"Vacation" is the debut single recorded by American-British-Canadian
girl group G.R.L.
G.R.L. was an American girl group formed by Robin Antin. The group consists of members Lauren Bennett, Natasha Slayton, and Emmalyn Estrada.
The original line-up consisted of Bennett, Slayton, Estrada, Paula van Oppen, and Simone Battle. The ...
The song was written by
Bonnie McKee
Bonnie Leigh McKee (born January 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album, ''Trouble'', was released in 2004 under Reprise Records. After underperforming, McKee was dropped by her label and took a musical hiatus before es ...
,
Lukasz Gottwald
Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...
,
, and
Henry Walter with production handled by the latter three. "Vacation" is an upbeat breakup song.
Background and composition
Following the disbandment of
The Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...
in 2010,
Robin Antin
Robin Antin is an American actress, entrepreneur, dancer, choreographer and clothing designer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with i ...
suggested that the group would be "revamped" with new members. After different incarnations of the group Antin along the guidance of manager
Larry Rudolph
Larry Rudolph (born July 24, 1963) is an American talent manager and former entertainment lawyer. He is best known as the former manager of Britney Spears from 1998 until 2021.
Career
Rudolph was born in The Bronx, New York. He graduated from Ho ...
formed the group under a new name, G.R.L. with members:
Lauren Bennett
Lauren Diane Bennett (born 23 June 1989) is an English singer who is known for being a member of the girl group G.R.L. Bennett has also worked with the Paradiso Girls, CeeLo Green, Robin Antin, The Pussycat Dolls, and LMFAO. She was feature ...
, Paula Van Oppen, Natasha Slayton,
Simone Battle
Simone Sherise Battle (June 17, 1989 – September 5, 2014) was an American singer. She was a finalist on ''The X Factor'' in 2011 and a member of the girl group G.R.L. from 2012 until her death in 2014. The group was best known for thei ...
, and
Emmalyn Estrada
Emmalyn Estrada (born April 5, 1992), known professionally as Emmalyn, is a Canadian singer. Her first single, 'Get Down', entered ''Billboard''s Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of August 29, 2009, at number 88 and peaked at number 59 for th ...
.
Bennett was the first cast as a member for group with members being added gradually over the next year and a half.
The group was officially unvelied at
Chateau Marmont
The Chateau Marmont is a hotel located at 8221 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The hotel was designed by architects Arnold A. Weitzman and William Douglas Lee and completed in 1929. It was modeled loosely after the Château d'Am ...
in April.
On June 16, "Vacation" temporarily bundled and available for free as a
B-side to
Britney Spears' "
Ooh La La for the soundtrack of ''
The Smurfs 2
''The Smurfs 2'' is a 2013 American 3D fantasy comedy film loosely based on ''The Smurfs'' comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo. It is the second film in the ''Smurfs'' film series and a sequel to the 2011 film ''The Smur ...
''.
The song was available for
digital download on June 18, 2013 and was sent to
mainstream radio
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
on September 3, 2013.
Reception
Jason Lipshutz of ''
Billboard'' magazine described the song "bubbly."
While reviewing the ''Smurfs 2'' soundtrack, Sherman Yang of XIN
MSN Entertainment
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and Mobile app, apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
MSN Dia ...
positively reviewed the song describing it as "fun and flirty." He also praised the song for having multiple vocalists and wrote "we can't wait to hear what else the girls have to offer in their upcoming debut album."
Popdust's Jacques Peterson gave it a mixed review calling it "insipid and forgettable" to Spears' "Ooh La La".
In the United States as of July, the song has sold 2,000 copies, according to
Nielsen SoundScan.
Upon the release of "Ooh La La, "Vacation" debuted at number 97 on the
South Korea Gaon International Chart.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for "Vacation" was directed by
Hannah Lux Davis
Hannah Lux Davis (born May 17, 1986) is an American music video, commercial and film director. She's known for her work especially with female artists, such as Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Christ ...
.
member,
Mel B appeared at the end of the video.
Credits and personnel
;Personnel
*Songwriting – Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Henry Walter
*Production, instruments and programming – Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Cirkut
*Engineering – Clint Gibbs, Sam Holland, Cory Bice (assistant), Rachael Findlen (assistant)
*Mixing – Serban Ghenea
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Ooh La La'', Kemosabe Kids/RCA Records.
Charts
Radio and release history
References
{{G.R.L.
2013 songs
2013 debut singles
G.R.L. songs
RCA Records singles
The Smurfs music
Music videos directed by Hannah Lux Davis
Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke
Song recordings produced by Max Martin
Song recordings produced by Cirkut
Songs written by Cirkut
Songs written by Bonnie McKee