"Beat Again" is the debut single by English

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

JLS JLS (initialism for Jack the Lad Swing) are a British boy band consisting of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill; Williams formed the band. They initially signed with Tracklacers production company New Tr ...

. It was released on 12 July 2009 as the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album ''

'' (2009). The song was written by

Wayne Hector Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including " World ...

and

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...

and produced by Mac. The song's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

is a cover of "

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

" by

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

, which JLS covered during the semi-finals of the fifth series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' in December 2008. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at number three in the Republic of Ireland. It has sold over 574,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of August 2018 making it the band's best-selling song. As of 2021, "Beat Again" has sold 843,426 in the UK.

Background and composition

After finishing as runners-up to

Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and releas ...

on the fifth series of ''

'' in December 2008, JLS signed a record deal with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. Epic managing director Nick Raphael said, "JLS are the best boy band to emerge from a TV talent show. The band already have an incredible fan base, and I look forward to launching their recording career." "Beat Again" was unusual for being a debut single from reality show contestant in that was not a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

, following in the footsteps of

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 a ...

and

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

. Instead, this song written especially for JLS by

and

. The song was originally titled 'No Beat' and supposedly took only two hours to write. Mac himself had originally presented the song to Nick Raphael, JLS' A&R at Epic Records, as a potential single."Interview With Wayne Hector"
, ''HitQuarters'', 1 February 2010. "Beat Again" is written in the key of

A-flat minor A-flat minor is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has seven flats. Its relative major is C-flat major (or enharmonically B major), its parallel major is A-flat major, and ...

. Raphael had originally been looking for a ballad in the vein of

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

's " End of the Road" and had in fact already asked Mac for another "

Flying Without Wings "Flying Without Wings" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 18 October 1999 as the third single from their self-titled debut studio album (1999). It is the band's fourth-best-selling single on both paid-for and combined sales in t ...

". However, according to co-writer

, Raphael's response upon hearing the new song was, "this is the single. I can feel it. It's fantastic." Raphael had supposedly originally intended "

Everybody in Love "Everybody in Love" is a song by English boyband JLS from their self-titled debut album (2009). The song was released as a digital download on 1 November 2009, followed by a physical release the following day. The song became the band's seco ...

" to be the lead single but changed his mind at the last minute.

Critical reception

To date, "Beat Again" has garnered mixed to 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 ...

. Giving the single three stars, Alex Fletcher 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 ...

noted that JLS "have at least broken with ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' convention on their debut single". Fletcher also drew positive comparisons to work by American R&B artist

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

. However, the reviewer went on to say the single is "cheesier than a

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'' from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Scr ...

rom-com". Another review, giving the single three stars out of five, said "Beat Again seems to lack originality". It was included on the

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael C ...

song of the day. The '' Daily Record'' wrote that the single had "the R&B electro sass of

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

ndwill surprise many". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the song at number 69 in their list of ''75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time'' in 2020.

Chart performance

"Beat Again" made its chart debut on the ''

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 ...

'' Euro Digital Tracks chart at number 13, and on the Euro Digital Songs at number 19. The song debuted on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

at number four. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. It sold 106,299 copies in its first week on sales, making it the second fastest-selling single of 2009, behind

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

's "

Bonkers Bonkers may refer to: Television * ''Bonkers'' (American TV series), a 1993–1994 animated series * ''Bonkers'' (British TV series), 2007 comedy * '' Bonkers!'', a 1979 British TV show * "Bonkers" (''The Price Is Right''), a game segment ...

". "Beat" Again" has sold over 574,000 copies in the UK as of July 2018. The song was also released in the United States in July 2009, but failed to chart or garner commercial interest. The song won Best British Single at the

MOBO Awards 2009 The 2009 MOBO Awards took place on 30 September 2009 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow, Scotland. This was the first time the awards took place outside London. A tribute performance was dedicated to Michael Jacks ...

and 2010 BRIT Awards.

Music video

The music video was shot in May 2009 and released on 4 June 2009. It features various scenes of JLS dancing to the song in front of blue, red, yellow and green lights, all of which represent the different band members. The dance choreography involves moves revolving around heartbeats, alluding to the title "Beat Again".

Track listing

# "Beat Again" – 3:19 # "Umbrella" – 4:21

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2009 debut singles Brit Award for British Single JLS songs Songs written by Wayne Hector Songs written by Steve Mac Song recordings produced by Steve Mac Number-one singles in Scotland UK singles chart number-one singles 2009 songs Epic Records singles