"I Cry" is a song by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artist

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

. The track was first released on June 28, 2012, as the fourth single from his fourth studio album, '' Wild Ones''. The song samples

Bingo Players Bingo Players is a Dutch dance and electro house musical project fronted by DJ and record producer Maarten Hoogstraten (). Bingo Players was originally a duo, which included Paul Bäumer, who died from cancer in 2013. After the death of Bäumer, ...

' " Cry (Just a Little)", which in turn interpolates lyrics from the song " Piano in the Dark" by

Brenda Russell Brenda Russell (née Gordon; born April 8, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist. Russell has a diverse musical range which encompasses Rhythm and blues, R&B, pop music, pop, soul music, soul, dance music, dance, and ...

. "I Cry" was produced by the French production duo soFLY & Nius and the Futuristics, and it was written by

The Futuristics The Futuristics are a Grammy nominated American songwriting and music production duo consisting of Alex Schwartz and Joe Khajadourian. The duo formed after they met interning at Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply kno ...

Scott Cutler Scott Michael Cutler is an American songwriter, musician, record producer, and music executive. As a member of the alternative rock band Ednaswap, he co-wrote " Torn" which was covered in 1997 by Natalie Imbruglia. Her recording became the wo ...

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

, Jeffrey Hull,

, and soFLY & Nius. "I Cry" received mixed reviews from music critics, who criticized its lyrical content and production, and stated that it would have been better with a collaboration with Sia Furler, who previously collaborated with Flo Rida on the song, " Wild Ones". However, some critics were positive towards its

catchiness Catchiness is how easy it is for a song, tune, or phrase to be recalled. It is often taken into account when writing songs, catchphrases, advertising slogans, jingles etc. Alternatively, it can be defined as how difficult it is for one to forget i ...

and club-nature. The song received commercial success upon its release, peaking inside the top ten in many countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. A music video was released for the single on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. This song is the second track on '' Now 45''.

Critical reception

"I Cry" received generally mixed reviews from most

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 ...

. Andy Gill from ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' said that this track and "In My Mind (Part 2)" are "galloping grooves." Chris Payne from ''

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 ...

'' was favorable, saying, "After repeat listens 'I Cry' might sound a good deal like the rest of ''Wild Ones'', but played in a club at the right time, it's got enough building beats and poppy climaxes to deliver."

AbsolutePunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to featu ...

said that "I Cry" was a "decent dance cut, using a sample from the Bingo Players for the hook." However, Melissa Maerz from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' said, "Most bizarre is 'I Cry', which speeds up

's 1988 smooth-jazz cheesefest ' Piano in the Dark' until it has all the emotional heft of an

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off) was an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu (rapper), Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska. Sky Blu ...

track. You couldn't program a robot to cry to it." Glenn Gamboa from

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

said the sample of "Piano in the Dark" was "off" and wanted it to "speed up a bit." Robert Copsey from

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 ...

gave it a rather scathing review, only awarding it one star out of five. He stated, 'I Cry' is just sheer laziness ..Flo waxes the usual lyrical nonsense about champagne buckets and his tattoo of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

." Copsey also thought it would have been better as a collaboration with " Wild Ones" guest vocalist Sia. He stated, "We've said it once and we'll say it again: Bring back Sia!"

Chart performance

"I Cry" was a commercial success upon its release, performing particularly well in European countries. The song first charted in Norway, debuting at number 8 on the Norwegian Singles Chart and rising to number 1 the following week, where it lasted for three weeks in total. In Denmark, the song debuted at number 9 for the chart week ending September 7, 2012, and reached a peak of number 8 on September 16. "I Cry" also performed strongly in Ireland and the United Kingdom: it reached number 16 in Ireland on September 13, 2012, and reached a peak of number 3 on the UK Singles Chart for the chart week dated September 30, 2012. In Australia, "I Cry" first appeared and peaked on the Australian Singles Chart at number 3 on September 16, 2012, remaining at that position for two weeks in total. The song peaked at number ten in New Zealand, debuting at number 17 on September 17, 2012, and rising to its peak position the following week.

Music video

A music video for the song was released on September 30, 2012, directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

. The video includes footage of Flo Rida visiting his home neighborhood in

Carol City, Florida Carol City is a neighborhood in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It was formerly listed as a census-designated place in the 2000 U.S. Census. History Julius Gaines, the developer, had originally planned to name it Coral City. However, un ...

to tell his story of his struggle to fame and fortune while crying seeing the town's wealth. The music video premiered on BET's

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

on October 11, 2012, when Flo Rida visited the show.

Track listing

*;Digital download #"I Cry" – 3:42 *;CD single #"I Cry" #"

Whistle A whistle is a musical instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It is a type of Fipple, fipple flute, and may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a s ...

" (Jakob Lido remix)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

, -

Radio and release history

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Flo Rida songs Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Norway Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Song recordings produced by SoFly and Nius Songs written by Brenda Russell Songs written by Calvin Harris Songs written by Scott Cutler Songs written by Maarten Hoogstraten Songs written by Paul Bäumer (musician) 2012 songs Songs written by Flo Rida Song recordings produced by the Futuristics Songs written by Joe Khajadourian Songs written by Alex Schwartz