"Steal My Girl" is a song by English-Irish boy band One Direction. It is the lead single from their upcoming fourth studio album Four. It was released worldwide on 29 September 2014 .[2] The single was written by Wayne Hector, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Ed Drewett (the four had previously written "Best Song Ever"), and band members Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne.[2] It was produced by Bunetta, Pär Westerlund, and Ryan.[3]
Contents [hide]
1 Background and release
2 Composition and lyrics
3 Critical reception
4 Chart performance
5 Music video
5.1 Controversy
6 Track listing
7 Charts
8 Release history
9 External links
10 References
Background and release[edit]
The announcement was first made on band member Liam Payne's Twitter on 14 September.[2] The single became available worldwide on 29 September,[2] except in the United Kingdom.[4] The song will be made available in the United Kingdom on 12 October,[4] with Payne's remix of the recording (dubbed as the Big Payno & Afterhrs Pool Party Remix) being the B-side.[4] The song's co-writer Louis Tomlinson stated the song is a "feel good song and it’s not too far away from the last album (Midnight Memories)."[5] On 28 September, one day prior to the official release, the song was leaked on the internet.[6]
Composition and lyrics[edit]
The song's piano piece of the instrumental was similar to Journey's "Faithfully".[7] A reviewer felt the song sounded reminiscent of 1980s music, something that the band emphasized on their previous studio album.[8]
Critical reception[edit]
The song received generally positive reviews from critics. Lucas Villa of AXS praised One Direction's classic rock sound of "Steal My Girl", noting similarities to Journey's "Faithfully". He wrote that "the guys have been digging in their parents' record collections" and added "[it's] a pretty neat and new direction for the band."[9]
Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly suggests that the song is "dad-friendly", emphasizing on the classic rock sound.[10] Billboard gave the song four and a half out of five stars, stating it "represents the group's most tremendous Van Halen impression yet."[11] Jim Farber from the Daily News reviews the single as a throwback to the 1970s/80s due to the arena rock ballad.[12]
Upon the release of "Steal My Girl", Hayley Williams and Chad Gilbert accused the band of copying New Found Glory's "It's Not Your Fault".[13][14][15]
Chart performance[edit]
"Steal My Girl" topped the singles chart on the United States iTunes on the day of release.[16] It also reached #1 on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks.[17]
One Direction member Niall Horan hoped that the single would peak #1 in the United Kingdom following its release, but it was ultimately ranked #3.[18] Despite this, "Steal My Girl" is the eighth song from the group to have peaked top 3 in the UK Singles Chart.
Music video[edit]
The accompanying music video has been recorded and is being produced by Ben Winston.[19] The clip featured appearances from Danny DeVito, a juvenile chimpanzee,[20][21][22] sumo wrestlers, acrobats and a marching band.[23] The video was released on 24 October 2014.[24]
In the music video, DeVito meets up with the group in the middle of the desert where a video shoot is being set up. DeVito is serving as their visionary director. He dubs each of the members of the group a different expression: Harry is love, Louis is danger, Liam is power, Zayn is mystery and Niall is light. From there, the song starts and Zayn is seen with two sumo wrestlers, Niall is seen dancing with an African tribe, Liam is seen as a leader of a marching band, Harry is seen surrounded by masked female ballet dancers, and Louis is seen with the chimpanzee as well as a mountain lion and flamingos. DeVito appears with the group throughout the video. In the end, a rain effect is used on the lot, where the group, DeVito, and all other acts appear together in one shot resembling a mix of Cirque de Soleil and Coachella.[25]
Controversy[edit]
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wrote an open letter to One Direction for the use of animals in the music video, stating that animals used for entertainment may "endure horrific cruelty and suffer from extreme confinement and violent training methods." They have also alleged Steve Martin, the animal trainer hired for the video shoot, to have violated the standards of the Animal Welfare Act. Fulwell 73, the production company involved in the music video, replied to PETA, stating that no animals were harmed in the act.[26]
