BTSTU
"BTSTU" is a song by British songwriter and record producer Jai Paul. A demo recording of the song received widespread blog coverage throughout 2010 after having been uploaded to Paul's MySpace page, as well as receiving numerous plays on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. The BBC's Zane Lowe made "BTSTU (Demo)" his Hottest Record in the World. On the strength of this demo, Paul was long-listed for the BBC Sound of 2011 poll.[1]
"BTSTU" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Jai Paul | ||||
from the album Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) | ||||
Released | 21 April 2011 | |||
Recorded | 2007 | |||
Studio | Paul's home (Rayners Lane, London) | |||
Genre |
| |||
Length | 3:30 | |||
Label | XL | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jai Paul | |||
Producer(s) | Jai Paul | |||
Jai Paul singles chronology | ||||
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Release
An edited version of "BTSTU" entitled "BTSTU (Edit)" was officially released on 21 April 2011, via XL Recordings.[2] The song received airplay again on UK national radio by DJs including Gilles Peterson, Annie Mac, Nick Grimshaw, Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton, with Zane Lowe making it his Hottest Record in the World for a second time.[3]. On June 2nd, 2011, a user with the handle "Jai Paul" on NishaJL Music Blog commented that the name of the track means "Back To Save The Universe"[4].
Critical reception
The single received favourable reviews from The Daily Telegraph[5] and American blog 'The Wounded Jukebox'.[6] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork compared the single to "the unmistakable lope of one J Dilla".[7]
"BTSTU" was included in the end-of-year lists in 2011 by Pitchfork,[8] The Fader, and Pigeons and Planes.[9] The Washington Post mentioned "BTSTU" in their 'Singles File: Best of 2011', describing it as "a precursor to the entire career of James Blake".[10]
Legacy
The song has been influential on underground as well as mainstream pop music in the 2010s.[11][12] The song had struck a chord internationally. The Canadian rapper Drake leaked a track titled "Dreams Money Can Buy" which sampled "BTSTU (Demo)" in May 2011.[13] In July 2011 the song was sampled again for Travis Garland and JoJo's duet "Paint",[14] and New York singer-songwriter Niia uploaded a cover version of "BTSTU" to her SoundCloud page.[15] The 2012 song "End of Time" by Beyoncé also sampled the song.[12][11]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "BTSTU" (edit) | 3:30 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "BTSTU" (edit) | 3:29 |
2. | "BTSTU" (demo) | 3:41 |
Personnel
- Jai Paul – vocals, electric guitar, drums, synthesisers, programming, SFX, engineering, mixing, sound design (remastered vinyl)
- Anup Paul – additional vocals, sound design, mastering (edit)
- Sam Pickering – saxophone
- Dave Cooley – mastering (remastered vinyl)
Charts
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[18] | 139 |
Release history
Version | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Demo | 2010 | Digital download[2][16] | N/A |
Edit | 21 April 2011 | XL | |
6 June 2011 | CD-R | ||
Remastered | 1 June 2019 | 12-inch single[19] |
References
- "Sound of 2011 – Jai Paul", BBC Music. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- "BTSTU (Edit) on iTunes", iTunes. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World – Jai Paul – BTSTU, BBC. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- http://nishajl.com/2010/09/08/jai-paul-btstu/
- "Top Ten Songs Of 2011". The Daily Telegraph. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- "The Wounded Jukebox". The Wounded Jukebox. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- "The Top 100 Tracks Of 2011", Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
- "Jai Paul's BTSTU", Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
- "Pigeons And Planes". Pigeons And Planes. 21 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- Allison Stewart (20 December 2011). "The Singles File 2011". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- "How Jai Paul changed the sound of pop with just two songs". Dazed. 12 September 2017.
- Bassil, Ryan; Jones, Daisy (19 November 2018). "How Jai Paul's Influence Has Spread Beyond Simple Rip-Offs". Noisey.
- "Drake Leaks New Song". Mtv.co.uk. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
- "Travis Garland – Paint ft JoJo", Singers Room. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- "Niia BTSTU", Soundcloud. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- "BTSTU – Jai Paul – Amazon.co.uk". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- "BTSTU Remastered — Vinyl [12]". Jai Paul. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- "CHART: CLUK Update 28.05.2011 (wk20)". zobbel.de. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- "Jai Paul". Retrieved 6 June 2019.