Dirty Picture

For other uses, see Dirty Picture (disambiguation).

"Dirty Picture"
Single by Taio Cruz featuring Kesha
from the album Rokstarr
Released	5 April 2010 (2010-04-05)
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2009
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:39
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Taio Cruz, Fraser T. Smith
Producer	Taio Cruz, Fraser T. Smith
Taio Cruz singles chronology
"No Other One" (2009) "Dirty Picture" (2010) "Dynamite" (2010)
Kesha chronology "Blah Blah Blah" (2010) "Dirty Picture" (2010) "My First Kiss" (2010)

"Dirty Picture" is a song by the British R&B singer Taio Cruz. The song was written and produced by Cruz alongside Fraser T. Smith for Cruz's second studio album, Rokstarr. Originally, Cruz wanted the female vocals to be done by Lady Gaga but opted to switch to Kesha due to heavy influence by Dr. Luke and for finding her voice unique. It was released as the third single from Rokstarr on 5 April 2010 and was later re-recorded as an album bonus track for Kesha's debut album, Animal, dubbed the "Kesha edit". Lyrically, the song's message is about being able to send your significant other that you're missing a dirty picture.

Critical reception of the song was generally positive. Kesha and Cruz's collaboration and vocal work together on the track was generally praised although some critics noted that Kesha overtook the track, outshining Cruz. The song's simple but effective lyrics were also positively received by music critics. Commercially, "Dirty Picture" fared well on the charts. The song reached the top ten in Ireland and the United Kingdom, peaking at ten and six, respectively. The song also reached the top forty in Europe, Australia and Ireland. The song's accompanying music video was filmed in Los Angeles and in London and its concept is intended to be presented as a party.

Background and composition

"Dirty Picture" was written and produced by Cruz and Fraser T. Smith. Cruz originally wanted the female vocals done by Lady Gaga, but opted to switch to Kesha due to heavy influence by Dr. Luke. While collaborating with Kesha, Cruz explained why he agreed to switch to Kesha rather than Gaga, "I heard her first single "Tik Tok" before it was released, and I just really liked how she sounded. I felt her voice was very unique and easily identifiable, and that she was going to do really well."^[1] While being interviewed by MTV News, Cruz elaborated on the collaboration, "She looked really sexy, and I just thought she was talented. Her voice was awesome, It had this — I hope she won't mind me saying this, but her voice has this kind of yodely quality to it, the way that she does things and the way that she ends words. I just loved that quality about it."^[2]

"Dirty Picture" is an upbeat dominant dance-pop song that opens with a "strobing, techno back beat".^[3] The song features a heavy synth backing^[4] while the chorus of the song has been called "trancey" and reminiscent of Benny Benassi's song, "Satisfaction".^[5] Lyrically, Cruz explained the song's message saying, "the song is actually about sending sexy pictures to your significant other, if you miss each other and you can't see each other, you're far away from each other, you send pictures to remind each other of how sexy you are."^[6]

Reception

Critical reception

Kesha's (pictured) performance on the track was generally praised by music critics for her lyrical delivery.

Fraser McAlpine from BBC commented that though the song's lyrics were dumb, silly and crude, "none of [these] are bad things in themselves."^[4] McAlpine complimented the overall sound of Kesha and Cruz's vocal work together on the song commenting, "the jarring clash between Taio's supersmooth soul-gentleman image and Kesha's sloppy drunken nonsense is genuinely fascinating. The song actually transforms from one kind of a thing to another, depending who has their hand on the microphone."^[4] Sara Anderson from AOL Radio was positive in her review of the song. Anderson wrote, "Building from strobing, techno back beats, Taio melodically, and bluntly, asks his muse to take a few, er, risque pictures for him, before transitioning into speaking voice with the help of party queen Kesha."^[3]

Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the single three out of a possible five stars. Copsey wasn't convinced with Cruz's vocal work on the song commenting that Kesha takes over the track, "Cruz's vocals soar over the verses, his delicate tones fails to dent that deliciously trashy chorus. Luckily, guest star Kesha more than steps up to the mark [...] it's a bit of a shame that it's not her version of the song".^[5] Ron Slomowicz from About.com was positive in his review of the track. Slomowicz wrote that Kesha does what she does best, writing that in her talking melodically she "sounds great over this type of production". Cruz's performance was called decent with Slomowicz writing that he is able "to throw some decent vocals into a song about texting naughty pictures" while calling the track "spot-on".^[7]

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, "Dirty Picture" entered the UK Singles chart at number twenty on the issue date entitled 17 April 2010. After weeks of steadily ascending the charts the single reached an eventual peak of six where it remained for one week.^[8] The single also managed to peak at number three on the UK R&B Charts.^[9] In Australia, "Dirty Picture" entered the charts at position thirty-one. On the song's third week on the chart it reached its peak position of sixteen where it remain for three weeks.^[10] It has since been certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for sales of 35,000 units.^[11] In New Zealand the single entered the charts at position thirty-eight, the following week the single rose to position twenty-one and then proceeded to fall off the charts.^[12] The song re-entered the charts on the week titled 14 June 2010 at twelve, the single reached its peak the following week at position eleven.^[12] It has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for sales of 7,500 units.^[13] In the United States, "Dirty Picture" entered and peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at position ninety-six, the same week Rokstarr was released.^[14] In Canada, the song similarly reached its peak on its first week on the chart at position forty-nine.^[15]

Music video

The music video for "Dirty Picture" was directed by Alex Herron^[16] and it premiered online on 24 May 2010.^[2] Recording of the video was done in both Los Angeles and in London. Cruz explain the video's simplistic theme and recording saying, "It was shot in this really cool basement in LA. We wanted it to look like a party scene, but not in a typical club, and it was really good fun. Kesha's shots were recorded in London because our schedules were all over the place, and then I shot the rest in LA."^[17]

The video opens with Cruz driving a car speeding through the desert. It then cuts to a new scene where Cruz is at a house party where everyone is drinking and sending dirty text messages. Throughout the scenes Cruz is seen taking pictures with different women and singing karaoke. Kesha's vocals cut in and she is seen standing in a bathroom stall standing on top of a toilet "asking that her man do the same [and send a dirty picture]."^[2] Once again the video then cuts to scenes of Cruz standing next to his car in the desert singing his verses. The video then cuts back to the party where all of the party goers are seen "sexting, kissing, touching and bumping and grinding as the flashes flash."^[2] Kesha's vocals once again cut in and this time she is seen laying on top of the bathroom sink singing her verses. The video ends with Cruz and Kesha standing next to each other telling their loved ones to "click, click, snap" that dirty picture their way.^[2]

Kesha version

Kesha re-recorded "Dirty Picture" for her debut studio album, Animal.^[17] The song was selective in its release only being sold as an album bonus track in United Kingdom and Ireland, and was dubbed "Kesha edit"^[18] or "Dirty Picture, Pt. 2".^[19] The song is similar to the original recording of the song with the only noticeable change being that Kesha now sings the song's first verse. While being interviewed by Digital Spy Cruz explained how the cover initially came about and his view on the cover, "she asked me if she could do a version of the song where she sang the first verse and I thought that was a really cool idea. I really like both versions, and it's good that there are these two different versions out there, because fans of me get more of me on mine and [Kesha] fans get more of her on hers."^[17]

Track listing

Dirty Picture - CD Single[20] "Dirty Picture" (Feat. Kesha) – 3:40 "Dirty Picture" (Clean Version) – 3:14 "Dirty Picture" (Wizzy Wow Remix) (Feat. Kesha and Scorcher) – 3:45 "Break Your Heart" (The Wideboys Remix Radio Edit) - 3:14 Dirty Picture – EP[21] "Dirty Picture" (Feat. Kesha) – 3:40 "Dirty Picture" (Clean Version) – 3:14 "Dirty Picture" (Wizzy Wow Remix) (Feat. Kesha and Scorcher) – 3:45 "Dirty Picture" (RedTop Extended Remix) (Feat. Kesha) – 5:23 Dirty Picture (The Remixes) – EP[22] "Dirty Picture" Remix (Feat. Kesha and Fabolous) – 3:41 "Dirty Picture" (Wizzy Wow Remix) (Feat. Kesha and Scorcher) – 3:45 "Dirty Picture" (RedTop Extended Remix) (Feat. Kesha) – 5:23 "Dirty Picture" (Paul Thomas Remix) (Feat. Kesha) – 3:37

Dirty Picture (The Remixes)[23] "Dirty Picture" (Dave Audé Radio) (Feat. Kesha) – 3:53 "Dirty Picture" (Jason Nevins Radio Edit) (Feat. Kesha) – 3:34 "Dirty Picture" (Dave Audé Club) (Feat. Kesha) – 7:54 "Dirty Picture" (Jason Nevins Club) (Feat. Kesha) – 6:54 "Dirty Picture" (Jump Smokers Extended Mix) (Feat. Kesha) – 5:13 "Dirty Picture" (Dave Audé Dub) (Feat. Kesha) – 6:10 "Dirty Picture" (Jason Nevins Dubstramental) (Feat. Kesha) – 6:54 "Dirty Picture" (Jump Smokers Instrumental) (Feat. Kesha) – 4:21

Credits and personnel

• Songwriting – Taio Cruz, Fraser T. Smith
• Production – Taio Cruz, Fraser T. Smith
• Engineering – Beatriz Artola
• Mixing – Fraser T. Smith, Neil Tucker
• Mastering – Tom Coyne

Source ^[24]

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (2010) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 16 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[15] 49 European Hot 100 Singles[25] 25 Ireland (IRMA)[26] 10 New Zealand (RIANZ)[12] 12 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[8] 6 UK R&B (The Official Charts Company)[9] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 96

Certifications Country Certification Australia Gold[11] New Zealand Gold[13]

Release history

Region	Date	Format
Australia[21]	5 April 2010	Digital download
New Zealand[27]
United Kingdom[28]	3 May 2010
Netherlands[29]	21 June 2010
Canada[23]	14 September 2010
United States[30]

References

1. ^ Taio Cruz interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' May 2010
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Vena, Jocelyn (2010-05-24). "Taio Cruz Sexts With Kesha In 'Dirty Picture' Video The clip ends with the two together at a sexy house party". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1639856/20100524/cruz__taio.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Anderson, D. Sara (2010-09-14). "Taio Cruz, 'Dirty Picture' Feat. Kesha – New Song". AOL Radio. http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/09/14/taio-cruz-dirty-picture-kesha/. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} McAlpine, Fraser (2010-04-23). "Taio Cruz ft. Kesha – 'Dirty Picture'". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chartblog/2010/04/taio_cruz_ft_keha_dirty_pictur.shtml. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Copsey, Robert (2010-05-03). "Taio Cruz ft. Kesha: 'Dirty Picture'". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. http://www.digitalspy.com/music/singlesreviews/a215297/taio-cruz-ft-keha-dirty-picture.html. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
6. ^ Bhansali, Akshay (2010-03-31). "Kesha's Singing Is 'Awesome,' Taio Cruz Says 'Tik Tok' singer has a 'very unique-sounding voice,' Cruz says". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1635217/20100331/kesha_.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
7. ^ Slomowicz, Ron (2010-01-16). "Song of the Day: Taio Cruz feat. Ke$ha – "Dirty Picture"". About.com. The New York Times Company. http://dancemusic.about.com/b/2010/01/16/song-of-the-day-taio-cruz-feat-keha-dirty-picture.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-11. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Chart Stats – Taio Cruz Ft Kesha – Dirty Picture" UK Singles Chart. Chart Stats. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
9. ^ ^{a b} "Archive Chart" UK R&B Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
10. ^ ^{a b} "Australian-charts.com – Taio Cruz feat. Ke$ha – Dirty Picture". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
11. ^ ^{a b} "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2010-12-31. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.auaccreds2010.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-11. 
12. ^ ^{a b c} "Charts.org.nz – Taio Cruz feat. Ke$ha – Dirty Picture". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
13. ^ ^{a b} "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". RadioScope. http://www.radioscope.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=61. Retrieved 2011-04-04. 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Taio Cruz Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Taio Cruz. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
15. ^ ^{a b} "Taio Cruz Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Taio Cruz. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
16. ^ "Taio Cruz’s Dirty Picture by Alex Herron". Promo News. 2010-04-23. http://www.promonews.tv/2010/04/23/taio-cruz’s-dirty-picture-by-alex-herron/. Retrieved 2010-04-28. 
17. ^ ^{a b c} Copsey, Robert (2010-04-21). "Taio Cruz". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. http://www.digitalspy.com/music/interviews/a215493/taio-cruz.html. Retrieved 2010-12-15. 
18. ^ "Animal". Itunes. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/animal/id345881449. Retrieved 2010-12-15. 
19. ^ Jeffries, David (2010-01-05). "Animal [Clean - Ke$ha"]. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1701297. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 
20. ^ "Dirty Picture [Single"]. Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dirty-Picture-Taio-Cruz/dp/B003EGCWIK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1310658369&sr=8-2. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
21. ^ ^{a b} "Dirty Picture (Feat. Kesha) – EP". Itunes. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/dirty-picture-feat-ke-ha-ep/id381401728. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
22. ^ "Dirty Picture (The Remixes) (Feat. Kesha) – EP". Itunes. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/dirty-picture-remixes-feat/id373765443. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
23. ^ ^{a b} "Dirty Picture (The Remixes) (Feat. Kesha)". Itunes. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/dirty-picture-the-remixes/id390993573. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
24. ^ Album notes for Rockstarr digital album booklet via iTunes..
25. ^ "Taio Cruz Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Taio Cruz. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
26. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
27. ^ "Dirty Picture (New Zealand)". Itunes. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/dirty-picture-feat-ke-ha-ep/id381401728. Retrieved 2010-11-23. 
28. ^ "Dirty Picture (Feat. Kesha) – EP (United Kingdom)". Itunes. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/dirty-picture-feat-ke-ha-ep/id370738066. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
29. ^ "Dirty Picture (Netherlands)". Itunes. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/nl/album/dirty-picture-single/id378713211. Retrieved 2010-11-23. 
30. ^ "Dirty Picture (United States)". Itunes. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dirty-picture-the-remixes/id390993573. Retrieved 2010-11-23. 

External links

• Taio Cruz – Dirty Picture ft. Kesha (Music Video)