"My Wicked Heart" is a song co-written and co-produced by English singer
Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers (born 30 July 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and fashion designer, who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Vickers signed a record deal with RCA Records and, after to ...
. It was digitally released on 17 October 2010 and physically released on 1 November 2010 by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in the United Kingdom. The track was inspired by
indie music
Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to r ...
including
The xx
The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...
and
The Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
and features Vickers playing the
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
. Vickers performed the single live on the
seventh series of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' on 17 October 2010. "My Wicked Heart" received commercial success peaking at number 13 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 ...
making it Vickers' second top 20 single. The single is not included on an album due to Vickers leaving the label it was recorded under.
Background
On 2 September 2010, various media outlets reported that Vickers was due to re-release her debut album, under a deluxe edition with extra material. Following this announcement, Vickers stated her new single would be called "My Wicked Heart", a video containing a short snippet of the song was uploaded to YouTube. On 12 September,
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, ...
premiered the track, it received mainly positive reviews due to its upbeat tempo.
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...
even commented, praising it on the middle eight segment; "It is a little bit bonkers and quite a lot amazing."
On 2 October, the following month, Vickers unveiled the video for the single, and it premiered on
ITV2
ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...
at 6:55 PM.
Critical reception
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...
gave the single a positive review commenting that it resembled, "
Florence + The Machine
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
doing "
Under the Bridge
"Under the Bridge" is a song by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and the eleventh track on their fifth studio album, ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991). Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics while reflecting on loneliness and the s ...
" via "
Crazy Chick" with some big brassy other things thrown in. However, the video did receive some criticism, as in the video there is a scene where Vickers is dressed in a cheetah-style costume, dancing in a cage and this was said to be copying a scene from
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...
's "
She Wolf
''She Wolf'' ( es, Loba, link=no) is the eighth studio album and third English-language album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was released on 9 October 2009, by Epic Records and Sony Music Latin. As executive producers, Shakira and Am ...
" video. It is a little bit bonkers and quite a lot amazing.
..It opens with the line 'hush hush stay quiet, your secret's safe with me'. There is a great 'whoops-a-daisy' bit in the middle eight.
Sugarscape.com
''Sugar'' was a British magazine for teenager, teenage girls published by Hachette Filipacchi. Its content focused on boys, fashion, celebrities, real-life stories about teenagers and other similar matters. The editor, when it closed in 2011, wa ...
stated that they were impressed with Vickers new totally diva-esque new song. Where it takes her to a whole new level of cool, showing the claw is well and truly banished and behind her.
Mayer Nissim 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, ...
stated that the song was "smart-but-not-too-clever" and goes on to say "Vickers and her
collaborators tease with stop-start
verses and heart murmur drums before smashing our ears right through in a kitchen-sink volley of
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
, deranged whoops and a blatant-but-brilliant steal from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Under The Bridge'." They also stated that "After a welcome second helping, they take it right back down for a breakdown whose berserk "Whoops-a-daisy" refrain will make the existing Marmite split over her voice look like a happy coalition - all in less than three poptastic minutes." And then went on to reward the track with five out of five stars. ''Coffee City Music Lounge'' stated that they liked the song as it is quite different, they went on to say that they liked the
beat
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery (c ...
and he/she likes the 'horns' on the track. "My Wicked Heart" is quirky and fits in with the other tracks on the album.
..He also said "It’s an odd mix of quirky and creepy, which I like."
Chart performance
Upon release, the single steadily climbed up the
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
chart; although the performance on ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' caused it to jump to a peak of number 12. After being predicted to debut at number 12 by
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 Chart Update, the song debuted at number 13 on 23 October 2010 on downloads alone; marking Vickers' second top 20 single and third top 40 hit. The following week, the single fell 18 places to number 31. The physical copy was released that week. On 6 November, the single fell yet again to number 46 and then a week later fell a further 33 places to number 79; marking its fourth week within the top 100.
Music video
Background
The "My Wicked Heart" music video premiered on
ITV2
ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...
at 6.55 PM on 2 October 2010. The video was directed by Sarah Chatfield,
with producer Tamsin Glasson. The production company was
Colonel Blimp
Colonel Blimp is a British cartoon character by cartoonist David Low, first drawn for Lord Beaverbrook's London ''Evening Standard'' in April 1934. Blimp is pompous, irascible, jingoistic, and stereotypically British, identifiable by his walr ...
. The art director and stylist were Shaun Fenn and Cynthia Lawrence-John. The
choreography
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design ...
of the music video was David Leighton, and the credits for Vickers' hair and make-up was Brendan Robertson.
[, Promo News] Within the video Vickers is seen as the lead actress in the circus. She is later seen with a clown's outfit on surrounded by blue, green and white balloons. Going on through the video, she is seen doing a similar scene to
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...
's, "
She Wolf
''She Wolf'' ( es, Loba, link=no) is the eighth studio album and third English-language album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was released on 9 October 2009, by Epic Records and Sony Music Latin. As executive producers, Shakira and Am ...
" where she is in a cage, pulling herself against the cage bars. She is later seen dressed like
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...
's Cabaret outfit.
Synopsis
Vickers is seen clad in a pink
leotard and cuffed on to a magician's Wheel of Death with a couple of daggers precariously embedded in the board beside her.
Controversy
On 16 October 2010, it was reported that
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
was considering legal action over similarities between the chorus of "My Wicked Heart" and the
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
song "
Under the Bridge
"Under the Bridge" is a song by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and the eleventh track on their fifth studio album, ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991). Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics while reflecting on loneliness and the s ...
". Vickers stated she had listened to "Under the Bridge" shortly before writing the vocal line for "My Wicked Heart", and admitted that she had noticed the resemblance but decided against changing it.
However, Vickers defended this decision stating it is only a "tiny snippet with different chords".
Promotion
Vickers performed the single live as her homecoming performance on ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', Series 7, Week 2. Vickers also performed on ''
This Morning'' on 19 October and gave an interview on ''
Live from Studio Five
''Live from Studio Five'' was an early-evening British magazine programme produced by Sky News for Channel 5. It was presented by Kate Walsh and a lineup of co-presenters. It featured interviews and discussions on topical issues, emphasizing sh ...
'' on 22 October, as well as her video appearing on ''
Freshly Squeezed
''Freshly Squeezed'' is a British breakfast television programme which was broadcast every weekday morning on Channel 4 from August 2006 to December 2012.
Format
The programme took the format of a music-based breakfast show, featuring studio pe ...
'' on 18 October. She performed on ''
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" the ...
'' on 2 November. Vickers embarked on a radio tour of the UK leading up to the release of the single.
Track listings
*;CD single
#"My Wicked Heart" – 2:56 (Vickers, Adams)
#"The Way You Say It (Demo)" (Vickers,
Chris Braide
Christopher Braide (born 1973) is an English songwriter, record producer and singer, formerly based in Malibu, Los Angeles, California, United States. Braide is known for being a pianist.
First signed as a solo artist by David A. Stewart in t ...
)
#"My Wicked Heart (Gareth Wyn Remix)"
#"My Wicked Heart (Blackbox Remix)"
*;Digital 2-track single
#"My Wicked Heart" – 2:56
#"My Wicked Heart" (Campfire Acoustic Version) – 3:43
Charts
Release history
References
{{authority control
2010 singles
Diana Vickers songs
2010 songs
Songs written by Diana Vickers
RCA Records singles