X (Chris Brown song)
"X" | ||||
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Song by Chris Brown from the album X | ||||
Released | August 25, 2014 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:20 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Writer(s) |
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Producer(s) | ||||
X track listing | ||||
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"X" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown, taken from his sixth homonym studio album X (2014), and was released as an instant-gratification track alongside the album pre-order on iTunes on August 25, 2014.[1] It was written by Brown, Diplo, Djemba Djemba, RoccStar, Dewain Whitmore, Jr. and Sevyn Streeter. The song was produced by Pop Wansel and Dayvi Jae. Musically, "X" is a song that unites R&B and soul vocals with a dance beat. The song contains lyrics about Brown forgetting a failed relationship with a woman. "X" received critical praise from music critics, which praised the maturity of the lyrics and his production. Following the release of X, as a result of the strong digital downloads, the song charted on multiple charts worldwide; it peaked at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 26 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, number 63 on the French Singles Chart, number 12 on the UK Singles R&B Chart, number 81 on the UK Singles Chart and number 75 on the Australian Singles Chart.
Composition and lyrics
"X" is a song that unites R&B and soul vocals with an EDM beat, with an instrumentation provided by a roland TR-808 and synthesizers.[2] In the song Brown sings over a soft beat before transitioning into a more up-tempo sound.[3] In the song, Brown says that he's forgetting a failed relationship with a woman, as he sings, "I swear to god i'm moving on!", admitting his past errors singing "I deal with my pain like a lonely child".[4] Music critics speculated that the lyrics were about Brown's former relationships with aspiring American model and fashion designer Karrueche Tran and Barbadian recording artist Rihanna.[5]
Reception
"X" received critical praise from music critics. Miranda J. of XXL gave a positive review saying that in the song Brown "speaks of maturing and accepts his role in recent events, over the soft beat before transitioning into a more up-tempo sound".[6] Brad Wete of Billboard called the song "Brown's most honest song", saying also that "it's safe to say that this is a man who knows he's got to get his life together and has to prove to himself and others".[7] Slant Magazine's Alexa Camp felt that "X" was "an admirable attempt to take responsibility for his anger-management issues" from Brown, speculating that the lyrics were about Brown's relationship with Barbadian recording artist Rihanna.[8] Marcus Dowling of HipHopDX wrote that "Brown emphatically stating that “[he] swears to god he’s moving on!” is either an amazing kiss-off to well documented on again/off again flame Rihanna, or an angry note to on again/off again mate Karrueche Tran".[9]
Charts
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA)[10] | 75 |
France (SNEP)[11] | 63 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] | 81 |
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[13] | 12 |
US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 98 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] | 26 |
References
- ↑ Brown, Chris. "Download X on @iTunesMusic today!". Twitter.
- ↑ http://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2343/title.chris-brown-x
- ↑ http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2014/09/chris-brown-x-album-review/
- ↑ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/chris-brown-x
- ↑ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/chris-brown-x
- ↑ http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2014/09/chris-brown-x-album-review/
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/6251517/chris-brown-x-track-by-track-review
- ↑ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/chris-brown-x
- ↑ http://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2343/title.chris-brown-x
- ↑ http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20140905-1108/ARIAIssue1279.pdf
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Brown,Chris – Wall to Wall" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Chris Brown: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2014-27-09" UK R&B Chart. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Chris Brown – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Chris Brown.
- ↑ "Chris Brown – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Chris Brown.