"Double Bubble Trouble" is a song by recording artist M.I.A. from her fourth studio album, ''

Matangi Matangi ( sa, मातङ्गी, ) is a Hindu goddess. She is one of the Mahavidyas, ten Tantric goddesses and an aspect of the Hindu Divine Mother. She is considered to be the Tantric form of Saraswati, the goddess of music and learning. ...

'' (2013). It is written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Ruben Fernhout, Jerry Leembruggen, and produced by DJ Punish (Richard Westra). The track references

Shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the ...

's 1994 hit song "

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

", and incorporates such musical styles as

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 ...

, trap and

kuduro Kuduro (or kuduru) is a type of music and dance from Angola. It is characterized as uptempo, energetic, and danceable. Kuduro was developed in Luanda, Angola in the late 1980s. Producers sampled traditional carnival music like soca and zouk bé ...

. "Double Bubble Trouble" was released as a promotional single in the Netherlands in 2013 and Sweden, before becoming the fifth and final official single from ''Matangi'' in 2014. The song was performed on ''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...

'' on 13 May 2014 as well as on the 2014 Matangi Tour.

Critical response

"Double Bubble Trouble" received generally positive feedback from music critics. Hugh Montgomery of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' named it one of ''Matangis "sublime, fully formed songs" while Jesal 'Jay Soul' Padania of RapReviews.com stated that the song is "fucking crazy and completely epic". However, in his

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

review, Arnold Pan was less enthusiastic, and while appreciating the song's "globetrotting" blend of "dub reggae rhythms, Indian strings, and hip-hop conventions", he also claimed that M.I.A. has "done similar things to more dazzling effect before, since there's less development here as she moves between these traditions rather than weaving them together more intricately".

Chart performance

When released as a single in 2014, "Double Bubble Trouble" failed to impact music charts. However, the track had charted in France in November 2013, solely on individual downloads from its parent album.

Music video

On 10 April 2014, the singer reached out to her fans on Facebook and Twitter, explaining that she needed identical twins for "Double Bubble Trouble" video shoot, which she said would take place in London on 11 and 12 April. The music video for the song was directed by M.I.A. herself on location in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

, South London. The video begins with adolescents printing weapons using a three dimensional printer. It also features scenes of M.I.A. posing against the wall with '1984 is now' written on it, referencing

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

's novel '' Nineteen Eighty-Four'', as well as

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's 2008 campaign slogan 'Yes We Can' modified into 'Yes We Scan', which alludes to scanning and storing personal web information by

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

. The Partysquad, who produced the song, also make a cameo appearance in the music video. M.I.A. premiered the video on 19 May 2014, tweeting a link to it, and revealed that her record label

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

had been holding the video for four days and would not let the singer release it. When M.I.A. published the clip 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 ...

herself, the label blocked it on copyright grounds, but reversed the decision when faced with an outpouring of protest. The video went viral and quickly reached 2m views on YouTube. It has been noted and praised for its political undertones.

Track listing

;Digital download # "Double Bubble Trouble" – 2:59

Charts

References

{{authority control 2013 songs 2014 singles Interscope Records singles M.I.A. (rapper) songs Songs written by M.I.A. (rapper)