"Can't Touch It" is a song by Australian singer and songwriter

Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter (born 10 November 1985), also known mononymously as Ricki-Lee, is a New Zealand-born Australian singer, songwriter, television, and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, grew up on the Gold Coast, Qu ...

. It was written by Coulter with

Brian Kierulf Brian Kierulf is a songwriter and producer from the United States. He usually writes songs with Joshua M. Schwartz. They are a part of KNS Productions. Selected discography Aaron Carter - album '' Oh Aaron'' *"Oh Aaron" (Written by Andy Goldmar ...

and Joshua M. Schwartz of KNS Productions, who also produced the song. "Can't Touch It" was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from Coulter's second studio album, '' Brand New Day'', on 4 August 2007. Upon its release, "Can't Touch It" peaked at number two on the

ARIA 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 ...

and number one on the ARIA Dance Singles Chart, where it remained for eight consecutive weeks. It was certified platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

for shipments of 70,000 copies. The accompanying music video was directed by Fin Edquist and features Coulter with her girlfriends at a nightclub. She promoted "Can't Touch It" with performances at instore appearances and the 2007 ARIA Music Awards. The song was also part of Coulter's

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

for her first solo headlining tour, The Brand New Day Tour. In May 2008, a digital remix

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

of "Can't Touch It", re-titled "U Wanna Little of This", was released throughout Europe by dance label Ministry of Sound UK. "Can't Touch It" has been used for several American television shows and was featured in both the trailer and closing credits of the film ''

Sex and the City 2 ''Sex and the City 2'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Michael Patrick King. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Sex and the City'', based on the 1998–2004 television series. Sarah Jessica Parker, ...

'' (2010).

Background and release

In 2006, Coulter joined forces with previous ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program '' Pop Ido ...

'' contestants

Paulini Pauline Curuenavuli (born 15 October 1982), known professionally as Paulini, is a Fijian-Australian singer and songwriter. Born in Suva, Paulini moved to Sydney with her family at the age of four. She rose to fame in 2003 as a contestant on th ...

, Emily Williams and

Kate DeAraugo Katherine Jenna DeAraugo (born 5 November 1985) is an Australian singer-songwriter who in 2005 was the third winner of ''Australian Idol''. After ''Idol'', DeAraugo signed to Sony BMG and released her debut single, " Maybe Tonight", in November ...

to be part of the all-girl singing project called

Young Divas Young Divas was an Australian pop girl group formed in 2006 by Sony BMG Australia, initially for a one-off single and national tour to promote all members as solo artists. The original line-up consisted of former ''Australian Idol'' contestants ...

. The project was initially formed to promote a joint 17-date national tour, where all singers would perform their solo material and several songs as a group. Together, they released a self-titled album of classic

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

covers, which included the top-ten singles " This Time I Know It's for Real" and " Happenin' All Over Again". The album was a commercial success, debuting at number four on the

ARIA Albums 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 ...

and was certified double platinum by the

for shipments of 140,000 copies. In February 2007, Coulter headed overseas to work on her second solo album. Four months later, Coulter announced her departure from the Young Divas to resume her solo career. She was later replaced by Jessica Mauboy. "Can't Touch It" was released as the

from Coulter's second solo album, '' Brand New Day'', on 4 August 2007 as a digital download and on 6 August as 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 s ...

. It was written in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

by Coulter with

and Joshua M. Schwartz of KNS Productions, who also produced the song. Coulter explained, "The song is about me and my best friend going out for a night out in New York, not needing the guys, and just having a great night." The digital release of "Can't Touch It" included the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

track "Take Me to a Place", a cappella and instrumental versions and two remixes by Rok Coalition. In December 2007, it was announced that Coulter had signed an international record deal with dance label Ministry of Sound UK. A digital remix

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

of "Can't Touch It", re-titled "U Wanna Little of This", was released through the label in Europe on 18 May 2008. The EP featured radio edits and remixes by WAWA and

Ali Payami Ali Payami is an Iranian-Swedish record producer, songwriter, and DJ. Payami's first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was The Weeknd's single " Can't Feel My Face". In 2016, he won a Grammy for Album of the Year for his contributions on ...

Reception

Bernard Zuel of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' described "Can't Touch It" as a "very

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

-like beefed up '40s swing" type of song. It was nominated for 'Best Performing Independent Single/EP' at the 2007 AIR Awards. For the issue dated 13 August 2007, "Can't Touch It" debuted at number two on the

and was the highest new entry of that week. It became Coulter's third top-ten single as a solo artist and spent eight consecutive weeks in the top-ten. The song also appeared on the ARIA Dance Singles Chart, where it peaked at number one and remained at that position for eight consecutive weeks. In 2008, "Can't Touch It" was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of 70,000 copies.

Music video and live performances

The music video was directed by Fin Edquist and filmed at the Lotus Bar in June 2007. The video was released in August 2007 and features Coulter with her girlfriends at a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gen ...

. It also includes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

by former ''Australian Idol'' contestant and ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' star Dan O'Connor, who acts as a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

and love interest. Coulter performed "Can't Touch It" and signed CD copies of the single during instore appearances at Knox City Shopping Centre and

Highpoint Shopping Centre Highpoint Shopping Centre is a super regional shopping centre located in Maribyrnong, Victoria, in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. Highpoint is Victoria's third largest shopping centre and the fifth largest in Australia, with an a ...

on 4 August 2007,

Warringah Mall Westfield Warringah Mall (previously known as Warringah Mall or colloquially as The Mall) is a large indoor/outdoor shopping centre in the suburb of Brookvale in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney. Transport Westfield Warringah Mall h ...

and Rhodes Shopping Centre on 5 August 2007, and

Logan Hyperdome Logan Hyperdome Shopping Centre in Shailer Park, Queensland, is the largest shopping centre in Logan City, Queensland, Logan City and one of the largest single storey shopping centres in Australia. The Queensland Police Service operates a poli ...

on 9 August 2007. She also performed the song during the half time of the 2007

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

Grand Final on 7 October and on the red carpet of the 2007 ARIA Music Awards on 28 October. "Can't Touch It" was later added to the

of Coulter's first solo headlining tour, The Brand New Day Tour, in March 2008.

Usage in media

In Australia, "Can't Touch It" was used to promote the American drama series ''

Cashmere Mafia ''Cashmere Mafia'' is an American comedy-drama television series which ran on ABC from January 6, 2008 to February 20, 2008. The series was created by Kevin Wade, who also served as executive producer alongside Darren Star, Gail Katz, Jeff Rake ...

'' on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

while in the United States, the song was used to advertise the comedy-drama series '' Lipstick Jungle''. In 2008, the song was included in the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

music video game '' SingStar Party Hits''. In April 2010, "Can't Touch It" was featured in the trailer for the film ''

''. It was also played over the film's closing credits and appeared on the official soundtrack album. In September 2010, "Can't Touch It" was featured in the third episode of the American cheerleading comedy-drama series ''

Hellcats ''Hellcats'' is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010, to May 17, 2011. Based on the book ''Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders'' ...

''. The song was also used in the thirteenth season of the US version of '' Dancing with the Stars'' and in the tenth season of '' So You Think You Can Dance US''.

Track listings

* Digital download # "Can't Touch It" (radio edit) – 2:53 # "Take Me to a Place" – 4:32 # "Can't Touch It" (Rok Coalition radio remix) – 4:35 # "Can't Touch It" (a capella) – 2:47 # "Can't Touch It" (instrumental) – 2:56 # "Can't Touch It" (Rok Coalition extended remix) – 8:33 * Digital remix EP # "U Wanna Little of This" (WAWA radio edit) – 2:43 # "U Wanna Little of This" (Ali Payami radio edit) – 2:20 # "U Wanna Little of This" (WAWA vocal mix) – 7:23 # "U Wanna Little of This" (Ali Payami club mix) – 6:22 # "U Wanna Little of This" (WAWA dub) – 6:56

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Ricki-Lee: The Singles''. Locations * Mixed at Sing Sing Studios * Mastered at Stepford Audio Personnel * Songwriting – Ricki-Lee Coulter, KNS Productions (

and Joshua M. Schwartz) * Production and engineering – KNS * Additional vocal production – Glenn Cunningham * Background vocals – Ricki-Lee Coulter,

Carmen Smith Carmen Smith (born 1984) is an Australian singer/songwriter who rose to prominence after appearing in the first season of ''The Voice Australia''. Early career Since 2002, Smith has been a back-up singer for a number of Australian performers, ...

* Mixing – Tony Espie * Mastering – Dave Walker

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certification

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Can't Touch It 2007 singles 2007 songs Ricki-Lee Coulter songs Shock Records singles Songs written by Brian Kierulf Songs written by Ricki-Lee Coulter