"Give It Up, Turn It Loose" is a song by American R&B/pop vocal group

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the singl ...

, released as the fourth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their second album, ''

Funky Divas ''Funky Divas'' is the second studio album by American recording group En Vogue, released by Atlantic Records division East West on March 24, 1992, in the United States. Conceived after the success of their Grammy Award–nominated debut album ...

'' (1992). The song's title is a reference to the

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

song " Give It Up or Turnit a Loose". Released on November 12, 1992 by

Eastwest Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York City. History After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...

, the single reached number 15 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, number 16 on the ''Billboard''

Hot R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart, and number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. It was written and produced by Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster, and features

Maxine Jones Maxine Jones (born January 16, 1962), is an American singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman, best known as a founding member of the R&B/ pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. She sang lead vocals ...

on lead entirely. The music video was directed by

Marcus Nispel Marcus Nispel (born 26 May 1963) is a German film director and Film producer, producer, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003). He has also di ...

. In 1994, the song was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

at the

36th Annual Grammy Awards The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening ...

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Jose F. Promis described "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" as a "

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

good-feelin'"-song. Daryl Easlea for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

noted its "smooth old-school groove".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' felt that here, the group vocally "glides with ease over a languid, retro-

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

shuffle beat. Jazzy flutes and restrained

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

guitars add texture that will warm the hearts of pop and urban folks alike." Randy Clark from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' stated, "Although they use the same basic sound and style, these Funky Divas have opted for a more smooth and kicked back approach on this track, compared to their current spirited hit single, with an over-all vibe that's slightly reminiscent of

Cheryl Lynn Cheryl Lynn (born Lynda Cheryl Smith; March 11, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is best known for her songs during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, including the 1978 R&B/disco song " Got to Be Real" from her albu ...

's '

Got to Be Real "Got to Be Real" is a song by American singer Cheryl Lynn from her 1978 self-titled debut studio album. The song, which was released in August 1978 as Lynn's debut single, was written by Lynn, David Paich and David Foster. Composition Sheet mus ...

'." John Martinucci from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' found that " Maxine and the girls are giving some sisterly advice for those who are stuck in dead end relationships", calling it a "

down-tempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

track". In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

wrote, "If anything 'Give It Up' has less to recommend it than some of the others and so is unlikely to end up one of their bigger hits."

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, Hertfordshire. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', '' 20/20'', '' Sky Maga ...

from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' viewed it as "yet another funky En Vogue thing." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' commented, "In which direction will the

catwalk A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons. This is where ...

lead this time? To soul music a la the

Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their c ...

, or four

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

s." Parry Gettelman from ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' declared the "mid-tempo workout" as "a neat kiss-off song". In a retrospective review, Pop Rescue called it "such a funky track". Mark Sutherland from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave it four out of five, adding, "Not quite as snazzy as their last two hits, but still rather fabulous. The four Voguestresses strut about funkily and inform us that "love knocks you on your behind" in such a poignant fashion that you can only nod sagely and mutter 'how true'." Cheo H. Coker from ''

Stanford Daily ''The Stanford Daily'' is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. ''The Daily'' is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the ...

'' named it "perhaps the most enjoyable on the album; the jam is the catchiest thing since its

Debarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consiste ...

predecessor, ' I Like It', from which it takes its inspiration."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" was directed by German feature film director and producer

. It is made in black-and-white and features the group performing in a beauty parlor while clips of life in the city play throughout the video. It was later made available 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 ...

in 2015, and had generated more than 1.1 million views as of February 2023.

Track listings

* US cassette single # "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" (LP edit) # " You Don't Have to Worry" (club remix) * US maxi-single # "Turn It Loose" (Kevin's Extended R&B Mix) – 5:17 # "Turn It Loose" ("Welcome to the Ghetto" Hip Hop Mix) – 5:26 # "Turn It Loose" (Kevin's Extended Jazz Mix) – 4:58 # "Turn It Loose" (

Somethin' for the People Somethin' for the People was a R&B group from Oakland, California, who scored several hits in the US in the late 1990s. They were best known for their 1997 hit single " My Love Is the Shhh!" featuring Trina & Tamara. History The group was f ...

Remix) – 5:50 * UK CD single # "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" (LP edit) – 4:05 # " Free Your Mind" (Theo's Rap and Wreck Mix) – 5:41 # " Hold On" (radio version with intro) – 5:02 # "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" (Kevin's Jazz Mix) – 4:20 * UK 7-inch vinyl :A. "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" (LP edit) – 4:05 :B. "Free Your Mind" (Theo's Rec & Wreck Remix) – 5:41

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1992 singles 1992 songs Black-and-white music videos East West Records singles En Vogue songs Music videos directed by Marcus Nispel Songs written by Denzil Foster Songs written by Thomas McElroy Song recordings produced by Foster & McElroy