"Birthday Sex" is the debut single by American singer

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He embarked on a musical career after meeting record producer Mick Schultz in 2008, and signed a recording contract wi ...

. It served as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

for his

self-titled An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

(2009). The song was written by Jeremih, Keith James, and

Mick Schultz Michael Abram Schultz (born March 30, 1989) is an American Record producer, music producer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with R&B singer Jeremih, having produced for the near-entirety of his discography. Schultz has been credited ...

, the latter of whom also helmed its production. "Birthday Sex" peaked at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaked the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, and has received 5× platinum certification by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Background

Jeremih wrote and recorded "Birthday Sex" in September 2008, initially calling it "Birthday Text" but later revising the name. Initially, a song entitled "My Ride" was scheduled to be released as the first single. Jeremih credited

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

Bam of Chicago's Power 92 for selecting "Birthday Sex" for radio play. The song is based on his own birthday experience. He thought that "someone would've written a song like that already—one that caters to females on their day". Meanwhile, during his first international press interview, Jeremih told noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul': "I do think the lyrical concept really did help the song out! To where I feel it's gonna be a timeless record that'll still be played YEARS from now – simply because it's become a new birthday anthem!"

iSouth Remix

The official remix, "Birthday Sex (iSouth Remix)", features Pitbull,

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...

Teairra Mari Teairra Marí Thomas (born December 2, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress from Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 16, she signed with Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records to release her debut stud ...

Stat Quo Stanley Bernard Benton (born July 24, 1978), better known by his stage name Stat Quo, is an American rapper and record producer.Shaheem Reid (January 12, 2004).Mixtape Mondays: Stat Quo" ''MTV''. Accessed February 5, 2008. Benton worked his way ...

, and

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

. The track was arranged by the record production duo iSouth Entertainment consisting of JB and Drunk D.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Birthday Sex" 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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and was directed by

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters (snooker), Masters champion, winning the event in 2001 Masters (snooker), 2001, 2002 Masters (snooker), 2002, a ...

. In the video, Jeremih is shown with his love interest, Brazilian model Alessandra Cardoso with a

Handycam Handycam is a line of camcorders made by Sony and introduced in 1985. Handycam was first used as the name of the first Video8 camcorder in 1985, replacing Sony's previous line of Betamovie, Betamax-based models of camcorders. The name was intend ...

to capture their intimate moments. He proceeds to feed her fruit and desserts while she is blindfolded. The music video managed to appear at number 3 on

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

's ''Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009'' countdown.

Critical reception

"Birthday Sex" has received generally favorable reviews from critics. Jon Caramanica of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it a "fantastic single", while comparing it to songs by R. Kelly, as it "clips his lines short like a rapper and writes bedroom songs that verge on parody". Amos Barshad of ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' magazine dubbed the song a "summer jam". According to Sean Ross of Edison Media Research, the title of the song generated its success.

Chart performance

"Birthday Sex" debuted 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 ...

chart at number 93 for the week of March 21, 2009. In May 2009, the song topped the ''Billboard'' Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart after ascending from number five to number one, the greatest rise for a new artist since Tweet's "

Oops (Oh My) "Oops (Oh My)" is a song by American singer Tweet from her debut studio album, '' Southern Hummingbird'' (2002). It features vocals from American rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, who co-wrote the song with Tweet, while production was handle ...

" in 2002. "Birthday Sex" displaced

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...

's " Blame It" from its 12-week streak atop the chart. "Birthday Sex" also displaced "Blame It" from its 14-week reign atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. For the week of May 14, 2009, "Birthday Sex" became the first song in several years outside of the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 to simultaneously have the greatest

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

gain and digital download gain. The song peaked at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 2008 songs 2009 debut singles Jeremih songs Songs about birthdays Def Jam Recordings singles Songs written by Jeremih Songs written by Mick Schultz Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director)