"Dirty Picture" is a song by British R&B singer

Taio Cruz Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere (born 23 April 1980), known professionally as Jacob Taio Cruz ( ), is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Cruz was discovered in the mid-2000s by American record producer Tricky Stewart, joinin ...

, which features vocals from American singer

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

and was released from his second studio album, ''

Rokstarr ''Rokstarr'' is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. It was released on 12 October 2009 in the United Kingdom. On 11 June 2010, a revised version of the album was released in Europe and the United States, appearing ...

'' (2009). The song was written and produced by Cruz alongside Fraser T. Smith, and later released as the album's third single on 5 April 2010. Originally, Cruz wanted the female vocals to be done by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

but opted to switch to

due to heavy influence by

Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...

and for finding her voice unique. The song was later re-recorded as an album bonus track for Kesha's debut album, ''

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

'' (2010), and dubbed the "Kesha edit" or "Dirty Picture Pt. 2". Lyrically, the song is about sending a dirty picture to a significant other whom you miss. Critical reception of the song was generally positive. Kesha and Cruz's collaboration and vocal work on the track were 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 music charts. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, and at number ten in Ireland. The song also reached the top forty in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The song's accompanying music video was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and is presented as taking place in a house party. A "spanglish version" of "Dirty Picture" was released as a bonus track from ''Rokstarr'' Spanish edition features vocals by Mexican

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

star

Paulina Rubio Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer, songwriter and television personality. Referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Golden Girl", she first achieved recognition as a member of the successf ...

. It unfolds with "Rubio Latiniz ngthe half Brazilian R&B singer's track by sensually breathing in her raspy voice."

Background and composition

"Dirty Picture" was written and produced by Taio Cruz, in collaboration with Fraser T. Smith. While creating the track Cruz stated that he originally had wanted American singer

to feature on the track alongside himself. Following a meeting with

, Cruz agreed to switch to then upcoming singer

. Luke had been working with Kesha and Cruz found Kesha's voice to be distinctive and opted to switch to her featuring on the track. Cruz commented on his decision, stating: "I was thinking about Lady Gaga at first, then I went to a meeting with Dr. Luke and he was telling me about this new girl he was working with. She hadn't done '

Tik Tok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration from three seconds t ...

' or anything like that at that point. But I just thought she sounded really cool. A very unique-sounding voice. I like that with artists, that as soon as you hear them on a song on the radio, you know immediately who that is without having to be told. 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." "Dirty Picture" is song composed in the

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

genre, that encompasses a

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

beat infused in its backing, as well as synthesizers. The song features

auto-tune Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and Pitch correction, correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles ...

d vocals by Kesha. According to Robert Copsey of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

, the song's chorus contains "trancey" elements and is reminiscent of Benny Benassi's song, " Satisfaction". 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." According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by Sony Music Publishing. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending regulatory approva ...

, "Dirty Picture" is written in the time signature of

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

, with a moderate beat rate of 125

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. The song is written in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...

; Cruz' vocal range spans from the note of Eb₄ to the note of F₅.

Reception

Critical reception

"Dirty Picture" received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

upon its release. Brad Wete of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' compared the song to Cruz' prior single "

Break Your Heart "Break Your Heart" is a song by British singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. The song serves as the lead single from his second studio album, ''Rokstarr'' (2009). It was written by Cruz and Fraser T Smith and produced by Smith. It was first release ...

", noting that Cruz had "struck gold" with the song and that "Dirty Picture" was the only song on the album ''

'' with "equal caliber". In a review of the album, Mike Diver of

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

wrote that the song was "the kind of track

Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...

should be patching up their every difference ever for." In a separate publication from BBC, Fraser McAlpine wrote that although the song's lyrics were dumb, silly and crude, "none of heseare bad things in themselves." McAlpine complimented the overall sound of Kesha and Cruz's vocal work together on the song commenting that "the jarring clash between Taio's supersmooth

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

-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." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''s Caroline Sullivan first criticized Cruz for his evident "facelessness" in his music while reviewing his album; she, however, wrote that the song "saves the day" and wrote that it exemplified "British humour by impersonating a camera ('Snap, snap, click!')." Sara Anderson from

AOL Radio AOL Radio was an online radio streaming service available exclusively in the United States. Originally powered by XM Satellite Radio and later CBS Radio and Slacker, the platform offered users access to more than 200 free digital stations. H ...

was positive in her review of the song. Anderson wrote, "Building from strobing,

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." David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

listed the song as one of the album's three best tracks, alongside "Break Your Heart" and "Take You Back." Melanie Bertoldi of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' praised Cruz' vocal delivery, calling it the "most impressive" on the album. 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". Ken Capobianco from ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' was negative in his review of the song. Capobianco called the song "salacious", writing that it "features that notorious no-talent, Ke$ha, but with its galloping percussion it makes for salacious nonsense." Ash Dosanjh from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote that Cruz' downfall on his album was when he acted as the "player", citing "Dirty Picture" as an example.

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, "Dirty Picture" entered at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart on 18 April 2010 — for the week ending dated 24 April 2010. After weeks of steadily ascending the charts, the single reached an eventual peak of number 6 on the chart on 9 May 2010 — for the week ending dated 15 May 2010. The single also peaked at number 3 on the

UK R&B Chart Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, and previously the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and ...

. In Australia, "Dirty Picture" entered at number 31 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. On the song's third week on the chart it reached its peak position of 16, where it remained for three weeks. It has since been certified gold by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) for sales of 35,000 units. In New Zealand the single entered at number 38 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

. The following week, it rose to position 21 and then proceeded to fall off the charts. The song re-entered the charts on the week titled 14 June 2010 at 12; the single reached its peak the following week at position 11. It has since been certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

(RIANZ) for sales of 7,500 units. In the United States, "Dirty Picture" entered and peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at position 96, the same week ''Rokstarr'' was released. In Canada, the song similarly reached its peak on its first week — number 49 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

Music video

The music video for "Dirty Picture" was directed by Alex Herron and it premiered online on 24 May 2010. Recording of the video was done in both

and in

. Cruz explained 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." 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 nd send a dirty picture" 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 Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or videos, primarily between mobile phones. It may also include the use of a computer or any digital device. The term was first popularized early in the 21s ...

kissing A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, Passion (emotion), passion ...

, touching and bumping and grinding as the flashes flash." 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.

Dirty Picture, Pt. 2

A second version of the song, featuring Kesha singing the first verse was included on some editions of her debut album ''

'' (2010). On the UK digital release of ''Animal'' this version of the song is dubbed "Kesha edit". While being interviewed by Digital Spy, Cruz said that Kesha wanted to record an alternative version of the song, "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 eshafans get more of her on hers." At the time of the duo recording "Dirty Picture", Kesha was an unknown artist, having not previously released any music at that time.

Track listing

*Australian and New Zealand digital download (EP) #"Dirty Picture" (featuring

) – 3:40 #"Dirty Picture" (clean) – 3:14 #"Dirty Picture" ( Wizzy Wow remix; featuring Kesha and Scorcher) – 3:45 #"Dirty Picture" (RedTop extended remix; featuring Kesha) – 5:23 *UK CD #"Dirty Picture" (featuring Kesha) – 3:40 #"Dirty Picture" (clean) – 3:14 #"Dirty Picture" (Wizzy Wow remix; featuring Kesha and Scorcher) – 3:45 #"Break Your Heart" (the

Wideboys The Wideboys are an English electronic music duo known for club remixes and for their own song "Sambuca", featuring Dennis G on vocals, which reached number 15 in the UK in October 2001. Another top 40 single, "Daddy-O" featuring Shaznay Lewis ...

remix radio edit) – 3:14 *UK digital download (EP) #"Dirty Picture" (clean) – 3:14 #"Dirty Picture" (Wizzy Wow remix; featuring Kesha and Scorcher) – 3:45 #"Dirty Picture" (RedTop extended remix featuring Kesha) – 5:23 #"Dirty Picture" (Paul Thomas remix; featuring Kesha) – 3:37 *Australian digital download (the remixes EP) #"Dirty Picture" (Remix, featuring Kesha and

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...

) – 3:41 #"Dirty Picture" (Wizzy Wow remix; featuring Kesha and Scorcher) – 3:45 #"Dirty Picture" (RedTop extended remix featuring Kesha) – 5:23 #"Dirty Picture" (Paul Thomas remix; featuring Kesha) – 3:37 *Dutch digital download #"Dirty Picture" (featuring Kesha) – 3:40 *Canadian and US digital download (the remixes EP) #"Dirty Picture" ( Dave Audé radio; featuring Kesha) – 3:53 #"Dirty Picture" ( Jason Nevins radio edit; featuring Kesha) – 3:34 #"Dirty Picture" (Dave Audé club, featuring Kesha) – 7:54 #"Dirty Picture" (Jason Nevins club; featuring Kesha) – 6:54 #"Dirty Picture" (

Jump Smokers Jump Smokers were an electro house music group from the United States. The band consisted of members Justin Roman (vocals/lyrics) and Flipside (production/DJ). Background The two met in Chicago, Illinois working for Chicago radio station ...

extended mix; featuring Kesha) – 5:13 #"Dirty Picture" (Dave Audé dub; featuring Kesha) – 6:10 #"Dirty Picture" (Jason Nevins dubstramental; featuring Kesha) – 6:54 #"Dirty Picture" (Jump Smokers instrumental; featuring Kesha) – 4:21

Credits and personnel

*Songwriting –

, Fraser T. Smith *Production – Taio Cruz, Fraser T. Smith *Engineering – Beatriz Artola *Mixing – Fraser T. Smith, Neil Tucker *Mastering – Tom Coyne Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Rokstarr'', via

Photo Finish Records Photo Finish Records is an American independent record label founded by Matt Galle in 2006. Based in New York City, the label specializes in alternative rock, pop, and electronic artists. It was first distributed through Atlantic Records, t ...

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Taio Cruz – Dirty Picture ft. Kesha (Music Video)
{{authority control 2010 singles Taio Cruz songs Kesha songs Songs written by Fraser T. Smith Songs written by Taio Cruz Songs written by Dr. Luke Songs written by Kesha Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Song recordings produced by Fraser T. Smith 2009 songs Male–female vocal duets Works about pornography