"Take Control" is a song by the American singer
Amerie
Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...
from her third studio album, ''
Because I Love It
''Because I Love It'' is the third studio album by American singer Amerie. It was released on May 11, 2007, by Columbia Records. In the United States, the album was released exclusively through retailers such as Walmart and FYE, before its phys ...
'' (2007). It was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2006. The song was written by
Cee-Lo Green
Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...
,
Mike Caren
Michael Caren is an American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, A&R representative, and music executive. He is the current CEO (and founder) of Artist Partner Group and Creative Officer at Warner Music Group. He is also the founder o ...
and Amerie, and was produced by Caren, with additional production by Cee-Lo, Amerie and Len Nicholson. "Take Control" contains excerpts from the 1970 song "Jimmy, Renda-se" by the Brazilian musician
Tom Zé
Antônio José Santana Martins (born 11 October 1936), known professionally as Tom Zé (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who was influential in the Tropicália movement of 1960s Brazil. After the peak of t ...
, and elements of the 1980 song "
You Make My Dreams
"You Make My Dreams" is a song by the American duo Hall & Oates, taken from their ninth studio album, '' Voices'' (1980). The song reached number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1981. The track received 154,000 digital sales between ...
" by
Hall & Oates
Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
.
Recording
After Cee-Lo wrote the song, he approached Amerie to record it.
Amerie felt the song was not up-tempo enough to suit her, so she wrote a
hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
, a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, and added a
horn section
A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...
to add to the song her "signature" and "a different flavour", making it a "dance record".
Tori Alamaze
Tori Alamaze (born July 7, 1977) is an American singer best known as a backing vocalist for the hip hop duo OutKast.
Hailing from Detroit, Alamaze worked as a make-up artist for about 10 years, including work for musicians Faith Evans, Eryka ...
, the reference singer on the song, said that it was originally offered to her, but Amerie denied this, saying she thought it "really
wack
WACK (1420 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a full service format and licensed to Newark, New York, United States. The station is owned by Waynco Radio, Inc., and features programming from CNN Radio and Westwood One.
WACK is the station wh ...
on
lamaze'spart" to make such a claim.
Release and reception
Many critics gave "Take Control" positive reviews. ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' placed "Take Control" at number 92 on its list of The 100 Best Songs of the Year. Ryan Dombal of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' wrote, "'Take Control' may be an ode to submission, but it hardly holds back." Tom Breihan of ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' named "Take Control" the fifth best single release of the fourth quarter of 2006, commenting on "how great Amerie's joyous chirp sounds over sharp, percussive old-school
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
tracks. Here, Cee-Lo laces her with
spy-movie guitars and
horn-stab In music, a stab is a single staccato note or chord that adds dramatic punctuation to a composition. Stabs are usually provided by horns (real or synthesized), thus the term horn stab, or an orchestral sample and usually occur on a 1-beat. Stabs ...
s and a drum track that keeps building and building, adding on
conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
s and handclaps and
tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
s without ever disturbing the tense little groove at the song's center
..and Amerie finally finds room for a bit of grit in her voice." ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s Alex Macpherson wrote that the track "twitches and jerks along a nagging
Tom Zé
Antônio José Santana Martins (born 11 October 1936), known professionally as Tom Zé (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who was influential in the Tropicália movement of 1960s Brazil. After the peak of t ...
sample, but it's a song with such a sparse arrangement that interest has to be sustained entirely by the voice, which Amerie does spectacularly, making it absolutely clear who is really cracking the whip".
According to Amerie, "Some Like It" was originally chosen as the first single from ''Because I Love It''. Following the release of similar-sounding singles by
Kelis
Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...
("
Bossy"),
Fergie ("
London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
") and
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
("
SexyBack
"SexyBack" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It was released on July 18, 2006, to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stationsRadio single releases . FMQ ...
"), and because Amerie thought "Take Control" was "kind of different", the decision was made to release it as the lead single instead.
The single entered the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart dated December 16, 2006, at number 72 and peaked two weeks later at number 66,
while failing to chart on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. After the single's underperformance, the US release of ''Because I Love It'' was pushed back repeatedly. Elsewhere, "Take Control" peaked at number 10 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 ...
, becoming Amerie's second highest-charting single in the United Kingdom after "
1 Thing
"1 Thing" is a song by American singer Amerie from her second studio album, ''Touch'' (2005). Written by Amerie and Rich Harrison and produced by the latter, the song is influenced by go-go rhythms and features a prominent sample of the Meters ...
",
and also reached number nine in Finland,
number 19 in Norway
and number 23 in Ireland.
Music video
The music video was shot in late October 2006 and was premiered on the Internet on December 3. It was released to television in the United States on January 15, 2007, and was selected as
MTV Jams
BET Jams is an American pay television network controlled by BET Networks and owned by Paramount Media Networks. The channel features hip-hop and urban contemporary music videos. The network, formerly known as MTV Jams, was rebranded under the ...
's "
Jam of the Week". Directed by Scott Franklin, it takes inspiration from
Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...
's 1966 film ''
Blowup
''Blowup'' (sometimes styled as ''Blow-up'' or ''Blow Up'') is a 1966 mystery drama thriller film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and produced by Carlo Ponti. It was Antonioni's first entirely English-language film, and stars David Hemming ...
'', with some of the key scenes recreated in a contemporary setting. Unlike the film, however, flashing captions onscreen make the assassination involved more obvious. Amerie and some acolytes are shown removing the photographer's blowups from his apartment, which is implied but not shown in the film. The video has a short introduction that involves Amerie singing another song from ''Because I Love It'', "That's What U R".
Helin Jung of ''Entertainment Weekly'' called the video "nonsense, just the way I like my music videos to be" and "the stuff that music video dreams are made of
.. tpretends to make sense by taking on something more complex than Amerie shimmying around in hot pants and heels, but don't let it fool you. The hair tossing and strut-strutting is the same here as it is in '
1 Thing
"1 Thing" is a song by American singer Amerie from her second studio album, ''Touch'' (2005). Written by Amerie and Rich Harrison and produced by the latter, the song is influenced by go-go rhythms and features a prominent sample of the Meters ...
', just on location this time—in a car, a park, a house with a sexy man sleeping under rumpled sheet, etc. Love it!"
Track listings
*UK CD 1 and two-track digital single
*German CD single and digital download
#"Take Control" (Main Version) – 3:44
#"Take Control" (Karmatronic Remix) – 3:26
*UK CD 2
#"Take Control" (Album Version) – 3:44
#"Take Control" (
Tracy's Taking Control Mix – Radio Edit) – 3:26
#"That's What U R" (Album Version) – 3:38
#"Take Control" (video)
*German CD maxi single
#"Take Control" (Album Version) – 3:44
#"Take Control" (Karmatronic Mix) – 3:26
#"That's What U R" (Album Version) – 3:38
#"Take Control" (video)
*French CD single and digital download
#"Take Control" (Main Version) – 3:44
#"Take Control" (Karmatronic Remix) – 3:26
#"Crunk Didi (Losing U)" (featuring
Willy Denzey
William Thongrasamy (born 19 August 1982), known under the pseudonym Willy Denzey, is a Contemporary R&B and soul French-born singer of Laotian origin.
Biography
Denzey was born in Melun, France, and spent his childhood in Le Mée-sur-Seine. A ...
and Six Coups MC) – 3:38
*US 12-inch single
:A1. "Take Control" (Main) – 3:44
:A2. "Take Control" (Instrumental) – 3:41
:A3. "Take Control" (A Cappella) – 3:35
:B1. "That's What U R" (Main) – 3:38
*UK 12-inch single
:A1. "Take Control" (Album Version) – 3:44
:A2. "Take Control" (Instrumental) – 3:41
:B1. "Take Control" (Tracy's Taking Control Mix) – 3:26
:B2. "Take Control" (Karmatronic Mix) – 3:26
Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Because I Love It''.
Recording
* Recorded at Wonderland Studios (New Jersey)
* Mixed at
Larrabee North Studios (Los Angeles, California)
* Mastered at Powers Studio (Florida)
Personnel
*
Amerie
Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...
– vocals, additional production, vocal production, arrangement
*
Mike Caren
Michael Caren is an American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, A&R representative, and music executive. He is the current CEO (and founder) of Artist Partner Group and Creative Officer at Warner Music Group. He is also the founder o ...
– production
*
Cee-Lo Green
Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...
– additional production, vocal production, arrangement
* Len Nicholson – additional production
* Cornell "Nell" Brown – recording
*
Manny Marroquin
Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work.
Life and career
M ...
– mixing
* Jared Robbins – mixing assistance
* Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2006 singles
2006 songs
Amerie songs
Columbia Records singles
Songs written by Amerie
Songs written by CeeLo Green
Songs written by Daryl Hall
Songs written by John Oates
Songs written by Mike Caren