"Energy" is the debut solo single by American recording artist

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and actress. She was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia and spent most of her youth working with producer Anthony Dent as a songwriter and background vocalist for ...

. The song was written and produced by

the Runaways The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of ...

, consisting of

Louis Biancaniello Louis John Biancaniello is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Biancaniello's skills were developed while working alongside producer Narada Michael Walden with whom he produced hits for Shanice '' I Love Your Smile'', Whitney ...

Sam Watters Samuel Joshua Watters (born July 23, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I ...

Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...

, and

Wayne Wilkins Wayne Wilkins is a British record producer, songwriter, record engineer and record mixer. He has produced and written for artists such as Rick Astley ("Cry for Help"), Natasha Bedingfield (" These Words", " Single" and " Love Like This"), Bey ...

, for her studio album '' In a Perfect World…'' (2009). The track was released as the first single from the singer's debut in the United States on May 27, 2008. Although being released worldwide it initially only charted in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

at number two and only managed to reach top thirty on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

charts. Generally well received by music critics, it was named sixty-first on the Top 144 Songs of 2008 listing by ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

'' magazine.

Background

"Energy" was written and produced by the Runaways. It was also recorded by the Runaways at Homesite 13 studios in

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

.(2009) Album notes for '' In a Perfect World...'' by

ooklet

Santa Monica, CA Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

; Mosley, Zone 4 ( Interscope). and Hilson stated that she wanted to prove that she can be successful even without collaborations and guest vocalists and so it was announced "Energy" would be released as the next worldwide single following the success of "

Knock You Down "Knock You Down" is a song by American singer and songwriter Keri Hilson, recorded for her debut album, '' In a Perfect World...''. The song features guest vocals from Ne-Yo and Kanye West. All three artists co-wrote the song with its produc ...

". The song was released on September 14, 2009 in the UK. On September 25, 2009 she appeared live on breakfast TV show GMTV in the UK where she performed the single. That same day, she appeared on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's ''Live Lounge'' where she performed a stripped version of "Energy" as well as a gospel cover version of " Supernova" originally sung by

Mr Hudson Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English musician from Birmingham, England. First rising to prominence in 2006 with Mr Hudson and the Library, Hudson later embarked on a solo career ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Music video

The

music 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 ...

for "Energy" was directed by Melina Matsoukas and produced by Wohn Winter. Set primarily in a boxing ring, Hilson plays a boxer whose love interest (played by

Christian Keyes Christian Keyes (born July 24, 1975) is an American actor and model. Born in Detroit, MI but raised in Flint, MI, Christian got his start in the entertainment industry by appearing in stage plays having since graduated to television and film. Sin ...

) is her apparent trainer. Hilson explains that her character continually tries to sort their broken relationship, but by the end of the video, she realizes that it's just not working. Throughout the video, there are cutaways in which Hilson argues with her boyfriend in their apartment, Hilson working out, having recently worked out and now in locker room, singing against a wall, and singing in a hallway.

Trivia

In the video, there was appearance of the replica Winged Eagle

WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDow ...

on her waist while sitting on a stool in the corner of the boxing ring, where viewers think it was a boxing championship belt. The song was also used as a sample for, American Rapper, Real Dynamite, single "I'm Energized".

Chart performance

In Australia, "Energy" peaked at number 55 on the Singles chart and number 19 on the Urban Singles chart. In New Zealand, the song peaked at number two, and was certified Gold on November 30, 2008, selling over 7,500 copies.

Track listings

;US promo CD #"Energy" (Main version) – 3:30 #"Energy" (Instrumental) – 3:30 #"Energy" (Acappella) – 3:17 ;International CD #"Energy" (Radio Edit) – 3:28 #"Energy" (Wideboys Radio Mix) – 3:04 ;International maxi CD / download bundle #"Energy" (The Demolition Crew Remix) — 3:03 #"Energy" (DJ Q Remix) — 4:23 #"Energy" (Instrumental) — 3:29 #"Energy" (Acapella) — 3:16 ;Official Versions *"Energy" (Main Version) – 3:30 *"Energy" (Instrumental) – 3:30 *"Energy" (Radio Edit) – 3:28 *"Energy" (Acappella) – 3:17 *"Energy" (Wideboys radio mix) – 3:04 *"Energy" (Wideboys club mix) – 6:35 *"Energy" (The Demolition Crew Remix) — 3:03 *"Energy" (DJ Q Remix) — 4:23 *"Energy" (Russ Castella Remix) – 3:35

Personnel

Credits adapted from the ''In the Perfect World...'' liner notes. *The Runaways – producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, recording, mixing *Ravaughn Brown –

additional vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

*Dru Castro – additional recording

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

KeriHilsonMusic.com
— official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Energy (Keri Hilson Song) 2009 singles 2008 debut singles Contemporary R&B ballads Keri Hilson songs Music videos directed by Melina Matsoukas Songs written by Louis Biancaniello Songs written by Wayne Wilkins Songs written by Sam Watters Songs written by Rico Love 2008 songs Mosley Music Group singles