"Pass Out" is the debut single by English rapper

Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...

. It is the lead single from his debut studio album ''

Disc-Overy ''Disc-Overy'' is the debut studio album by the British rapper Tinie Tempah, released in Ireland on 1 October 2010 and in the United Kingdom on 4 October, by Parlophone Records. The original album track list includes Kelly Rowland, Ellie Goul ...

'' (2010) and his debut single on

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

. The song was a digital-only release and was available to download in the United Kingdom on 28 February 2010. English producer and writer

Labrinth Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record labe ...

provides uncredited vocals on the song's hook. A remix featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg was released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on 16 November 2010 for digital download. In 2011, Labrinth revealed that Tinie would be releasing "Pass Out" in the US. It was re-serviced to radio stations in the United States as the third single from ''Disc-Overy'' in October 2011. "Pass Out" won British Single of the Year at the

2011 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2011 was the 31st edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held on Tuesday 15 February 2011 at The O2 Arena in London for the first time in its history, moving fr ...

and Best Contemporary Song at the 2011

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

. The song is featured on the '' Madden NFL 12'' soundtrack.

Background

After signing to Parlophone, Tinie Tempah was put together with producer

and the collaboration resulted in the first two singles for the label, " Frisky" and "Pass Out". Parlophone president

Miles Leonard Miles Leonard is a British music industry executive and co-founder of NFT marketplace, Token, , Traxx. Leonard was previously Chairman of Parlophone & Warner Bros. Records UK. He has worked for Virgin Records, EMI Records, Roadrunner Records and ...

said the label was adamant that "Pass Out" would be the first single, saying: "It set new precedents for British urban music from what had been happening the year before. And it was a new sound; it sounded fresh, and like it came from the clubs. Both "Pass Out" & "Frisky" were mixed by London's up and coming mix engineer Mr Jones @ Detox Audio." However, the label thought the song may have had too much of "an edge" for daytime mainstream radio to take a risk in playing it, and so planned it as a low-key "set up single" that was instead made available to specialist radio stations. The song ended up getting such an enthusiastic reaction from specialist radio audiences that it was crossed over onto daytime mainstream rotation. The song also mentions

Heidi Montag Heidi Blair Pratt (née Montag; born September 15, 1986) is an American reality television personality, model, singer and actress. Born and raised in Crested Butte, Colorado. In 2006, Montag came to prominence after being cast in the MTV reality ...

and

Audrina Patridge Audrina Cathleen Patridge is an American television personality, model and actress. In 2006, she rose to prominence after being cast in the reality television series '' The Hills'', which chronicled the personal and professional lives of Patridge ...

of '' The Hills'', fame and action star

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the ag ...

and Prince Charles.

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

coverage includes plays from

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known by her professional name Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running weekday later weekend '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1. She curre ...

MistaJam Peter Dalton (born 19 January 1983), known professionally as MistaJam, is a British DJ and radio presenter. He is known for presenting radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2005 to 2020; since 2020 he has presented on Capital and ...

(who gave the song its first radio play on 12 December 2009),

Ras Kwame Ras Kwame is a British musician, record producer, radio DJ and presenter of Ghanaian heritage."'We ...

Tim Westwood Timothy Westwood (born 3 October 1957) is a British DJ and presenter. He is often referred to by other DJs and artists appearing on his shows simply as Westwood. He was described by ''The Guardian'' in 2022 as "a veteran of the hip-hop scene ...

(who gave the record its premiere on BBC Radio 1Xtra on 7 December 2009),

Trevor Nelson Trevor Ricardo Nelson, MBE (born 7 January 1964) is an English DJ and presenter. Early life Born in the London Borough of Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, Nelson attended Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School (now known as Centr ...

Fearne Cotton Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', a ...

and Nick Grimshaw. "Pass Out" received early playlist support from BBC Radio 1Xtra and

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

along with strong spot plays on

, including a "Record of the Week" with Nick Grimshaw. The song is also available as a free download on the game '' Tap Tap Revenge 3''. "Pass Out" features in the UK commercial for '' Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood''. It was also briefly featured in a scene in the 2011 remake of the film ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

''. American alternative hip hop group

Chiddy Bang Chidera Anamege, now known by his stage name Chiddy Bang, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to its breakup, Chiddy Bang was an American hip hop duo consisting of Anamege, under the stage name Chiddy, and Noah Beresin, ...

have also issued a remix of the song.

McFly McFly are an English pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the '' Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Danny Jones (lead vocals, har ...

also did a cover of "Pass Out" at Towneley Festival 2011.

Chart performance

"Pass Out" entered at number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and

UK R&B 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, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

, selling just over 92,000 copies. The single held on to the top spot for two consecutive weeks (keeping " Rude Boy" by Rihanna at no.2) before falling one place in favour of

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and Beyoncé's single "

Telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

". The single spent a total of seven weeks within the top ten before falling to number thirteen. As of 17 July 2010, the single had spent a total of 19 weeks within the top forty of the UK Singles Chart. The song then re-entered the Top forty at number thirty at the start of 2011, showing the song's popularity, 44 weeks after release. It then re-entered again at number 32 a few weeks later, due to his performance at the 2011 BRIT awards. It spent a total of 65 weeks on the UK Singles Chart . In the Republic of Ireland, "Pass Out" debuted number thirteen on the Irish Singles Chart. In its fourth week on the chart, the single climbed to its peak position of number six, where it remained for two consecutive weeks. The single spent a total of four weeks in the top 10 and, as of 3 June 2010, a total of thirty weeks within the top fifty. In New Zealand, "Pass Out" debuted in the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) 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 Music ...

on 10 May 2010 at number 40. The following week, it climbed seven places to number 33, where it remained for two consecutive weeks.

Music video

The music video is focused around Tinie rapping and Labrinth, who sings the chorus, coming into the shot. Other British rappers, including Skepta & JME from

Boy Better Know Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme, and Skepta. ...

, G Frsh and

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The M ...

also make cameo appearances. The video on Parlophone's official YouTube channel has had over 71 million views since its upload on 23 December 2009. Tim Bown, the director of the video, said in the behind-the-scenes video that they were trying to create graphical elements, including laser-cut props.

Track listing

* Digital download – EP # "Pass Out" (Album Version) – 4:27 # "Pass Out" (Clean Radio Edit) – 3:56 # "Pass Out" (DC Breaks Remix) – 4:31 # "Pass Out" (Instrumental) – 4:27 # "Pass Out" (Video) – 3:56 * Record Store Day 7" vinyl # "Pass Out" (Album Version) – 4:27 # "Pass Out" (SBTRKT Remix) – 4:46 * Promotional CD single # "Pass Out" (Clean Radio Edit) – 3:56 # "Pass Out" (Album Version) – 4:27 # "Pass Out" (Instrumental Version) – 4:27 # "Pass Out" (Original Radio Edit) – 3:33 *

2011 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2011 was the 31st edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held on Tuesday 15 February 2011 at The O2 Arena in London for the first time in its history, moving fr ...

Performance # " Written in the Stars" (featuring Eric Turner) / "

Miami 2 Ibiza "Miami 2 Ibiza" is a song by Swedish house music group Swedish House Mafia and English rapper Tinie Tempah. It was released as the second and final single from the group's debut studio album and compilation, '' Until One'' (2010) by Virgin Record ...

" / "Pass Out" (featuring Labrinth) (Live from the BRITs) – 4:43

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Tinie Tempah songs Labrinth songs 2010 debut singles Song recordings produced by Labrinth Number-one singles in Scotland UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Tinie Tempah Songs written by Labrinth 2009 songs Parlophone singles Brit Award for British Single