"Gold" is a song written and performed by Australian singer-songwriter

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...

. It is the second single from his seventh album ''

Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...

'' and was released digitally in Australia on 11 May 2012.iTunes – Music – Gold – Single by Guy Sebastian
iTunes Store.

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

Archived fro
the original
on 12 June 2012. An EP with two new songs and a remix of a previous single "

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" was released in CD format on 1 June 2012 and digitally on 15 June 2012.Gold (Signed copy)
Sanity Music. Archived fro
the original
on 11 June 2012.Gold EP
iTunes Store.

Archived fro
the original
on 15 June 2012. "Gold" peaked at number ten 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 was certified platinum in 2014.ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles
. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 March 2014 It was Sebastian's ninth of 12 top ten singles on the Australian charts.Guy Sebastian in the Australian Charts
. Australian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

Background

"Gold" is an uptempo

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

song. During an interview on Australian radio station Nova 96.9 Sebastian said "Gold" was special to him because he was a huge

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

fan, and he had inserted a horn line from a 1967 live recording of an Otis Redding track called "Shake" into the song. Discussing the inspiration for the song, he said: "You hear an old soul track, old

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, and it just makes you get on your feet." He elaborated, "It's probably the most fun, up-tempo song I've ever released to sing ..Because it's such aggressive soul... By the end of the track I'm jumping out of my skin. It's one of those singer songs."Behind the Video: Guy Sebastian's "Gold"
. Nova 96.9. Retrieved 12 June 2012. Sebastian said in an interview with Take 40 that the idea for lyrics came because of a friend who always used the term "That's Gold". There was some controversy surrounding the song when '' The Voice'' final 24 contestant Carmen Smith, who performed backing vocals on the track, was asked to leave the show because she appeared in the video. ''The Voice'' producers said she had broken the "spirit" of the rules as the video would give her an unfair advantage over other contestants. Smith later stated that she had performed with Sebastian for years, and had a clause in her ''The Voice'' contract which allowed her to continue to perform and record with him. She thought appearing in the video would be permitted under her contract, but that ''The Voice'' producers saw things differently: "We had differences in opinion but in the end that is how they felt about it and I just had to go home and accept it. ..The fact that this has happened, it is unfortunate, but the positive is that I get to move on and do what I do best and sing with Guy again."

Release and promotion

"Gold" was serviced to radio on 4 May 2012 and was the second most added song to Australian radio for two consecutive weeks. It peaked at number 26 on the national airplay charts. Sebastian performed the song on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

's ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'', ''

Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the '' Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from ...

'' and ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

''.

Reception

Critical response

A reviewer for Take 40 wrote: "It's already becoming one of our favourite new tunes! The song is super-fast and full of fun vibes and has an upbeat Motown feel to it!"

Power Fm Capital South Coast was a regional radio station owned by operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital (radio network), Capital radio network. It broadcast to Hampshire from studios in Segensworth, Fareham. In 2019, Capital South Coast was r ...

announcer Bella Frizza said: "'GOLD' has just been released and you know what? I reckon it is just that -GOLDEN! But hey don't trust my ears – listen for yourself and if you're not dancing round your office/bedroom/loungeroom within about 40 seconds then I want to hear why!" Music site auspOp wrote: "We can't tell you how happy we are that Guy Sebastian has ditched the R&B/dance hybrid sound for his latest single 'Gold'. 'Cause this new tune is precisely what Guy does best – oozing with class and old school soul. 'Gold' sounds like it could have been ripped straight from the streets of '60s Detroit, what with its flashy brass, gorgeous gospel chorus and Guy's insane pitch-perfect vocal. ..'Gold' is quite simply pure, unadulterated joy."

Commercial performance

"Gold" debuted and peaked at number ten on the

, and achieved platinum certification in 2014. It was Sebastian's ninth of 12 top ten singles in Australia.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Gold" premiered in May 2012. It was filmed at an old warehouse at the Mill Markets in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, Victoria. Sebastian said the concept came from an old

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

video. He sent it to the producers as a reference and the "Gold" video evolved from there. It is set at a 1950s warehouse party, and Sebastian and his band are shown performing to an audience dressed in clothing of the era. He and his backing vocalist leave the stage and join the dancers on the dance floor. The video is shot in black and white, and in the last 45 seconds is infused with gold highlights and then progresses to full subdued colour.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Track listing

Digital single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

# "Gold" – 3:22 *

Extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

CD and digital download # "Gold" – 3:24 # "Diamond in My Hand" – 3:24 # "Lost in the Streets of LA" – 3:32 # "

" (7th Heaven Radio Mix) – 3:59

Credits and personnel

*Lead vocals (all tracks) – Guy Sebastian "Gold" *Writers – Guy Sebastian, Harmony "H-Money" Samuels *

Background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

– Carmen Smith * Featured sample – Otis Redding recording "Shake" *Production – Pro-Jay, Samuels *

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

– Carlos King *Assistant engineer – Jose Cardoza * Mixing – Manny Marroquin *Mixing assistant – Chris Galland * Mastering – Joe Laporta "Diamond in My Hand" *Writers – Guy Sebastian, Pro-Jay *Production – Pro-Jay *Mixing – Rob Chiarelli *Mastering –

Leon Zervos Leon Zervos is a mastering engineer who has worked with artists including Pink, Rihanna, Maroon 5, Beastie Boys, and Willie Nelson. Life and career Leon Zervos began his mastering career in 1982 at the then EMI Studios 301 in Sydney, where ...

"Lost in the Streets of LA" *Writers – Guy Sebastian,

Andre Harris Andre "Dre" Harris is an American songwriter and record producer. Biography Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harris grew up in a city known for its contributions to Black American music, namely the sub-genre of Philly soul. De ...

, Carl Dimatago *Production – Andre Harris *Mastering – Leon Zervos "

" *Writers – Guy Sebastian,

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

* Featured rap – Eve *Production – Guy Sebastian, Andre Harris *Engineering and mixing – Brandon Kilgour *Mastering – Leon Zervos *Remix – 7th Heaven Credits taken from "Gold" CD liner notes.Notes for "Gold" by Guy Sebastian

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Sony Music Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. Prior to 1995, SMEA published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of So ...

Release history

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Guy Sebastian songs Songs written by Guy Sebastian Songs written by Harmony Samuels 2012 songs