- My Wicked Heart
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"My Wicked Heart" 
Single by Diana Vickers from the album Music to Make Boys Cry B-side "The Way You Say It" Released 17 October 2010 Format Digital download, CD single Recorded 2010 Genre Indie rock,[1] experimental[2] Length 2:56 Label RCA Writer(s) Diana Vickers, Dee Adam James Earp Producer Dee Adam, James Earp Diana Vickers singles chronology "The Boy Who Murdered Love"
(2010)"My Wicked Heart"
(2010)"My Wicked Heart" is a song co-written and co-produced by British singer-songwriter Diana Vickers. It was supposedly released as the lead single from the re-release of her debut album, but plans were scrapped and it was revealed "My Wicked Heart" would serve as the first single from her upcoming second album, Music to Make Boys Cry. It was digitally released on 17 October 2010 and physically released on 1 November 2010 by RCA Records in the United Kingdom. The track was inspired by indie music including The xx and The Doors[1] and features Vickers playing the trumpet. Vickers performed the single live on the seventh series of The X Factor on 17 October 2010. "My Wicked Heart" received commercial success peaking at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart making it Vickers' second Top 20 single.
Contents
Background
On the 2 September 2010, various media outlets reported that Vickers was due to re-release her debut album, under a deluxe edition with extra material. Following this announcement, Vickers stated her new single would be called "My Wicked Heart", a video containing a short snippet of the song was uploaded to youtube. On the 12 September, BBC Radio 1 premiered the track, it received mainly positive reviews due to its upbeat tempo. Popjustice even commented, praising it on the middle eight segment; "It is a little bit bonkers and quite a lot amazing."[3] On the 2 October, the following month, Vickers unveiled the video for the single, and it premiered on ITV2 at 6:55pm. According to Vickers, the song is about "someone you're infatuated with for months and months, and you really want them but can't have them – either because they're in a relationship or you're in a relationship."[4]
Critical reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating BBC Radio 1 
[5]Digital Spy [6]Popjustice gave the single a positive review commenting that it resembled, "Florence + The Machine doing "Under The Bridge" via "Crazy Chick" with some big brassy other things thrown in. It is a little bit bonkers and quite a lot amazing.[...] It opens with the line 'hush hush stay quiet, your secret's safe with me'. There is a great 'whoops-a-daisy' bit in the middle eight.[7] But she later went on to describe the song as a mix of quirky dance queen Björk and goth-rockers Siouxsie & the Banshees.[4] SugarScape stated that they were impressed with Vickers new totally diva-esque new song. Where it takes her to a whole new level of cool, showing the claw is well and truly banished and behind her.[8] Mayer Nissim of Digital Spy stated that the song was "smart-but-not-too-clever" and goes on to say "Vickers and her collaborators tease with stop-start verses and heart murmur drums before smashing our ears right through in a kitchen-sink volley of brass, deranged whoops and a blatant-but-brilliant steal from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Under The Bridge'." They also stated that "After a welcome second helping, they take it right back down for a breakdown whose berserk "Whoops-a-daisy" refrain will make the existing Marmite split over her voice look like a happy coalition - all in less than three poptastic minutes." And then went on to reward the track with five out of five stars.[9] Coffee City Music Lounge stated that they liked the song as it is quite different, they went on to say that they liked the beat and he/she likes the 'horns' on the track. "My Wicked Heart" is quirky and fits in with the other tracks on the album.[...] He also said "It’s an odd mix of quirky and creepy, which I like."[10]
Promotion
Vickers performed the single live as her homecoming performance on The X Factor, Series 7, Week 2. Vickers also performed on This Morning on 19 October and gave an interview on Live from Studio Five on 22 October, as well as her video appearing on Freshly Squeezed on 18 October. She performed on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on 2 November. Vickers embarked on a radio tour of the UK leading up to the release of the single.
Music video
Background
Diana Vickers in a frame from the video of "My Wicked Heart".
The "My Wicked Heart" music video premiered on ITV2 at 6.55pm on 2 October 2010. The video was directed by Sarah Chatfield,[11] with producer Tamsin Glasson. The production company was Colonel Blimp. The art director and stylist were Shaun Fenn and Cynthia Lawrence-John. The choreography of the music video was David Leighton, and the credits for Vickers' hair and make-up was Brendan Robertson.[11] Mail Online said that the music video was 'fun' and 'unique'.[12] Within the video Vickers is seen as the lead actress in the circus. She is later seen with a clown's outfit on surrounded by blue, green and white balloons. Going on through the video, she is seen doing a similar scene to Shakira's, "She Wolf" where she is in a cage, pulling herself against the cage bars. She is later seen dressed like Liza Minnelli's Cabaret outfit.
Synopsis
Throughout the music video, Vickers was spotted wearing a number of different outfits.[12] Vickers is seen clad in a pink leotard and cuffed on to a magician's Wheel of Death with a couple of daggers precariously embedded in the board beside her. Vickers revealed to Mail Online that filming that particular scene had left her black and blue and she had to call in a special make-up squad to cover up the marks. She was also left injured after the strenuous dance routines.[12] An insider on the video shoot said: "Diana left after the day's shoot covered in bruises. She felt like she'd been in a boxing match after she was thrown about by her hunky male dancers quite a lot."[12]
Controversy
On 16 October 2010, it was reported that Warner Music Group is considering legal action over similarities between the chorus of "My Wicked Heart" and the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Under the Bridge".[13] Vickers stated she had listened to "Under the Bridge" shortly before writing the vocal line for "My Wicked Heart", and admitted that she had noticed the resemblance but decided against changing it.[14] However, Vickers defended this decision stating it is only a "tiny snippet with different chords".[14]
Track listings
- "My Wicked Heart" – 2:56 (Vickers, Adams)
- "The Way You Say It (Demo)" (Vickers, Chris Braide)
- "My Wicked Heart (Gareth Wyn Remix)"
- "My Wicked Heart (Blackbox Remix)"
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- Digital 2-track Single[18]
- "My Wicked Heart" – 2:56
- "My Wicked Heart" (Campfire Acoustic Version) – 3:43
Chart performance
Upon release, the single steadily climbed up the iTunes chart; although the performance on X-Factor caused it to jump to a peak of number 12. After being predicted to debut at number 12 by BBC Radio 1's Chart Update, the song debuted at number 13 on 23 October 2010 on downloads alone; marking Vickers' second Top 20 single and third Top 40 hit. The following week, the single fell 18 places to number 31. The physical copy was released that week. On 6 November, the single fell yet again to number 46 and then a week later fell a further 33 places to number 79; marking its fourth week within the Top 100.
Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
positionEuropean Hot 100 [19] 42 Ireland (IRMA)[20] 22 Scotland (The Official Charts Company)[21] 12 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[22] 13 Release history
Reigion Release Format UK & Ireland 17 October 2010 Digital Download United Kingdom 1 November 2010 CD Single[17] References
- ^ a b http://web.orange.co.uk/p/web_musicstore/story_diana_vickers_sexy_sound_inspired_by_rock
- ^ http://www.entertainment-focus.com/music/articles/interview-diana-vickers-1
- ^ [1], Popjustice Article
- ^ a b "Diana Talks to Daily Mail about My Wicked Heart". Daily Mail. 3 October 2010. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/showbiz/xs/1008242/See-Diana-Vickers-sexy-new-video-for-My-Wicked-Heart.html. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ McAlpine, Fraser (21 October 2010). "Diana Vickers - 'My Wicked Heart'". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chartblog/2010/10/diana_vickers_-_my_wicked_hear.shtml.
- ^ Nissim, Mayer (October 2010). "Diana Vickers: 'My Wicked Heart". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/singlesreviews/a280684/diana-vickers-my-wicked-heart.html.
- ^ "Diana Vickers talks about new single". Popjustice. 1- September 2010. http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4981&Itemid=9. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
- ^ "SugarScape talk about Vickers new single". SugarScape, Zarakenyon. 5 October 2010. http://www.sugarscape.com/node/567655. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
- ^ Diana's song gets 5/5 by Digital Spy
- ^ Diana Vickers reception Vicker's Critical reception review by Coffee City Music Lounge 12 September 2010
- ^ a b [2], Promo News
- ^ a b c d "Diana Vickers talks about new single". Mail Online, Georgina Littlejohn. 4 October 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1317581/Diana-Vickers-turns-foxy-feline-new-music-video.html?ito=feeds-newsxml. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
- ^ http://www.mtv.co.uk/artists/diana-vickers/news/242362-chili-peppers-to-sue-x-factor-star?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
- ^ a b http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a280370/vickers-defends-using-bridge-melody.html
- ^ "My Wicked Heart: Diana Vickers". Amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0045FCM4I. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ^ "Diana Vicker's My Wicked Heart". HMV.com. http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSearch.do?searchUID=&pGroupID=-1&adultFlag=false&primaryID=0&simpleSearchString=diana+vickers+my+wicked+heart. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ^ a b http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=220;1;-1;-1;207&sku=743019
- ^ "My Wicked Heart: Diana Vickers: MP3 Downloads". iTunes.com. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/preorder/my-wicked-heart-single/id397224118. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/european-hot-100?tag=relcharts
- ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
- ^ "Archive Chart". Scottish Singles Top 40. The Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
Discography Studio albums Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree · Music to Make Boys CryExtended plays iTunes Festival: London 2010Singles Featured singles "Hero"Concert tours HeadliningSongs from the Tainted Cherry Tree TourSupportingJLS Arena TourRelated articles Categories:- 2010 singles
- Diana Vickers songs
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