"Burnin' Up" is the lead single from
American pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
band the
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...
' third studio album, ''
A Little Bit Longer
''A Little Bit Longer'' is the third studio album by American pop rock band, Jonas Brothers and their second album released on Hollywood Records. It was released on August 12, 2008. The album received generally favorable reviews, and four star ...
'', and was officially released on June 19, 2008. In the United Kingdom, it was released with the single was a hit via digital downloads, and peaked at number five on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the group's first top five single in the US and formerly their highest-charting song as a group until "
Sucker" was released in 2019. The song features uncredited vocals from American rapper Big Rob.
Background and composition
The band first performed this song on their
When You Look Me in the Eyes Tour as well as at the
2008 Disney Channel Games. Their summer tour, titled the
Burnin' Up Tour, is named after this song. The song also features a rap from their bodyguard, Robert "Big Rob" Feggans.
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' stated that the song "was inspired by
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...
' unlikely appreciation for the work of babe magnet
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
."
Nick Jonas also stated that the song is "about this girl — maybe she's at a party — and you feel that immediate connection
ndboth know it's there."
The song was also included on ''
Grammy Nominees'' 2009.
Critical reception
''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' critic Josh Tyrangiel named this the sixth best song of 2008. The song however has been criticized for the chorus line's similarity to the song "
Makes Me Wonder" by
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...
.
Commercial performance
With strong digital sales, "Burnin' Up" debuted at number five on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it the band's most successful single until "
Sucker" debuted at number one in March 2019. With more than 183,000 downloads and sold the single for the first week it went on sale. As of February 2015, it has sold 1.9 million copies in the US.
In 2019, it was certified double platinum by the
RIAA
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 ...
.
Music video
The music video for "Burnin' Up" premiered after the premiere of ''
Camp Rock
''Camp Rock'' is a 2008 musical television film directed by Matthew Diamond from a screenplay by Karin Gist, Regina Hicks, Julie Brown, and Paul Brown. The 73rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), the film stars Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas, ...
'' on the
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
on June 20, 2008. In the video, the brothers read over a potential video treatment and imagine how the video would play out, in which they are portrayed as action film stars. Nick as
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
in ''Double Inferno'', Joe as a
Sonny Crockett parody in ''Hot Tropic'', and Kevin as a
Kung Fu master in ''The Burning Dragon''. The video features cameo appearances from
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
,
David Carradine
David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor, director, and producer, whose career included over 200 major and minor roles in film, television and on stage. He was widely known ...
,
Robert Davi
Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1951) is an American actor, singer, and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing Jake Fratelli in '' The Goonies'' (19 ...
and
Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo (, ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. Known for his Danny Trejo filmography, large body of work as a character actor, films in which he has appeared in have grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide.
A native of Los Angeles, Tr ...
. The video was directed by
Brendan Malloy and Tim Wheeler. The video was nominated for
Video of the Year and
Best Pop Video at the
2008 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom), honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were ...
, but both lost to
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
and the video for her song "
Piece of Me".
Track listing
US and Europe CD single
# "Burnin' Up" – 2:54
# "Burnin' Up (No-Rap)" – 2:37
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Notes
References
{{authority control
2008 singles
Jonas Brothers songs
Songs written by Kevin Jonas
Songs written by Joe Jonas
Songs written by Nick Jonas
Hollywood Records singles
2008 songs
Song recordings produced by John Fields (record producer)