"Turn da Lights Off" is a song by American singer Tweet from her second studio album, ''

It's Me Again ''It's Me Again'' is the second studio album by American singer Tweet. It was released on March 21, 2005, by The Goldmind Inc. and Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 55,000 copi ...

'' (2005). It features guest vocals from American rapper

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

, who co-wrote and co-produced the song with Kwamé. The song was released on October 5, 2004, as the album's lead single. "Turn da Lights Off" contains a sample of Nat King Cole's "Lost April" and portions of

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

and Tammi Terrell's "

If This World Were Mine "If This World Were Mine" is a 1967 song by soul music duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell from their album ''United''. Written solely by Gaye, it was one of the few songs they recorded without Ashford & Simpson writing or producing. When it was re ...

Background

Proposals for the ''

'' lead single dates back to early 2004, where

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 ...

reported that the

-produced "Shook Up", featuring rapper and former ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'' co-host

Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

, was in consideration for a lead single choice. However, complications from the merging between

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

and

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

prevented the song's release, resulting in the song's cancellation and a pushback date for Tweet's ''It's Me Again'' album. On October 5, 2004, "Turn da Lights Off" was released and began to appear on numerous mixtapes to help spread the word of the song's release. A promotional remix featuring

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

and an alternate line by Elliott was also released to mixtapes in order to generate further buzz for the single.

Critical reception

The song met generally mixed to favorable reviews. Shaheem Reid of

's Mixtape Monday complimented the track for its guest production by rapper Kwamé. Reid also praised

for her vocals and opening line, "we gonna take it back like polka dots", for its reminiscent-throwback feel of "a fly era". By contrast, Andy Kellman of

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 ...

criticized Elliott's vocals, stating that her "berserk squawks vandalize Tweet's "return single". On a lighter note, Kellman did favor Elliott's production for the single, in which he felt it was reminiscent of her other produced-single, "

So Gone "So Gone" is a song by American R&B recording artist Monica. It was one out of several tracks rapper-producer Missy Elliott wrote and produced along with Kenneth Cunningham and Jamahl Rye from production duo Spike & Jamahl for Monica's fourth st ...

" by

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

. Kellman had also listed "Turn da Lights Off" as a "Song Pick", where it was cited as the "most representative" of the ''

'' album.

Music video

The music video for "Turn da Lights Off", alongside a "Makes a Video" special, premiered on

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

on January 11, 2005 and was directed by Antti J. The video begins with Elliott portraying a DJ while scratching on a vinyl record and performing her adlibs. The video then cuts to Tweet posing for camera shots in construction for her ''It's Me Again'' album booklet. Throughout the video, Tweet is either seen getting a makeover or posing for other various camera shots. Elliott is shown again, where she begins to perform her rap while sitting on a couch behind Tweet's photo shoot or reprising her role as the DJ. The video then cuts back to Tweet posing for more camera shots while lip-syncing to the song.

Track listings

* US 12-inch single :A1. "Turn da Lights Off" (radio edit) – 4:15 :A2. "Turn da Lights Off" (instrumental) – 5:13 :B1. "Turn da Lights Off" (album version) – 4:55 :B2. "Turn da Lights Off" (acapella) – 4:42 * UK CD single # "Turn da Lights Off" (radio edit) – 3:39 # " Boogie 2nite" ( Seamus Haji Boogie Mix) – 5:51 * German CD maxi single # "Turn da Lights Off" (radio edit) – 4:14 # "Boogie 2nite" (Seamus Haji Boogie Mix) – 5:51 # "Turn da Lights Off" (remix) – 3:27 * UK and German 12-inch single :A1. "Turn da Lights Off" (album version) (featuring

) – 4:55 :A2. "Turn da Lights Off" (remix) – 3:27 :B1. "Turn da Lights Off" (instrumental) – 5:13 :B2. "Boogie 2nite" (Seamus Haji Boogie Mix) – 5:51

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''

''. * Tweet – vocals * Marcella Araica – assistant tracking engineering * Carlos Bedoya – additional recording *

Jimmy Douglass Jimmy Douglass, also known as "The Senator", is an American recording engineer and record producer. His career has spanned more than four decades. Career In the early 1970s at Atlantic Records studios in New York City, he started his studio ca ...

– mixing *

– production, songwriting, vocals * Kwamé "K1Mil" – production, songwriting * Patrick Magee – mixing assistance * Herb Powers, Jr. – mastering * Mike Rivera – recording

Charts

Release history

References

{{Missy Elliott singles 2004 singles 2004 songs Atlantic Records singles Missy Elliott songs Song recordings produced by Kwamé Songs written by Kwamé Songs written by Marvin Gaye Songs written by Missy Elliott Songs written by Tweet (singer) Tweet (singer) songs