"My Man" is a song by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

singer

Jade Ewen Jade Louise Ewen (born 24 January 1988) is a British singer, actress and a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She began her singing career in a girl group named Trinity Stone, which signed with Sony BMG in 2005 but disbanded in 2007 wit ...

. It was written by

Ina Wroldsen Ina Christine Wroldsen (born 29 May 1984), previously known simply as Ina, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. She was a part of the electropop duo Ask Embla with Icelandic producer and songwriter Arnthor Birgisson. Career Wroldsen's caree ...

, Harry Sommerdahl and Kalle Engstrom, with production by Kage Sigurth, Wroldsen and Engstrom for Ewen's debut studio album. The song was released as a digital download in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2009. Musically, "My Man" is a pop and

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

and song backed by electro and R&B beats and a

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

. It is notably different from her previous single " It's My Time", which was composed by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2009 The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Believe (Dima Bilan song), Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the Euro ...

. "My Man" was positively reviewed by critics, who praised the chorus and Ewen's vocals. The song peaked at number 35 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 ...

and number 13 on the

UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

. The accompanying

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "My Man" was directed by Urban Strom and filmed in July 2009 in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

, near

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. It features Ewen's love interest using a torch to search for her in a mansion. Short after the release of the video and some live performances, Ewen announced she would be joining the

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

, replacing founding member

Keisha Buchanan Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan (; born 30 September 1984) is an English singer and a founding member of the girl group Sugababes alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy. With the Sugababes, she had six number one singles and two number on ...

and putting her solo career on hold.

Background and development

In January 2009, Ewen participated in the UK national selection for the

. She was eventually selected to represent the UK with the song " It's My Time", composed by

who accompanied her on piano onstage. Ewen was placed fifth on the contest, which was the highest placing for the UK since

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. Having already signed with Polydor Records before the Eurovision selection, Ewen began working on her debut album. "My Man" was written by

, and produced by Harry Sommerdahl and Kalle Engstrom. In September 2009, it was reported that

member

Amelle Berrabah Amelle Berrabah (born 22 April 1984), also known as Amelle, is a British singer, best known for being a former member of the girl group the Sugababes, replacing founding member Mutya Buena, who left the group in December 2005. She achieved a so ...

had left the group and Ewen would be replacing her position in the band. Further suspicion arose amid an announcement that Ewen was "taking time off from all promotional activity for the foreseeable future". However, it was announced on 21 September 2009 that founding Sugababes member

had left the band.

Composition and lyrics

"My Man" is a pop and R&B song with influences of electro. described by Nick Levine of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

as a "sassy R&B club banger". The song is notably different from her previous ballad, "It's My Time", featuring a more contemporary R&B sound than the latter. Speaking upon the change in musical direction, Ewen clarified: "What I'm now doing now is really me, /nowiki>''sic''">sic.html" ;"title="/nowiki>''sic">/nowiki>''sic''/nowiki> so if people don't like it I'm going to take it more personally." "My Man" opens with electro and bass-driven R&B beats, synthesizers that are reminiscent of those featured in "Yeah! (Usher song), Yeah!" by Usher (entertainer), Usher, and later develops into "a pop/R&B stormer". The lyrical content of "My Man" is about a woman who "pledges devotion to a man who sounds almost too good to be true". Ewen stated that the lyrics were not directed at any man in particular.

Reception

Critical

"My Man" received positive reviews from critics. Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song a four out of five star rating and called it "very good contemporary pop" and a "complete

U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as a m ...

" from " It's My Time". Philip Ellwood of Entertainment Focus praised the song's chorus, in addition to Ewen's vocal performance. He also wrote that the end result is "a monster hit waiting to happen and a single that is better than it has any right to be". Oikotimes.com commended the song as "instantly catchy and memorable". Vicki Lutas of BBC described "My Man" as "sexy, strong and ferocious". She applauded the chorus, but admitted that the song "sounds a bit generic" and "lacks Jade's sparkle".

Commercial

"My Man" debuted and peaked at number 35 on the

for the issue dated 3 October 2009, and became Ewen's second consecutive top forty single after "It's My Time", which peaked at number 27 earlier in the year. On the

, "My Man" peaked at number 13.

Promotion

Music video

The

for "My Man" was directed by Urban Strom and produced by Danny Germaine in July 2009. It was shot in a mansion in

. For the video, the singer wore a "clingy" white vest and hotpants. It begins with showing a man who is in bed and cannot sleep. Ewen is later shown in the mansion which prompts the man to turn on the light of a torch, leave the bed and search for her. Ewen then begins dancing on the wall as the torch is being flashed at her by the man. During the second verse, she is shown singing on a couch, again with the torch being flashed. When the song's bridge begins, Ewen is shown dancing outside on the porch where the man is watching her. As the video ends, it is revealed that the man was dreaming, in which Ewen appears near the room's curtains. The video was well received by critics. A writer from the website Female First described the video as "glamorous".

Live performances

Ewen first performed "My Man" on BBC Switch on 8 July 2009. She wore a white-coloured shirt, blue jeans and pink

high heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels, are a type of shoe with an angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, and accentuate the ...

. Soon after Ewen joined the Sugababes; she clarified that her solo career would be "put to one side", saying: "The Sugababes is my main project".

Formats and track listings

*Digital single # "My Man" (Single Version) – 3:04 # "My Man" (Cahill Radio Edit) – 3:22 *Extended play (EP) # "My Man" (Single Version) – 3:05 # "My Man" (Cahill Radio Edit) – 3:22 # "My Man" (feat. Bashy) – 3:05 # "My Man" (Perempay Radio Edit) – 2:59 # "My Man" (Perempay Club Mix) – 6:57

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:My Man (Song) 2009 singles Jade Ewen songs Songs written by Ina Wroldsen 2009 songs Polydor Records singles