Tightrope (Janelle Monáe song)
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| Single by Janelle Monáe featuring Big Boi | ||||||||
| from the album The ArchAndroid | ||||||||
| Released | February 11, 2010 | |||||||
| Format | Digital download | |||||||
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| Length | 4:23 | |||||||
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| Janelle Monáe singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Tightrope" is a 2010 song by American singer Janelle Monáe, the second official single from The ArchAndroid.
The single premiered on February 11 on Pitchfork Media website, earning an immediate 9/10 rating and their coveted "Best New Music" tag with the companion song, "Cold War", debuting the following day via Monáe's official website.
The official remix, titled "Tightrope (Wondamix)", features rappers B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco. The song is also featured in the video game Just Dance 3. It was featured during the end credits for Happy Feet Two, in a version that interpolates some singing from one of the characters. The song also featured on the third season finale of teen drama 90210.
Speaking in May 2010 to UK urban writer Pete Lewis, deputy editor of Blues & Soul, Monae discussed the background to the song: "'Tightrope' is basically dealing with how in life it's important to keep your balance and not get too high or low about things during the time when you're either being praised or being criticised. Which is something that, as artists, Big Boi and I could both relate to, because there are so many peaks and dips along the journey of just being an artist on the road to success. So we both felt it was important to kinda help those everyday working people who are constantly dealing with life's obstacles, by giving them like a tutorial on how to deal with issues face-on."
"Tightrope" features futuristic, space themes; however, it has also been described to feature "serious old-school entertainer bona fides". Pitchfork Media note that the tracks sped up alien backing vocals are the only thing that keep the theme of sci-fi and of the future. The song has also been compared to singer Amerie's track "1 Thing", and Monae was likened to Katharine Hepburn for her vocals on the track. Pitchfork went on to explain "But when the chorus hits, she switches up into a classic soul-singer wail, the type of immediate retro yowl that keeps Sharon Jones in fancy shoes. And after Big Boi struts on in and rhymes 'NASDAQ' with 'ass crack', she ups the ante, rhyming 'alligators' with 'rattlesnakers,' 'another flavor,' and 'Terminator.' It's just a star performance all around, and God knows we need those lately."
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Wikipedia