X (Chris Brown song)
"X" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown, taken from his sixth homonym studio album X (2014), and was released as an instant-gratification track alongside the album pre-order on iTunes on August 25, 2014.[1] It was written by Brown, Diplo, Djemba Djemba, RoccStar, Dewain Whitmore and Sevyn Streeter. Musically, "X" is a song that unites R&B and soul vocals with a dance beat. The song contains lyrics about Brown forgetting a failed relationship with a woman. "X" received critical praise from music critics, which praised the maturity of the lyrics and his production. Following the release of X, as a result of the strong digital downloads, the song charted on multiple charts worldwide; it peaked at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 26 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, number 63 on the French Singles Chart, number 12 on the UK Singles R&B Chart, number 81 on the UK Singles Chart and number 75 on the Australian Singles Chart.
"X" | |
---|---|
Song by Chris Brown | |
from the album X | |
Released | August 25, 2014 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:20 |
Label | RCA |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
Composition and lyrics
"X" is a song that unites R&B and soul vocals with an EDM beat, with an instrumentation provided by a roland TR-808 and synthesizers.[2] In the song Brown sings over a soft beat before transitioning into a more up-tempo sound.[3] In the song, Brown says that he's forgetting a failed relationship with a woman, as he sings, "I swear to god i'm moving on!", admitting his past errors singing "I deal with my pain like a lonely child".[4] Music critics speculated that the lyrics were about Brown's former relationships with aspiring American model and fashion designer Karrueche Tran and Barbadian recording artist Rihanna.[5]
Reception
"X" received critical praise from music critics. Miranda J. of XXL gave a positive review saying that in the song Brown "speaks of maturing and accepts his role in recent events, over the soft beat before transitioning into a more up-tempo sound".[6] Brad Wete of Billboard called the song "Brown's most honest song", saying also that "it's safe to say that this is a man who knows he's got to get his life together and has to prove to himself and others".[7] Slant Magazine's Alexa Camp felt that "X" was "an admirable attempt to take responsibility for his anger-management issues" from Brown, speculating that the lyrics were about Brown's relationship with Barbadian recording artist Rihanna.[8] Marcus Dowling of HipHopDX wrote that "Brown emphatically stating that “[he] swears to god he’s moving on!” is either an amazing kiss-off to well documented on again/off again flame Rihanna, or an angry note to on again/off again mate Karrueche Tran".[9]
Charts
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[10] | 75 |
France (SNEP)[11] | 63 |
Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)[12] | 9 |
UK Singles (OCC)[13] | 81 |
UK R&B (OCC)[14] | 12 |
US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 98 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[16] | 26 |
References
- Brown, Chris. "Download X on @iTunesMusic today!". Twitter.
- http://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2343/title.chris-brown-x
- http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2014/09/chris-brown-x-album-review/
- http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/chris-brown-x
- http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/chris-brown-x
- http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2014/09/chris-brown-x-album-review/
- http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/6251517/chris-brown-x-track-by-track-review
- http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/chris-brown-x
- http://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2343/title.chris-brown-x
- http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20140905-1108/ARIAIssue1279.pdf
- "Lescharts.com – Brown,Chris – X" (in French). Les classement single.
- "The Official Lebanese Top 20 - Chris Brown". The Official Lebanese Top 20. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- "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.