Masterpiece (Jessie J song)

"Masterpiece" is a song recorded by British singer Jessie J for her third studio album, Sweet Talker (2014). The song was written and produced by Josh Alexander and was co-written by Britt Burton and Emily Warren, the latter of whom also co-wrote the album's opening track "Ain't Been Done". "Masterpiece" was released to iTunes on 7 October 2014, alongside "Ain't Been Done", as the second and third promotional singles off Sweet Talker, respectively.[1] It was released to US radio January 13, 2015 as the third international single and fourth from the album overall,[2] while its music video premiered December 10, 2014.[3]

"Masterpiece"
Single by Jessie J
from the album Sweet Talker
Released13 January 2015 (2015-01-13)
StudioCryptic Studios, Venice; The Record Plant, Los Angeles
GenrePop rock
Length3:40
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Josh Alexander
Jessie J singles chronology
"Burnin' Up"
(2014)		 "Masterpiece"
(2015)		 "Flashlight"
(2015)

It received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who applauded the song's anthemic nature but others criticized it for being too generic.[4][5] Even before being promoted as an official single, "Masterpiece" entered the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 at number 82 for the week of October 25, 2014. It later charted in European territories following its official release.

Composition

"Masterpiece" is a pop song about self-empowerment and living up to one's potential.[4] Its instrumentation incorporates piano, synthesized beats, and a string section.[1] Critics have noted the song's thematic similarity to her debut album, Who You Are, in that it is "addressed to her haters".[4]

Critical reception

The song has received mixed to positive reviews. Lewis Corner at Digital Spy declared the song "ballsy", but was critical of its clichéd lyrics. "It's a trap Jessie falls into a few times on the record," writes Lewis, "either diluting a song's impact with hackneyed lyrics or trilling beyond reason."[6] Mike Wass of Idolator cited "Masterpiece" as a highlight of the album, noting that Jessie J "gets it just right" and that it is "a genuinely good pop song".[4] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe found "Masterpiece" to be demonstrative of what he called Jessie J's "disconcerting tendency to over-emote".[7] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian compared "Masterpiece" to the music of American singer-songwriter Pink for being "heavy with pop-rock melodrama and strength-from-within ruminating".[8] In his review of Sweet Talker, Dave Hanratty of Drowned in Sound condemned "Masterpiece" for being overly generic, but was moderately receptive of the production and Jessie J's vocals.[5] Time named the track as the third worst song of 2014, commenting that "a song about how one's undaunted by mistakes in the public eye seems delusional when sung by someone with no persona to speak of".[9]

Chart performance

Across Europe, "Masterpiece" was a moderate success, managing to chart inside the top 10 in countries such as Germany and Austria. In the United Kingdom, however, the single charted outside the top 100 at number 159. This is Jessie J's lowest charting single of her career in the UK due to the fact it was not actually released as a single and the version that charted was the album version with streaming included.[10]

In Oceania, the single had greater success. In Australia the single debuted at number 14 and was certified Gold by ARIA for sales over 35,000. In New Zealand, the single was successful charting at number 13 and was certified Gold by RMNZ for sales over 7,500.

In the US, the single managed to chart inside the Billboard 100 at number 65 as well as charting in Canada at number 74.

Live performances

"Masterpiece" was performed in the UK on The Graham Norton Show in January 2015. In the US, Jessie J performed the single on Jimmy Kimmel Live and on The Voice of Germany featuring all four finalists of the show, in November 2014, and on The Voice US in December 2014 as part of the finale featuring finalist Chris Jamison. Jessie J performed the single at the 3rd Indonesian Choice Awards on May 29, 2016.

Music video

An official lyric video premiered on the official YouTube channel for Republic Records on November 10, 2014.[11] The clip revolves around an aspiring dancer training in a studio space with the lyrics displayed in a graphic all-capital font.

The official video for "Masterpiece" was recorded in Los Angeles on November 13 and 14.[12] Directed by Tabitha Denholm, it premiered December 10, 2014.[3]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Sweet Talker.[13] Locations

Personnel

  • Songwriting – Josh Alexander, Britt Burton, Emily Warren
  • Production – Josh Alexander
  • Vocal production – Kuk Harrell
  • Engineering – Daniel Zaidenstadt, Josh Alexander
  • Assistant engineering – Blake Mares, Robert Cohen
  • Mixing – Manny Marroquin
  • Mixing assistant – Chris Galland, Ike Schultz
  • Logic and Pro-Tools Technician – Scott Roewe
  • Instrumentation – Josh Alexander

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[27] Platinum 70,000^
Germany (BVMI)[28] Gold 200,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[29] Gold 7,500*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Country Date Format Label
United States January 13, 2015 Mainstream radio[2]
Hot adult contemporary[30]
United Kingdom March 23, 2015 Mainstream radio[31]

References
  1. DeGroot, Joey. "Jessie J Shares Two New Songs From Upcoming Album 'Sweet Talker': 'Ain't Been Done' And 'Masterpiece' [LISTEN]". Music Times. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  3. Strecker, Erin. "Watch Jessie J's 'Masterpiece' Video". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  4. Wass, Mike. "Jessie J Gets It Just Right On Mid-Tempo Pop Anthem "Masterpiece": Listen To The 'Sweet Talker' Highlight". Idolator. Spin Media. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  5. Hanratty, Dave. "Album Review: Jessie J - Sweet Talker". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  6. Corner, Lewis. "Jessie J Sweet Talker album review: "Far from being down and out"". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  7. Capobianco, Ken. "Jessie J, 'Sweet Talker'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  8. Sullivan, Caroline. "Jessie J: Sweet Talker review – British star goes all out for US success". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  9. "Top 10 Worst Songs". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  11. Republic Records. "Jessie J "Masterpiece" Lyric Video". YouTube. Google. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  12. Walker, John. "Jessie J Gives Leather & Face On The Set Of Her 'Masterpiece' Video". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  13. Sweet Talker (inlay cover). Jessie J. Republic Records. 2014.CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. "Australian-charts.com – Jessie J – Masterpiece". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  15. "ARIA Australian Top 40 Urban Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  16. "Austriancharts.at – Jessie J – Masterpiece" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  17. "Jessie J Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Jessie J – Masterpiece". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  19. "Charts.nz – Jessie J – Masterpiece". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  20. "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  21. "Swisscharts.com – Jessie J – Masterpiece". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  22. "UK Singles Chart". Official Chart Company. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  23. "Jessie J Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  24. "Jessie J Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  25. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  26. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 50 Urban Singles 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  27. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  28. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Jessie J; 'Masterpiece')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  29. "New Zealand single certifications – Jessie J – Masterpiece". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  30. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2014-10-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. "Radio1 - New UK Singles". Radio1. 7 February 2015. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
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