"Don't Wanna Go Home" is a song by American recording artist

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

, 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 his second studio album, ''

Future History A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction. Sometimes the author publishes a timeline of events in the history, whi ...

'', on May 23, 2011. The song was written by Derulo, Chaz Mishan, David Delazyn,

William Attaway William Alexander Attaway (November 19, 1911 – June 17, 1986) was an African-American novelist, short story writer, essayist, songwriter, playwright, and screenwriter. Biography Early life Attaway was born on November 19, 1911, in Greenvil ...

Irving Burgie Irving Louis Burgie (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2019), sometimes known professionally as Lord Burgess, was an American musician and songwriter, regarded as one of the greatest composers of Caribbean music.Fred McFarlane Frederick Craig McFarlane (November 14, 1959 – September 3, 2016) was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. McFarlane's career as a songwriter and producer spanned more than 30 years. He wrote or co-wrote a nu ...

. It was produced by The Fliptones. The song is an up-tempo

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

and

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 that samples

Robin S. Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as " Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and " Luv 4 Luv". She has had three number ones on the ''Bi ...

' 1993 single " Show Me Love" and incorporates an interpolation of

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

's 1956 single, "

Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" is a traditional Jamaican folk song. The song has mento influences, but it is commonly classified as an example of the better known calypso music. It is a call and response work song, from the point of view of ...

". "Don't Wanna Go Home" received mixed reviews; some music critics praised its production and lyrics, while others claimed it lacked originality. In the United States, "Don't Wanna Go Home" peaked at number fourteen on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and at number four on the

Hot 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. It also attained top 20 positions across Europe and in Australia and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number one 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 Derulo's second consecutive number-one single in Britain following " In My Head" (2010). The accompanying music video was directed by

Rich Lee Richard "Rich" Lee is an American music video and commercial director. He has directed music videos for Eminem, Lana Del Rey, Maroon 5, The Black Eyed Peas, Norah Jones, Michael Bublé and The All-American Rejects. Rich Lee started his professio ...

, and features Derulo in various dance sequences and a cameo appearance by

Melody Thornton Melody Thornton (born September 28, 1984) is an American singer and television personality. After graduating high school, Thornton became one the main vocalists of the pop girl group the Pussycat Dolls and released the albums '' PCD'' (2005) a ...

Background and composition

"Don't Wanna Go Home" was written by Jason Derulo, Chaz Mishan, David Delazyn,

. Production for the song was handled by The Fliptones, with additional production by Tim Roberts and Heather Jeanette. It was recorded at Serenity West Recording Studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and was mixed by Serban Ghenea at Mixstar Studios in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. On May 3, 2011, a 34-second preview of the song premiered online and its

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

was also unveiled. "Don't Wanna Go Home" was sent to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

s in the United States on May 10, and was released for digital download on May 20. "Don't Wanna Go Home" is an up-tempo

, and

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

song. "Don't Wanna Go Home" makes use of a thumping

Euro disco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...

beat and some

Auto-Tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-Tu ...

vocals. Its

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 ...

features the lyrics, "Day-o, me say day-o / Daylight come and we don't wanna go home", as it is partially constructed from lyrics of "

" by

, while a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

of " Show Me Love" by

runs throughout the song. In an interview with

MTV UK MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & I ...

, Derulo commented on the "Show Me Love" sample: "I'm in love with that bassline, it's just really hypnotic and I just wanted to play around with it in the studio. I heard it a bunch of times in the club and I fell in love with it, like most people do." Meena Rupani from

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noted that the song borrows lyrics from

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

, while Shahryar Rizvi from ''

Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

'' noted that its pre-chorus line "from the window / to the wall" comes from

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

's 2003 single " Get Low".

Critical reception

"Don't Wanna Go Home" received mixed reviews from music critics. Bill Lamb from

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

awarded "Don't Wanna Go Home" a rating of four stars out of five, praising the song's "ingratiating party mood" and Derulo's "energetic vocal performance". He also went on to say that "Jason Derulo should have no problem taking back his place on pop radio playlists and pulling the Beluga Heights sound back into the spotlight." Scott Shelter from PopCrush wrote that, "Despite the track's lack of originality, the beat is irresistible, and its lyrics about staying out all night are likely to resonate with summer partiers," and concluded by writing that it is "a song that succeeds in spite of its shortcomings." A writer for ''Beatweek'' magazine praised Derulo for sampling "Day-O" into the song's chorus, writing that "'Don't Wanna Go Home' is yet the latest evidence that Derulo can create a song in any genre, using any kind of samples, and turn it into a hit." Robbie Daw from

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 ...

wrote that, "Compared to his last few mediocre offerings, this single actually seems to have some fire" courtesy of the samples in the song. However, Daw concluded by writing that "if Derulo wants to achieve any kind of credibility in the pop world, he'd better establish his own sound fast." Meena Rupani from

felt that Derulo "should think twice before he takes his lyrics from others." Shahryar Rizvi from ''

'' called Derulo a "lousy sampler", writing that "all this song boasts is Derulo throwing airballs". At the 2011

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

, "Don't Wanna Go Home" was nominated for 'Choice R&B/Hip Hop Track' accolade.

Chart performance

During the week of May 28, 2011, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 39 on the US

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

chart, and peaked at number ten on July 16, 2011. On the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 92 during the week of June 4, 2011, and peaked at number 14 on July 2, 2011. The song also reached number four on the US

chart. "Don't Wanna Go Home" was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), denoting sales of 500,000 copies. As of September 2011, the song has sold over 1,000,000 digital copies in the US. In Canada, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 24 on the

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 ...

during the week of June 11, 2011, and later peaked at number eight on July 23, 2011. The song was certified gold by

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(MC), denoting sales of 40,000 digital copies. In Australia, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 34 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 ...

on May 29, 2011, serving as the highest debuting single of that week. It later peaked at number five for two consecutive weeks. "Don't Wanna Go Home" also peaked at number two on the

ARIA Urban Singles Chart The ARIA Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart, formerly the ARIA Urban Singles Chart, ranks the best performing Hip hop music, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, R&B tracks within Australia and is provided by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Histor ...

. The song was certified five times 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 replacing th ...

(ARIA), denoting sales of 350,000 copies. 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 ...

, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at number 33 on May 30, 2011, and peaked at number 17 on June 27, 2011, and spent a total of twelve weeks on the chart. The song also attained top-ten positions on the

Austrian Singles Chart Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

, both at number eight. In the United Kingdom, "Don't Wanna Go Home" debuted at the top of the

on June 26, 2011 – for the week ending date July 2, 2011 – selling 76,581 copies in its first week, becoming Derulo's second chart-topping song in Britain following " In My Head" in February 2010. The song remained at the top of the UK Singles Chart for two weeks.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Don't Wanna Go Home" was directed by

and filmed in early May 2011. During the video shoot, Derulo spoke to

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

about the video's concept, saying, "Basically, t'snot about going to the club, t's aboutnever leaving the club. he video featuresthese creatures who can't get enough of this amazing party. But it's not a club – it's a warehouse and we live here." On May 23, 2011, a 30-second teaser of the music video was released online, showing Derulo dancing with former

Pussycat Dolls Pussycat or Pussy Cat may refer to: * Cat, a domestic feline Music Bands * Pussycat (band), a Dutch country and pop group * The Pussycats, a 1960s Norwegian rock band * The Pussycats, a group signed to Kama Sutra Records Albums * ''Pussy Cats'', ...

member,

. The video premiered on

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 ...

on May 25, 2011. The video opens in an industrial warehouse, and shows Derulo reclining on a couch while his friends are passed out beside, around and on top of him. As he sings a portion of the song's chorus, Derulo reminisces about the previous night. The scene then shifts to Thornton, who is still awake standing on the other side of the warehouse surrounded by smoke. Derulo then stands up and walks towards her while performing solo dance moves. During the chorus, the two begin to do sexual dance routines together and eventually everyone wakes up. Derulo can then be seen doing various choreographed routines with male and female back-up dancers, as the crowd surrounding them hold up

flashlight A flashlight ( US, Canada) or torch ( UK, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since the ...

s. In the final scene, a

fire sprinkler A fire sprinkler or sprinkler head is the component of a fire sprinkler system that discharges water when the effects of a fire have been detected, such as when a predetermined temperature has been exceeded. Fire sprinklers are extensively use ...

in the warehouse goes off, and Derulo and his female dancers continue dancing. Towards the end of the video, the crowd ends up dancing with each other, while Derulo dances with a female. A writer for MTV News commented that the video could have easily starred

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

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 described it as being "glossy and fun, a complete reflection of the tune's party-anthem vibe."

Live performances

On August 3, 2011, Derulo performed a medley of "Don't Wanna Go Home" and "

It Girl An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...

" on ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

'', dressed in a white singlet and black jeans. He also performed the song at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards on August 7 with a troop of dancers. For the performance, Derulo wore a black leather jacket, T-shirt, skinny jeans and black leather gloves. On September 29, Derulo made a guest appearance on ''

Live with Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

'' to perform "Don't Wanna Go Home" and "It Girl". During a promotional tour in Australia, he performed the song at the

Westfield Parramatta Westfield Parramatta is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Parramatta in Greater Western Sydney. Transport The North Shore & Western, Inner West & Leppington and Cumberland Line offer frequent services to Westfield Parramatta. Westfie ...

shopping centre in Parramatta, Sydney on October 16. He also performed a medley of "Don't Wanna Go Home" and "It Girl" on ''

The X Factor Australia ''The X Factor'' is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent. The first season of the show premiered on Network Ten on 6 February 2005. Ten dropped ''The X Factor'' after ...

'' on October 18.

Track listing

*Digital download # "Don't Wanna Go Home" – 3:25 *CD single # "Don't Wanna Go Home" – 3:25 # "Don't Wanna Go Home" (Club Junkies Club Mix) – 7:07 *UK Digital EP # "Don't Wanna Go Home" – 3:25 # "Don't Wanna Go Home" (Club Junkies Club Mix) – 7:07 # "Don't Wanna Go Home" (Club Junkies Radio Mix) – 3:42 # "Don't Wanna Go Home" (7th Heaven Club Mix) – 7:54 # "Don't Wanna Go Home" (7th Heaven Radio Edit) – 4:04

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for ''Future History''. *William Attaway –

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

*Irving Burgie – songwriting *David Delazyn – songwriting, production *Jason Desrouleaux – songwriting, lead vocals *The Fliptones –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

*Allen George – songwriting *Serban Ghenea – mixing *John Hanes –

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

ing *Heather Jeanette – additional production *Gelly Kusuma – recording *

Fred McFarlane Frederick Craig McFarlane (November 14, 1959 – September 3, 2016) was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. McFarlane's career as a songwriter and producer spanned more than 30 years. He wrote or co-wrote a nu ...

– songwriting *Chaz Mishan – songwriting, production *Tim Roberts – additional production, assistant mix engineering *Sidney Swift – assistant engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Don't Wanna Go Home Jason Derulo songs Dance-pop songs 2011 singles Number-one singles in Scotland UK Singles Chart number-one singles 2011 songs Songs written by Jason Derulo Songs written by Fred McFarlane Song recordings produced by the Fliptones Music videos directed by Rich Lee