"Can I Get a Moment?" is a song recorded by Australian singer
Jessica Mauboy for the platinum edition of her third studio album, ''
Beautiful''. It was released on 17 October 2014 as the album's fifth overall single and the first single from the platinum edition. "Can I Get a Moment?" was written by Antonio Dixon,
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes,
Carmen Reece,
Leon Thomas III and Helen Jane Culver. Production of the song was helmed by Edmonds, Dixon and The Rascals. Musically, "Can I Get a Moment?" is an
up-tempo funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and
soul song that consists of a
percussion,
horns, "chunky
beats" and
handclaps
A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...
. Upon its release, the song received positive reviews from various publications, who praised its production and Mauboy's vocal performance.
"Can I Get a Moment?" debuted at number five on the
ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
and became her eighth top-ten single. It was certified platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association for sales exceeding 70,000 copies. The accompanying music video was directed by Stu Gosling and filmed at
Crown casino
Crown Melbourne (also referred to as Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex) is a casino and resort located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited, and the first casino of the n ...
in
Melbourne. It features various shots of Mauboy in several outfits, singing the song's lyrics in different sets and in front of different coloured backgrounds. The video received positive feedback from critics, who compared it to
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
's video for "
Love on Top" (2011) and noted that Mauboy was channeling
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
. However, the video received mixed opinions from fans, who complained about Mauboy's outfits and the video's budget. She promoted the song with interviews and performances on television and radio programs.
Background and release
"Can I Get a Moment?" was written by Antonio Dixon,
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes,
Carmen Reece,
Leon Thomas III and Helen Jane Culver.
It was produced by Edmonds, Dixon and The Rascals.
Mauboy was gifted the song by Edmonds after she was given the rare opportunity to write and work with him in
Los Angeles in September 2014.
On working with Edmonds, Mauboy said: "Working with someone like him is something I have always dreamt with and we had had three good writing sessions when he played me 'Can I Get a Moment?'. It's so funky and cool that as soon as I heard it I told them 'This is my track!'"
On 28 September 2014, it was announced that "Can I Get a Moment?" would be released as Mauboy's next single.
The song was then made available to pre-order the following day.
An audio teaser of "Can I Get a Moment?" was uploaded to Mauboy's
Vevo account on 30 September 2014. The song was released both
digitally and
physically on 17 October 2014,
as the fifth overall single from Mauboy's third studio album, ''
Beautiful'', and the first single from the album's platinum edition. The physical release features a Carl remix of the album's fourth single "
Never Be the Same Never Be the Same may refer to:
* ''Never Be the Same'' (album), by Victoria Banks, 2011
* "Never Be the Same" (Camila Cabello song), 2017
* "Never Be the Same" (Christopher Cross song), 1979
* "Never Be the Same" (Jessica Mauboy song), 2014
* ...
".
An acoustic version of "Can I Get a Moment?" was released digitally on 13 March 2015.
Composition
"Can I Get a Moment?" is an
up-tempo funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and
soul song with a duration of three minutes and twenty-five seconds.
Its instrumentation consists of a
percussion,
horns, "chunky
beats" and
handclaps
A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...
.
Naomi Janes of ''
Renowned for Sound'' noted that "Can I Get a Moment?" features "'
Blurred Lines
"Blurred Lines" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke featuring American rappers T.I. and Pharrell Williams from the former's sixth studio album of the same name (2013). Solely produced by Williams, it was released as the album's lead si ...
' style
backing vocals" and compared Mauboy's vocals to
Christina Aguilera.
Mike Wass of
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
wrote that the song "sounds like a winning mix of ''
B'Day''-era
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
and
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
's '
Bang Bang
Bang Bang or Bang Bang Bang or similar may refer to:
Food
* Bang bang chicken, a Chinese dish
*Bang bang shrimp, a Chinese dish
People
* Abdul Razzaq (cricketer) (born 1979), nicknamed Bang Bang Razzaq
* Bang Bang (Dubliner) (1906–1981), ...
'",
while Kathy McCabe of
News.com.au
news.com.au is an Australian website owned by News Corp Australia. It had 9.6 million unique readers in April 2019 and covers national and international news, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, technology, finance, and sport.
Staff
The organiza ...
felt it was reminiscent of
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
' "
Come Get It Bae
"Come Get It Bae" is a song written, produced, and performed by American musician Pharrell Williams, with guest vocals from Miley Cyrus, from the former's second studio album ''Girl'' (2014). "Come Get It Bae" was released on March 6, 2014, thr ...
".
"Can I Get a Moment?" opens with a purring vocal style by Mauboy as she sings: "Too hot to touch, I'm burnin' up, Have you heard the news? I'm on the move".
In the
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
, Mauboy sings: "No disrespect, I'm not impressed, right now I'm doing me. You do the most, you're way too close, it's hard for me to breathe! Can I get a moment?".
In an interview with ''
The Daily Telegraph'', Mauboy described the song as "sexy" and "sassy" and said "it is about being in a really great place, my head is clear and I am just having a moment and I'm celebrating that moment".
Reception
Naomi Janes of ''
Renowned for Sound'' awarded "Can I Get a Moment?" three stars out of five and called it a "catchy" track that "is a fresh and new sound" for Mauboy.
Janes also praised Mauboy's "impressive vocals", noting that it is "the most redeeming feature" on "Can I Get a Moment?".
Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that the song "sounds like an on-trend, percussion-heavy club-banger",
while ''
Take 40 Australia'' described it as a "sassy new anthem" and "certified bop".
"Can I Get a Moment?" earned Mauboy a nomination for
Best Female Artist at the
2015 ARIA Music Awards.
For the issue dated 27 October 2014, "Can I Get a Moment?" debuted at number five on the
ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
and became Mauboy's eighth top-ten single, fifth top-five single and her third top-ten debut.
It also became the third top-ten single from ''Beautiful'', following "
Pop a Bottle (Fill Me Up)
"Pop a Bottle (Fill Me Up)" is a song recorded by Australian singer Jessica Mauboy for her third studio album, ''Beautiful''. The song was digitally released on 27 September 2013, as the second single from the album. "Pop a Bottle (Fill Me Up)" w ...
" and "Never Be the Same".
The song spent its first two weeks in the top-ten.
"Can I Get a Moment?" was certified platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association for sales exceeding 70,000 copies.
Music video
Background and synopsis
The music video was directed by Stu Gosling and filmed at
Crown casino
Crown Melbourne (also referred to as Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex) is a casino and resort located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited, and the first casino of the n ...
in
Melbourne.
It premiered on Mauboy's Vevo account on 29 October 2014.
A first look at the video was shown on ''
Sunrise'' earlier that day. The video opens with a close-up shot of Mauboy who appears in front of a gold background. She is then seen performing on stage with her band, while wearing a black form-fitted jumpsuit with a diamond choker necklace. This is intercut with scenes of Mauboy wearing a green cut-out dress and singing in front of a blue background.> The video then shows Mauboy and her two female backup singers sitting in a dark room, while wearing black pantsuits. This is followed by scenes of Mauboy singing in front of the gold background, while
split screen
Split screen may refer to:
* Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts
* Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen
* ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001
* Split-Screen Level, a bug in the vid ...
and mirrored shots of men from her band playing instruments are shown. The video then returns to Mauboy performing on stage with her band. This is intercut with mirrored shots of Mauboy and her backup singers, singing in front of a black and white background. Scenes from throughout the video are then intercut with each other. The video ends with Mauboy posing to the camera.
Reception
Idolator's Mike Wass called it a "cute (but familiar) video" and noted that it drew inspiration from Beyoncé's "
Love on Top" video, writing "It's hardly surprising given
auboy'slove for all things Queen Bey and the format fits the song perfectly". Natalie Miller of
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
noted that Mauboy channeled "a bit of
Mariah 'diva' Carey attitude" in the clip. Chris Urankar of ''
InStyle'' magazine also thought that Mauboy channeled Carey, noting that she unleashed "a little of her inner diva".
The video received mixed opinions from fans on
YouTube and
Twitter, complaining about everything from Mauboy's outfits to the budget of the clip.
One fan said "the video looks like it cost $2", while another fan noted "All her outfits were not very flattering of her figure. This to me is her worst video".
Adam Bub of MusicFix defended the video, writing "What's the fuss all about? There's no twerking, boozing or gratuitous body shots like other pop stars' clips... but does that make it a boring watch? Jess' music videos do tend to err on the safe side, but there's nothing wrong with that either."
Promotion
Mauboy promoted "Can I Get a Moment?" with radio interviews on ''
Smallzy's Surgery'' (3 October 2014), ''
Fitzy and Wippa'' (23 October 2014) and
Joy 94.9 (31 October 2014). On 20 October 2014, she performed the song during the grand final live decider show of the
sixth series of ''
The X Factor Australia''.
For the performance, Mauboy wore a gold outfit covered in tassels and performed in front of a background of honeycomb patterns. Similarly, ''Take 40 Australia'' wrote that they loved "the sassy Beyoncé-style" choreography.
Annabel Ross of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald'' described Mauboy's performance as "vivacious".
Mauboy also performed "Can I Get a Moment?" on ''Sunrise'' (22 October 2014)
and at Sony Foundation's Wharf4Ward fundraiser in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
(23 October 2014). On 26 November 2014, she performed the song at the
2014 ARIA Music Awards. On 4 December 2014, Mauboy performed "Can I Get a Moment?" at the
Sydney Opera House in a lemon dress to launch the 2015 Australia Day celebrations.
She also performed "Can I Get a Moment?" at
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming Computing platform, platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbr ...
's first Ultimate Pool Party at the Ivy Pool Club in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
on 6 December 2014.
Track listing
*Digital download
#"Can I Get a Moment?" – 3:25
*Digital download
#"Can I Get a Moment?" (Acoustic version) – 3:20
*CD
#"Can I Get a Moment?" – 3:25
#"
Never Be the Same Never Be the Same may refer to:
* ''Never Be the Same'' (album), by Victoria Banks, 2011
* "Never Be the Same" (Camila Cabello song), 2017
* "Never Be the Same" (Christopher Cross song), 1979
* "Never Be the Same" (Jessica Mauboy song), 2014
* ...
" (Acoustic remix) – 3:51
Credits and personnel
;Locations
*Recorded at Brandon's Way Recording Studios in
Los Angeles,
California.
*Mastered at
Studios 301
Studios 301 is an Australian recording studio and is both the longest-running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere and the largest studio complex in Australia.
History
The studio was founded in 1926 under the Columbia Gra ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
;Personnel
*
Songwriting – Antonio Dixon,
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes,
Carmen Reece,
Leon Thomas III, Helen Jane Culver
*
Production – Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Antonio Dixon, The Rascals
*
Recording and
mixing engineer –
Paul Boutin
*
Horns – Randy Ellis, Miguel Costa, Garrett Smith, Raymond Monteiro
*Additional engineering – Adrian Breakspear
*
Mastering – Leon Zervos
Sources:
Charts
Weekly chart
Year-end chart
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2014 songs
2014 singles
Jessica Mauboy songs
Sony Music Australia singles
Songs written by Carmen Reece
Songs written by Leon Thomas III
Songs written by Babyface (musician)
Songs written by Khristopher Riddick-Tynes
Songs written by Antonio Dixon (songwriter)
Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician)
Song recordings produced by the Rascals (producers)