"Swagger Jagger" is the debut single by English singer and rapper

Cher Lloyd Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She participated on the The X Factor (UK series 7), seventh series of the television talent show ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor'' in 2010, where she finished in fourth place. F ...

, taken from her debut studio album '' Sticks and Stones'' (2011). It was released as the album's lead single on 31 July 2011 by both Syco and

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

. The song was written by the two production teams The Runners and The Monarch with Lloyd,

Autumn Rowe Autumn Rowe (born May 25, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, TV personality, DJ and activist from South Bronx, New York, United States. In 2010, she helped write the song "Happiness" by Alexis Jordan, with producers Stargate and Deadmau5, w ...

Marcus Lomax The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, and Jordan K. Johnson and The Strangerz: Marcus "Marc Lo" Lomax and Cla ...

and Clarence Coffee Jr. and is composed to the tune of "

Oh My Darling, Clementine "Oh, My Darling Clementine" ( Roud 9611, sometimes simply "Clementine") is a traditional American, tragic but sometimes comic, Western folk ballad in trochaic meter usually credited to Percy Montross (or Montrose) (1884), although it is some ...

". The music video was released on 26 June 2011. It was also used in the movie '' Identity Thief'' with

Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Melissa McCarthy, numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Award ...

. Despite receiving negative reviews from music critics, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and at number two in Ireland, becoming her biggest hit to date in these countries. It also reached number five in Japan. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' chose the song as the best number one single of 2011, along with the

Official Charts The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...

listing the track as the 35th biggest song of the summer of 2011 in the UK.

Background

"Swagger Jagger" received its first airplay on 20 June 2011. The single was leaked onto the internet on 15 June, but this version was later confirmed as only the demo of the track on Lloyd's

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account. Lloyd performed the song on T4 on the Beach and also performed at the Leeds Aire FM Party in the Park and Key 103 Live Manchester, both on the day of release of "Swagger Jagger".

Critical reception

Initial reviews compared the song to the Christmas carol " Little Donkey". However, in a positive review, Robert Copsey of

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 the song four out of five stars. He noted similarities between the song's chorus and the American western folk ballad "

", an opinion shared by users at "whosampled.com". In a negative review, '' Sabotage Times'' said of the "abominable" track: "Coming across like a

sink estate A sink estate is a British term used for a council housing estate with high levels of social problems, particularly crime. The word is often used in certain former British colonies. Origin The phrase came into usage in the 1980s, and was used by t ...

answer to the

Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

, the track combines a shouty, tuneless verse with a chorus that riffs on 'Oh My Darling Clementine'".

Chart performance

"Swagger Jagger" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 7 August 2011 ― for the week ending dated 13 August 2011. As of 12 August 2021, the single's sales have exceeded 300,000 copies in Britain. In Ireland, the single charted at number two 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 ...

. The single debuted at number seventy-nine on the Mega Top 100 in the Netherlands. After a performance during the finals of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'', the song re-entered the chart at number sixty.

Track listing

*;UK digital EP #"Swagger Jagger" – 3:14 #"Swagger Jagger" (

Wideboys The Wideboys are an English electronic music duo known for club remixes and for their own song "Sambuca", featuring Dennis G on vocals, which reached number 15 in the UK in October 2001. Another top 40 single, "Daddy-O" featuring Shaznay Lewis ...

Radio Edit) – 3:03 #"Swagger Jagger" (Dillon Francis Remix) – 5:06 #"Swagger Jagger" (Eyes Remix) – 4:27 *;UK CD single #"Swagger Jagger" – 3:12 #"Swagger Jagger" (HyGrade Pecan Pie Mix) – 3:35 *;US digital download #"Swagger Jagger" – 3:12

Credits and personnel

– songwriter, vocals *

– songwriter * The Runners (Andrew Harr and Jermaine Jackson) – songwriter, producer * The Monarch (Andre Davidson and Sean Davidson) – songwriter, co-producer *

The Monsters & Strangerz The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, and Jordan K. Johnson and The Strangerz: Marcus "Marc Lo" Lomax and Cla ...

(Marcus Lomax and Clarence Coffee Jr.) – songwriter *Jeff "Supa Jeff" Villanueva – engineer *

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

– mixing * Alex Delicata – guitar * Tom Coyne – mastering Source:

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control Cher Lloyd songs 2011 debut singles Number-one singles in Scotland UK singles chart number-one singles Songs written by Autumn Rowe Songs written by Jermaine Jackson (hip-hop producer) Songs written by Andrew Harr Song recordings produced by the Runners Songs written by Marcus Lomax 2011 songs Syco Music singles Dance-pop songs Songs written by Clarence Coffee Jr. Songs written by Andre Davidson Songs written by Sean Davidson Song recordings produced by the Monarch (production team)