"M.I.A" is a song by English singer

Cher Lloyd Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She finished fourth place in the seventh series of ''The X Factor'' in 2010. Following the seventh series finale, Lloyd was signed to Syco Music. Her debut single, " Swagger Jagger", was r ...

. Released on 11 October 2019, under Universal Music Group, the song is the official lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

of her upcoming third studio album, following her comeback "

None Of My Business "None of My Business" is a song by English singer and songwriter Cher Lloyd, released on 19 October 2018 through Universal Music Group. The song was announced in a video posted to Lloyd's social media platforms on 16 October 2018, revealing an int ...

" in October 2018. An accompanying video directed by Raja Virdi was premiered on YouTube on the day of the song's release.

Background and promotion

Lloyd began teasing the song on 3 October 2019 by posting cryptic images of the acronym on her social media spelling out the title. In an interview with Euphoria, Lloyd stated that "the whole concept behind that song was being at a party that you really really don't want to be at, but you want to be with that person and you'd rather be anywhere else if it means that you get to be with that person". Lloyd embarked on a week-long radio tour in the UK from 10–17 November 2019, where she did acoustic sessions and interviews in promotion of the song. In terms of live performances, she performed the song live once at the German TV show ''

ZDF-Fernsehgarten ''ZDF-Fernsehgarten'' (English: ''ZDF Television garden'') is a German entertainment TV show broadcast live from the grounds of the ZDF broadcasting centre at Mainz. It is a seasonal live programme which airs only during the summer months with 16 ...

'' on 13 October 2019. The song failed to achieve much chart success at all due to poor promotion, however it did spend 4 weeks on Ultratop Wallonia under top 50 chart.

Critical reception

Lilly Pace of ''

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 ...

'' stated "The infectious new song recounts the singer's time at a bad party, where she asks someone she has her eye on to run away with her." Writing for ''

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 ...

'' Mike Neid stated: "'M.I.A', loyd'slatest is a bright anthem that finds her convincing a potential partner to leave a party. And she makes a damn good case. 'Let's make a quick getaway. This party's shit anyway. Or we could go M.I.A.'"

Music video

The official video to the single premiered 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 ...

the day of the song's release. It was shot at the

Barbican Estate The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, maisonettes, and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and densely populated b ...

. The music video depicts Lloyd performing choreography with backup dancers on different settings of the

Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

. The video was produced by Phase Films and directed by Raja Virdi. In an interview with

, Cher stated "This song is a mood, it's about capturing a feeling. I wanted the video to mirror exactly that. I wanted the vibe to feel playful, expressive, and fun. Every look gives a great insight into who I am and my personality."

Track listing

Digital download / streaming # "M.I.A" - 2:37 Digital download / streaming (Cahill Edit) # "M.I.A" (Cahill Edit) - 3:00

Personnel

Credits adapted from

YouTube Music YouTube Music is a music streaming service developed by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. It provides a tailored interface for the service, oriented towards music streaming, allowing users to browse through songs and music videos on YouTube based ...

. *

– vocals, songwriting * Joznez – production, studio personnel, mixing * Nico The Owl – Production * Dave Kutch – studio personnel, mastering engineer * Lex Barkey – studio personnel, mixing * Jeremia Jones – songwriter * Gia Koka – songwriter * Morien van der Tang – songwriter *

Stevie Appleton Stephen Appleton (born in Surrey, England) is a British singer, songwriter and producer. At the age of fifteen, Appleton began playing piano in a Soho restaurant improvising jazz and playing covers from the likes of Elton John and Billy Joe ...

– songwriter

Release history

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Cher Lloyd songs