Wikipedia

Katy on a Mission

"Katy on a Mission"is a song performed by British recording artistKaty B.It was released byRinseaccompanied by aB-sidetitled "Louder" as her debut single andlead singlefrom her debut album,On a Mission,on 22 August 2010. The song was co-written byBenga,Katy B and Geeneus, and produced by Benga. Musically, the song is constructed around beats, synths and a bassline found most prominent in thedubstepmusic genre. It achieved charting success in the United Kingdom where it topped theUK Dance ChartandUK Indie Chartwhile peaking at number five on theUK Singles Chart.The single was accompanied by amusic videowhich was directed by Johny Mourgue.

"Katy on a Mission"
SinglebyKaty B
from the albumOn a Mission
B-side"Louder"
Released22 August 2010
StudioRinse & Zinc's
GenreDubstep
Length
  • 4:11(single version)
  • 3:39 (album version)
LabelRinse
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Benga
Katy Bsingles chronology
"Katy on a Mission"
(2010) 		"Perfect Stranger"
(2010)
Music video
"Katy on a Mission"onYouTube

The song has since been certified platinum in the UK for selling over 600,000 copies.

Background

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Katy B had been working withBritish undergroundgrime,garageandhouserecord producerssince the age of fifteen before debuting "Katy on a Mission" to her mainstream audience.[1]The song, originally "just another dubstep track Katy was going to vocal," waswrittenby Katy B and produced by British record producerBenga.In an interview with Kieran Yates ofThe Guardian,Katy mentioned that without Benga's beat, "Katy on a Mission" would have not been as successful.[2]It was inspired by how Katy feels when she goes raving with her friends. Speaking to Greg Cochrane from theBBC,she explained:

Lyricswise, usuallydubstepmakes me want to write about happy, love and dancing with my girls. This track didn't have that feel so I wanted to write about how it feels when you go into a club and there's so much energy in a room - basically putting that into words.[1]

Fraser McAlpine of the BBC said that lyrically, the song has taken club bangers into their next phase by rather than being a club song about a club, it is instead a club song about how some things only make sense in a club situation. He further interpreted, "[The song] is about having a few relationship issues - with aDJ,no less - and how the music is the only thing that makes this sorry situation bearable. ".[3]Technically, the bassline has an unusual 11 beats in 12 (three bars of four). This 11-beat underlies the main tune, and in live performances is performed by trumpet rather than synthesizer. Vocally, the track has aR&Bstyle to it.[4]Katy B began developing this style at the age of thirteen in addition to being influenced byrave musicand the music ofDestiny's ChildandNe-Yo.[1]"Katy On a Mission" was playlisted onBBC Radio 1for nearly two months and has birthed acclaim that Katy B has become the 'female face of dubstep'. In response to the tag, Katy said: "It doesn't bother me if people wanna call it a dubstep song or call me a dubstep singer but I have done other stuff."[1]Singing on dubstep was described by Katy as a different experience, "It can be a bit darker, and that's cool." Katy stated that what she loved about the song was the large amount of energy its instrumental had, deeming it as a main factor to the single's commercial success.[2]

Critical reception

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"Katy on a Mission" received positive reviews from contemporary critics. Fraser McAlpine from theBBCfelt that lyrically the song has a subtle but incredibly welcome refinement to it. He complimented the central refrain of the song saying, it "lingers in the mind like a family of mice lingers in quality wainscotting." McAlpine further highlighted the "stunning waterfall of decayed voices after the chorus" and its "beautiful production trick[s], applied to a lovely mournful melody, with smashing results."[3]Nick Levine fromDigital Spycalled the track fairly sublime; "Over buzzing synths, a lovely blancmangey bassline and beats that manage to be chunky and nimble at the same time - like an overweight contortionist". Levine further said that the loads of ear-snagging "ooh-ooh-oooh-ooh-wooh" hooks acts as the icing of an already scrumptious cake. He went on to say while Katy B tries love, "With a tune as good as this, you don't need to think twice."[5]

Paul Lester ofThe Guardiandeemed the track as "shiny grime" withMercury Prize-winning potential. Lester further complimented the song, saying: "Bass-heavy but definitely more of a song than a series of low-frequency bursts and blasts, it's the perfect balance of urban edge and smoov[sic] R&B/soul". While Louise Brailey ofNMEcalled the song a proper dance anthem, saying: "Her neo-soulful vocals lend a layer of slinky gloss over knotty dubstep swing and rubberised arpeggios, creating a centre-piece of rave that leads the wave of big-room dubstep breaking commercial spheres as we speak."[6]Shawn Reynaldo ofXLR8Rfelt that Benga toned down his trademark chainsaw wobble to a reasonable level, allow Katy B's soulful vocals to shine.[7]The Fader'sJulianne Escobedo Sheperd felt that the "angelic R&B warbles" and "shin-kicking synths" of the track are a similar cross over toRuskoand Amber Coffman's "Hold On" (2010).[8]

Commercial performance

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"Katy on a Mission" debuted and peaked at number five on theUK Singles Chartissued on 4 September 2010.[9]It was the second highest new entry of the week, behindTaio Cruz' "Dynamite"which debuted at number one.[9]The single then dropped three places to number eight. It then spent four consecutive weeks at number eight and six consecutive weeks in the top ten.[10]The song also topped theUK Dance Chartfor two weeks, and theUK Indie Chartfor three weeks.[11]By 31 December, over 277,000 copies had been sold in the UK.

Within the UK, "Katy on a Mission" debuted and peaked at number ten on the Scottish regional chart on 4 September 2010.[12]It was the third highest new entry for that week, behindTaio Cruz's "Dynamite"andBrandon Flowers' "Crossfire".[12]The single also peaked at number twenty-one on theEuropean Hot 100 Singleschart.[13]It debuted at number twenty-nine on Flemish Belgium'sUltratipchart issued on 2 October 2010.[14]

The song was covered by theArctic MonkeysonBBC Radio 1'sLive Loungeon 25 January 2012.

Music video

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The accompanying music video for "Katy on a Mission" was released by Rinse Records on 8 July 2010.[7]The video features Katy and Benga in London nightclubMatter.

Track listings

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  • Digital download[15]
    (386311562, Released: 22 August 2010)
  1. "Katy on a Mission"(Katie Brien, Beni Adejumo, Geeneus)– 4:11
  2. "Louder"(Katie Brien,Benjamin Pettit)– 4:36
  • DigitalEP[16]
    (387162709, Released: 30 August 2010)
  1. "Katy on a Mission" – 4:11
  2. "Louder" – 4:36

Charts and certifications

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Release history

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Country Date Format Catalogue
Ireland[22] 22 August 2010 Digital download 386311562
United Kingdom[15]
Ireland[23] 30 August 2010 DigitalEP 387162709
United Kingdom[16]

References

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  1. ^abcdCochrane, Greg (6 September 2010)."Introducing... Katy B".BBC Newsbeat.BBC.Retrieved5 October2010.
  2. ^abYates, Kieran (3 September 2010)."Katy B: the girl on a mission to shake up the underground".The Guardian.Guardian Media Group.Retrieved6 October2010.
  3. ^abMcAlpine, Fraser (22 August 2010)."Katy B - 'Katy's On A Mission'".BBC Chart Blog.BBC.Retrieved16 September2010.
  4. ^Lester, Paul (19 July 2010)."New band of the day – No 828: Katy B".The Guardian.Guardian Media Group.Retrieved5 October2010.
  5. ^Levine, Nick (22 August 2010)."Katy B: 'Katy On A Mission'".Digital Spy.Hachette Filipacchi Ltd.Retrieved16 September2010.
  6. ^Brailey, Louise (20 August 2010)."Radar Band Of The Week – No. 17: Katy B - Radar Band of the Week".NME.IPC Media.Retrieved5 October2010.
  7. ^abReynaldo, Shawn (8 July 2010)."Watch the Video for Katy B's New Benga-Produced Single".XLR8R.Archived fromthe originalon 21 September 2010.Retrieved6 October2010.
  8. ^Escobedo Sheperd, Julianne (12 July 2010)."Video: Katy B x Benga," On a Mission "".The Fader.The Fader, Inc.Retrieved24 February2011.
  9. ^abc"Official Singles Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  10. ^"Katy B - Katy On A Mission".Official Charts Company.Retrieved5 October2010.
  11. ^ab"Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50".Official Charts Company.Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  12. ^abc"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  13. ^ab"European Hot 100".Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 5 September 2010.Retrieved16 September2010.
  14. ^"ultratop.be - Katy B - Katy On A Mission".archive.is.24 November 2016. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016.Retrieved24 November2016.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ab"Katy On A Mission - Single".iTunes Store United Kingdom.Apple Inc.22 August 2010.Retrieved16 September2010.
  16. ^ab"Katy On a Mission - EP".iTunes Store United Kingdom.Apple Inc. 30 August 2010.Retrieved16 September2010.
  17. ^"Katy B – Katy On a Mission "(in Dutch).Ultratop 50.Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  18. ^"Katy B – Katy On a Mission "(in French).Ultratip.Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  19. ^"Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40".Official Charts Company.Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  20. ^"End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2010".Official Charts Company.Retrieved26 July2019.
  21. ^"British single certifications – Katy B – Katy on a Mission".British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved31 October2020.
  22. ^"Katy B - Katy On A Mission".7digital.ie.22 August 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 7 July 2011.Retrieved16 September2010.
  23. ^"Katy B - Katy On A Mission".7digital.ie.30 August 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 7 July 2011.Retrieved16 September2010.
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