Closer (Ne-Yo song)

"Closer"
Single by Ne-Yo
from the album Year of the Gentleman
Released	March 15, 2008
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	2008
Genre	Dance-pop, R&B, House
Length	3:54
Label	Def Jam
Writer(s)	Magnus Beite, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Bernt Rune Stray, Shaffer Smith
Producer	Stargate
Certification	Platinum (RIAA), (RIANZ)[1] Silver(BPI)[2]
Ne-Yo singles chronology
"Finer Things" (2008) "Closer" (2008) "Miss Independent" (2008)

"Closer" is a 2008 Single by American pop/R&B singer Ne-Yo. The song was produced by Stargate.^[3]

The song was released as the first single from his third album Year of the Gentleman. It reached #1 in the UK, scoring Ne-Yo his second UK No.1 following 2006's So Sick. "Closer" became the fifteenth biggest selling single in the UK in 2008 according to BBC Radio 1's chart of the year.

The song and its music video were used in a commercial for Overstock.com in early 2008. The commercial was also used as promotional tool for Year of the Gentleman.

Song information

"Closer" marks a musical departure for Ne-Yo, taking on a dance pop style over the more rhythmic and urban sound his songs usually possess. In the song, Ne-Yo sings of having an urging attraction to a woman he sees, having the desire to "come closer" to her. His attraction to her becomes stronger, and almost hypnotic, as he sings "And I just can't pull myself away, under a spell I can't break/I just can't stop." The song was featured in episodes of the CW shows Gossip Girl and 90210.

Background

Speaking in May 2008 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Ne-Yo explained the inspiration behind the song: "It was very much inspired by just the vibe of some of these house and techno clubs we went to while we were in London. You know, kinda smoky, kinda dark and mysterious... With just that constant, four-on-the-floor house beat that just really gets bashed into your skull the whole time you're there, by the way the music makes you feel. I basically tried to capture that energy and put the Ne-Yo spin on it. And 'Closer' was the end result."^[4]

Awards and nominations

This song was number 60 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.^[5] The song was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, while the Stonebridge Radio Edit was nominated for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical^[6] for the 51st Grammy Awards, which were held on February 8, 2009.

Music video

The video was filmed at Santa Clara Studios, California.^[7] It was directed by Melina Matsoukas who also directed his "Because of You" and "Do You" video. Ne-Yo wore a "gentleman-looking" suit dancing with a woman. Other shots also show him alone in the center of the spotlight being backed up with four dancers, or with a Matchless motorcycle. A number of on-set pictures from the video leaked over the Internet.

The video premiered on BET on April 25, playing every hour of the day with the last airing being at 7 PM.^[8] It features Ne-Yo performing dance moves, with lyrics from the song occasionally appearing on-screen.

The video was nominated in the "Best Dancing In A Video" category at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, but it lost to Pussycat Dolls's "When I Grow Up" which would appear in Dance Dance Revolution a year later.

Track listing

• UK CD Single

1. "Closer" - 3:54
2. "Closer" (Agent X Bassline Remix) - 5:22
3. "Closer" (Instrumental) - 3:54
4. "Closer" (Video)

Remixes

1. "Closer" (StoneBridge Club Remix) - 7:36
2. "Closer" (Subkulcha House Remix) - 7:22
3. "Closer" (Cotto's Club Mix) - 7:56
4. "Closer" (Cotto's Can't Stop Remix) - 7:25
5. "Closer" (StoneBridge Dub) - 6:37
6. "Closer" (G Music Remix)
7. "Closer" (Tha Bizness)
8. "Closer" (X-Mix Remix)

Cover versions

Los Angeles based modern rock/pop band, Ice Cream Fire covered the song on their 6-song demo, released via their websites in 2011.

Las Vegas pop rock band The Higher covered the song on their June 2009 release It's Only Natural.

UK-based rock band Kenai have covered the song as a download-only release. Michigan band Call It Karma and Colorado band Blue Dog And Sponge Cake have also covered the song.^[9]

Laura White covered the song in the summer of 2009 at festivals she was playing at.

Australian Idol 2008 finalist Madam Parker covered this song on the Top 12 Idol's Idols night and was safe on the following verdict show. Parker recorded a cover for that season's Top 10 Cast Album.

Romy Madley Croft of UK Mercury Music Prize winning band The xx covered the song in 2009. The cover was produced by UK electronic pop producers Kwes and Micachu and is featured in the two producer's collaborative mixtape - Kwesachu Vol.1.

Chart performance

"Closer" is Ne-Yo's most successful single in Europe, and in general. It debuted at number twenty-two on the UK Singles Chart, and managed a peak of number one based on downloads alone after seven weeks on the chart. Upon the release of the physical CD single, "Closer" climbed to number-one, becoming his second UK number one, following "So Sick", "Closer" spent 11 weeks in the UK Top 10. In Ireland, "Closer" initially peaked at number-twelve for four weeks before jumping to number-three. It has peaked at number four on the German Singles Chart, becoming his highest charting single there. It recently debuted at #37 in Italy. In addition it has peaked in the top ten or top twenty in Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland.

In the United States "Closer" peaked at number-seven, becoming his seventh top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. While having a relatively weak peak on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs for a Ne-Yo song, peaking outside of the top twenty at #21, "Closer" has instead had surprising success on Top 40 radio. After losing its bullet and falling down the charts on CHR/Top 40, suddenly the track exploded and frequently had the biggest bullet on pop radio, at times with over +1000. It has become his biggest U.S. radio hit, despite the lack of Urban airplay, becoming his first song to top the Hot 100 Airplay chart. As of August 2011, "Closer" has sold nearly 2,000,000 digital downloads in the US alone, making it Ne-Yo's best-selling song as a lead artist.^[10]

The song jumped fifteen spots from number-twenty to number five on the New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart and reached a peak of number-three, it has also been certified Platinum with sales of over 15,000.^[1] In Australia, "Closer" debuted at number-seventeen on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and has thus far peaked at 8, and is his second top ten single after "So Sick".

Charts

Charts Peak position Australia (ARIA)[11] 8 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[12] 9 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 24 Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[14] 28 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[15] 19 Czech Republic (IFPI)[16] 6 Denmark (Tracklisten)[17] 12 European Hot 100 Singles[18] 4 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 9 Germany (Media Control AG)[20] 4 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[21] 15 Hungary (Dance Top 40)[22] 25 Ireland (IRMA)[23] 3 Italy (FIMI)[24] 10 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[25] 85 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[26] 12 New Zealand (RIANZ)[27] 3 Norway (VG-lista)[28] 17 Slovakia (IFPI)[29] 6 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 40 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 17 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[32] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[33] 7 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[34] 21

Year-end charts Charts (2008–09) Position Australian Singles Chart[35] 28 Austrian Singles Chart[36] 54 Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[37] 89 Dutch Top 40[38] 45 European Hot 100 Singles[39] 28 German Singles Chart[40] 29 Hungarian Singles Chart (2008)[41] 81 Hungarian Singles Chart (2009)[42] 53 New Zealand Singles Chart[43] 20 Swiss Singles Chart[44] 78 UK Singles Chart[45] 15 US Billboard Hot 100[46] 20 US Mainstream Top 40[47] 14 Certifications Country Certifications (sales thresholds) Australia Platinum[48] New Zealand Platinum[1] United States Platinum[49]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "October 18, 2009: New Zealand Platinum Certification". RadioScope New Zealand. 2009-10-18. http://www.radioscope.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=63. Retrieved 2009-10-20. 
2. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Ne-Yo's 'Gentleman' Inspired By Davis, Sinatra at Billboard
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5. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved 2009-01-12
6. ^ Coldplay, Jay-Z and Ne-Yo Lead Grammy Nominations Accessed February 8, 2009
7. ^ Top Billboard Today - Online Accessed July 8, 2008^{[dead link]}
8. ^ Nigel D (2008-04-11). Ne-Yo On The Set Of His New Video For Closer Real Talk NY. Accessed April 22, 2008.
9. ^ United States (2009-06-29). "Blue Dog And Sponge Cake | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/bluedogandspongecake. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
10. ^ Template:Citweb
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36. ^ "Jahreshitparade 2008" (in Dutch). Austriancharts.at Hung Medien. http://austriancharts.at/2008_single.asp. Retrieved 2010-12-08. 
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38. ^ "Jaarlijsten 2008 singles" (PDF). MegaCharts. http://www.top40web.nl/jaarlijsten/jr2008.html. Retrieved 2010-12-08. 
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40. ^ [2]^{[dead link]}
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42. ^ "Éves összesített listák - année 2009" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. http://www.mahasz.hu/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=eves_osszesitett_listak&id=radios&ev=2009. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
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44. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2008" (in German). Swiss Music Charts. http://swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=2008. Retrieved 2010-12-08. 
45. ^ "2008 UK Singles Chart" (PDF). ChartsPlus. The Official Charts Company. http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2008.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-08. 
46. ^ "2008 Year-End Billboard Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://login.vnuemedia.com/bbbiz/charts/yearendcharts/2008/chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+100+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles. Retrieved 2010-10-05. 
47. ^ "2008 Year-End Billboard Mainstream Top 40 Singles". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://login.vnuemedia.com/bbbiz/charts/yearendcharts/2008/chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+Mainstream+Top+40+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles. Retrieved 2010-10-05. 
48. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2008 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/ARIACharts-Accreditations-2008Singles.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-13. 
49. ^ "Ne-Yo - Closer". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database. Retrieved 2011-04-13.