" American Oxygen " is a song recorded by the singer of Barbados, Rihanna. It was written by Alex da Kid, Candice Pillay, Sam Harris and Rihanna; Alex da Kid and Kanye West made it. Written for one year, "American Oxygen" was inspired by the 1984 single "Born in the U.S." done by Bruce Springsteen. It was made available for streaming on Tidal on April 5, 2015, and released for digital downloads on April 14 via the iTunes Store. This song has patriotic lyrical content about the new America and the pursuit of American dreams.
Darren Craig, Jonathan Craven and Jeff Nicholas from the Uprising Creative directed the music video for "American Oxygen", which aired exclusively on Tidal on April 6th. The film portrays various moments of American history while Rihanna sings in front of a huge American flag. Rihanna performed "American Oxygen" for the first time in the Final Four of the NCAA Men's 2015 Division Tournament in Indianapolis.
Video American Oxygen
Writing and production
"American Oxygen" was written by Alex da Kid, Sam Harris, Candice Pillay, and Rihanna. Production is done by Alex da Kid and American rapper Kanye West. The songwriting begins in 2014, and continues for a year. Initially, Alex da Kid sent a tap of a song to Harris who started writing some lyrics. In an interview with Billboard, Harris noted how "American Oxygen" really attached to it and he started the chorus with a few lines that he wrote: "We worked only on that chorus for three or four months, alternating -back, back and forth.... This shows that sometimes these songs just appear and sometimes you just have to do it like a marble block and you throw it away. "Harris explains how he and Alex da Kid want the chorus from the song was to say a lot, even with a bit of lyrics in it. When they got the last chorus, the producers began to look for potential players from the song.
When the song appears in Rihanna, she and Alex da Kid begin to adjust the song. Singer and producer co-wrote the passage along with Harris, "I write one thing and then Alex and Rihanna have an idea to turn it into this song about the immigrant story, coming to this country as an outsider... That's the idea, really, hers and Alex, to turn it into such a song. "Harris states that the inspiration to start writing" American Oxygen "is the 1984 single" Born in the US " by Bruce Springsteen. According to Harris, "He [Springsteen] is proud to live here in this country, this country is great and has the potential to be something truly amazing, but there are many problems we do not recognize and it is important to explain both. And if you can do it in a song, it's the best. "He also told the publication that they have their own version of" American Oxygen "as well, however, according to him it means more to be sung by Rihanna because she is a female leather immigrant black in the United States, "It was very strong for a young boy to see him sing the song, making me choke just thinking about it, it really made much more powerful with what he contributed to the songwriting and appearance of the song.I idolize it, and have been given the opportunity to work with him is extraordinary. "
Maps American Oxygen
Release
"American Oxygen" was first shown on an ad promoting the 2015 Division I NCAA Men's Tournament. Then, the song was made available for streaming on April 5, 2015, via Tidal, a service shared by Rihanna along with other music artists including, Jay Z, Beyoncà ©  © and Madonna. On April 14th, "Oxygen America" ​​is available for digital download worldwide through the iTunes Store. In Canada and the United States was released two days later, on April 16. It was sent to Hot/Modern/AC radio in the United States on April 20, and impacted the country's contemporary hit radio station the day after, on 21 April.
Lyrical composition and interpretation
"American Oxygen" is a sentimental ballad with a length of five minutes and twenty seconds. According to Jim Farber from New York Daily News , it features "very resonating production" along with an EDM-inspired beat. Jessica Goodman of The Huffington Post described it as "a slow, dubstep-influenced song" in which she called "the new America." According to Ariana Bacle of Entertainment Weekly, "American Oxygen" is "a slower and more lifelike way of life in America." Dee Lockett of Vulture described it as "a serious term for the American dream". Lyrics, the song interprets the immigrant story that can be seen in the lyrics:
Oh, can you see? This is an American dream Young girl hustlin '
On the other side of the ocean You can be anything In America, America I say, if you can not see,
Just close your eyes and breathe.
Farber compared the lyrics to the song with the song "Empire State of Mind" 2009 by Jay Z and Alicia Keys. According to Farber, "American Oxygen" "offers non-ironic support to American dreams, paying homage to endless possibilities and upward mobility" and featuring Rihanna proudly singing the phrase, "We sweat for nickel and dime, turning it into a kingdom. "According to Jake Flanagin of Quartz, the song is autobiographical for Rihanna and describes his move to the United States in late 2003, when record producer Evan Rogers found it in Barbados. Alexa Tietjen from VH1 writes that "American Oxygen" is similar to a presidential speech and "describes a painful past while fostering hope for the future". According to Erika Ramirez from Billboard, the lyrics of the song describe "chase and resilience." The CBS radio reviewer believes that the last line in the song, "This is the new America" ​​can be considered the "most telling".
Critical reception
Vulture's Lockett wrote, "But just in case the song does not replace our national anthem, it will also make the perfect Empire theme song." Tietjen from VH1 described "American Oxygen" as being 180 degrees different from the previous single, "Bitch Better Have My Money", and not "as fast" "FourFiveSeconds". Ailbhe Mahone from Irish Times declared the single as 'Track of the Week' and called it "epic". He also writes, "When he sings the phrase 'we are a new America', we challenge you not to feel the shivers in your spine."
Rob Le Donne of The Guardian wrote that the single featured Rihanna's "more serious" than the persona on the previous single, "it's hard to say exactly what Rihanna wants to say - but that might be the point." Further again, he praised producers Alex da Kid and West as well as the "layered" production they had done on the song. However, he thinks that "American Oxygen" is not "radio-friendly" unlike Eminem and Rihanna's 2010 single "Love the Way You Lie", which is also produced by Alex da Kid, or Rihanna's songs from his previous album, Unapologetic , including "Diamonds" and "Pour It Up". Le Donne writes, "So why is Rihanna, the debatable queen of club jam, pulling out a very heavy song when she can pull out another party banger?" To answer his question, he brought out two theories; in the first, he thought that putting out the song was "a calculated move to get people talking about it again" because he was not active musically for three years, or the second theory that "Rihanna wants to pass commercial dance and really comment on the current society ".
Commercial performance
"American Oxygen" debuted at number 91 on the Billboard's US 100 100 chart for the May 2, 2015 edition. For this week, it sold over 20,000 digital copies and streamed 2.1 million times. It peaked at number 78 in the second week on the chart and charted for a total of four weeks.
Music video
Development and synopsis
The music video for "American Oxygen" was directed by Darren Craig, Jonathan Craven, and Jeff Nicholas of the Uprising Creative. The trio previously collaborated with Rihanna on a video for her 2013 single, "What Now". Nathan Scherrer serves as a visual producer, while Isaac Bauman is director of photography. Clark Eddy from Snipomatic is a video editor, while Ben Piety helps produce. Brandon Mendez serves as a production designer, Mel Ottenberg designs Rihanna outfits, while Trevor Durtschi and Ntropic do staining. It aired on April 6 exclusively on Tidal. On April 16 uploaded on Rihanna's official Vevo account on YouTube. Furthermore, Rihanna posted on her official Twitter account, "one of the most important music videos I've made to date". On the same day, it's available for digital downloads on the iTunes Store.
The video begins with Rihanna standing on the steps of a building where the wall is a huge American flag. At that time, the shadow of a number of people was filtered on the wall. The scenes were interrupted with the moment of the inauguration of America's first black president, Barack Obama. When the song begins Rihanna is shown singing the lyrics in front of the giant American flag. Other scenes such as riding on flags, peaceful protests and typical American family image are also shown. They were followed by inserts that included Martin Luther King Jr. and an American slave. Other scenes such as immigration in the country, Apollo 11, 1968 Olympics, Black Power honor, Beatlemania, Occupy Wall Street, September 11 attacks and Black Lives Matter are also presented along the clip. At one point Rihanna was seen wearing a parachute suit while a large parachute hung on her back, struggling to crawl with her. It ends with Rihanna losing her parachute. He looks into the camera "thoroughly" and "tilts his head in a rather challenging, almost challenging" way.
Reception
In the video review, Alex Ungerman from Entertainment Tonight felt that the repetition of the word "breath" was a very serious symbol and an important message related to Eric Garner's death. According to a Capital FM writer, the video shows the patriotic side of Rihanna and the struggles experienced by blacks in the country and their success. Steven Gottlieb from Videostatic wrote that his video was, "maybe a bit more political than you think, utilizing a mixture of news footage that run the whole from tragedy to transcendence." A Rap-Up -reviewer thinks that with Rihanna visually spread the message of her unity. Us Weekly ' Madeline Boardman calls the music video "amazing" and thinks it's different from previous Rihanna videos where she's known for "pushing the limit". He also wrote, "The clip was celebrated by social media users as" powerful, "" essential, "and" iconic. "Zoe Anastasiou from the Gaya website commented and wrote," Rihanna's new video for a touch of 'American Oxygen' on the issue of racial and immigration injustice, away from the video that highlights her bold (and often seen) performance. "
Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone describes the visual as, quasi-time capsule feel, juxtaposing patriotic images with archival records of the most important historical events in the United States. â € He further wrote it, the videoâ € Å"same looks inward towards the nationâ € which resulted in visual experience that can be seen in visuals for the 1989 Billy Joel, "We Do Not Start Fire". Time ' s Nolan Feeney thinks that some of the historical moments presented "challenge the reading of a song as a pure ode to the land of opportunity." Flanagin Quartz disagrees with critics who consider the videos and songs to be contradictory.According to him, "The message is clear: the lives of American immigrants are full of contradictions. To start the United States, illegally or with visa in hand, as a strawberry picker or pop star, is an effort driven by hope. But newcomers often face strong social urges. "Adam Fleischer of MTV News notes that" the clips lasted for decades, dealt with many situations and evoked a series of emotions, "and finally agreed with Feeney.Richelle Geslani of the Consequence of Sound wrote," This is a gripping visual that seems raises the question: How far are we willing to protect so-called Land of Opportunity? "The video has been nominated for Best Videos With Social Messages at MTV Video Music 2015 Awards.
Live show
On April 4, 2015, Rihanna performed at the Final Four NCAA Men's Division Tournament Division I 2015, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. During the show, she sang "American Oxygen" for the first time, as well as "Bitch Better Have My Money" and "FourFiveSeconds". The concert also features old Rihanna songs, such as "Stay", "We Found Love" and "Diamonds". Rihanna also performed the song at the end of the 40th season SNL , along with "Bitch Better Have My Money".
Awards and nominations
Diagram
Certification
Releasing history
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song in MetroLyrics
- "American Oxygen" music video on YouTube
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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