"BTSTU" is a song by British songwriter and record producer Jai Paul. A demo recording of the song received widespread blog coverage throughout 2010 after having been uploaded to Paul's MySpace page, as well as receiving numerous plays on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. The BBC's

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 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 through pr ...

made "BTSTU (Demo)" his Hottest Record in the World. On the strength of this demo, Paul was long-listed for the BBC Sound of 2011 poll."Sound of 2011 – Jai Paul"
''BBC Music''. Retrieved 18 December 2010.

Release

An edited version of "BTSTU" entitled "BTSTU (Edit)" was officially released on 21 April 2011, via

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...

."BTSTU (Edit) on iTunes"
''iTunes''. Retrieved 23 April 2011. The song received airplay again on UK national radio by DJs including

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

Annie Mac Annie Macmanus (born 18 July 1978), known professionally as Annie Mac, is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, includ ...

Nick Grimshaw Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), nicknamed "Grimmy", is an English broadcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a television presenter for his Channel 4 rol ...

Reggie Yates Reginald Yates (born 31 May 1983) is a British television presenter, actor, writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in ''Doctor Who'' and has wo ...

, and

Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...

, with Zane Lowe making it his Hottest Record in the World for a second time.''Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World – Jai Paul – BTSTU''
''BBC''. Retrieved 23 June 2011. Paul commented in 2011 that the name of the track is an acronym for "Back To Save The Universe", a reference to a lyric from the

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

song "

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Critical reception

The single received favourable reviews from ''

the Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and American blog 'The Wounded Jukebox'. Ryan Dombal of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' compared the single to "the unmistakable lope of one

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

"."The Top 100 Tracks Of 2011"
''Pitchfork''. Retrieved 20 December 2011. "BTSTU" was included in the end-of-year lists in 2011 by ''Pitchfork'',"Jai Paul's BTSTU"
''Pitchfork''. Retrieved 20 December 2011. ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'', and ''Pigeons and Planes''. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' mentioned "BTSTU" in their 'Singles File: Best of 2011', describing it as "a precursor to the entire career of James Blake".

Legacy

The song has been influential on underground as well as mainstream pop music in the 2010s. The song had struck a chord internationally. The Canadian rapper

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leaked a track titled "Dreams Money Can Buy" which

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

"BTSTU (Demo)" in May 2011, which got resampled by

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

in June 2012. In July 2011 the song was sampled again for Travis Garland and JoJo's duet "Paint","Travis Garland – Paint ft JoJo"
''Singers Room''. Retrieved 23 July 2011. and New York singer-songwriter Niia uploaded a cover version of "BTSTU" to her SoundCloud page."Niia BTSTU"
Soundcloud. Retrieved 23 August 2011. The 2012 song " End of Time" by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

also sampled the song.

Track listing

Personnel

* Jai Paul – vocals, electric guitar, drums, synthesizers, programming, SFX, engineering, mixing, sound design * Anup Paul – additional vocals, sound design, mastering * Sam Pickering – saxophone *

Dave Cooley Dave Cooley (David J. Cooley) is an American mastering engineer and audio restoration specialist. His numerous mastering credits include J Dilla's ''Donuts'' and '' The Diary'', Paramore's ''After Laughter'', 40th anniversary release of Bob Marl ...

– mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Btstu 2011 singles Jai Paul songs 2011 songs Song recordings produced by A. K. Paul