"Instruction" is a song by English DJ and record producer

Jax Jones Timucin Lam (born Timucin Fabian Kwong Wah Aluo; 25 July 1987), known professionally as Jax Jones, is an English DJ, songwriter, record producer and remixer. He rose to fame in 2014 by featuring on Duke Dumont's number-one single "I Got U". He ...

, featuring American singer Demi Lovato and English rapper Stefflon Don. It was written by

MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and has received the ASCAP Vangua ...

, Stefflon Don, Demi Lovato and Jax Jones, with the song's production handled by Jax Jones and Mark Ralph. It was released on 16 June 2017, through

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. "Instruction" is included on the deluxe edition of Lovato's sixth studio album, '' Tell Me You Love Me''.

Background

On 12 June 2017, Jax Jones first shared a snippet of the song on Twitter, along with the single's release date. Stefflon Don also tweeted a similar snippet a few minutes later, while Demi Lovato tweeted it on 13 June 2017, revealing the featured artists of the song. "This one's about to be fire," she captioned her post. Demi Lovato shared a longer teaser of the song on 14 June 2017, revealing more of the song's lyrics.

Composition

"Instruction" is a dancehall song. The Brazilian website for ''Billboard'' wrote that the track begins with " he samba

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

's drums" and is followed by "a beat of

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

– the rhythm of the moment".

Critical reception

Mike Wass of

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 ...

said: "The samba-infused banger, which boasts a verse from UK rapper Stefflon Don, is an instant Song of the Summer contender." Kat Bein of '' Billboard'' stated that "it already promises to stomp summer radio into total submission." She described the song as a "massive tune led by booming drums with a colorful pop attitude, counter-pointed by the unmistakable party of Brazilian Carnival."

Music video

The music video was filmed on 20 July 2017, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The music video for Instruction was directed by Ozzie Pullin, and it was released on 2 August 2017. It shows Demi Lovato, Stefflon Don,

and other backgrounds artists/dancers dancing and playing various instruments.

Live performances

On 18 August 2017, Jones joined Demi Lovato on '' Good Morning America'', where they made the first televised performance of the track. On 10 November 2017, Jones, Lovato and Stefflon Don performed the song for the first time together at BBC's Sounds Like Friday Night Show. In June 2018, Jones joined Demi Lovato during the

Tell Me You Love Me World Tour The Tell Me You Love Me World Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour and third worldwide tour by American singer Demi Lovato, in support of her sixth studio album '' Tell Me You Love Me'' (2017). The tour began on February 26, 2018, in San Di ...

to perform 'Instruction' during all UK dates except

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Usage in media

The song is featured in tenth episode of the television series ''

The Bold Type ''The Bold Type'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Sarah Watson and produced by Universal Television for Freeform. It is inspired by the life and career of former editor-in-chief of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine Joanna Col ...

''. The song was featured in the 2017 dance rhythm game, ''

Just Dance 2018 ''Just Dance 2018'' is a 2017 dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 12, 2017, during its E3 press conference as the ninth main installment of the series, and was released in October 2017 for PlayStation 3, ...

''. It was also played during the ''

Miss Universe 2017 Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on November 26, 2017. At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Af ...

'' swimsuit competition. It is also used in a 2018 Schwarzkopf television advertisement in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. * Jax Jones – composer, lyricist, producer, drum programmer, programmer, recording arranger, synthesizer programmer * Demi Lovato – composer, lyricist, vocalist * Stefflon Don – composer, lyricist, vocalist * MNEK – composer, lyricist * Mark Ralph – producer, mixer * Stuart Hawkes – mastering engineer * Drew Smith – engineer * Tom AD Fuller – assistant recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Demi Lovato songs Jax Jones songs Stefflon Don songs Songs written by Jax Jones Songs written by Demi Lovato Polydor Records singles Songs written by MNEK Songs written by Stefflon Don Song recordings produced by Mark Ralph (record producer) Song recordings produced by Jax Jones