“Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys featuring Nicki Minaj

song info

    “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys featuring Nicki Minaj (official video) is an R&B song.

    
    U.S. Billboard Hot 100: #16 with a bullet, last week #16, down from previous week #12 (twelve), down from previous week #11, up from previous week #21 with a bullet, up from previous week #29 with a bullet, 16 weeks on chart, peak #11 (eleven)
    R&B/Hip-Hop: #3 (three), last week #3 (three), down from previous week #2 (two), previous week #2 (two), up from previous week #5 (five), previous week #5 (five), 17 weeks on chart, peak #2 (two)
    R&B: #2 (two), last week #2 (two), previous week #2 (two), previous week #2 (two), up from previous week #3 (three), previous week #3 (three), 12 weeks on chart, peak #2 (two)
    Pop: #15, up from last week #21, up from previous week #25, up from previous week #29, up from previous week #33, previous week #35 [debut - 1 Dec 2012], 6 weeks on chart, peak #15
    Adult Pop: #35, up from last week #36, up from previous week #40 [debut - 22 Dec 2012], 3 weeks on chart, peak #35
    Radio Songs: peak #39
    Digital Songs: #13, last week #13, down from previous week #7 (seven), down from previous week #3 (three), up from previous week #17, up from previous week #27, 16 weeks on chart, peak #3 (three)
    On-Demand Songs: #26, down from last week #24, down from previous week #23, up from previous week #18, 5 weeks on chart, peak #18
    Ringtones: #5 (five), last week #5 (five), previous week #5 (five), up from previous week #9 (nine), up from previous week #13, up from previous week #20, 15 weeks on chart, peak #5 (five)
    R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #23, last week #23, down from previous week #19, down from previous week #12 (twelve), down from previous week #10 (ten), down from previous week #9 (nine), 17 weeks on chart, peak #9 (nine)
    R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs: #3 (three), last week #3 (three), down from previous week #2 (two), previous week #2 (two), previous week #2 (two), up from previous week #4 (four), 16 weeks on chart, peak #1 (one)
    Japan Hot 100: out of chart, #12 (twelve), down from last week #5 (five), up from previous week #23, up from previous week #24, 9 weeks on chart, peak #5 (five)
    Germany: #8 (eight), down from last week #5 (five), up from previous week #6 (six), down from previous week #4 (four), 5 weeks on chart, peak #4 (four)
    France: #9 (nine), last week #9 (nine), down from previous week #8 (eight), down from last week #7 (seven), 8 weeks on chart, peak #5 (five)
    Canadian Hot 100: #33, down from last week #27, down from previous week #19, last week #19, 10 weeks on chart, peak #19
    YouTube: #16, down from last week #14, up from previous week #16, down from previous week #14, 7 weeks on chart, peak #8 (eight)
    MySpace: #7 (seven), down from last week #6 (six), down from previous week #5 (five), up from previous week #7 (seven), 7 weeks on chart, peak #5 (five)
     Billboard information for the week of Jan 5, 2013
     Billboard chart listings courtesy of Billboard Magazine

link to the static song information page for this song:
http://www.thissideofsanity.com/music/songs/gi/girlonfire.php

    Summary quotation from Wikipedia:

    “Girl on Fire” is a song by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys from her fifth studio album, Girl on Fire (2012). It was written and produced by Keys, Jeff Bhasker, Salaam Remi. The song is an R&B and hip hop ballad. American rock guitarist Billy Squier also earns a writing credit on the song for the inclusion of drums taken from his 1980 song “The Big Beat”. Released on September 4, 2012, as the lead single from the album of the same name, “Girl on Fire” is Keys’ first release under RCA Records following the closure of J Records, after a reorganisation at Sony Music Entertainment.

    “Girl on Fire” was inspired by Keys’ giving birth to her son Egypt and marriage to husband Swizz Beatz. Keys recorded a three-track suite for the song, consisting of the main version in addition to two remixes. The first remix titled “Inferno” adds two new verses from Trinidadian hip hop artist Nicki Minaj whilst the second mix titled “Bluelight” strips back the drums and piano leaving a sparse bass-led production and re-recorded “smokey” vocals. Keys performed “Girl on Fire” for the first time at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards on September 6, 2012, where she was joined by Minaj and American gymnastics gold-medalist Gabby Douglas.

Background and release

    “Girl on Fire” is the lead single and title track from Keys’ fifth studio album Girl on Fire (2012). Alongside the main single, Keys recorded two other versions: the Inferno Remix which features new verses from Trinnidadian hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj and a Bluelight Remix which strips back the vocals and production from the main single. Gerrick Kennedy from the LA Times spoke of the multiple versions of the song commenting that the main single was most likely made for pop radio, but noted that Minaj’s verses on the Inferno Remix would probably get noticed more. On being able to premiere her new song at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Keys said:

“Debuting a new song at the VMAs is definitely special. I debuted ‘No One’ at the VMAs — it was the first time anyone in the world heard ‘No One,’” Keys said. “It’s the perfect setting. It’s the right energy. It’s the right vibe. People are so excited about the night of music and hearing different styles that it just goes over really well. I can’t wait!”

Music and lyrics

Main version

    “Girl on Fire” is a midtempo R&B and hip hop song written by Keys, Jeff Bhasker, Salaam Remi and American rock guitarist Billy Squier. Squier earns a writing credit for the inclusion of a sample of the drum track from Squier’s 1980’s song “The Big Beat”. Composed on the key of A major, “Girl on Fire” uses common time and is set to a “heavy beat” at a tempo of 96 beats per minute. Key’s vocals range in the song over an octave from a lote note of C♯₃ up to a high note of E₅. On the main single, Keys opens the songs with the lyrics “She got both feet on the ground and she’s burning it down. She got her head in the clouds and she’s not backing down. This girl is on fire.” Keys’ lyrics centre around toasting the “achievements of women everywhere”, particularly with the hook “She’s just a girl and she’s on fire”, which according to MTV’s Rob Markman is delivered with a “calming-yet-commanding wail”. Markman also spoke of the pace of the song, describing it as “pulsating”. LA Time’s Gerrick Kenndey expanded further describing the songs components as “a fierce battlecry over a fast-building simplistic hook”. Critics likened “Girl on Fire” to Keys’ previous singles “No One” (2007) and “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart” (2009). Throwing “If I Ain’t Got You” (2004) into the list of comparisons, Erin Thompson from Seattle Weekly said “Girl on Fire” compares to previous Keys’ ballads with its “quiet, unassuming verses leading into big, empathic choruses.”

Inferno version

    The Inferno remix features Trinidadian hip hop artist Nicki Minaj. Based on the same melody and production as the main single, the inferno remix contains two verses from Minaj. The first two verses of the song were described as “understated” by Carl Williot from Idolator, with Minaj leading the remix with a rap. She raps “Took me on the balcony, telling me to jump with her/ Yeah I’m in the ghost but I ain’t doing stunts with her/ I ain’t trying to be that, haters want to see that/ But I got ’em aggy, cause I win the gold like Gabby”. Minaj also talks about being haunted by the ghost of Marilyn Monroe. In the second verse from Minaj, the subject matter switches to her fans the “Barbz” with the lyric “And to my core fans, keep reppin’ me/ Do it till the death of me/ ‘X’ in the box, cause ain’t nobody checkin’ me.” Markman noted that in this verse, Minaj switched her delivery style to “more of a whisper”. Entertainment Weekly’s Kyle Anderson described Minaj’s verses as “more prominent” than Keys’ and noted that the production was influenced by garage music.

Bluelight version

    By contrast, the Bluelight version features a slower production and re-recorded vocals. According to the LA Times’ Gerrick Kennedy, the Bluelight remix has a production based on “dripping” synths and “light” chord progressions. Kennedy particularly noted a difference in Keys’ vocal tone, describing it as “smokey” and comparable to that see on Keys’ 2009 single “Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)”. Mark Edward Nero from About.com also compared the “Girl on Fire” to Keys’ single “You Don’t Know My Name” (2003). Idolator’s Carl Williot described how on this stripped version, “gone is Minaj, gone are the piano plinks and gone are the martial drums” completely changing the composition of the Bluelight version. Williot described how Keys’ vocals take on a “more emotional performance” while the melody is replaced with “faint bass drops and a hushed drum machine”.

Music video

Main version

    The music video for the song, premiered on BET’s 106 & Park on October 19, 2012, and was directed by Sophie Muller. The video portrays Keys as a working mother caring for her kids and an elderly mother, has received wide acclaim from critics. Christopher Farley from the Wall Street Journal was of the opinion that Keys is making 21st century domesticity sexy, and is “an intriguing move for a pop-soul star”. Rolling Stone magazine says Keys “applies glamour and magic to household chores”, and made reference to Mary Poppins being an inspiration in the videos magic scene.

Inferno version

    The video for the Inferno remix was uploaded to VEVO on November 2, 2012. It is much the same video as the main version but with Minaj’s scenes pasted in the video. With Minaj’s first verse, she appears in front of a red and black wall wearing a black and white outfit. In Minaj’s second verse, we see her singing on a TV screen wearing a black outfit and having a starry night sky behind her.

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