"X"
Promotional single by Chris Brown
from the album X
ReleasedAugust 25, 2014
Genre
Length4:20
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Diplo
Audio video
"X" on YouTube

"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.[2] 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.

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.[3] In the song Brown sings over a soft beat before transitioning into a more up-tempo sound.[4] 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".[5] 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.[6]

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".[7] 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".[8] 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.[9] 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".[10]

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 75
France (SNEP)[12] 63
Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)[13] 9
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 91
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[15] 12
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 98
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17] 26

References

  1. ↑ "Review: Chris Brown Plays the Blame Game on Cathartic Album 'X'". 15 September 2014.
  2. ↑ Brown, Chris. "Download X on @iTunesMusic today!". Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Chris Brown - X". 15 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Chris Brown Delivers Standout Hits on 'X' - XXL". 16 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Review: Chris Brown, X". Slant Magazine. 13 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Review: Chris Brown, X". Slant Magazine. 13 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Chris Brown Delivers Standout Hits on 'X' - XXL". 16 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Chris Brown, 'X': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard.
  9. ↑ "Review: Chris Brown, X". Slant Magazine. 13 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Chris Brown - X". 15 September 2014.
  11. ↑ https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20140905010800/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20140905-1108/ARIAIssue1279.pdf
  12. ↑ "Brown,Chris – X" (in French). Les classement single.
  13. ↑ "The Official Lebanese Top 20 - Chris Brown". The Official Lebanese Top 20. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  15. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Chris Brown Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  17. ↑ "Chris Brown Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
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