"Radioactive" is a song by English singer

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

from her debut studio album, '' Ora'' (2012). The song was written and produced by

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...

and Sia Furler. It was released as the fourth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album for

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

and

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

by Columbia and

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...

in the United States on 27 August 2012. A rhythmic

upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...

neo-disco,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and urban song, it received mixed to positive responses from

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 ...

, who mostly applauded the music, sound and Ora's vocal delivery. The song reached the top 30 in Australia, the Flemish region of Belgium, Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom. It received a silver certification from the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) in the UK and a gold certification from the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) in Australia. A futuristic and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

-inspired

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 "Radioactive" premiered on 10 December 2012, depicting her as a robotic

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The video was well received by critics, with praise concentrated on Ora's appearance and fashion.

Background and composition

"Radioactive" was written and produced by American producer

and Australian singer Sia Furler. ''Note: Click on the three dots on the right of the track to display the credits.'' Columbia and

distributed it as the fourth

of Ora's debut studio album '' Ora'' for

and

in the United States on 27 August 2012. Several remixes, which were done by Baggi Begovic, Lucien Foort,

the Flexican Thomás Goethals (born 11 October 1983 in Mexico City, Mexico), better known by his stage name The Flexican is a Dutch DJ. He is a member of Dutch rap group Flinke Namen. Biography Thomás was born in Mexico City and lived there for nine ye ...

Waze & Odyssey Waze & Odyssey are a British electronic music duo consisting of Serge Santiago and Firas Waez. In 2014, the duo had a top 3 UK chart hit in the UK with their remix of 1994 single " Bump n' Grind". The track went on to sell over 400,000 copies w ...

and

Zed Bias Dave Jones, better known as Zed Bias, is an English electronic musician based in Manchester, who operates within the UK garage/ 2-step, broken beat and UK funky genres, as a producer and as a DJ. He has also released material under various ...

, accompanied the single's release as part of an

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 ...

(EP) in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 8 February 2013. Musically, "Radioactive" is a rhythmic

neo-disco,

and urban song with a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

production, starting with a 30-second opener and finishing with an electro sound.

Reception

Upon release, "Radioactive" received mixed to positive responses from

. Entertainment Focus' Carys Jones praised Ora's vocal delivery and the song's music, writing that " tsounds like Rita Ora,

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

, ihannaand

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

have all put their magic ingredients of creating a hit together into one big pot and served up a great big helping of urban-pop magic." Sam Lansky from

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

viewed the song as the "standout" from ''Ora'' and highlighted its "pounding" production and "soaring" chorus. Amy Everett for ''Red'' similarly branded the song as a "standout" from the album and described it as a "dance anthem" with a "strong catchy" chorus. Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' labeled the song as a "great ..house bow" saying that " twinches nicely with Ora's ..vocals." 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 ...

complimented the song's "euphoric" synths and "thumping" electro bass and explained that "Ora tak son the role of club diva." Alex Macpherson for ''Fact'' commented that Ora "attempt dto cop the second-hand swag of every big name she can think of, ncluding

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

's machinic

hedonism Hedonism is a family of Philosophy, philosophical views that prioritize pleasure. Psychological hedonism is the theory that all human behavior is Motivation, motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. As a form of Psycholo ...

on the song'" Lucy Jones of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' further commented, "Oh Wizadora, Kia-Ora, Understudy Rihanna, etc. '

We Found Love "We Found Love" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna released as the lead single from her sixth studio album, '' Talk That Talk'' (2011). The song features Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, whose 2012 album '' 18 Months'' also includes the track. Produ ...

' this is not." As Ora's sixth charting single in the UK, "Radioactive" debuted at number 60 on the UK Singles Chart issue dated 26 January 2013 and reached its peak at number 18 two weeks later. In 2022, it received a silver

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

by the

(BPI) for selling 200,000 units in the UK. The song also reached number 12 on the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

and number 30 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. In Australia, it peaked at number 23 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 also received a gold certification from the

(ARIA) for selling more than 35,000 units. Elsewhere, the song reached number 20 in the Flemish region of Belgium and number 27 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 ...

Global Dance Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

ranking.

Music video

An accompanying

was uploaded to Ora's official

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 ...

channel on 10 December 2012. Behind-the-scenes footage from various stages of filming the video was published on the aforementioned platform on 19 December. The four-minute and 22-second futuristic and

-inspired video was directed by American director James Larese of Syndrome. It depicts the singer as a robotic

in a post-apocalyptic landscape and a world of spaceships. In a blue and purple alternating scene, Ora is first shown dancing in front of nuclear-projected clouds and forming a triangle with her hands. The title of the song and several animated circles above and next to her subsequently start to appear, which in turn were described as forming a high-tech compass. Next, the video cuts into a red-lit scene, in which the singer spins in a floating chair against a backdrop of industrial waste accompanied by two guards next to her, who wear gasmaks and hold torn flags. The proceeding scene portrays Ora in a high-tech surrounding with animated figures being created throughout. Towards the end, it shows the singer riding through a tunnel on a Tron-labeled motorbike. These scenes are interspersed with shots of Ora's face attached to a cybernetic and robotic headpiece rotating in an orange and red-lit setting. Both Vicki Valery from ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' and Shepherd from ''Spin'' commended Ora's attire worn in the video and created by American designer Asher Levine. On a similar note, Max Cajé for ''Finíssimo'' lauded her fashion as "daring" and "very futuristic", writing that she appeared "with a very different look from the R&B style we are used to". While complimenting Ora's styling, Lansky of Idolator stated that the settings and effects used in the video were "intended to look futuristic" but felt that "they just look dcampy".

Track listing

*Digital download and streaming #"Radioactive"4:11 *Digital download and streamingExtended play (EP) #"Radioactive"4:11 #"Radioactive" (

Remix)6:16 #"Radioactive" (

Remix)6:44 #"Radioactive" (

The Flexican Thomás Goethals (born 11 October 1983 in Mexico City, Mexico), better known by his stage name The Flexican is a Dutch DJ. He is a member of Dutch rap group Flinke Namen. Biography Thomás was born in Mexico City and lived there for nine ye ...

Remix)5:08 #"Radioactive" (Baggi Begovic Remix)5:46 #"Radioactive" (Lucien Foort Remix)6:22

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2012 singles 2013 singles 2012 songs 2013 songs Rita Ora songs Songs written by Greg Kurstin Songs written by Sia (musician) Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin Columbia Records singles British disco songs Roc Nation singles