"Timebomb" is a song recorded by Australian singer
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
. It was released as a stand-alone single on 25 May 2012 by
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
, and distributed in both physical and digital formats. It was released as part of Minogue's anniversary for her 25th year in the music industry. The track was written by
Karen Poole
Karen Ann Poole (born 8 January 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. Poole has had over 35 Top 20 UK hits as a songwriter.
Biography
Karen was born in Chadwell Heath, London, England, and is the daughter of 1960s vocalist Brian Poole, le ...
,
Matt Schwartz
Matt Schwartz (born 26 October 1971) is an Israeli-British record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, programmer, sound engineer, mixing engineer and DJ.
Biography and life
Born in Israel, Schwartz came to London in the early 90s. Schwar ...
and
Paul Harris, whilst production was handled by the latter two collaborators; another track with the same title was written for Minogue by American singer
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. In 2012 it was included as part of the ''K25: Time Capsule'' singles box set. However the song received its first widespread album debut on the 2019 collection ''
Step Back in Time: The Definitive Collection''.
Musically, "Timebomb" is a
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song. Sonically compared to the work of American singer
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 ...
and British singer
Jay Sean
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached ...
, the lyrical content focuses on having fun and dancing before hypothetically running out of time. Upon its release, "Timebomb" was universally praised from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Majority of them commended the dance sound and production, whilst some critics even selected it as an example of Minogue's best work. Commercially, it performed moderately in most regions such as Australia, United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, Japan, and New Zealand. It managed to reach the top spot on 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 ...
''
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.
An accompanying music video was directed by
Christian Larson in
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
, London; it featured Minogue walking around the streets during day and night, and other scenes of her dancing in a small room. The video was also praised from music critics, who complimented Minogue's sex appeal and the video's visuals. To promote the single, Minogue performed the track during the semi-final of
''The Voice UK''s first season, and appeared on the setlist for Minogue's
Kiss Me Once concert tour.
Background and release
Minogue announced her celebration of 25 years in the music industry by setting up a year-long commemoration titled K25; this featured a variety of events including the release of new music, album releases, product endorsement, amongst others. In early May 2012, Minogue set up a special website where her fans had to use
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and hashtag the word "KylieTimebomb" in order to unlock the track; Minogue's label
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
commented that the hashtag was one of the top ten trending topics worldwide that same month on Twitter. "Timebomb" was then released on 25 May 2012, three days before Minogue's 44th birthday;
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, ...
editor Christian Tobin premiered the track with a 90-second preview.
It was written by
Karen Poole
Karen Ann Poole (born 8 January 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. Poole has had over 35 Top 20 UK hits as a songwriter.
Biography
Karen was born in Chadwell Heath, London, England, and is the daughter of 1960s vocalist Brian Poole, le ...
,
Matt Schwartz
Matt Schwartz (born 26 October 1971) is an Israeli-British record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, programmer, sound engineer, mixing engineer and DJ.
Biography and life
Born in Israel, Schwartz came to London in the early 90s. Schwar ...
and
Paul Harris, whilst production was handled by the latter two collaborators.
Initially after its announcement, it caused an online stir with Minogue's fan base after finding out that another track with the same title was written by American singer
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
, intended for her eighth studio album ''
Fever
Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...
'' (2001); it was later clarified by Minogue that the 2012 track was not written by Jackson. Minogue originally wanted "Timebomb" to appear on her 12th studio album ''
Kiss Me Once
''Kiss Me Once'' is the twelfth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, released on 14 March 2014 by Parlophone. It is her first studio release since 2010's ''Aphrodite'', and marks Minogue's first and only album with Roc Nation, handle ...
'' (2014), but Parlophone scrapped the idea.
"Timebomb" was released as a stand-alone single on 25 May 2012 by Parlophone, and distributed in both physical and digital formats; it later appeared as a
mini CD
Mini CDs, or pocket CDs, are CDs with a smaller diameter and one-third the storage capacity of a standard 120 mm disc.
Formats
Amongst the various formats are the
*Mini CD single, a small disc. The format is mainly used for audio CD si ...
on Minogue's
box set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
compilation ''K25: Time Capsule'' in October 2012. The track was sent to radio stations in New Zealand on 29 May, whilst Minogue's American label
Astralwerks
Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featur ...
released the track in the United States and Canada the following day. On 25 June, due to high demand by Minogue's fan base, Parlophone distributed a
CD single
A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...
that included the original recording, an extended version, and an
enhanced music video; it was limited to 5,000 copies worldwide, with 10 of those copies signed by Minogue herself. On 13 July, Parlophone issued a digital remix EP that consisted five remixes of "Timebomb" and the extended edit.
Parlophone distributed the remixes as a promotional CD single in both the United States and Greece, whilst the label distributed the original CD single to Japan that same day.
Composition
Musically, "Timebomb" is a
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song, as described by Katherine St Asaph at PopDust.
It was recorded at Destined Studios at
West End London, United Kingdom by Matt Schwartz. Schwartz and Harris produced the record while Schwartz served as the track programmer and mixing engineer. Karen Poole, who co-wrote the track, provided backing vocals.
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing, the song is written in the key of G Major and is set in
time signature
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
of common time with a tempo of 128
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
; Minogue's vocals span between G4 and G5.
Lyrically, the song focuses on having fun and dancing before hypothetically running out of time; in further detail, St Asaph exemplified the lyric "Fast, time is ticking oh so fast," and said "how it's really, really necessary to get all your dancing done before impending disaster/apocalypse/time-bomb explosions."
However, Jude Rogers noted that the chorus lyrics "We're on a timebomb, we might not last long, so let's just do it right now," was a reference about sex. St Asaph continued to analyse Minogue's vocals by describing them as "chopped", "quantizied", and "slicked with syrup and backing vocals".
Cameron Adams from ''
Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...
'' described the track as "upbeat pop" that hinted a "dark and dirty electro feel."
Similarly, Cameron Matthews, writing for
AOL Music
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
, felt the composition showcased a "club-bumping beat".
Digital Spy's Robert Copsey labelled the track as "disco-pop", whilst St Asaph described the tempo as "energetic".
Staff members at American music website
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
compared the song's "apocalyptic"-theme to the songs "
Till the World Ends
"Till the World Ends" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, ''Femme Fatale'' (2011). It was written by Kesha, Dr. Luke, Alexander Kronlund, and Max Martin, while the production was handled by Luke, Martin an ...
" by American singer
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 ...
, and "
2012 (It Ain't the End)" by British singer
Jay Sean
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached ...
; the review also said "In any case, it's a nice return to the seductive minimalism that made 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' such disco-ball dynamite.
Similarly, Melina Newman from
HitFix
HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
compared the composition and tempo to the early work of American artist
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, commenting, "The dance tune has an early Madonna flair to it with a catchy, fuzzy synth beat line holding much of it together."
Critical response
"Timebomb" received universal acclaim from most
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Robert Copsey from
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, ...
gave it a positive review, awarding four stars out of five. Copsey enjoyed how the dance composition was similar to Minogue's previous work, describing it as "back to basics", and concluding "In that time she has rarely strayed from the very centre of the dancefloor, so it's hardly surprisingly that 'Timebomb' feels like a gentle jog in the park for her". He also compared the composition to her previous singles "
Come into My World
"Come into My World" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eighth studio album, ''Fever'' (2001). Written and produced by Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis, "Come into My World" is a dance-pop song in which the singer pleads to ...
" and "
Love at First Sight
Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...
" and labelled it as an "instant disco-pop perfection".
Bradley Stern labelled Minogue as "Bad bitch Kylie" on his website MuuMuse, which was an alias that defined periods of Minogue's re-inventions; he labelled it a "ferocious pop smash", called it "very signature Kylie too", and awarded the single four-and-a-half stars out of five. American journalist and personality
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid p ...
labelled "Timebomb" as a "fast-paced, electrified, club track dropped into our laps!".
Writing for ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', Ann Oldenburg enjoyed the track and called it a "dance-ready single". Glenn Gamboa, writing for the magazine ''
Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'', labelled it a "pure fizzy dance pop... and a chorus you
can't get out of your head." In a similar review, Cameron Matthews from
AOL Music
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
said the song "is sure to be an instant hit!".
Cameron Adams wrote for the Australian newspaper ''
Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...
'', and stated that "
ile it is not instant as most Kylie singles, repeated listens implant the 'woooh' hook firmly."
In a separate review at PopCrush, Amy Sciarretto named "Timebomb" one of the best dance songs of 2012 and concluded, "The 'Timebomb' may be ticking, but the remaining minutes of Minogue's career are not."
Similarly, Jenn Selby from ''
Glamour
Glamour may refer to:
Arts
Film
* ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film
* ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film
* ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film
Writing
* ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women
* ''The Glamour ...
'' listed it as one of the best tracks during the week of 25 May; she said "Told you we were feeling camp! Good job Kylie released her new dance pop single, 'Timebomb', this week too." Despite listing
Carly Rae Jepsen
Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
's song "
Call Me Maybe
"Call Me Maybe" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen for her EP ''Curiosity'' (2012) and later appeared on her second studio album and first international album ''Kiss'' (2012). The song was written by Jepsen and T ...
" on
AfterElton.com's "The 10 Best 'Songs of the Summer' of the Past 20 Years", Louis Virtel stated he was not "thrilled" adding it to the list, stating, "I firmly believe the song of the summer—quality-wise, funk-wise, sass-wise—is Kylie Minogue's 'Timebomb,' but ''
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 ...
'' has other ideas." Virtel also wrote as a columnist for the website NewNowNext.com, hosted by
Logo TV
Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...
; he listed the track at number six on Minogue's Best Songs, and stated "'Timebomb' is a note-perfect, three-minute pop bullet; a dance anthem that wriggles into your nervous system and throbs even harder upon every new listen."
Chart performance
Commercially, "Timebomb" was a moderate success worldwide except the United States. It debuted at number 31 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 ...
after two days of release, selling 10,044 units.
It stalled at the same position for another week, but fell to 56 with sales of 6,770 units;
it stayed in the top 100 for non-consecutive chart runs, and spent a total of 7 weeks, making it one of Minogue's lowest charting singles in that region.
It reached number 38 on the
UK Airplay Chart
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and number 33 on the Scottish Singles Chart.
In Australia, the single entered at number 12 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 ...
, but descended the following week to number 49 for its final week; this resulted as one of Minogue's lowest spanning charting singles in that region.
Similarly in New Zealand, it spent a sole week at number 33 on 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 ...
, Minogue's first charting solo single since "
2 Hearts" in 2007 and one of Minogue's lowest charting singles there.
In the Belgium regions of Flanders and Wallonia, it reached number 43 and number 49 on their
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization ...
charts. The track fared better on both of their airplay, dance charts, and Bubbling Under Dance charts, peaking inside the top 40 in all categories in both regions respectively.
The single performed similarly in Austria, France, the Netherlands and Spain, with peak positions inside of their top 50 charts.
It also reached number 56 on the Germany Singles Chart, one of her lowest entries in that region.
On the
Rádio Top 100 charts in Slovakia and Czech Republic, hosted by the IFPI, "Timebomb" peaked at number 40 and number 89 respectively.
"Timebomb" peaked at number 86 on Russia's
Tophit Airplay chart, whilst it peaked at number 45 on the
Mexican Airplay
Mexico Airplay is a weekly record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine since 2011 for singles receiving airplay in Mexico. According to ''Billboard''s electronic database, the first chart was published on January 17, 2009. In 2011, "Give ...
chart hosted by ''Billboard'' magazine.
It also reached number 19 on Hungary's
Rádiós Top 40 chart, and 32 on ''Billboard''s
Japan Hot 100
The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...
chart.
The single was a success in the US Dance charts, debuting at number thirty-one on the
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 ...
; it eventually reached the top spot, becoming her ninth number one single on that chart.
It also reached number 17 on both of ''Billboard''s
Dance/Electronic Digital Songs
Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, previously Dance/Electronic Digital Songs is a weekly chart that ranks the best-selling digital dance and electronic singles in the United States, according to ''Billboard''. Although it originally started trac ...
and the
Dance/Mix Show Airplay
Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine.
History
The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...
chart, and became Minogue's fastest-selling single in the US since "Can't Get You Out of My Head" in 2001.
In Canada, it peaked at number 40 and number 73 on the Canadian Digital Songs chart and
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
, the latter hosted by ''Billboard''.
Music video
The music video was directed and edited by
Christian Larson, and was filmed on a rainy day through
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
; in early 2012, images of Minogue wearing a heart-shaped jacket and denim
hot pants
Hotpants or hot pants are extremely short shorts. The term was first used by ''Women's Wear Daily'' in 1970 to describe shorts made in luxury fabrics such as velvet and satin for fashionable wear, rather than their more practical equivalents th ...
surfaced online. After the videos completion, Minogue hosted a special website that required her fans to use Twitter to hashtag "KylieTimebomb" in order to unlock the music video. The campaign was an extreme success on Twitter, with over 25,000 tweets in under an hour and 10 tweets per second and the hashtag was subjected as one of the trending topics worldwide. In an interview with
Vevo.com, Minogue said of the shooting; "When we were shooting down the busiest street in Soho, I worked with an in-ear monitor. I must have looked like a complete idiot because I'm strutting down the street singing to absolutely nothing!" In an interview on ''
Alan Carr: Chatty Man'', she commented that the black minidress was purchased at a lingerie store, and further expressed discomfort saying, "That was a very cheeky little outfit. People don't believe it, but I do get very shy and timid. I was like, 'Oh god please, can't there be more to this?'". Minogue promoted the
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
app that allowed fans to be inserted into Minogue's glasses, which are seen throughout the music video.
The video begins with Larson shooting Minogue in a small white room. After the shoot, she leaves the studio, wearing the leather jacket with a red heart featured on the single's artwork, and starts singing the song. She then walks through various London back-alleys, bumping into a man carrying a
boombox
A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape recorder/players and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1980s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered through ...
, and taking a phone off a café table—showcasing a camera angle inspired by
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
—, and arrives at a nightclub. Dancing there, she leaves the nightclub and continues walking down
Old Compton Street
Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London.
History
The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. Th ...
,
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
. The street scenes are interspersed with distorted shots of Minogue dancing in a brightly lit, white room. Minogue then climbs into a car with a male driver, and the pair travel through London, along busy streets, where Minogue greets one of her fans in a nearby car.
Night falls, and she exits the car in
Chinatown, London
Chinatown is an ethnic enclave in the City of Westminster, London, bordering Soho to its north and west, Theatreland to the south and east. The enclave currently occupies the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chin ...
, pursued by an unknown man. She runs through an alley, and kisses a man, dragging him into a nearby building. She removes her jacket, revealing the black minidress, and dances seductively next to a motorcycle. They then both leave the building, with the man driving the motorcycle, and stop in a crowded street. Minogue dances on the back of the motorcycle, and in the middle of the street, while the man circles her, performing a
wheelie
In vehicle acrobatics, a wheelie, or wheelstand, is a vehicle maneuver in which the front wheel or wheels come off the ground due to sufficient torque being applied to the rear wheel or wheels, or rider motion relative to the vehicle. Whe ...
. The video ends with the crowd looking on, as the pair perform a
burnout
Burnout or burn-out may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Burnout'' (film), a 2017 Moroccan film
* ''Burn Out'' (film), a 2017 French film
* Burnout (ride), a Funfields amusement ride in Australia
* ''Burnout'' (series), a racing game series created by ...
, and leave the alley.
WhatCulture.com gave it a positive review for the song itself, but noted the lack of promotion on the single, stating, "Maybe Kylie's management are more bothered about the K25 Antitour and upcoming Greatest Hits collection, which isn't a bad thing at all, but it's a shame a song and video as great as 'Timebomb' will probably be long forgotten in the pop aftermath a few months later." Daniella Graham from ''
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
'' emphasized the hot pants Minogue wore in the video, and an iconic clothing piece in her career from her single "
Spinning Around
"Spinning Around" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her seventh studio album, ''Light Years'' (2000). Written by Ira Shickman, Osborne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi and Paula Abdul, the song was initially meant to be recorded by Abdul ...
"; Graham titled their article "Kylie Minogue brings back the hotpants in new Timebomb video". Similarly, an editor from ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' wrote that "
e pop princess
..looks flawless in the new clip, strutting along busy thoroughfares in London's SoHo neighborhood in a pair of hot pants, before ducking into an alley and stripping down to a barely-there webbed dress."
Jenna Rubenstein of
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
said positively, "There may not be much of a plot, but there's a ton of almost-naked Kylie, which is really all we were hoping for anyway." Keith Caulfield from ''
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 ...
'' described Minogue and her fashion as "sexy".
Live performance
Minogue performed "Timebomb" for the first time at the semi-finals of ''
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 ...
'' in the United Kingdom. She wore the same outfit in the music video, and danced in front of graffiti walls and a giant heart on a video screen. The song was included on the setlist for her 2014
Kiss Me Once Tour
The Kiss Me Once Tour was the fourteenth concert tour by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was launched in support of her twelfth studio album, ''Kiss Me Once'' (2014) and visited Europe, Australia and Middle East. Rumours of plans to tour ar ...
in Europe and Australia, where it was used during the introduction segment. Minogue uploaded an official live video of the track on her YouTube channel, which featured her in a red dress singing in front of an infrastructure and back-up dancers. It appeared on the live DVD and CD of the tour, released on 23 March 2015.
Formats and track listings
* Digital download
# "Timebomb" – 2:57
# "Timebomb" (video) – 3:36
* CD single
# "Timebomb" – 2:57
# "Timebomb" (Extended version) – 4:30
# "Timebomb" (video) – 3:36
* Digital remix EP
# "Timebomb" (Extended Version) – 4:30
# "Timebomb" (Peter Rauhofer Remix) – 8:00
# "Timebomb" (DADA Remix) – 6:30
# "Timebomb" (Steve Redant & Phil Romano Remix) – 7:04
# "Timebomb" (Style of Eye Remix) – 6:31
# "Timebomb" (Italia3 Remix) – 6:00
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the CD liner notes of "Timebomb";
;Recording
* Mixed and recorded at Destined Studios,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England by Matt Schwartz
;Personnel
*
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
– vocals
*
Karen Poole
Karen Ann Poole (born 8 January 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. Poole has had over 35 Top 20 UK hits as a songwriter.
Biography
Karen was born in Chadwell Heath, London, England, and is the daughter of 1960s vocalist Brian Poole, le ...
– songwriter, vocal production, backing vocals
*
Paul Harris – songwriter, producer, instruments, arrangement, vocal production, programming, mixing assistant, recording assistant
*
Matt Schwartz
Matt Schwartz (born 26 October 1971) is an Israeli-British record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, programmer, sound engineer, mixing engineer and DJ.
Biography and life
Born in Israel, Schwartz came to London in the early 90s. Schwar ...
– songwriter, producer, instruments, arrangement, vocal production, programming, guitar, mixing, recording
*
Christian Larson – music video director
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
*
List of number-one dance singles of 2012 (U.S.)
These are the United States ''Billboard'' Hot Dance'' ''Club Play and Singles Sales number-one hits of 2012.
See also
* List of number-one Dance/Mix Show Airplay hits of 2012 (U.S.)
*2012 in music
*List of artists who reached number one on th ...
References
{{Authority control
2012 singles
2012 songs
Kylie Minogue songs
Music videos shot in London
Parlophone singles
Songs written by Karen Poole
Songs written by Matt Schwartz