"Whatcha Say" is the debut single by American artist

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 m ...

for his self-titled debut album. It was released for digital download on May 5, 2009, and officially released as a single on August 4 of the same year. The track reinterprets the bridge from

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap ( ; born 9 December 1977) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. She is considered a pioneer in pop music, particularly electropop, and in music technology. While attending the ...

's 2005 hit "

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", prominently featuring its chorus. Produced by J.R. Rotem with extra touches from German producer Fuego, the song enjoyed a week at the top of the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. Derulo recorded a French-English version with

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singer

Fanny J Fanny Jacques-André-Coquin better known as Fanny J (born in Cayenne in French Guiana on 6 October 1987) is a French singer of zouk and contemporary R&B. Career She started very early in music taking part in various local music competitions in ...

in 2010. A second music video has also been released.

Background and composition

After attending performing arts schools, such as The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, and honing his talents as a singer and dancer, as well as acting in theatre productions like ''Ragtime'' and ''Smokey Joe's Cafe'', Derulo won the grand prize on the 2006 season finale of the TV show ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987, to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harve ...

''. Derulo was discovered by music producer J.R. Rotem, who signed him to his record label

Beluga Heights Records Beluga Heights Records is an American record label established by record producer J. R. Rotem. The label is known for discovering and developing Sean Kingston, Iyaz, Mann, and Jason Derulo. In September 2020, Beluga Heights was acquired by Cinq M ...

and

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. From 2006 to 2009, Derulo wrote songs for artists such as Diddy,

Danity Kane Danity Kane is an American music group whose most recent line-up consisted of Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Richard, and Shannon Bex. The group originally had five members, but D. Woods, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett left the group in 2008, and Aundrea Fimbre ...

Donnie Klang Donald Joseph Klang (born January 23, 1985) is an American singer. He won ''Making the Band 4'' and was awarded his own solo contract by Diddy. He released his debut album, '' Just a Rolling Stone'', in late 2008. Life and career Klang was b ...

Sean Kingston Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), known professionally as Sean Kingston, is an American former singer and rapper. Born in Miami, Florida, and raised in Jamaica, he signed with J. R. Rotem's record label Beluga Heights Records ...

, Cassie, and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

, before gearing up to release his debut single, "Whatcha Say". In an interview with

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, Derulo talked about the inspiration for the song. He said, "Basically my brother called me one day and said, 'I cheated on my girl, but I love her so much and I hope she'll give me one more shot'. I found his story really compelling, so I just went into the studio and tried it out. You know, people go through that kind of thing every day, which is why the song is so relatable. She did take my brother back though and they're actually engaged now, so it all worked out good in the end." Regarding the heavy sampling of "

" by

, Derulo called Heap "an incredible talent" and stated that she was "in love with the song hatcha Say. The sheet music for the song shows two

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Apartment, known as a flat in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), a two-dimens ...

with a suggested tempo of "moderately slow groove" in common time.

Critical reception

"Whatcha Say" received mixed reviews. Glenn Gamboa of ''

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" ...

'' wrote: "For fans of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek", the new Jason Derulo single "Whatcha Say" – which liberally samples from the song and even uses Heap's chorus as his own chorus – may be hard to swallow. But Derulo weaves easily in and out of Heap's parts and matches his autotuned vocals to hers pretty well to craft a catchy, if derivative, little number." Upon its November 2009 UK release, noted R&B writer Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul' described the single as "Blending pounding beats and Derulo's rich, soulful vocals with an instantly-infectious pop

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

sampled from alternative/indie songstress Imogen Heap". ''

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'' was critical of Derulo's song, criticizing the sampling: " Hide and Seek,"loses its raw sentiment in the hands of Derulo and pop producer J.R. Rotem, who turn Heap’s voice into a corny gimmick. How dare they."

Commercial performance

"Whatcha Say" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 54 in the issue dated August 4, 2009. It reached number one in the issue dated November 12, 2009. The song also reached the number-one spot on the Canadian Nielsen SoundScan Digital Songs chart. "Whatcha Say" entered and peaked on the UK Singles Chart on November 22, 2009 at number 3. By June 2014, the single had sold over 4 million digital copies in the US.

Promotion

"Whatcha Say" was performed live by Derulo on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

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for the 90th anniversary of the 6abc IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade. The song was featured in

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

's film '' The Town''. The song was also featured on the popular CW show, ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'', in the episode "Treasure of Serena Madre", which premiered on November 30, 2009.

Music video

The music video was released as the free video of the week on iTunes on October 27, 2009. In the music video, Derulo is seen holding with his love interest on a couch inside a home invaded by sunlights, and later on during the video, he is outside her door, waiting impatiently for her to forgive him, and worrying her to let him in, which goes after the lyrics in his song, "So let me in, give me another chance..." The music video premiered on November 16, 2009 on

AMTV ''AMTV'' (formerly known as ''Music Feed'', sometimes known as ''AMTV's Music Feed'') is a television programming block on MTV in the United States that first aired unofficially as a sneak preview on March 26, 2009, and launched officially on M ...

. A music video was also released for the acoustic version, which features

J. R. Rotem Jonathan Reuven Rotem (born July 23, 1975) is a South African-born American record producer, songwriter and music publisher. Biography Early life Rotem was born in July 23, 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israe ...

playing the piano.

Track listing

*CD single # "Whatcha Say" – 3:42 # "Whatcha Say" (Acoustic Version) – 3:42 *Digital EP # "Whatcha Say" – 3:42 # "Whatcha Say" (Acoustic Version) – 3:42 # "Whatcha Say" (Klubjumpers Remix Radio) – 4:03 # "Whatcha Say" (Johnny Vicious Remix) – 7:32 # "Whatcha Say" (Wawa Remix Radio) – 3:24 *Maxi CD single # "Whatcha Say" – 3:42 # "Whatcha Say" (Acoustic Version) – 3:42 # "Whatcha Say" (Klubjumpers Remix Radio) – 4:03 # "Whatcha Say" (Johnny Vicious Remix) – 7:32 # "Whatcha Say" (Wawa Remix Radio) – 3:24 # "Whatcha Say" (video) – 3:46

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2009 songs 2009 debut singles Asylum Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Jason Derulo songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by J. R. Rotem Songs about infidelity Songs written by Imogen Heap Songs written by Jason Derulo Songs written by J. R. Rotem Warner Records singles