"Start Without You" is a song by British recording artist

Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the British television series ''The X Factor'' in 2008, and has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and Syc ...

. Featuring vocals from

Jamaican American Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaicans, Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jam ...

reggae rapper

Laza Morgan Laza Morgan (born December 13, 1978 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is a Jamaican American reggae singer and rapper. Son of the reggae musician and artist Denroy Morgan, he started as a member of the Jamaican dancehall / hip hop trio formation LMS, a ...

, it was written by Kristian Lundin, Ronan Dunne,

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, Afr ...

Savan Kotecha Savan Harish Kotecha is an American songwriter and record producer from Austin, Texas. Kotecha is of Indian (Gujarati) descent. He was also the executive music producer of the 2020 film '' Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'', for ...

, Julian Bunetta, and

RedOne Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...

. The song is an R&B song, which incorporates

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

. According to Burke the song was inspired by her

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n heritage and her need for a summer song. The song came about after studio sessions booked with RedOne produced a number of new records that were going to be used for a re-release of ''Overcome'' or Burke's second album. The unfinished version leaked online several days before the song was confirmed to before being revealed in its finished form as Burke's new single. It was officially first released for digital download on 3 September 2010, serving as the first single from the re-release of her debut album, '' Overcome''. "Start Without You" received favourable reviews from critics complimenting its summer and dance feel. The song debuted at the top of the singles chart in the United Kingdom, as well as peaking in the top five in Ireland. Its accompanying music video, directed by Max and Dania, features Burke dancing in a lace outfit working out with men in a gym and dancing. Burke performed the song notably a number of times including on '' Magic Numbers''.

Background

In a May 2010 interview with

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, ...

, Burke revealed she recorded new songs with

for either her second album or a re-release of her first studio album, '' Overcome''. However she stated she could not reveal anything until that upcoming August. Then the singer gave an interview where she acknowledged that earlier in the year twenty-four of her songs leaked as part of the forty that leaked from

Syco Music Syco Music is a defunct division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music relea ...

, which included material from previous ''

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 ...

'' winner,

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved nationa ...

. It was also revealed that an additional song, "Start Without You" leaked on 8 June 2010, a day before she would confirm that the song was, in fact, the first single from the upcoming re-release of ''Overcome'' on her official blog. Burke said that the leak had come from within the label and that the suspects were "two little boys in Germany, on work experience." However, Burke did not lament the leak, stating, "It's a shame when music gets put out there when it's not ready, but at the end of the day, it creates buzz and who doesn't love a bit of buzz?"

Writing and composition

"Start Without You" is an uptempo R&B song which draws from

and

influences, with a length of three minutes and thirty-three seconds, penned by RedOne,

Bilal Hajji Bilal Hajji, sometimes also known as The Chef (at times Bilal "The Chef" or Bilal "The Chef" Hajji) is a Moroccan-Swedish songwriter and record producer. Based in Sweden, of Moroccan origin, he has worked with many worldwide artists and celebriti ...

, Savan Kotecha, and Julian Bunetta. It is infused with

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

melodies in the chorus. Many critics have noted the song's resemblance to a nursery rhyme, that is ''

Polly Wolly Doodle "Polly Wolly Doodle" is a traditional American children's song. It was sung by Dan Emmett's Virginia Minstrels, who premiered at New York's Bowery Amphitheatre in February 1843, and is often credited to Emmett (1815–1904). It was known to have ...

'', but the mood reminds of

Boney M Boney M. was a German- Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group' ...

's ''

Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" is a 1979 single by German Euro disco band Boney M. as an adaptation of nursery rhyme '' Polly Wolly Doodle''. Despite breaking their row of 7 consecutive German #1 singles, peaking at #4, the single was a ...

''.

Critical reception

While he stated the song wasn't "full throttle" as her past singles, Nick Levine of

said the song was danceable, commenting it "manages to be chunky and zesty at the same time." He further complimented its dancefloor appeal, saying, "it's enough to have K.Ro fearing for her '

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

' title," while preferring the subsequent release of uptempo songs, stating, "At this rate, Burkey's big mobiles-in-the-air moment will just have to wait." Giving the song a perfect five out of five stars review, a

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 ...

writer called the song "jaunty." Fraser McAlpine of BBC Chart Blog said called the song "deliriously happy, to the point of being simple-minded, and conjures up instant images of warmth and sunshiney freedom in everyone that hears it." McAlpine also pointed out her label's wise decision to release it right at the ending of summer, with fans pining for more of the vacation season and waiting until Christmas. ''FemaleFirst'' said "the track is set to cause a long-lasting heat wave when it hits radio in July" and "will also be blazing club floors across the country once again." The review went on to say that the single "has cemented her place as the UK’s prime female recording artist."

Chart performance

"Start Without You" entered 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 ...

at number five on 10 September 2010, marking Burke's fifth consecutive Top five hit in Ireland. In the UK, "Start Without You" debuted at number one 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 ...

on 12 September 2010, knocking fellow ''X Factor'' contestant

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom, ...

from the top spot with his debut "

Please Don't Let Me Go "Please Don't Let Me Go" is a song by British singer Olly Murs. Written by Murs, Claude Kelly and Steve Robson, the song served as the lead single from the ''X Factor'' runner-up's eponymous debut album and it was his debut single. The song wa ...

". The single became the singer's fifth number one single, and her third solo number one hit. According to

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

, in the second week at the top of the charts, the single sold 53,123 copies, the lowest single-week sales for a number-one single in the last fifteen weeks.

Music video

Booked for shooting in June 2010, "Start Without You"'s accompanying music video was shot in August 2010, and directed by Max and Dania. The music video of consists of three scenes, in which Burke wearing a black leotard accompanied by male dancers. Another shows Burke and semi-naked male gymnasts exercising, whilst another shows Burke donning the lace outfit singing and dancing in front of a glitter wall, while Laza Morgan does also. The video begins with Burke singing the opening line of the song and performing various dance moves. This scene is intercut by Laza Morgan who begins to perform his lines and introducing himself and Burke. The next scene shows Burke and the male gymnasts exercising/dancing in a gym then beginning a dance routine. Subsequently, in the chorus is Burke and her male dancers performing the main dance routine which is occasionally interrupted to show shots of Burke in the gym and singing in front of the glitter wall.

said that the video "somehow manages to go beyond traditional ideas of good and bad and exists instead on a different plane where concepts of positive and negative no longer exist." Preferring " Bad Boys" to the clip, saying that the demin and motorbike were gone, Ryan Love of

said the video must have had a tighter budget, and that the half-naked men doing gymnastics brought a whole new meaning to the word "camptastic."

Live performances and promotion

Burke has performed the song notably many times, including at outdoor venues at ''

T4 on the Beach T4 on the Beach was an annual British one-day music event which was held on the beach at Weston-super-Mare and televised on Channel 4. The event began in 2003 as Pop Beach in Great Yarmouth, changing to the current title and venue in 2005. The d ...

'',

95.8 Capital FM Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...

's Summertime Ball, and the Midlands Music Festival, which all took place during the summer of 2010. She appeared and performed the song on televised appearances during ''Alan Carr: Chatty Man'', on 15 August 2010, and on '' Magic Numbers''. Burke also appeared at the ''Help for Heroes'' concert in the UK and performed the song. On 19 November 2010, Burke appeared and performed the song as part of the line up for Children In Need 2010.

Track listing

Credits

*Songwriters - Julian Bunetta,

Kristian Lundin Kristian Lundin (born 7 May 1973) is a Swedish composer, music producer and songwriter. Biography Kristian's worked on the song " Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" which he co-produced with Max Martin for the Backstreet Boys. He co-wrote & pro ...

, Nadir "RedOne" Khayat,

*Producer, programming, instruments, vocal editing, recording, engineer - RedOne *

Audio mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, ...

- Phil Tan *Vocal editing, recording, engineer - Trevor Muzzy

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2010 singles Alexandra Burke songs Dance-pop songs Rhythm and blues songs Reggae songs Songs written by Savan Kotecha Songs written by RedOne Song recordings produced by RedOne Number-one singles in Scotland UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Kristian Lundin Songs written by Julian Bunetta 2009 songs Syco Music singles