"Send It On" is a song recorded by American recording artists

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series '' Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for p ...

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in ...

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

and

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

from charity project Disney's Friends for Change. The track's producers Adam Anders and Peer Åström co-wrote it with Nikki Hassman. The song was released on August 11, 2009, by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

and

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records ...

as a promotional

charity single A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's "Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-made ...

in order to benefit international environmental associations. In regard to the song and the campaign, the six singers noted that it is a good cause and that it is one dear to them. Lyrically, the pop

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

is about passing on an environmentalist message. The song peaked at number twenty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The corresponding music video has all four acts singing into microphones on top of a brightly lit stage and running across a park setting where many children are following them.

Background

Initially known as "Pass It On", the song was written by Adam Anders and Nikki Hassman in collaboration with Peer Åström. The four artists went through several recording sessions in early April 2009. Each person shared their opinion in regards to the song and Disney's Friends for Change in an interview with ''

Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...

''. Joe Jonas said that the song is one with a "great message." He added that the song is about helping the Earth in whichever way possible and that it is mainly about letting "everyone know." Joe Jonas said the song even reminds oneself to be more eco-friendly. Gomez stated, Cyrus mentioned that her favorite part to record was the line "One spark starts a fire." Cyrus said she "loved" the line because it was true for her and that if children send on the message, everyone will know. She also believed that they were "encouraging kids to do it", which she found inspirational. Lovato stated: "It's very important to us to be good to the environment" and that the song is a part of a "big movement" that they are attempting to achieve. Kevin Jonas said it was a "big honor" and that "the vibe ..is great" because they have "all known each other for years now." Nick Jonas said that the song is just about "taking those tiny steps" that could make the Earth better.

Music, vocal arrangements and lyrics

The song is set in

common time 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 val ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 90

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 ...

. It is written in a key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

. The artists' vocals span three

octaves In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

, from the low note of F₃ to the high note of E₅. The song has the following

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

, A–F#m–C#m–E5. The song is sung from a first person viewpoint, allowing an audience to "internalize" the message—which involves everybody—by singing the word "we" together. "Send It On" commences with

acoustic guitars An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and then transitioning to

violins The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

. Together, Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas sing the first verse, "A word's just a word till you mean what you say." Then, the two sing the first chorus together. Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas then sing main lines of the second verse with the other group (Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas) singing, "If we take the chances to change circumstances." Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato, and Joe Jonas sing the interlude, with Selena Gomez and Kevin Jonas sing the bridge. Everyone sings the second chorus and the remaining parts of the song. The overall theme and message of the song is to encourage to pass on the

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...

pledge; this can be heavily interpreted from the lines: "Just one spark starts a fire."

Release

Snippets of the song was first heard as the opening theme for commercials that aired on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

in regards to Disney's Friends for Change. "Send It On" later debuted on

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programmi ...

on August 7, 2009. Later on August 11, the song was released digitally, via

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. Disney directed 100% of the proceeds from "Send it On" to environmental charities through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF). The music video premiered on Disney Channel on August 14 and the day later to Disney.com and ABC. On August 15, a digital

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.

was released to the iTunes Store, featuring the song, its music video, two commercials in regards to the project that aired on Disney Channel and a

digital booklet Digital booklet is the digital equivalent of booklet attached to physical release that often accompany digital music purchases. They are most commonly distributed in PDF. One well-known distributor of digital booklets with digital purchases is the ...

Reception

Critical reception

Bill Lamb of

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stated: "The song may sound a bit tedious. It's not likely to be much more enduring than the typical ''

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 ...

'' winner's finale song. However, the purchase of this song is for a very good cause." Gina Sepre and Whitney English of E! said that the song was Disney's take on "

We are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album '' We Are the World''. Wi ...

" by a super-group billed as

USA for Africa United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was the name under which 47 predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a U.S. and UK number one for ...

, a group which included successful acts such as

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 ...

and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

. Leo Hickman of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' criticized the artists as hypocritical and the song's lyrics as ineffective, noting that "there are no references at all to the environment to be found within the song," as opposed to Cyrus's song "Wake Up America" from her second album which he mentioned was more influential.

Chart performance

The song debuted at number nine on

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally starte ...

which led to it making into the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, issue dated August 29, 2009. "Send It On" debuted and peaked at number twenty in the Hot 100. It then fell to number twenty-one, and stayed on for three more weeks before falling off.

Music video

On June 6, 2009, Lovato confirmed to be on set of the corresponding music video to the song, via Lovato's official

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 ...

account. The music video to "Send It On" was first seen on

on August 14, 2009, and on

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

on April 22, 2010. The music video, directed by Michael Blum and Tracy Pion, begins with Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas sitting on the edge of a dark stage where Nick, also playing the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, and Miley singing the first verse. The video then changes to the two walking onto the brightly lighted stage, singing the chorus, and then being joined by Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas who sing the second verse. The entire group is then shown on the stage as they sing the chorus. Kevin and Joe Jonas then remove a curtain covering the background of stage to reveal a sky-painted backdrop in which Selena Gomez and Kevin Jonas proceed to sing the bridge. The ending of the video follows the entire group running out of a large stage door and through a "

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

-like" setting while finishing the song. A crowd of kids also begin running behind the group. The video ends with the group jumping onto and sitting on a couch in the middle of the park with the crowd stopping in the background to watch the sunset.

Charts

References

External links

The official website of Disney's Friends for Change
{{DEFAULTSORT:Send It On (Song) 2009 songs 2009 singles 2000s ballads Charity singles Demi Lovato songs Environmental songs Jonas Brothers songs Miley Cyrus songs Nick Jonas songs Pop ballads Disney songs Walt Disney Records singles Hollywood Records singles Songs written by Peer Åström Songs written by Adam Anders Selena Gomez songs