Back to Sleep (song)
"Back to Sleep", also known by the censored version title "Sex You Back to Sleep",[1] is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown from his seventh studio album Royalty. The song was released as the album's third single and its first urban single on November 5, 2015.
"Back to Sleep" | ||||
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Single by Chris Brown | ||||
from the album Royalty | ||||
Released | November 5, 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2015 | |||
Genre | R&B | |||
Length | 3:21 | |||
Label | RCA Records | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | ||||
Chris Brown singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Back to Sleep" on YouTube |
The song received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, some noted it as one of the album's highlights celebrating its production, and others criticized its lyrical content. Critics compared the song to Brown's previous singles "Take You Down" (2008) and "No Bullshit" (2011), and also to Marvin Gaye's 1982 song "Sexual Healing". The song became its most successful from the album, peaking at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 5 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Background
The song was written by Chris Brown, Anderson Hernandez, Matthew Samuels, Allen Ritter, and August Rigo, and was produced by Vinylz, Boi-1da and Allen Ritter. Premiered and was sent to radio as the album's third single and its first urban single on November 5, 2015, receiving its commercial release for digital download on November 9, 2015.[2][3][4]
Composition
"Back to Sleep" is an R&B, mid-tempo slow jam that features beats and minor influences of funk and pop music, reminiscent of Marvin Gaye's 1982 song "Sexual Healing".[5][6][7][7][8] The production of the song infuses elements of new school R&B with elements of '80s pop, and is a based on a roland TR-808.[9][10]
Music video
On December 14, 2015 Brown uploaded the music video for "Back to Sleep" on his YouTube and Vevo account.[11] The video begins after the conclusion of Brown's "Fine By Me" music video.
Synopsis
The music video for "Back to Sleep" was directed by Brown.[12] The video begins, after the conclusion of Brown's "Fine by Me" music video, and starts with Brown making a call to his girlfriend, insisting that he come over even though it's late at night. After Brown and his girlfriend get intimate, showing them kissing and touching on display in the shower and bedroom. Intercut with performance clips where Brown sings the song in a club.[13][14]
Live performances
Brown promoted the song with live performances on televised shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live!,[15] Taraji & Terrence's White Hot Holidays[16] and the 3rd iHeartRadio Music Awards.[17]
Remixes
Chris Brown has released three remixes to the song. Part 1 features Usher and ZAYN,[18] and was released as "Back to Sleep (Remix)" on February 26, 2016;[19] in addition to verses from Usher and ZAYN, the remix also features a new verse from Brown where he mentions his ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran and cancels out the rest of the song except the chorus and bridge.[20] Part 2 features Miguel, August Alsina, and Trey Songz, and was released as "Back to Sleep (Remix)" on April 8,[21][22] while Part 3 was released on April 10 as "Back To Sleep (Legends Remix)", and features Tank, R. Kelly and Anthony Hamilton.[23] On August 29, 2016, R&B singer Brandy shared a version of the song with Brown.[24][25]
Critical reception
"Back to Sleep" received mixed reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called the song a "lullaby of sorts".[26] Brad Wete of Billboard said that the song "excels as a quality addition to his catalog’s stellar collection of panty-dropping and baby-making songs", comparing the song to Brown's previous singles "Take You Down" (2008) and "No Bullshit" (2011), and also to Marvin Gaye's 1982 song "Sexual Healing".[7] Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine said that the song is "an otherwise sultry slow jam that centers around an astoundingly ill-advised “f*ck you back to sleep” hook", comparing the song to the sounds of R. Kelly.[27] Mikael Wood of The Courier-Journal described the song as "a coarser number in which Brown puts his needs ahead of an exhausted lover’s".[28]
Chart performance
On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 64 on the week ending January 2, 2016,[29] and reached number 48 on the week ending February 13, 2016.[30] On the week ending March 12, 2016, it reached number 36 on the Hot 100,[31] and number 2 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart.[32] On the week ending March 19, 2016, it reached number 20 on the Hot 100 and became the top Digital Gainer of the week,[33] debuting at number 13 on the Digital Songs chart,[34] having sold 42,000 downloads that week, 32% of which stemmed from the Part 1 remix.[35] The same week, it reached number 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart,[35] number 2 on the R&B Digital Songs chart,[36] and number 3 on the Hot R&B Songs chart.[37] By April 2, 2016, the single had sold 300,620 copies in the US.[38]
Track listing
- Digital download[4]
- "Back to Sleep" (Explicit) – 3:21
- Digital download (Remix)[39]
- "Back to Sleep" (Remix) (featuring Usher and Zayn) – 4:27
- Digital download (Legends Remix)[40]
- "Back to Sleep" (Legends Remix) (featuring Tank, R. Kelly and Anthony Hamilton) – 4:27
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[57] | Platinum | 70,000 |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[58] | Gold | 7,500* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[59] | Silver | 200,000 |
United States (RIAA)[60] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000 |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
References
- "Chris Brown drops a single from his upcoming album "Royalty."". Hotnewhiphop.com. November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- "Urban single coming today! "FUCK YOU BACK TO 2 SLEEP"". Twitter. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
- "Listen to @Power1051 NY right now for my new urban single #SexYouBackToSleep!". Twitter. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
- "Back To Sleep - Single by Chris Brown". iTunes Store (US). Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- "Back to Sleep by Chris Brown". Rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Chris Brown - Sex You Back To Sleep". Hotnewhiphop.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Chris Brown Falls Short of King on 'Royalty': Album Review". Billboard.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Chris Brown & Rick Ross Perform "Sorry" & "Back To Sleep" On Kimmel". Hotnewhiphop.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Chris Brown Doesn't Leave Anything To The Imagination On "Sex You Back To Sleep"". Vibe.com. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Chris Brown - Back To Sleep (Explicit Version)". Vevo. December 14, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Chris Brown Premieres Racy Music Video For "Back To Sleep": Watching". Directlyrics. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Video: Chris Brown – 'Back to Sleep'". Rap-up.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Watch Chris Brown Get Frisky in 'Back To Sleep' Video". Billboard.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Rick Ross and Chris Brown Bust Out 'Sorry' and 'Back to Sleep' on 'Kimmel'". Spin.com. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-04-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Chris Brown Performs "Liquor," "Back to Sleep" and More at 2016 iHeart Radio Music Awards - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "New Music: Chris Brown feat. Usher & Zayn - 'Back to Sleep (Remix)'". Rap-Up. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- "Back To Sleep (REMIX) [feat. Usher & ZAYN] - Single". iTunes. February 26, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
- "Chris Brown-Karrueche Tran Update: Singer Name-Drops Ex In 'Sex You Back To Sleep' Remix". International Business Times. February 20, 2016.
- "Chris Brown - F*ck You Back To Sleep (Remix) Feat. Trey Songz, Miguel & August Alsina". Hotnewhiphop.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "New Music: Chris Brown feat. August Alsina, Miguel, & Trey Songz – 'Back to Sleep (Remix)'". rap-up.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Chris Brown Teases "Back to Sleep" Remixes f/ ZAYN, Miguel, Usher, and More". Complex. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- "Brandy Remixes 'Back to Sleep' by Chris Brown: Listen Now". ThisisRnB. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Brandy Back to Sleep Remix with Chris Brown". YouTube. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Royalty - Chris Brown - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Chris Brown: Royalty - Album Review - Slant Magazine". Slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Chris Brown has no filter on 'Royalty'". Courier-journal.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop". Billboard. March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- "Billboard Hot 100". March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- "Digital Songs". Billboard. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Debut at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart". Billboard. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- "R&B Digital Songs". Billboard. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- "Hot R&B Songs". Billboard. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- Mansell, Henry (April 2, 2016). "Hip Hop Single Sales: Rihanna, G-Eazy & Desiigner". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- "Back to Sleep (Remix) [feat. Usher & ZAYN] – Single". iTunes Store. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- "Back to Sleep (Legends Remix) [feat. Tank, R. Kelly & Anthony Hamilton] – Single". iTunes Store. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Ryan, Gavin (March 5, 2016). "ARIA Singles: Lukas Graham Is No 1 for Third Week". Noise11. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- "Ultratop.be – Chris Brown – Back to Sleep" (in Dutch). Ultratop Urban. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- "Chris Brown Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
- "Lescharts.com – Chris Brown – Back to Sleep" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- "Charts.nz – Chris Brown – Back to Sleep". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- "EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2016-05-03". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
- "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- "Chris Brown Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- "Chris Brown Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
- "Chris Brown Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard.
- "Chris Brown Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard.
- "Hot 100 Songs - Year-End 2016". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- "R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Year-End 2016". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- "R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Songs - Year-End 2016". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2017 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
- "New Zealand single certifications – Chris Brown – Back to Sleep". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- "British single certifications – Chris Brown – Back to Sleep". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Back to Sleep in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American single certifications – Chris Brown – Back to Sleep". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.