Romeo (Basement Jaxx song)

"Romeo" is a song by British electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, which was released on their second studio album Rooty (2001). The single was released on 4 June 2001 as the first single from the studio album. The song received acclaim from music critics, with many referring to it as one of the best dancefloor anthems to date. "Romeo" also experienced commercial success, becoming one of Basement Jaxx's biggest international hits, peaking at number six in their native United Kingdom and reaching the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand and Norway. The song has an accompanying music video, which features an Indian background.

"Romeo"
Single by Basement Jaxx
from the album Rooty
B-side
  • "Bongoloid"
  • "Camberwell Skies"
Released4 June 2001
Recorded2000
Genre
Length3:36
LabelXL
Songwriter(s)
  • Felix Buxton
  • Simon Ratcliffe
Producer(s)
  • Felix Buxton
  • Simon Ratcliffe
Basement Jaxx singles chronology
"Bingo Bango"
(2000)		 "Romeo"
(2001)		 "Jus 1 Kiss"
(2001)

Song information

After the success of the group's first album Remedy, the group had decided to record and compose a new studio album. "Romeo" was one of the first songs recorded, composed and produced by the group. The production of the song was held off because the group had just released their unreleased compilation album Jaxx Unreleased in 1999. "Romeo" was released on 4 June 2001 as the first single of the duo's best-to-date album Rooty (2001). The vocals of the song were sung by fellow British R&B singer Kele Le Roc. The song was produced and written by Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe themselves. Romeo is a dance-pop song, which shares a lot of disco and house music influences and samples "Don't let the rainbow pass me", a 1981 Disco single by Cloud One. The song was first written with Buxton singing the lyrics "I used to be your Romeo".[1]

The song was used in many independent and mainstream soundtracks. The song was also featured on the PlayStation game series SingStar.[2] The song is available as a music video format on iTunes. Before the studio version was recorded and released, there was an acoustic version which was released on the groups EP called Xxtra Cutz (2001), which also featured the B-sides to the single's release.

Another version of "Romeo" was recorded at the BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. This acoustic version was featured on the group's third single off the album, "Where's Your Head At?", as a bonus remix. The B-side track of the single, "Bongoloid", is a UK garage song featuring voices of two 11-year-old boys from Streatham who pitched up at their record label Atlantic Jaxx after looking them up in Yellow pages.[3]

Critical reception

"Romeo" was acclaimed by many music critics. John Bush from Allmusic highlighted the song as an album highlight, as he had said ""Romeo," is groovy and luscious enough to be the next single from Destiny's Child".[4] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly had complimented the track as he agreed liking its "old school disco" music.[5] Lou Thomas from BBC Music had said ""Romeo" is still a bittersweet pop classic and will break your heart or make you dance in one frantic twitch."[6] NME gave it a very positive and achievable review, saying "Romeo' is a fantastic single from a good album, 'Rooty'; a frisky slip of spicy feminine pop perfectly tailored for maximum radio rotation." They also finished "Never complacent and always striving to be inventive, if it feels good, the Jaxx say, do it."[7] Andy Herman from Popmatters referred the song as a "Signature Jaxx dancefloor anthem". He also said "complete with a sassy disco-diva vocal, cornball lyrics, and cheesy new wave synths and background vocals that quickly establish the duo's obsession with retro kitsch."[8] MusicOMH had also described the song as "terrific" and a "summer hit".[9] Rolling Stone had described the song as "synthetic but warm hit".[10]

Malcolm Seymour from Pitchfork Media was the dissenting critical voice; he gave it a mixed review. He said "the creepily Janet-esque "Romeo," commences the program on a bitter note. Featured diva Kele Le Roc's mindless lyrics spill over the predictable, shallow melodies, bland beats and clichéd basslines."[11] Pitchfork later listed the song at number 50 on their The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s.[12] Stylus Magazine had listed the song at number 47 on their Top Singles of the Decade.[13] As an album review, Stylus said ""Romeo" is vindicated in a glorious Bollywood-esque example of pop music." But as a ranking review, they had describe it as "joyful", "bouncy", "cheerful" and "catchy". Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine had listed the song at number 116 on their Rest of the Best of the Aughts Top 500.[14] The Word Press had listed the song at number 46 on their The Best Songs Of The Naughties Top 100 and said "But paradoxically it's Basement Jaxx's less manic approach to production that makes Romeo so addictive.".

Chart performance

"Romeo" is known as one of Basement Jaxx's signature songs. The song debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's third top 10 hit in their native country. It also topped the UK Dance Chart and the UK Indie Chart. The song released in North America as well, where it peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number 10 on the Canadian Singles Chart.

The song experienced success in mainland Europe and New Zealand as well. The song debuted at number 41 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, then rose to number nine eight weeks later, staying in the charts for 14 weeks in total. It also reached the top 10 in Norway, debuting and peaking at number nine on the Norwegian Singles Chart; however, the song had less success in other European countries. It peaked at number 74 in France and number 82 in the Netherlands, but it did manage to reach the top 50 in Sweden—peaking at number 41—and the top 20 in Denmark—peaking at number 20.

Music video

The music video is a tribute to old 1960s and 1970s Indian Bollywood films. The music video starts with an interlude of a billboard which says "Music by Basement Jaxx ROMEO Bollywood Blockbuster," showing a traditional Bollywood movie poster of 'Romeo' featuring the video's main characters. The video then tells the story, showing places of India, where it shows Divya Dutta, an Indian actress, in a sari. When the verse starts, she and a group of dancers dance to the song in a Bollywood style. It also shows her with a man that she loves, and another man who loves her as well. As they get in a car and run away, she later goes home crying because of him. The two men fight for her love, a car chase follows with one eventually being the victor, and at the end, it features a group of them and her love, dancing in front of an Indian Temple, where it features fountains, flowers and fireworks. It then ends when she is with her love at sunset. In the music video, the actors do different genres of dances in the video from a traditional Indian dance to a more pop culture style.

Track listings

Charts
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References
  1. "I am Felix Buxton (or Felix Jaxx), from Basement Jaxx. I make and produce music. The Basement Jaxx New "Junto" album is released this week! Ask me Anything. Sending You Good Vibrations! • r/electronicmusic". reddit.
  2. "SingStar".
  3. McLean, Craig (25 June 2001). "All right Jaxx". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. "Rooty - Basement Jaxx - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  5. "Article 99".
  6. Thomas, Lou. "BBC - Music - Review of Basement Jaxx - Rooty".
  7. "Basement Jaxx : Romeo - NME". NME.
  8. Basement Jaxx - Rooty review Popmatters.com
  9. http://www.musicomh.com/albums/basement-jaxx.htm
  10. Rolling Stone New Music Report: Basement Jaxx.
  11. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty Album Review - Pitchfork". www.pitchfork.com.
  12. "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 50-21 - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
  13. "Thestylusdecade.com". thestylusdecade.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  14. "Rest of the Best of the Aughts: Albums & Singles (#101 - 250) - The House Next Door - Slant Magazine".
  15. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Romeo" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  17. "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  18. "Danishcharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Romeo". Tracklisten. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  19. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19 no. 26. 23 June 2001. p. 12. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  20. "Lescharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Romeo" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  21. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Romeo". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  22. "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 14 June 2001". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Basement Jaxx – Romeo" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  24. "Charts.nz – Basement Jaxx – Romeo". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  25. "Norwegiancharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Romeo". VG-lista. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  26. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  27. "Swedishcharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Romeo". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  28. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  29. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  30. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  31. "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  32. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
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