"Takin' Back My Love" is a song by Spanish singer and songwriter

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

featuring American singer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

. It is the second single from his English greatest hits album ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

''. The song was produced by

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 ...

who was a co-writer of the song alongside Iglesias and Frankie Storm. The original version of the song features R&B singer Ciara and was released internationally. A second version which features pop singer Sarah Connor in place of Ciara was released in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and other parts of central Europe. In France, the song was re-recorded with the French R&B singer Tyssem singing her portion of the song in French and re-titled "Takin' Back My Love (Sans l'ombre d'un remord)".

Release and promotion

Iglesias first performed the song in on the French TV show ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

'' as a duet with one of the contestants, Gaultier. The performance was enthusiastically received by the show's audience and the judges who gave the pair a standing ovation. This performance propelled the Ciara version of the song debut at #3 in France. Iglesias and Ciara both performed the single for the first time at the 2009

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Half-time Show in

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. Due to studio commitments Ciara had to pull out of promotion for the single and Australian singer

Gabriella Cilmi Gabriella Lucia Cilmi ( ; ; born 10 October 1991) is an Australian pop singer. A contralto, Cilmi is known for her distinctive raspy singing voice. Her debut album, ''Lessons to Be Learned'', was released in March 2008, becoming a moderate int ...

was asked to lend her vocals to most of the European promo. So far they have performed the song on the Dutch TV show ''Life & Cooking'', ''

The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, an ...

'', ''

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'' and ''

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 ...

'' in the United Kingdom as well as the

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in Ireland. Iglesias has performed the song with Sarah Connor on the German show "Nur die Liebe zählt". Ciara performed the single alone in London, as a part of her set during the European leg of

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

' worldwide tour ''

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''. Iglesias and Ciara both performed the single for the second time together in London, at the 2009 Capital FM Summertime Ball.

Critical reception

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'' said that "Takin' Back My Love" finds Iglesias acting out a break-up with 'Goodies' singer Ciara. 'Go ahead just leave, can't hold you, you're free', he wails with typical passion. Not too keen on her impending single status, Ciara replies: 'What did I do but give love to you? I'm just confused as I stand here and look at you.' With its Europoppy beat and suitably dramatic chorus, this manages to pack an emotional punch while also remaining appealingly cheesy". ''

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 ...

'' gave the song a positive review: "Thanks to a global fan base, Enrique Iglesias' dance duet "Takin' Back My Love" is already a hit on the European Hot 100 and a top 10 in Germany and France. RedOne, best known for his framework on Kat DeLuna's 'Whine Up' and Lady GaGa's two recent No. 1s, lends his party song production talents. Pop star Sarah Connor recorded a version with Iglesias, which has been popular in Europe, but Ciara is better paired with the Latin pop star, with their soft and sensual vocal styles. The synth sounds pinball off one another as Iglesias belts through the choruses and Ciara's panting rounds out the single, which is also riding the Hot Dance Club Play chart".

Music video

The video was shot in Los Angeles on 13 January 2009 and directed by the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

director

Ray Kay Reinert K. Olsen (born 10 July 1978), known professionally as Ray Kay, is a Norwegian director and photographer who is currently based in Los Angeles. He is a music video and advertising director. Ray Kay mostly directs music videos and has wo ...

, who helmed

Christina Milian Christine Marie Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known as Christina Milian (), is an American actress and singer. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Murder Inc. Records at the age of 19. ...

's " Us Against the World" clip, amongst many other videos for R&B music artists. The video was released in February 2009. The entire music video is shot under blue-screen to give off a radiant but monotone color set. The music video opens up viewing portraits of Iglesias and Ciara, then an ironic switch showing the two arguing and pushing back and forth outside of the house. The two part ways, and the song begins with Iglesias's first verse. He sings as the video randomly shoots back to a scene where Ciara is up against a wall. The chorus enters as Iglesias is shown throwing things off a counter and out of drawers. The next verse enters Ciara walking in the room apparently angry at Iglesias. As she sings her verse, she proceeds to pick up a jacket that reads "From C, with Love" and heads to the pool and throws the jacket in the water. What ensues shortly after is a back and forth argument involving the two destroying the house, from Iglesias throwing dishes and glasses out of the refrigerator, to Ciara burning songbooks and pouring paint on top of his car. Then, the two briefly meet in the dining room of the house, where they obviously still have feelings for one another. They then kiss and perform sexual dance-like moves against each other. Then, as Ciara comes back to reality and snatches his hand from her, the two immediately go right back to arguing and destroying what is left of the house. As the video closes, the two are seen in a destroyed dining room with lights flickering on and off, approaching each other once again. Iglesias then grabs Ciara, and the video ends with the two kissing and smiling. A music video for the version featuring Sarah Connor was released in March 2009, it is intercut with scenes from the music video that was made for the version featuring Ciara. The Connor version shows the same story (including Ciara) but instead of the scenes where Ciara sings in front of a wall, Connor is shown singing and dancing in a room that seems to be in the same house that Iglesias and Ciara are destroying. The video also randomly shoots to a scene where Iglesias confesses his actions to Connor, implying that Connor sings the emotions and thoughts of Ciara. Pictures of Ciara can be seen in the video with Connor. The Ciara version music video has been viewed over 236 million times on YouTube.

Formats and track listings

;UK digital single (Released: 23 March 2009) #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Ciara) - 3:51 #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Ciara) (Moto Blanco Radio Mix) - 3:51 #"Takin' Back My Love" (Video) - 3:57 ;France CD single (Released: 9 March 2009) #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Tyssem) (Sans L'Ombre D'Un Remord) - 3:51 #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Ciara) (Main Version) - 3:51 #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Ciara) (Junior Caldera Club Remix) - 5:20 #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Ciara) (Glam As You Club Mix) - 7:59 ;German CD single (Released: 23 March 2009) #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Sarah Connor) (Radio Mix) – 3:50 #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Sarah Connor) (Alternate Mix) – 3:50 #"Takin' Back My Love" (feat. Sarah Connor) (Video) - 3:57

Chart performance

"Takin' Back My Love" became an international hit debuting at #3 on

French Singles Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

on 17 January 2009, with 3,137 copies sold, being ex aequo with the number two.Antoine Masson
"Disques : la comédie musicale Mozart déjà numéro un"
(21 January 2009). Ozap.com. Retrieved 25 January 2009 The single debuted at #14 on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

chart after its first week of release where it peaked for two weeks and then jumped 10 spots to #4. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at #88. It peaked at #12. In Ireland, the song managed a peak of #7. The single went gold in Russia with 100,000 copies sold.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Sarah Connor 2009 singles Ciara songs Sarah Connor (singer) songs Enrique Iglesias songs Song recordings produced by RedOne Male–female vocal duets Music videos directed by Ray Kay Number-one singles in Romania Songs written by Enrique Iglesias Songs written by RedOne 2008 songs Electropop ballads Interscope Records singles 2000s ballads