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"Don't Call Me Up" is a song by English singer Mabel, included on the 2019 reissue of her debut mixtape, '' Ivy to Roses'', and debut album, '' High Expectations''. It was released by
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
on 18 January 2019. As of April 2024, the music video has received 342 million views on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, making it her most-viewed video on the platform.


Writing and recording

Mabel wrote "Don't Call Me Up" with Camille Purcell, and Steve Mac, who also produced the song. Unlike her previous writing and recording sessions, Mabel only had one day to work with Mac and Purcell, and the recording excluded the harmonies and ad-libs common in her previous material. She went into the session feeling sad about a previous relationship and wanted to write a positive breakup song to feel better. The song stemmed from the refrain's "Don't Call Me Up" hook which was brought up during a discussion they had about ignoring a phone call from a former lover and how good that felt. Finding the hook simple and relatable, they decided to use it in the verses as well. It was the first song Mabel recorded where her lead vocals from the final and demo versions sounded nearly identical.


Music and lyrics

Written in the key of B Dorian mode, "Don't Call Me Up" runs at a tempo of 99 beats per minute. It is a tropical house pop song with bounce and bass-heavy production, and dancehall and R&B undertones. The track has a midtempo
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
groove. Mabel starts the first verse one second into the song accompanied by a three side-clave keyboard riff introducing the main chord progression of Bm–A–E. The chord sequence changes to Dmaj7–A–E in the pre-chorus, while Mabel's vocal increases from A to C. Conversely, she performs in a monotonous style in the chorus, and her vocals have a parallel lower octave with additional Auto-Tune. A
reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...
groove is introduced in the chorus with an extended
reverberation In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflection (physics), reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then de ...
percussive hit, and a single D chord is played for two full measures at the end. In the second verse, a high snare drum plays a frequent two and four backbeat before reintroducing the kick drum which dominates the second pre-chorus. Cabasa, handclaps, and shakers are added in this section, ahead of the second chorus that includes a snare drum triplet fill in the final measure. The breakdown has the same music as the chorus, but uses a heavily pitch shifted vocal doubled with an octave halfway through. In the final pre-chorus, a high-pass filter cuts bass frequencies while the final chorus keyboard riff is doubled and a shaker is added. According to Mabel, the track is about being strong and saying, "no, you had your chance", after a breakup with someone who took you for granted and started to call you again. She explained that it is "where you give everything to a relationship but they don't appreciate you back. You get to the point, 'That's it, walk away.'"


Release

Prior to its
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
single release on 18 January 2019, Mabel debuted "Don't Call Me Up" live during her These Are the Best Times Tour in December 2018. On 22 January 2019, the single was promoted with its own lens filter on Snapchat.
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
sent the song to
contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
in the US on 19 February 2019. In Italy, it impacted mainstream radio on 22 February 2019. A remixes
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
(EP) was released the same day. On 1 March 2019, an acoustic version was made available.


Critical reception

Upon release, "Don't Call Me Up" was well received by most music critics. In his review for '' Clash'', Robin Murray called the song Mabel's "most potent pop moment yet", noting her "surging vocal, and the addictive, nuanced songwriting". '' The Line of Best Fit''s Cerys Kenneally found the track "huge" and said it "ignites that Friday feeling", while a reviewer for '' DIY'' deemed it "a bit of an empowerment anthem". Roisin O'Connor, a music correspondent for ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', included the song in her list of favourite new releases, calling it "a self-love banger". In ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', Ed Potton described the track as "an ex-slaying epic of mega-lunged pop melodies". Writing for ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'', Dan Cairns regarded "Don't Call Me Up" as "a hook-filled kiss-off that's both anthemic and irrefutable." '' Billboard'' named it an early contender for song of the summer in the US with writer Gab Ginsberg likening its "infectious" beat to
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
's "
Shape of You "Shape of You" is a song by English singer Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the lead single, double lead singles from his third studio album ''÷ (album), ÷'' (2017), along with "Castle on the Hill". The Dancehall pop, ...
" and its empowerment message to " New Rules" by Dua Lipa. Glenn Gamboa of '' Newsday'' said the groove is similar to "Shape of You", but its attitude "sets it apart" and Mabel "definitely knows how to deliver a kiss-off." In a less favourable review, Michael Cragg of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' found the pre-chorus "exquisite" but the song too "risk-free", and said it "rips ff the "plinky-plonky" beat from "Shape of You".


Commercial performance

"Don't Call Me Up" became the biggest hit of Mabel's career. Following its release, the track debuted at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart with first-week sales of 23,325 units. It rose four spots to number seven in its second week, before entering the top five in its third, holding the fifth position for four consecutive weeks. "Don't Call Me Up" eventually peaked at number three for three consecutive weeks in March 2019, making it Mabel's highest-charting single in the UK and her second to reach the top ten following 2017's " Finders Keepers". The track also topped the
UK R&B Chart Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, and previously the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and ...
for ten consecutive weeks, tying " Old Town Road" as the longest running number-one of 2019. In April 2019, the song was certified gold by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) for selling 400,000 units, and in 2022 it was certified triple platinum for selling 1,800,000 units. In the United States, "Don't Call Me Up" became Mabel's first single to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song initially debuted at number 21 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart before entering the Hot 100 two weeks later, where it debuted at number 97 with 12.3 million radio impressions, six million streams, and 3,000 digital downloads sold on the chart issue dated April 2, 2019. The track moved up to number 92 in its second week and reached a peak of number 66 on the issue dated May 25, 2019. "Don't Call Me Up" also peaked at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart and number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs.


Music video

Mabel first teased the music video for "Don't Call Me Up" by posting two GIFs from the clip on Twitter on 14 January 2019. She shared another image from video on 16 January 2019. The following day, Mabel released a preview of the clip and hosted a live chat on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, ahead of the music video's premiere on the platform at 08:00 GMT on 18 January 2019. According to Sajae Elder of '' The Fader'', "the colorful clip finds the singer surrounded by a gang of her girls, dancing through parking lots, joyriding and smashing phones to help with the heartbreak."


Live performances

On 13 February 2019, Mabel performed "Don't Call Me Up" and a cover of " Touch" by Little Mix for
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
's Live Lounge. She performed the song on Norwegian-Swedish television programme '' Skavlan'' on 22 February 2019. On 7 March 2019, the singer performed the track along with " Fine Line" at the 2019 Global Awards. Mabel also performed "Don't Call Me Up" during the second series semi-final episode of '' Ireland's Got Talent'' on 30 March 2019. She performed the song on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'' on 22 May 2019. Mabel also performed "Don't Call Me Up" at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards and LOS40 Music Awards 2019. In 2020, she performed the song during The Brits are Coming in January. The song was also performed at the 2020 Brit Awards as the opening act for the award ceremony, where Mabel won her first ever BRIT Award. Following the performance the song climbed the UK Single Charts at #34, being the 46th week of the single on the UK Official Charts.


Track listing


Personnel

* Mabel – vocals * Steve Mac – production, keyboards * Chris Laws – drums, engineering * Spike Stent – mixing * Stuart Hawkes – mastering * Tim Laws – guitar * Camille Purcell – background vocals * Dan Pursey – engineering Credits adapted from Qobuz.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Mabel (singer) songs Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Steve Mac Songs about telephone calls Songs written by Kamille (musician) Songs written by Steve Mac Tropical house songs British contemporary R&B songs British pop songs Songs written by Mabel (singer)