"Earthquake" is a song by British musician Labrinth which features long-time collaborator Tinie Tempah. The track was released on 29 October 2011 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as the second single from the artist's 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 ...

, '' Electronic Earth'' (2012). It debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, having sold 115,530 copies and setting the second-highest one-week sales at number 2 of the year, behind

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

Background

Labrinth first revealed the radio-edit of "Earthquake" on his official

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channel, on 16 September 2011. Remixes by Benny Benassi, Noisia, Eyes, Gareth Wyn and Street Policy were uploaded to Labrinth's

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

account on the same day. Labrinth explained the song's meaning to MTV UK: "For me, the track is about making an earthquake and having people look my way because of how much noise I'm making. Sometimes, the one that shouts the loudest is the one that gets heard so, earthquake is shouting as high as it can." Both the royal trumpets and the operatic monk chorus part were last minute additions to the record. Labrinth inserted the bridge after a friend dared him to put it in. The full explicit version of "Earthquake" was uploaded to Labrinth's

account on 23 September 2011. Labrinth and Tinie Tempah performed an acoustic version of "Earthquake" with an orchestra and choir in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 20 October 2011. The song was originally intended to be a collaboration with former Welsh rock band

Lostprophets Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets or LOSTPROPHETS) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruit ...

. On 1 January 2012, "Earthquake" was used for the New Year's Eve in London celebrations, during the fireworks display at the

London Eye The London Eye, originally the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and the most popular paid Tourist attractions in the ...

. The "All-Stars" remix featuring rappers Kano,

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...

and

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

and new verses by Labrinth and Tinie Tempah was included on the bonus edition of his debut album. The official remix with only the Busta Rhymes verse was also released as a single in the US through iTunes on 21 February 2012 and was included on '' Now That's What I Call Music! 42'' as a "Now What's Next" bonus track. The song is in the key of

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

. This song also featured in the trailer for the

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'' DiRT:Showdown''.

Music video

The HD video of the song was uploaded to Labrinth's official Vevo/YouTube channel on 29 October 2011. As of 26 May 2020, the song has received over 96 million views. The video was directed by US Studio
Syndrome Studios
edited by Aleks Colic.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control Labrinth songs Tinie Tempah songs 2011 singles Song recordings produced by Labrinth Syco Music singles 2011 songs Songs about London Songs written by Labrinth Songs written by Tinie Tempah