"Sun Is Up" is a song recorded by Romanian singer

Inna Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (born 16 October 1986), known professionally as Inna (stylized in all caps), is a Romanian singer. Born in Mangalia and raised in Neptun, she studied political science at Ovidius University before meeting the Rom ...

for her second studio album, ''

I Am the Club Rocker ''I Am the Club Rocker'' is the second studio album recorded by Romanian singer Inna, released on 19 September 2011 by Roton as a follow-up to her 2009 album, '' Hot''. The complete production and writing process for the record was handled by ...

'' (2011), and also included on several versions her debut album ''

Hot Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a Wine tasting descriptors#D–H, wine tasting descriptor Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand **Hot subdistrict, ...

'' (2009). Written and produced by

Play & Win Marco & Seba, previously known as Play & Win are a Romanian singer-songwriter and music production duo formed in 2000 by Radu Bolfea, Marcel Botezan and Sebastian Barac. Since then, they have been making music without Bolfea. They are a leading p ...

members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan, the song was released in October 2010 as the first single from ''I Am the Club Rocker''. "Sun Is Up" is a rave

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

track, and was compared to Sabrina's " Boys (Summertime Love)" (1987) by one

reviewer A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indic ...

. The track was received favorably, with music critics praising its composition and referring to it as a highlight on the album and in Inna's career. It won in the Best Song in the Balkans from Romania for 2010 category at the

2011 Balkan Music Awards The Second Annual Balkan Music Awards were held in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria for the second time. The previous year's main winner of the show with the title "Best Song of Balkans 2009" was Željko Joksimović with Ljubavi representing S ...

, while also receiving nominations at the 2011 Radio România Actualităţi and Romanian Music Awards, and 2012 Radar Media Awards. To promote "Sun Is Up", an accompanying music video was shot by Alex Herron in late August 2010 in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

, Spain, and uploaded onto Inna's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

channel on 30 September 2010. She further promoted the recording through various live performances. Commercially, "Sun Is Up" reached the top 10 in several countries, while awarded certifications in Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Background and composition

In June 2010,

announced via her official website that two new songs, " Un Momento", a collaboration with Spanish singer

Juan Magán Juan Manuel Magán González (born 30 September 1978) is a Spanish producer, singer, remixer and DJ of electronic dance music, recognized internationally for his contributions to the "Electro Latino" category of music. As a remixer, he has worke ...

, and "Sun Is Up", would be featured on an upcoming "Summer Hit Pack". With the plans remaining unmaterialized, "Sun Is Up" was released in Romania in October 2010 as the first single from the singer's second studio album, ''

'' (2011). Its cover artwork had been previously unveiled in August 2010; shot by Edward Aninaru, it shows Inna naked in a

jacuzzi Jacuzzi Brands LLC (; ), through its subsidiaries, is a global manufacturer and distributor of branded baths, hot tubs, pools, saunas and, formerly, aircraft. Founded in 1915 by the Italian family of the same name, Jacuzzi is a federally regist ...

, lifting her right hand. The French

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

and

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

release of the song followed in January 2011, the latter by label

Roton In theoretical physics, a roton is an elementary excitation, or quasiparticle, seen in superfluid helium-4 and Bose–Einstein condensates with long-range dipolar interactions or spin-orbit coupling. The dispersion relation of elementary excita ...

. In the United Kingdom, the track was featured on the British version of Inna's debut record ''

'', made available on 5 June 2011. It was also the closing song on the compilation '' Now That's What I Call Music! 79''. A "Euro rave

" song, "Sun Is Up" was written and produced by Romanian trio

members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan. During the track's

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the v ...

, Inna sings: "All the people tonight put your hands in the sky / Come on boy, come and get in / The rhythm music will take you high / What I'm feeling about you / I love you, don't know why / Everybody come and get in / The rhythm music will take you high."

Reception and accolades

Upon its release, "Sun Is Up" was met with generally positive reviews 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 ...

. An editor from German radio station BB Radio commended the song as a highlight from ''I Am the Club Rocker'', writing: "After just the first few seconds, the sun rises. The hit single from Inna simply puts you in a dance mood."

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', '' 20/20'', '' Sky Magazi ...

, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', noticed similarities to Sabrina's " Boys (Summertime Love)" (1987), while French website Musique Radio praised its rhythm and melody. An editor of

Pro FM Pro FM is a radio station in Romania and Moldova, it broadcasts in Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and ...

listed the recording in their list of "16 hits with which Inna made history". More negatively, Urban.ro noted that the singer was screaming during the song's chorus. Fans of "Sun Is Up" include British group

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the gro ...

, who released a video of them on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

in January 2012 dancing and singing along to the track in their car while on their Up All Night Tour (2011–2012). In an accompanying message, they wrote: "Just incase you were wondering...this is what we do in the car...". An editor of ''

Capital FM Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capitals, List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the dura ...

'' positively regarded the video, while resuming its plot: "While Louis and Zayn show off their best moves,

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

then turns the camera onto

Liam Payne Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Payne made his debut as a singer in 2008 when he auditioned for the British television series '' The X Factor''. After bei ...

, who is doing some head bopping." Commercially, "Sun Is Up" experienced widespread success on

record charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

, reaching number one on Hungary's

Dance Top 40 Dance radio is a format that consists of current and recent dance and electronic music. While the format is popular in Europe and Asia, it has yet to make an impact in North America, although there are several top 40 and rhythmic radio stations ...

chart, Netherlands's Mega Dance Top 30 chart, the Swiss

Romandy Romandy (french: Romandie or )Before World War I, the term French Switzerland (french: Suisse française) waalso used german: Romandie or , it, Romandia, rm, Romanda) is the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 mil ...

region and United Kingdom's dance chart. In Romania, the track peaked at number two, while becoming the fifth Inna song to debut within the top 10 in France, ultimately reaching the same peak position. Other top 10 positions were achieved in the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

, Switzerland, ''

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 ...

Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic ...

component chart in the United States, Mexico and Lebanon. "Sun Is Up" was awarded Gold certifications by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) and the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

(IFPI) for shifting 15,000 copies in Italy and Switzerland, while also receiving Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company wi ...

(BPI) in the United Kingdom for 200,000 units. "Sun Is Up" won the Eurodanceweb Award in 2010, an online music contest, with 184 points, marking Romania's highest position in that competition. She was ranked in third place by the online voting, but she won following the decision of a jury panel consisting of various journalists, music producers, disc jockeys and radio stations. The single also won Best Song in the Balkans from Romania for 2010 at the

, while receiving nominations in the Pop/Dance Song of the Year, Best Dance and Song of the Year categories at the 2011 Radio România Actualităţi and Romanian Music Awards, and 2012 Radar Media Awards, respectively.

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Sun Is Up" was uploaded onto Inna's official

channel on 30 September 2010, preceded by the release of a making-of video on 30 August and a preview on 27 September 2010. It was filmed by Alex Herron in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

on 24 August 2010. The video begins with Inna walking cross a river in the middle of a forest, dressed up in green. This is followed by her getting ready for a photoshooting session with Tore Frisholm Jr. with various

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions in ...

s. Subsequently, Inna is shown bathing and singing naked in a jacuzzi in front of a mountain area, as well as dancing at a party and being pictured by Frisholm privately. The clip continues in a similar way, closing with Frisholm and Inna standing close to each other at

sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spr ...

. The visual received notable airplay on Romanian television, peaking at number four on

Media Forest Media Forest is an Israeli service provider of Monitoring and Media Research for Music and AdvertiIndustries, founded in 2005 in Netanya, Israel. The company monitors broadcasting tracks and channels such as radio stations and TV channels, and a ...

's TV Airplay Chart in October 2010. ''Note: Select 'Songs – TV'. Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.''

Live performances

The first live performance of "Sun Is Up" occurred at the 2010 Romanian Music Awards on 10 July 2010 in

Craiova ) , official_name = Craiova , image_skyline = , image_caption = From left: Dolj County Prefecture • Constantin Mihail Palace • Bibescu Manor House • Carol I National College • Museum of Oltenia • University of Craiova , i ...

, Romania, in a medley with "Señorita" (2010), " 10 Minutes" (2010) and "

Amazing Amazing may refer to: Music Performers * The Amazing, a Swedish indie rock band Albums * ''Amazing'' (Banaroo album), 2006 * ''Amazing'' (Elkie Brooks album), 1996 * ''Amazing'' (Marcia Hines album) or the title song, 2014 * ''Amazin'' (Tr ...

" (2009). In 2011, Inna sang the song on several occasions, including as the opening act of her own Inna: Live la Arenele Romane gig in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

on 17 May, where she arrived by helicopter "like a diva", at the 2011 Balkan Music Awards on 4 June, and at the

ZDF-Fernsehgarten ''ZDF-Fernsehgarten'' (English: ''ZDF Television garden'') is a German entertainment TV show broadcast live from the grounds of the ZDF broadcasting centre at Mainz. It is a seasonal live programme which airs only during the summer months with 1 ...

and The Dome 59 in Germany on 28 August and 31 August. She also performed the song at the 2011 Romanian Music Awards in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census ( 2011), Brașov has a po ...

on 16 September, and at French event Starfloor on 26 November at the

Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Palais () may refer to: * Dance hall, popularly a ''palais de danse'', in the 1950s and 1960s in the UK * ''Palais'', French for palace **Grand Palais, the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées **Petit Palais, an art museum in Paris * Palais River in t ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. Other notable performances outside of the single's promotion phase include during her Wow Session series on her YouTube channel on 16 March 2012, and at the

World Trade Center Mexico City The World Trade Center Mexico City, commonly known by its former name, Hotel de México, is a building complex located in the wealthy neighborhood of Colonia Nápoles in central Mexico City. Its most famous and recognizable feature is the 50-s ...

in September 2012 and March 2016.

Track listings

*Official versions # "Sun Is Up" (Play & Win Radio Edit Version) – 3:44 # "Sun Is Up" (Play & Win Extended Version) – 4:43 # "Sun Is Up" (UK Radio Edit Version) – 2:32 # "Sun Is Up" (Radio/Video Edit Version) – 3:11 # "Sun Is Up" (Cahill Radio Edit) – 3:25 # "Sun Is Up" (Cahill Club Remix) – 7:17 # "Sun Is Up" (Cahill Instrumental) – 7:11 # "Sun Is Up" (Kryder Remix) – 5:30 # "Sun Is Up" (Mico Short Radio Edit) – 3:27 # "Sun Is Up" (Mico Club Remix) – 6:05 # "Sun Is Up" (Odd Radio Edit) – 3:17 # "Sun Is Up" (Odd Club Remix) – 6:02 # "Sun Is Up" (The Perez Brothers Radio Edit) – 3:48 # "Sun Is Up" (The Perez Brothers Club Remix) – 4:18 # "Sun Is Up" (Dandeej Remix) – 7:02 # "Sun Is Up" (Ilario Estevez Remix) – 5:32 # "Sun Is Up" (Liam Keegan Remix) – 2:59 # "Sun Is Up" (Ivan Mateluna Empo Hybrid Remix) – 4:47

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release and radio history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2010 singles Inna songs English-language Romanian songs Music videos shot in Spain Song recordings produced by Play & Win 2010 songs