Lolita (The Veronicas song)

"Lolita" is a song recorded by Australian duo The Veronicas, released on 27 July 2012. It was written by The Veronicas' Jessica Origliasso and Lisa Origliasso, together with Laura Pergolizzi and Toby Gad, while production was handled by Gad. The song was released as the lead single for what was meant to be their third studio album Life on Mars. However, due to complications with their label Warner Bros. Records, the album was shelved. They were subsequently signed to Sony Music and the album was retitled The Veronicas, but "Lolita" did not appear on the record. The song was later included on their Spotify compilation album Untouched.

"Lolita"
Single by The Veronicas
Released27 July 2012 (2012-07-27)
Genre
Length3:25
LabelSire Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Toby Gad
The Veronicas singles chronology
"Popular"
(2008)		 "Lolita"
(2012)		 "You Ruin Me"
(2014)

"Lolita" is inspired by the Vladimir Nabokov novel of the same name and explores the themes of power play in intimate relationships between people who differ in age and sex. The track was received positively by critics who praised the dark recording. "Lolita" charted in Australia at number twenty-three on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold.

The accompanying music video for "Lolita" was directed by Spencer Susser and features Lisa and Jessica leading an army of masked individuals to attack an alien. To promote the track, The Veronicas performed on various television and radio programs in Australia.

Background

In 2009, after concluding the Revenge Is Sweeter Tour for their second studio album Hook Me Up (2007), Lisa Origliasso and Jessica Origliasso, wanting to seek creativity separately, took time off from working together.[2] In 2010, following their break, the duo began work on their third album, enlisting the help of Butch Vig, Nellee Hooper, Daniel Johns and long time collaborator Toby Gad.[2] The Veronicas were unable to release new music due to internal changes that occurred at their record label Warner Bros. Records, however, in spite of this, they made an appearance at The Viper Room in 2011 to perform new songs for their yet untitled album.[3][4] By 5 July 2012, the duo announced, through an eight-second teaser video, that the title of their new single was "Lolita".[5] They also teased the first lines of the chorus and second verse on their Twitter account on 12 July and 21 July, respectively. Around this time it was revealed that Life on Mars was the title of their third album.[5][6] Initially Life on Mars was to be released by the end of 2012, however, Warner Music pushed the date back to 2013.[7] By October 2013, having still not released new music, Life on Mars was mysteriously shelved.[8] They subsequently left Warner Bros. Records[9] and signed to Sony Music where they released their third album under the new title The Veronicas in 2014. "Lolita" was not included on the final track list for the record.[10][11]

Composition
Critics noted the intro of "Lolita" is very similar to the intro of "Lights" by Ellie Goulding.

"Lolita" was co-written by Lisa Origliasso, Jessica Origliasso, Toby Gad and Laura Pergolizzi in 2010.[12] Taking its name and inspiration from the 1955 novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov, the song draws on the experiences by Lisa and Jessica, of ex-boyfriends and male music executives who would try to manipulate them.[13] In an interview with Noise11, "Lolita" was described by Lisa as, "kind of dark – it's a little bit mysterious and a little bit provoking in a sense."[14] Explaining the theme of the song in the same interview, Jessica stated: "To us, Lolita, is about power play... It's the power play between genders and age groups, as well as people's perception of taboo, boundaries, what is acceptable and what a Lolita is: She's a bad-ass and she's on a mission. She wants to destroy something, either her own perception of what's right and wrong or everyone else's. She wants to prove something to herself."[14]

"Lolita" is an uptempo dance-pop song with elements of rave and house music.[12][15] The recording is set in common time and moves at 135 beats per minute. "Lolita" starts with an arpeggiated synth which has been noted by music critics as bearing resemblance to the intro of "Lights" by Ellie Goulding.[15][16] In the chorus they sing, "I'm your Lolita, La Femme Nikita, When we're together, you'll love me forever, You're my possession, I'm your obsession, Don't tell me never, you'll love me forever."[17] Speaking about the chorus, Becky Bain of Idolator commented that, "the name Lolita is just a euphemism for a sexy, dangerous vixen, more or less."[17]

Release and reception

"Lolita" was premiered on 2day FM on the Kyle and Jackie O show on 26 July 2012, and the digital single and lyrics video was released the following day.[18][19] The artwork features a photograph of Jessica and Lisa's mother, Colleen, in her late twenties.[20][21] After coming across old photos of her, they found there was "something haunting about that particular shot".[21] The sepia toned picture has a curved white border surrounding the edge; in the photo, Colleen is seen standing against a blank wall with both hands behind her back; her hair is parted in the centre and sits on her shoulders and her eyes are directed to her left; she is wearing a buttoned down, long sleeve pleated shirt, underneath a short black dress; the loudspeaker to her bottom-left has a torn white patch on the grille. Above the speaker are the words "The Veronicas" apexing "Lolita", written in black and red capital letters, respectively in impact font. A remix by DJ Connor Cruise was published on SoundCloud on 31 July.[22][23]

"Lolita" received mostly positive reviews from critics who praised the "dark" recording and overall production and hook. PopBytes' Alex Nagorski said "It manages to not feel out of place for mainstream radio while simultaneously being completely unique and challenges the conventions of the genre."[24] Idolator named the "big, radio-friendly single" as one of the "10 Best Songs Radio Ignored," placing it at number seven on the list. The song's production and hook was praised commenting that the "dubsteppy production, a huge hook and an appropriately grimy sound couldn't make it a hit, even if it deserved to be one."[25] MuuMuse's Bradley Stern also praised the hook and production, giving the song four stars out of five. Overall he felt that, "It's a very natural progression from the solid, forward-thinking dark electro-pop of their 2007 record Hook Me Up. It's like a dark Ke$ha stormer–sans vomit and glitter, plus violently obsessive tendencies."[15] Sam Lansky of MTV opined that their third album (which, at that time, was known as Life on Mars) "should continue in the vein of "Lolita" — that is, dark, melodically charged, and ingenious."[16] Upon its release, Take 40 Australia predicted that it would "be a real party starter!"[26] "Lolita" debuted at number twenty nine on the ARIA Singles Chart on 5 August 2012 and peaked at twenty three spending a total of ten weeks on the charts.[27] "Lolita" attained a gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting 35,000 copies shipped in Australia.[28]

Promotion

Music video

The music video for "Lolita" was directed by Spencer Susser of Blue-Tongue Films and made its premiere on PerezHilton.com on 30 August 2012.[29][30] The Veronicas worked on the concept with Susser, wanting to visually explore the "darker side of love through fantasy and science-fiction".[29] Jessica commented on Susser's work, saying: "His cinematic presence brought to life the visual symbolism prevalent in our story of star-crossed love -- and the revenge that follows."[29]

The Veronicas encountered problems with their record label who were concerned about the public response to the concept of the video. In an interview with James Wigney of the Herald Sun, Jessica explained: "They were questioning a few things of the video content of Lolita... And someone piped up saying 'girls, what's your demographic? Do you think you might upset a few people?... I said, 'The song's called Lolita; - this is our personal lives, we are living this. We are not making this s--- up; we are writing about things that are close to home and you might want to rethink the single if you are rethinking the concept of the video'."[2]

Live performances

The first televised performance of "Lolita" was on The X Factor (Australia) elimination show on 2 October 2012. Sung as a medley with their past hits "Untouched" and "4ever", The Veronicas performed together with the top ten contestants.[31] The following day they performed the track on Sunrise.[32] They also performed "Lolita" as a surprise gig on the Pepsi Next Stage Tour bus on 1 October 2012, and at the 2012 Australian Commercial Radio Awards ceremony; both events were held in Melbourne.[33][34] The song has been sung acoustically on radio for Nova 96.9 with Michael Paynter playing guitar. Performed as a medley with "As Long as You Love Me" by Justin Bieber, the chorus of the track is sung instead of the bridge in "Lolita".[35] They also performed the recording on the World Famous Rooftop in Perth for the Today Network.[36]

Track listing
Digital download[18]
  1. "Lolita" – 3:25

Charts and certifications

Release history
Country Date Format Label
Australia[18] 27 July 2012 Digital download Sire Records
Canada[37]
New Zealand[38]
United States[39]

References
  1. ""Lolita" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  2. Wigney, James (26 July 2012). "Lolitas, pumpkins and Veronicas". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times (News Corporation). Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  3. Moran, Jonathon (7 November 2013). "The Veronicas go solo after war with US label". The Daily Telegraph. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  4. McCabe, Kathy (22 August 2011). "The Veronicas rock out LA with edgy new songs". The Daily Telegraph. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  5. Daniels, Colin (5 July 2012). "The Veronicas announce new single, album". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK (National Magazine Company Ltd.). Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  6. Medien, Steffen. "The Veronicas - 'Lolita' (song)". Australian Charts Portal. (Hung Medien). Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  7. Moran, Jonathon (2 September 2012). "Veronicas Lisa and Jess rocket to new heights". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  8. Adams, Cameron (8 October 2013). "The Veronicas slam record company on Facebook". News.com.au (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  9. Savage, Mark (17 November 2014). "The Veronicas' triumphant return from pop purgatory". BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)). Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  10. Brandle, Lars (28 April 2014). "The Veronicas Sign Global Deal With Sony Music, New Album Coming". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  11. Brandle, Lars (5 September 2014). "The Veronicas Tease New Song 'You Ruin Me': Watch". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  12. Lansky, Sam (26 July 2012). "New Song: The Veronicas, 'Lolita'". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  13. McCabe, Kathy (30 July 2012). "Lolita takes sisters to a different place". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times (News Corporation). Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  14. Cashmere, Paul (26 July 2012). "LISTEN: The Veronicas Release Preview of Lolita". Noise11. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  15. Stern, Bradley (26 July 2012). "The New Veronicas Single "Lolita" Is Unsurprisingly Amazing". MuuMuse. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  16. Lansky, Sam (31 August 2012). "Why The Veronicas' Dark Pop On 'Life On Mars' Is Set To Dominate". MTV (Viacom Media Networks). Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  17. Bain, Becky (30 July 2012). "The Veronicas Release New Song "Lolita": Listen". Idolator (Spin Media). Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  18. "'Lolita' – Single by The Veronicas". iTunes Store (AU) (Apple, Inc.). Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  19. The Veronicas (26 July 2012). "@TheVeronicas Status". Twitter. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  20. "The return of the Veronicas". Sunrise. Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.
  21. "Video: Why Are The Veronicas Dateless?". B105 FM (Southern Cross Austereo). 31 July 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  22. "The Veronicas "Lolita" Remix by Connor Cruise on SoundCloud". SoundCloud. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  23. Staff (31 July 2012). "Strike! Connor Cruise Goes On Bowling Date With Girlfriend". Radar Online. American Media, Inc. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  24. Nagorski, Alex (26 July 2012). "Review: The Veronicas' "Lolita"". PopBytes. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  25. Lansky, Sam (24 September 2012). "Summertime Sadness: The 10 Best Songs Radio Ignored". Idolator (Spin Media). Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  26. "LISTEN: The Veronicas New Song 'Lolita' - They're Back And Club Ready!". Take 40 Australia. Authentic Entertainment. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  27. "Australian-charts.com – The Veronicas – Lolita". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  28. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  29. Press (6 September 2012). "The Veronicas Release New Single "Lolita" on iTunes and Premiere Video on PerezHilton.com". MarketWatch. Dow Jones & Company (News Corporation). Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  30. "The Veronicas - "Lolita" (Directed by Blue Tongue Film's Spencer Susser) - Music Videos - Pedestrian TV". Pedestrian TV (Pedestrian Group Pty Ltd,). Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  31. "Top 10 Result Show: Special Guests". The X Factor (Australia). Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012.
  32. "The Veronicas perform 'Lolita'". Sunrise. Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.
  33. Staff (1 October 2012). "The Veronicas team with Pepsi to surprise Melbourne fans with Next Stage Tour". Spice News (The Intermedia Group). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  34. Murfett, Andrew (18 October 2012). "With an air of distinction". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  35. "Nova Acoustic: The Veronicas "Lolita" feat. Michael Paynter". Nova 96.9 (DMG Radio Australia). 29 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  36. "The Veronicas - Lolita". HIT 92.9 (Southern Cross Austereo). 5 October 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  37. "'Lolita' – Single by The Veronicas". iTunes (CA) (Apple, Inc.). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  38. "'Lolita' – Single by The Veronicas". iTunes (NZ) (Apple, Inc.). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  39. "'Lolita' – Single by The Veronicas". iTunes (US) (Apple, Inc.). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
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