Nobody's Perfect (Jessie J song)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Nobody's Perfect" is a song by English singer-songwriter
Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
from her debut studio album, '' Who You Are''. The song was written by Jessie J,
Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
and Andre Brissett, and it was produced by Brissett and Kelly, and refers to a struggle about perfection complex and regret over past indiscretions. It was released as the album's third single on 27 May 2011 after being served to radio stations on 20 April 2011. Its physical release was originally set to 23 May 2011, however it was pushed back to 30 May 2011 for an impact release. The single version was remixed by
Tom Elmhirst Tom Elmhirst (born 8 June 1971) is a British mix engineer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Beck, David Bowie, Cage the Elephant, Lady Gaga, Residente, and Amy Winehouse, among many others. Elmhirst has received numerous accolades a ...
and is slightly different from the album version with re-recorded vocals and a heavier beat. "Nobody's Perfect" peaked at number nine in the United Kingdom, becoming Jessie J's third top ten single. On ''The Voice'', Jessie J and Vince Kidd sang "Nobody's Perfect" as a duet.


Background

"Nobody's Perfect" is a mid-tempo song written by Jessie J and
Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
. It is written in the key of
G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the cont ...
with Jessie J's vocals spanning from Bb3 to Eb5. Jessie wrote the original version when she was 17. On 15 April 2011, during an interview with
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, ...
, Jessie revealed that "Nobody's Perfect" would be the album's third single following "
Price Tag A price tag is a label declaring the price of an item for sale. It may be a sticker or attached by twist tie or other means. Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the pr ...
" with
B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years late ...
(2011) and " Do It Like a Dude" (2010). She described "Nobody's Perfect" as one of her favourite songs from the album.
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 single is, so far, only confirmed for release in the United Kingdom. During an interview with ''The Sun'', Jessie said: It was added to UK
mainstream 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 ...
on 20 April 2011.


Critical reception

The song received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who praised Jessie's vocal performance, describing the song "impressive, refreshingly real-sounding with a upbeat, uplifting charge, featuring lines layered across each other to the point of overkill." Some negatively described that while Jessie is currently UK's most promising singer to pursue an international career, this song may be her weakest spot and it "fails to entirely deliver and falls short of the promised hype."


Chart performance

On the week ending 12 March 2011, "Nobody's Perfect" debuted at number eighty-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 ...
. The following week, the song fell to number ninety-seven before rising back up the chart to number thirty-two the next week. "Nobody's Perfect" has peaked at number nine, making it Jessie J's third top-ten single in the United Kingdom following "Do It Like a Dude" and "Price Tag". In Australia, the song debuted at number twenty-four on 16 May 2011. It has since peaked at number nine and has been certified 2× 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), for shipments of 140,000 units.


Music video

Filmed in
technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
format, the music video for "Nobody's Perfect" was shot at
Nu Boyana Film Nu Boyana Film Studios ( bg, Ню Бояна Филм) are film studios situated in Sofia, Bulgaria. The film production complex was opened in 1962 and was state owned until 2005 when it was bought by one of the longest-running independent film c ...
studios in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, on 24 March 2011 and was directed by Emil Nava. The music video premiered on 14 April 2011 in the United Kingdom through Jessie's
Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
channel. The music video is inspired by
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
classic tale ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...
'', Jessie J sits in a banquet table similar to the Mad Hatters' tea party. Jessie J is shown in a hall of doors that gives a resemblance to the curious hall in the first chapter of Alice in Wonderland. Jessie J also rolls in
tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
and appears dressed as the
Roman goddess Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...
Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of Jul ...
, who is better known as the robed female figure of the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
, what could be interpreted as
Black-and-white dualism The contrast of white and black (light and darkness, day and night) has a long tradition of metaphorical usage, traceable to the Ancient Near East, and explicitly in the Pythagorean ''Table of Opposites''. In Western culture as well as in Con ...
. After completing the filming sessions, Jessie J described the video as her favorite done so far.


Cover versions

Angela Miller covered "Nobody's Perfect" in the Las Vegas Round of ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' on 20 February 2013, subsequently qualifying for the semi-finals. Fellow contestant Melinda Ademi also performed the song for her Las Vegas round performance on 6 March 2013, though she failed to qualify for the semi-finals. In 2017, the song was performed live by
Teodora Sava Teodora Sava (, born November 27, 2001, Piatra Neamț) is a singer, former Antena 1 television channel star, and former contestant on the international music talent competition '' X Factor Romania''. Biography Teodora Sava was born on November ...
when she was 15 years old, in duet with Florin Ristei (former winner of '' X Factor Romania''), as special guests of the popular TV show ''
Te cunosc de undeva! ''Te cunosc de undeva!'' (translation: ''I know you from somewhere!'') is the Romanian version of the talent show, ''Your Face Sounds Familiar''. The first series premiered on 17 March 2012 on Antena 1. The show is hosted by Cosmin Seleși and ...
''. At 16 years old, she recorded the song in studio.


Formats and track listings

*Australian digital EP #"Nobody's Perfect" (Album Version) – 4:19 #"Nobody's Perfect" (Alternative Version) – 4:16 #"Nobody's Perfect" (Acoustic Version) – 4:42 #"Nobody's Perfect" ( Netsky Full Vocal Remix) – 4:55 #"Nobody's Perfect" (Steve Smart Remix) – 5:54 #"Nobody's Perfect" (Video) - 4:14 *UK CD single / digital EP #"Nobody's Perfect" (
Tom Elmhirst Tom Elmhirst (born 8 June 1971) is a British mix engineer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Beck, David Bowie, Cage the Elephant, Lady Gaga, Residente, and Amy Winehouse, among many others. Elmhirst has received numerous accolades a ...
Radio Edit) – 3:41 #"Nobody's Perfect" (Acoustic Version) – 4:42 #"Nobody's Perfect" (Netsky Full Vocal Remix) – 4:55 #"Nobody's Perfect" (Steve Smart Remix) – 5:54


Credits and personnel

*
Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
– songwriter and vocals *
Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
– songwriter and producer *Andre Brissett – producer *Ben 'Bengineer' Chang – recording *Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing *Tom Coyne – mastering Credits adapted from ''Who You Are'' album liner notes.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs 2010s ballads Jessie J songs Songs written by Claude Kelly Songs written by Jessie J Pop ballads