"Not Gonna Get Us" is a song recorded by Russian music duo
t.A.T.u.
t.A.T.u. (russian: Тату, ) were a Russian music duo that consisted of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The singers were part of children's music group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with R ...
for their first English-language
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''
200 km/h in the Wrong Lane
''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'', also titled ''t.A.T.u.'' in Japan, is the second, and first English-language, studio album by Russian music duo t.A.T.u., released on 10 December 2002, by Interscope Records. It is the duo's first studio album ...
'' (2002).
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
released the song on 21 April 2003 as the second
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 ...
from the album. It was originally released as "Nas Ne Dogonyat" ( rus, Нас не догонят, p=nas nʲe dɐˈɡonʲət;
translation
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
: "
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
Won't Catch Us") on their debut album ''
200 По Встречной'' (2001). The song was written by
Sergio Galoyan
Sergey Galoyan (russian: Сергей Галоян, born 25 December 1981) is an ASCAP/ PRS Award–winning songwriter/producer and DJ, born in Moscow. He is more commonly known as Sergio Galoyan and is of Armenian descent.
One of the creators ...
,
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...
,
Elena Kiper
Nichya (Ничья in Russian Cyrillic; translates as "No one's"), is a singing, songwriting and producing duet consisting of Elena Kiper and Oleg Borschevsky. The group has released four singles, and one album to date, and has gained much popul ...
and
Valery Polienko, while production was handled by Horn. Musically, the song is a
Eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
-inspired song, and lyrically it talks about the group running away from people as they don't understand their love towards one another. The song was included on the duo's compilation album ''
The Best
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
'' (2006).
"Not Gonna Get Us" received mixed to positive reviews from
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
s. It was a commercial success worldwide, peaking inside the top-ten in countries including Finland, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The single also peaked at number one on the US
''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart, becoming the duo's only number-one single on the US component charts.
An 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 ...
was filmed for the single directed by
Ivan Shapovalov
Ivan Nikolayevich Shapovalov (Cyrillic: Иван Николаевич Шаповалов, born 28 May 1966) is a musical producer based in Moscow, Russia. He is best known for being the founder and former executive producer/manager for t.A.T.u.
...
, who also features in a cameo appearance. The song has been performed on all of the duo's concert tours and was also performed at the 2003
MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editi ...
. In 2009, t.A.T.u. played a special concert featuring the song at the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
with a Russian Army Choir, the
Alexandrov Ensemble
The Alexandrov Ensemble ( rus, Ансамбль Александрова, r=Ansambl' Aleksandrova; commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West) is an official army choir of the Russian armed forces. Founded during the Soviet era, the e ...
. In February 2014, during
the opening ceremony of the
Olympic Games in Sochi, t.A.T.u performed "Нас не догонят". Additionally, the song was sung later in the ceremony when Russia's competitors entered the stadium.
The words "нас не догонят" made their way into 2006 Russian ''Dictionary of Modern Quotes'' (''Slovar sovremennykh tsitat'').
Background and composition
The song was written by Elena Kiper, Ivan Shapovalov, Valeriy Polienko and Sergio Galoyan, while production was handled by Trevor Horn. The song was added to their
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 ...
channel five years after its release on 6 February 2008.
"Not Gonna Get Us" is a
eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
-inspired song.
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[Enhanced">rgentina_Bonus_Track">200_km/h_in_the_Wrong_Lane_[Argentina_Bonus_Track
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[Enhancedwww.allmusic.com. The song incorporates influences from pop music">pop, dance-pop,
eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
and
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
. Lyrically, it talks about teenage lovers, which was usually exampled by Volkova and Katina, as people did not understand their love towards each other, so they run away from people to start fresh.
Critical reception
"Not Gonna Get Us" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
highlighted the track on the album saying it was an "exhausting offering hit" but continued saying; "Well, it's easy not to be into it when Julia and Lena appear to have been run through a marketing processor so they could become two Sapphic tarts who sing songs with suggestive titles like "Not Gonna Get Us", "
Show Me Love" and "
All the Things She Said
"All the Things She Said" is a song recorded by Russian music duo t.A.T.u. for their second, and first English-language, studio album ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' (2002), and released as the lead single from the album in Europe on 9 September ...
" (it's likely a coincidence that the latter two share titles with songs by
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...
and
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...
, respectively, but perhaps not)
.."
''Popdirt'' commented that the "high-pitched helium voices" on the song work at "complementing the sensitivity they feel for each other and the reckless abandonment of the outside world perfectly". Furthermore,
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
listed this as the 33rd best single of 2003.
The song was nominated "Best Russian Act" on the 2003
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...
.
Chart performance
"Not Gonna Get Us" was first released in Europe in 2003. In the United Kingdom, it debuted and peaked at number seven. It remained in the charts for eight weeks, selling over 43,000 copies. The song also peaked at number ten on the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
. In Sweden, it debuted at number ten, peaked at number nine and stayed in the charts for nine weeks. In Finland, it debuted at number three and stayed in the charts for five weeks. In Italy, it debuted at number four and stayed in the charts for a total of seven weeks. In Austria, it debuted at number 22. After two weeks, it rose and peaked at number five for two non-consecutive weeks. It stayed in the charts for sixteen weeks in total. In Switzerland, the song debuted at number 37. The next week, it rose and peaked at 18, and stayed in the charts for 18 weeks in total. The song peaked at numbers twelve and ten in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia). The song reached number ten in the Europe Official Top 100.
In Oceania, it received more moderate success. The song debuted and peaked at number 11 on the
Australian Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, remaining in the charts for 11 weeks. It was certified gold by
ARIA
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
for selling over 35,000 copies. The song spent only a sole week in the
New Zealand Singles Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...
, where it peaked at number 25, becoming the group's poorest performing single in the country. It was the group's last single to chart in New Zealand.
The song was eventually released in North America, charting in Canada and the United States. The single version peaked at number 31 on the US
Hot Dance Club Songs
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart.
Dave Audé
Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American Disc jockey, DJ, Record producer, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club S ...
then released a remix of the single in the United States, which peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs Chart, where it became the group's first and only number one in North America. Not Gonna Get Us also managed to peak at 35 on the US
Top 40 Mainstream
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...
Charts.
Music video
The video starts off with Julia and Lena's mugshots being placed on screen, with the truck's engine starting up and steam surrounding the two girls and the vehicle. They then are outside in a snowy environment, where they steal a large truck and ride off through an airfield, breaking through a fence while singing. The two girls later find themselves in snow-covered
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. They run over a construction worker in the middle of the road, who is played by
Ivan Shapovalov
Ivan Nikolayevich Shapovalov (Cyrillic: Иван Николаевич Шаповалов, born 28 May 1966) is a musical producer based in Moscow, Russia. He is best known for being the founder and former executive producer/manager for t.A.T.u.
...
. After breaking through another fence, some family photos of both the girls as young children are shown during the video. Towards the end, Yulia and Lena climb to the roof of the truck and stand on top, hugging and smiling as they continue to sing the song, until they crack the lens of the camera as they leave.
The video was directed by their former producer Ivan Shapovalov. The music video is a re-edited version of the original video "Nas Ne Dogonyat", altered to remove the lip synching (usually by adding a broken glass shot over the shots of them singing).
Media appearances
In the 2009 film, ''
Thick as Thieves'' the song is played twice. First in a club in Russian, on the first encounter of the characters played by
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...
and
Radha Mitchell
Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell is an Australian actress. She started her career with various appearances on Australian television, including a regular role as Catherine O'Brien in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' (1996–97).
Mitchell la ...
and at the end of the film in English when they meet again in the same club.
It also appears in ''
Lilya 4-ever
''Lilya 4-ever'' ( sv, Lilja 4-ever) is a 2002 crime drama film written and directed by Lukas Moodysson, which was released in Sweden on 23 August 2002. It depicts the downward spiral of Lilja Michailova, played by Oksana Akinshina, a girl in ...
'' and ''Chechenia Warrior 3''.
A Russian/English remix of this song used during Russian team's entrance at Sochi
2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
.
Track listings
European CD single
# "Not Gonna Get Us"
(radio version) – 3:38
# "Not Gonna Get Us"
(Dave Audé
Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American Disc jockey, DJ, Record producer, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club S ...
's Extension 119 Vocal Edit) – 3:54
European maxi-single
# "Not Gonna Get Us"
(radio version) – 3:38
# "Not Gonna Get Us"
(Dave Audé's Extension 119 Vocal Edit) – 3:54
# "
All the Things She Said
"All the Things She Said" is a song recorded by Russian music duo t.A.T.u. for their second, and first English-language, studio album ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' (2002), and released as the lead single from the album in Europe on 9 September ...
"
(DJ Monk After School Special) – 6:04
# "All the Things She Said"
(Blackpulke Remix) – 4:13
# "Not Gonna Get Us"
(video) – 4:13
French CD single – "Not Gonna Get Us (Part 2)"
# "Not Gonna Get Us
(original version extended mix by Guéna LG & RLS) – 6:20
# "Not Gonna Get Us
(Generates-A-Yippee Mix by Guéna LG & RLS) – 6:56
# "Not Gonna Get Us
(Hardrum Mix Re-Edit by Guéna LG & RLS) – 5:39
# "Not Gonna Get Us
(Larry Tee
Larry Tee (born October 12, 1959) is a Berlin-based DJ, club promoter, and music producer who curated the electroclash scene in New York in the early 2000s, and helped launch the careers of such artists as RuPaul, Scissor Sisters, Fischerspooner ...
Electroclash Mix) – 6:17
# "Not Gonna Get Us
(Richard Morel
Richard Morel is an American singer-songwriter, DJ, remixer and record producer from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. He has worked extensively with Washington D.C.-based duo Deep Dish, co-writing, co-producing, performing and singing on m ...
's Pink Noise Vocal Mix) – 8:09
UK enhanced CD single
# "Not Gonna Get Us"
(radio version) – 3:36
# "
Ne Ver, Ne Boisia"
( Eurovision 2003) – 3:03
# "All the Things She Said"
(Running & Spinning Mix by Guéna LG & RLS) – 6:12
# Not Gonna Get Us
(CD-ROM video)
US 12-inch single
:A1. "Not Gonna Get Us"
(E-Smoove Eric Miller (born in Chicago, Illinois) is an American house music DJ, record producer and remixer. As E-Smoove, he worked for a number of years with Steve "Silk" Hurley and Maurice Joshua, before he hit the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in ...
Banga Mix) – 8:02
:A2. "Not Gonna Get Us"
(album version) – 4:22
:B1. "Not Gonna Get Us"
( Thick Dick Vocal) – 7:17
:B2. "Not Gonna Get Us"
(Thick Dick Banga Dub) – 7:57
US promo CD single
# "Not Gonna Get Us"
(radio edit 01) – 3:33
# "Not Gonna Get Us"
(radio edit 02) – 3:18
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Cover versions and derivatives
"Not Gonna Get Us" was sampled in the song "
Miss Love Tantei
is the 6th single of W, released on September 7, 2005.
Background and release
"Miss Love Tantei" was composed by Los Angeles producers Joey Carbone and Steven Lee, the first time a songwriting team other than W's main producer, Tsunku, had wri ...
" by
W. The song was used as the closing song in the 2008 film, ''
The Code'', which had Russian characters and clubs as central to the plot.
The song was covered by Japanese singer
Maki Nomiya
is a Japanese singer and musician. She released her first solo album in 1981, and worked through the 1980s as the lead vocalist of the new wave band . In 1991, she became the lead singer of the band Pizzicato Five. When the group disbanded in 20 ...
on her 2005 album ''
Party People''.
In 2014,
Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
covered the song in Moscow while on her
Unrepentant Geraldines Tour.
In 2004, a cover of the song by Eurobeat artist Dave Rodgers was featured on Super Eurobeat Vol.147
See also
*
List of number-one dance singles of 2003 (U.S.)
These are the '' Billboard'' Hot Dance/Disco Club Play and Maxi-Singles Sales number-one hits of 2003.
See also
* List of number-one dance airplay hits of 2003 (U.S.)
*2003 in music
*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of arti ...
*
List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s
Founded in 1995, the Romanian Top 100 was the national music chart of Romania. It was compiled by broadcast monitoring services Body M Production A-V (1990s and 2000s) and by Media Forest (2010s), and measured the airplay of songs on radio statio ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Not Gonna Get Us
2001 songs
2003 singles
English-language Russian songs
Eurodance songs
Interscope Records singles
Number-one singles in Romania
Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn
Songs written by Elena Kiper
Songs written by Ivan Shapovalov
Songs written by Sergio Galoyan
Songs written by Trevor Horn
Songs written by Valery Polienko
T.A.T.u. songs
Universal Music Group singles