"Make Me Feel" is a song by American singer

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...

, released on February 22, 2018 as the lead single from her third studio album, ''

Dirty Computer ''Dirty Computer'' is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Janelle Monáe, released on April 27, 2018, by Wondaland Arts Society, Bad Boy Records and Atlantic Records. It is the follow-up to her studio albums '' The ArchAndro ...

''. This marks her return after a 3 year hiatus. A departure from her longtime songwriting-production team of Nathaniel Irvin III and Roman GianArthur Irvin, Monáe co-wrote the song with

Julia Michaels Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

Mattias Larsson Mattman & Robin is a Swedish songwriting and production duo composed of Mattias Per Larsson and Robin Lennart Fredriksson. They are published by Wolf Cousins, a publishing company administered by Warner Chappell Music. In 2016, they won a Grammy A ...

Robin Fredriksson Mattman & Robin is a Swedish songwriting and production duo composed of Mattias Per Larsson and Robin Lennart Fredriksson. They are published by Wolf Cousins, a publishing company administered by Warner Chappell Music. In 2016, they won a Grammy A ...

, and

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena ...

. Several critics compared it to the work of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

, while Monáe herself has stated that Prince helped create sounds for the album, including for "Make Me Feel". It became Monáe's second single as a lead artist to chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, debuting at number 99 on the week of March 10, 2018.

Critical reception

Writing for ''

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'', Marcus J. Moore says of Monáe and the song, "The polymath unpacks a rubbery funk tune that recalls the likes of

and Sheila E. Her 1980s influences are clear, down to each massive synth line and the feeling of raw sensual energy woven throughout the song." Tatiana Pile of '' Spin'' wrote, "The single is a high-energy funk song with some reverent similarities to Prince's '

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

' ... With this bouncy single, Monáe taps into her unique soul-pop sound to deliver a song reminiscent of past tracks such as ' Q.U.E.E.N.' and ' Dance Apocalyptic'." In 2019, '' Billboard'' included the song in its list of the "30 Lesbian Love Songs".

Music video

The single's official music video was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...

on February 22, 2018, the day of the single's release. Directed by frequent music video collaborator Alan Ferguson, the music video features Monáe and actress

Tessa Thompson Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College. She appeared in productions of '' The Tempest ...

in a nightclub. Referred to by Monáe as an "emotion picture", the video heavily resembles the nightclub and plot shown in the ''

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fiction ...

'' episode, "

San Junipero "San Junipero" is the fourth episode in the third series of the British science fiction anthology television series ''Black Mirror''. Written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and directed by Owen Harris, it premiered on Netflix o ...

". Throughout the video, Monáe is seen flirting with both Thompson and a man; at one point she runs between the two as if she cannot decide which one she wants. Ultimately, she dances with both. Also throughout the video, the colors of the

bisexual pride flag The bisexual flag is a pride flag representing bisexuality, bisexual individuals and the bisexual community. The magenta stripe represents attraction to the same sex, while the blue stripe represents attraction to the opposite sex. The purpl ...

are displayed in the overhead lighting, so-called "

bisexual lighting Bisexual lighting is the simultaneous use of pink, purple, and blue lighting to represent bisexual characters. It has been used in studio lighting for film and television, as has been observed in the cinematography of various films. Whether the t ...

". The music video, as well as the song, was praised as a " bisexual anthem." Writing for '' Billboard'', Natalie Maher states the video, "takes a more Prince-inspired approach, both musically and aesthetically, with the actress hitting an '80s-esque club with actress Tessa Thompson, and serving some of the best moves and looks we've seen from her. The video also features what seems to be an allusion to Robert Palmer's iconic '80s videos, with Monae playing a similarly white guitar, backed by her own group of funky female dancers." The video received two nominations at the 35th MTV Video Music Awards in the categories "Best Art Direction" and "Best Editing".

Live performances

Monáe has performed the song live on ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...

'', ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to ...

'',

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and ...

, and 2019 Lollapalooza.

Use in media

The song is the theme song for '' Big Mouth'' spin-off ''

Human Resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

''. A cover of the song was also used in a TV advertisement for the international fashion brand

Calzedonia Calzedonia () is an Italian fashion group founded in Verona by Sandro Veronesi in 1986, with over 5,000 shops worldwide as of 2021. Besides the Calzedonia brand, the group also owns the Intimissimi, Tezenis, Falconeri, Atelier Emé, Progetto Q ...

. The song was used as the finale lip-sync for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 5)

Track listings

* Kaskade Remixes single # "Make Me Feel" (

Kaskade Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-first on its 20 ...

Sunsoa Remix) # "Make Me Feel" (Kaskade REDUX Remix) * EDX Dubai Skyline Remix single # "Make Me Feel" ( EDX Dubai Skyline Remix) *

KC Lights KC Lights (real name Kerr Slaven) is a Scottish DJ, record producer and songwriter. History Slaven grew up on the Isle of Bute and attended secondary school in Rothesay. According to Slaven, he initially listened to a mixture of jazz and indie r ...

Remix single # "Make Me Feel" (KC Lights Remix) # "Make Me Feel" (KC Lights Dub)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Make Me Feel (Janelle Monáe song) 2018 singles 2018 songs Janelle Monáe songs Songs written by Janelle Monáe Bisexuality-related songs Funk songs Song recordings produced by Mattman & Robin Songs written by Julia Michaels Songs written by Justin Tranter Songs written by Mattias Larsson Songs written by Robin Fredriksson Music videos directed by Alan Ferguson (director)