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Yesterday I mentioned that the new Shakira album She Wolf was irresistible to me because of its twisty, dancey strangeness, although figuring out a way to fit its globally minded disco into the American market was clearly seen as a tough task by her label—after “She Wolf” stalled on the Hot 100 it was summarily given a pushed-back release date, which is now slated for sometime next month. (Note that her promotional appearances on high-profile American TV shows—Dancing With The Stars, Saturday Night Live—are slated for this week.) However! If the new song from the soon-to-be-released American version of the album is any indication, Shakira’s label Epic is seriously going into Code Red mode when it comes to making this thing break both America and even. Ladies and gents, I give you “Give It Up To Me” by Shakira and Timbaland and Lil Wayne!
Well, I do like how this song retains the innate oddness of the album, and as “Timbaland tracks that are meant to save seemingly unsaleable albums” go, it’s certainly better than the track where he asks to visit M.I.A.’s teepee. But part of me feels like the Hail Mary pass that is this song is a) a bit too soon and b) can also be chalked up to a failure of pre-release imagination on the part of Epic’s promo people. Yes, She Wolf is a bit of an outlier on the radio right now, but could one not argue that a large chunk of its target demographic is made up of the type of people who would get together for the purposes of dancing at radio-station-sponsored disco nights on the weekends? Head out to those parties, slip “Spy” or even “She Wolf” into the playlists, and see what happens. I am so sure that when the similarly dinky-sounding “Hips Don’t Lie” was initially presented to the suits at Sony, there was much confusion—and that song would go on to be one of the Colombian singer’s biggest hits in the States.
Shakira feat. Lil Wayne and Timbaland – Give It Up To Me [YouTube via Shallow Nation]
Earlier: Shakira’s New Album Needs To Be Let Out Of Its Cage
Looks Like Epic Figured Out A Way To Make The Shakira Record America-Friendly
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Can Chris or someone similarly inclined do a story determining exactly when the charts became a rolling collaborative mixtape?
@NedRaggett: I blame J.Lo.
Remember that string of album-resuscitating, full-rerecording singles with rappers that topped the charts in 2001-02? (”I’m Real,” “Ain’t It Funny.”) Come to think of it, those were all on Epic/Sony, too! Coincidence…?
@Chris Molanphy: Wow, 9/11 did change everything.
jesus christ when will america figure this shit out? never? are we doomed to be a second-rate cultural backwater?
EPIC fail.
@Chris Molanphy: Wasn’t there also a series of Ashanti feat. Ja Rule and Ja Rule feat. Ashanti (and some other combinations feat. those two) singles around that same time?
@Thierry: oh yeah — ‘always on time’ with ja rule, ‘what’s luv’ with fat joe and ja rule. UGGH ashanti is the worst!
and let’s not forget kelly rowland and nelly’s ‘dilemma,’ from 2002.
@Thierry: @Maura: All fine examples (Ashanti, Ja Rule, Nelly) of backscratching rapper-and-singer singles, but they all came after J. Lo.
Also, I don’t think that any of those were last-minute or belated additions to already-released albums. Epic/J. Lo essentially invented that gambit with the two circa-9/11 singles, as per Ned’s comment above.
Also, make sure you don’t miss out on T-Pain’s “She Wolf” remix!
At least Shakira maintains her weird vocals on this song and there are certainly moments in which it has a seductive foreignness. Subtract those factors from this song, though, and you’ve got “Promiscuous Girl: Part Deux”
As for this song itself, I like it. I don’t mind these desperation moves when they result in fun songs. I also think the T-Pain She Wolf remix is great, and everyone I have played it for (including those who love the original) like it too.
That said, I’d love to see “Good Stuff” as a U.S. single. And “Did It Again” has potential too.
I’m still holding out for the batshit Shakira/Erykah duet that this album has given me needs for. It’s so crazy unsaleable it could work.
The timing on the promotion seems really off. The product needs to be available now. I saw the SNL performance, which was one half great the other half eh, and I still can only buy the “She Wolf” single. Look, by the time it is released, every one who will want it will have downloaded the record or have forgotten about it. It just seems like a huge mess up.