert held annually in December since 2008 (except for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), by the radio station Capital FM at The O2. Artists that have headlined the concert include Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, ...
on the Sunday 4 December in
The O2
The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely withi ...
. She also performed the song on ''
The Voice of Holland
''The Voice of Holland'', also known as ''TVOH'', is a Dutch reality TV singing competition, that became a near global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol and musician Roel van Velzen, in the Netherlands airing on RTL 4.
...
'' on 16 December 2011. It was later performed on ''
The Jonathan Ross Show
''The Jonathan Ross Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2011 and airs on Saturday evenings following the conclusion of Ross' BBC One chat show, ''Friday Night with Jonat ...
'' and on ''
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...
''. In April 2012, she performed "Domino" on ''
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
'' with Team
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
. Critics noted that her performance paled when and performing the track again at the
Diamond Jubilee Concert
The Diamond Jubilee Concert was a British music concert and celebration held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2012. The concert was organised by Take That singer-songwriter Gary Barlow and was part of Queen Elizabeth ...
on 4 June 2012. She also performed the song at the
3rd Indonesian Choice Awards on 29 May 2016.
Formats and track listings
*Digital download
[
#"Domino" – 3:51
*German CD single]
#"Domino" – 3:51
#" Nobody's Perfect" (Netsky Full Vocal Remix) – 4:55
*Digital download – remix
# "Domino" (Rick & K-Night vs. Stefano Prada Remix) – 5:36
*US Remix EP
# "Domino" – 3:51
# "Price Tag
A price tag is a label declaring the price of an item for sale. It may be a sticker or attached by twist tie or other means.
Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the pri ...
" (Shux Remix) (featuring Devlin Devlin may refer to:
* Devlin (surname)
* Devlin (given name)
* Devlin (rapper), a British rapper
* ''Devlin'' (TV series), a 1974 animated TV series by Hanna-Barbera
* ''Devlin'', a 1988 novel by Roderick Thorp
* ''The Devil and Max Devlin
'' ...
) – 3:27
# " Who You Are" (Seamus Haji Remix Radio Edit) – 3:46
# "LaserLight
"Laserlight" is a song by English singer-songwriter Jessie J featuring French DJ David Guetta, taken from the
platinum edition of Jessie J's debut studio album, '' Who You Are''. The artists co-wrote the song with The Invisible Men, Giorgio ...
" (featuring David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
) – 3:31
# " My Shadow" – 3:29
# "Domino" (Myon And Shane Remix - Extended Mix) – 5:18
*US promotional EP
# "Domino" – 3:52
# "Price Tag
A price tag is a label declaring the price of an item for sale. It may be a sticker or attached by twist tie or other means.
Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the pri ...
" (feat. B.o.B
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years late ...
) – 3:43
# " Who You Are" – 3:51
# "LaserLight
"Laserlight" is a song by English singer-songwriter Jessie J featuring French DJ David Guetta, taken from the
platinum edition of Jessie J's debut studio album, '' Who You Are''. The artists co-wrote the song with The Invisible Men, Giorgio ...
" (featuring David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
) – 3:32
# " My Shadow" – 3:20
# "Domino" (Myon And Shane Remix - Extended Mix) – 7:11
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from ''Who You Are'' album liner notes.
* Jessica Cornish – songwriter, backing vocals and lead vocals
*Dr. Luke
Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...
– songwriter, producer, instrumentation, programming and vocal production
*Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
– songwriter and additional vocals
* – songwriter
*Cirkut – songwriter, producer, instrumentation and programming
*Serban Ghenea – mixing
*Emily Wright – engineering and vocal production
* Chris "Tek" O'Ryan – sound engineer
*Clint Gibbs – assistant engineering
*John Hanes – mix engineer
*Phil Seaford – assistant mix engineer
*Tom Coyne – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
* List of number-one dance singles of 2012 (U.S.)
These are the United States ''Billboard'' Hot Dance'' ''Club Play and Singles Sales number-one hits of 2012.
See also
* List of number-one Dance/Mix Show Airplay hits of 2012 (U.S.)
*2012 in music
*List of artists who reached number one on t ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2011 singles
2011 songs
Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke
Songs written by Dr. Luke
Jessie J songs
Songs written by Max Martin
Song recordings produced by Cirkut (record producer)
Song recordings produced by Max Martin
Songs written by Claude Kelly
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Number-one singles in Scotland
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Songs written by Jessie J
Music videos directed by Ray Kay
Songs involved in plagiarism controversies
Lava Records singles
Universal Republic Records singles