Finesse (song)
"Finesse" is a song by American singer Bruno Mars from his third studio album, 24K Magic. The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves and Ray McCullough II. The former three produced the it under the name Shampoo Press & Curl, along with the latter four, as The Stereotypes. The song was composed after a jam session as Mars wanted to recreate the "new jack swing sound". Atlantic Records released a remix version, featuring verses from American rapper Cardi B, as the album's fifth and final single on January 4, 2018, to digital download and streaming services. Musically, it is a new jack swing, hip hop soul and funk song with a light influence of R&B. The lyrics demonstrate the happiness of being with who one loves and the positive outcome of that for them and others.
"Finesse" was well received by music critics, who complimented Cardi B's verses, on the remix, and compared them to the old-school hip hop flow. Moreover, according to critics, the song evokes the sound of Bobby Brown's album Don't Be Cruel, Bell Biv DeVoe's track "Poison", and Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time". The song was a commercial success, peaking at number two in New Zealand, number three in the United States and Canada. It has also entered the top ten of Australia, Ireland, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The song was certified four and three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and Australian Recording Industry Association, respectively. It was also certified platinum by both the British Phonographic Industry and the Recorded Music NZ.
The accompanying music video, which was directed by Florent Dechard and Mars, pays homage to the popular FOX sketch comedy television series In Living Color. To promote "Finesse", Mars and Cardi B performed it at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2018, the song was included on a medley of hits performed by Cardi B at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and by Kelly Clarkson at the Billboard Music Awards. It received several awards, including Favorite Song Soul/R&B at the 2018 American Music Awards, Video of the Year at the 2018 Soul Train Music Awards, as well as Best Collaboration at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards. It was also nominated for Video of the Year at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.
Background and development
In September 2014, Mars tweeted, "Now it's time to start writing chapter 3", hinting he was working on new music. Following the release of the successful Mark Ronson and Mars' featured single "Uptown Funk", Mars headed to the studio to record more songs, and said he had no plans to release a new album "until it's done". The album was due in March 2016, but Mars' appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show postponed it for several months. At the time, seven songs were already recorded.The Stereotypes had known Mars and worked with him since 2007, but after he signed a deal with Atlantic Records, in 2009, they did not collaborate very often. In 2015, Jonathan Yip of the team talked with Mars about working together. Mars was already recording 24K Magic and asked for "some beats", which Yip sent. Mars later asked for more samples and The Stereotypes sent them, but they never heard back: "Nothing came of it", they said. In June 2016, Yip contacted Mars, who asked the former if The Stereotypes would like to help him finish a song for his album; he needed another song with a certain tempo and key. Yip sent Mars an idea that caught his attention, with him asking The Stereotypes to go to the studio. After helping Mars finish "24K Magic" and "That's What I Like", the team brought "in another track idea". The idea went into fruition when Mars decided to come up with the "new jack swing sound of Keith Sweat and Bobby Brown". It was created from scratch after a jam session in Mars' studio. While he was playing a drum set, everyone was either playing an instrument, singing, or yelling.
During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Mars said one iteration of "Finesse" had him singing about "gold chains and cognac over a silky beat", which he found "too corny", and another version sounded "like a Seventies cop show—like I should be on roller skates". Mars explained, "Anytime you see us, on tour, on TV, I want to be moving... I was very conscious on this album of the bounce." However, he was not satisfied with the 20th version of the song, rearranging its groove. At that time, Mars also decided to fix the bridge of the song, since there was something bothering him on the harmonies or on the chord progression. Mars furthered, "I don't know what's not hitting home. There's just something weird that I ain't fucking with yet."
When Mars chose "Finesse" as a single, he told The Stereotypes that he wanted rapper Cardi B to feature on it. The former said on an Instagram post, "I met Cardi B at 3 a.m. after my show in LA, backstage, where we recorded her verse for 'Finesse'. She walked in the room and she was everything I'd hoped she'd be." Charles Moniz, Mars' audio engineer, confirmed this as he recorded their vocals on selected microphones and "brought all the sound elements together". Rumors regarding the collaboration between Mars and Cardi B began on Twitter around Christmas 2017. Billboard associated director of charts and radio confirmed Mars was set to release new music on January 4, 2018.
Production and release
"Finesse" was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves and Ray McCullough II. Its production was handled by the former three under their alias Shampoo Press & Curl, along with the latter four as The Stereotypes. Mars, Lawrence, Brown, and Fauntleroy served as the song's background vocalists. The recording was done and engineered by Charles Moniz, with additional engineering assistance by Jacob Dennis, at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California. It was mixed at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach by Serban Ghenea, with John Hanes serving as the mixing engineer. Tom Coyne mastered the track at Sterling Sound. The remix version features additional songwriting by Cardi B and Klenord Raphael, as well as new mastering by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound.In early January 2018, Mars announced via Instagram that "Finesse" would be the album's fifth single, and unlike the original, the single version features rap verses from Cardi B. The announcement was accompanied with the single's artwork, which features Mars and Cardi B "channeling some serious '90s music video vibes". It was released on January 4, 2018, via digital download and streaming services in various countries via Atlantic Records. Warner Music Group also released the track to be added to Italian contemporary hit radio on January 8, 2018. Subsequently, the song was released to US and UK contemporary hit radio stations on January 9, 2018, and January 12, 2018, respectively, by Atlantic Records. American urban contemporary radio stations began adding the track onto their playlists on January 16, 2018, through the aforementioned label. On March 23, 2018, two additional remixes of the single version were released in various countries by Atlantic Records. A vinyl featuring the single rendition of "Finesse" and its original version was released in 2018. The version with Cardi B was later included on the deluxe version of 24K Magic.
Composition
"Finesse" is a new jack swing, funk and hip-hop soul song with a light influence of R&B. The song draws it main inspiration from the early 1990s new jack swing sound. The original version was composed in the key of A-flat major at a tempo of 124 beats per minute. Mars' vocal range spans from E4 to D6. The song features Mars in the center of the track, with a "tightly clipped vocal delivery" sounding like Bobby Brown. Its instrumentation features walloping clattering drum machine rhythms, syncopated rhythms, lurching "orchestral-stab" synthesizers, and "close-harmony background vocals". It all resonates with the sound of Bobby Brown's album Don't Be Cruel and its title track. Most critics say the open "programmed snare line" on "Finesse" resembles the one in Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison". Its bass line and beat have also been compared to Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time", and the new jack swing style to Jackson's album Dangerous. The lyrics demonstrate the happiness of being with who one loves and the positive outcome of that for them and others.For its single release, the composition of the song was reworked to feature verses from Cardi B. The key of the song was changed to A-flat minor and the tempo reduced to 100 beats per minute. Her flow and rhymes on the track have been compared to "turn-of-the-1990s cadence", as well as to Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D styles.
Critical reception
The album version of "Finesse" has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian praised the song for paying homage to new jack swing, calling it a "resurrection". Nick Levine, writing for NME, thought the song is "pitch-perfect pastiche of the new jack swing sound that recalls" Jackson's "Remember The Time". AllMusic's Andy Kellman said "Finesse" reminded him of "the era when Teddy Riley, Dave 'Jam' Hall, and Dr. Freeze fused hip-hop with electronic post-disco R&B pioneered by Leon Sylvers III, Kashif, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis". He added that the song, just like his preceders, "is a blast". Patrick Ryan of USA Today recommended the casual reader to download the song. On the other hand, Jonathan Wroble of Slant Magazine criticized the song for being a copycat of Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" and for "failing to add anything new to his rehashing of new jack swing". American singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello accused Mars of copying Bell Biv DeVoe, Babyface and the work of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis with The Human League and using it on "Finesse".The remix also received positive reviews from music critics. Chris Gayomali writing for GQ considered the album version to be a "sleeper jam" and dubbed the remix a "bop". Gayomali continued, "The pairing with Bardi hits all the feel-good throwback notes." Dean Nguyen from The Irish Times said the remix is a "2018 single-of-the-year candidate" as its composition recalls "Bell Biv DeVoe and Dangerous -era Michael Jackson". Ron Dicker of HuffPost complemented the duo and the song, "Mars and Cardi B killed it in a remix for the ages." Jody Rosen, writing for The New York Times, opined that the single "sounds like the new jack swing Platonic ideal. It's an imitation so fine-tuned it makes the originals seem ersatz." The Independent Roisin O'Connor and Forbes Hugh McIntyre shared a similar opinion, saying that despite being a Bruno Mars song, Cardi B "steals the show" due to her perfect and reminiscent of the old-school hip hop flow. O'Connor added that despite the flow, "it still manages to capture her distinct style". McIntyre complemented the production and backing vocals, saying it "could have been a serious smash in the early 90s".
Accolades
The song was listed by two publications as being among the best songs of the year. On BillboardIn 2018, "Finesse" was nominated for Top R&B Song at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, but lost to Mars' "That's What I Like". It was also nominated for Best Collaboration at the BET Awards. That same year, the song was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Collaboration at the MTV Video Music Awards, as well as for Choice Music: Collaboration and Choice Music: R&B/Hip-Hop Song at the 2018 Teen Choice Awards. The single received a nomination for Collaboration of the Year and an award for Favorite Soul/R&B Song at the 2018 American Music Awards. In late 2018, "Finesse" received nominations for Song of the Year, The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award and Best Collaboration Performance at the 2018 Soul Train Music Awards.
In 2019, the track received a nomination for Best International Song at the Danish GAFFA Awards, while being nominated for R&B Song of the Year and winning Best Collaboration at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards. That same year, the track received a nomination for Outstanding Song, Contemporary category and Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration at the 2019 NAACP Image Awards. "Finesse" received two awards from ASCAP, one from the Pop Music Awards, as it was one of the winners of Most Performed Song, and another from the Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, also as one of the receivers of Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Commercial performance
North America
Following the release of the remix and its official music video on January 4, 2018, "Finesse" debuted at number 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the week of January 13, 2019. It entered the Billboard Digital Songs chart at number 13 with 30,000 copies in just one day of sales. The song had drawn 8.7 million streams from the time of its release, and debuted at the Billboard Radio Songs chart at number 49 with 26 million audience impressions. After its first complete tracking week, "Finesse" peaked at number three on the Hot 100, becoming Mars' 15th and Cardi B's fourth top ten single on the chart. It sold 87,000 copies, peaking at number two on the Billboard Digital Songs; the song rose 37 places to number 12 on the US Radio Songs chart with 52 million audience impressions and debuted at number one on the Streaming Songs chart with 38.3 million US streams. It also peaked at number one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was Mars' first single, as a lead artist, to top reach the top of the US Dance Club Songs chart.The single made Mars' became the second male artist, after Lionel Richie, to have three top-tens from each of his first three studio albums. When the track topped the Billboard Radio Songs chart, it became Mars' eight number one on the chart, making him the first male artist with eight number one songs. At the time, Rihanna led the list with 13 songs peaking at number one on the chart. "Finesse" also peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40, with Mars becoming the first solo male artist in the chart's history to have nine number ones. "Finesse" was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In Canada, "Finesse" peaked at number three on the Canadian Hot 100. It topped the Canada CHR/Top 40 and entered at nunber three on the Canada Hot AC.
International
Following the album's release, "Finesse" debuted at number 199 on the French single chart for the week of November 26, 2016. At the time of the remix release, the solo version peaked at number 13, being certified gold by the same organization. In the United Kingdom, "Finesse" entered the UK Singles Chart at number seven, marking Mars' eleventh and Cardi B's first top ten in the country. The following week, the song rose to number five, becoming Mars' highest peak since "24K Magic", matching the same position. "Finesse" remained within the top ten for six consecutive weeks and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. On the Belgian charts, the single debuted at number 36 on January 13, 2018 on the Ultratop 50 in Flanders, peaking at number eight for three non-consecutive weeks. On the Ultratop 50 in Wallonia, the song entered at number 44 on January 20, 2018, and went on to peak at number eight in March, of that year, for two consecutive weeks. It was certified gold by the Belgian Entertainment Association. Elsewhere, the track topped the charts in Croatia and it peaked at number five on the Irish Singles Chart, spending 24 weeks on the latter chart.The remix of "Finesse" also peaked at number eight on the Portuguese Singles Chart. It shipped 10,000 copies, earning a gold plaque from the Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. It entered the Official New Zealand Music Chart at number nine on January 15, 2019. In its fifth week, the track peaked at number two, where it remained for two weeks, becoming Mars' sixteenth top-ten single in New Zealand. The song received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, denoting sales of 30,000 copies. In Australia, the single debuted at number 15 on the ARIA Singles Chart for the week of January 21, 2018. In its fourth week on the chart, the song peaked at number six for two consecutive weeks. It was certified three-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association, shipping 210,000 copies. The song reached the top ten in several other countries, including Greece, El Salvador, and the Netherlands.
Music video
Background and concept
The concept for the music video begun when Mars and Phil Tayag of the Jabbawockeez were exchanging ideas, always having consideration for the 1990s song vibe. At one point, Mars asked Tayag, "What if we do In Living Color?". Tayag was found of the idea and they decided to go ahead with it. Afterwards, Mars got the permission and help from Fox Studios and series creator Keenen Ivory Wayans to pay homage to the American sketch comedy television series In Living Color, thanking both of them for it. Tayag invited Danielle Polanco, Bianca Brewton, TJ Lewis, and Ysabelle Capitulé to be dancers for the music video and confessed that the shooting day was a celebration of everyone's accomplishments, "It wasn't any funny stuff, it wasn't all Hollywood." DJ Rashida made an appearance as one of several DJs on set. Once on the set of In Living Color, trying to replicate it, the dancers felt everything was "surreal" with the verbatim, the vibe, the gear, and the clothes.Capitulé recalled the music video taking three days to make, consisting of two nine-hour rehearsals and one 15-hour shoot. She added that with Mars they had to work hard, but there were moments of goofiness, and the latter was not looking to be the main character supported by backed up dancers, but instead "wanted it to feel as if they were all in one crew together". She said it was an honor for the dancers "to emulate the show's iconic Fly Girls". The visual was directed by Mars and Florent Dechard, with choreography done by Tayag and Mars, with Tayag as a creative consultant. According to comedian and former actor of In Living Color, David Alan Grier, the set-up of the video matched exactly the one in the show, including the original paint can intro and the DJ booth.
Synopsis
The video premiered on January 4, 2018, and pays homage to In Living Color. The former was formatted in a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the main dance sequence was shot at 60 frames per second. Jake Rodkin, game designer and video editor, explained that this was done in order to evoke the nostalgia of videos shot in the 1990s without using fake scan lines or VHS fuzz. The outfits were inspired by brand the Cross Colours. Cardi B was dressed in washed denim cutoffs, a bold neon jacket, tube socks, a backwards baseball cap, oversized gold doorknocker earrings, and bold pink eye shadow. Mars and the male dancers wore vertical-striped tops and denim cloths, while the female dancers wore crop tops, vertical stripes and bold colors. The music video opens with Mars and Cardi B using paint and spray paint, reenacting the intro scene from the In Living Color theme song as the latter raps, before Mars' first verse begins. It features several scenes of old-school choreographed dancing between Mars and a dance troupe similar to the original show's Fly Girls, who dance on a rooftop set in a soundstage while Mars sings the second verse. DJ Rashida is seen in various scenes of the video on a DJ booth.Reception
Roisin O'Connor, music correspondent for The Independent, classified Mars' and Cardi B's tribute to In Living Color as "brilliant". Time Raise Bruner said, "Cardi B and Bruno Mars made the "splashiest '90s music video." Dicker praised their outfits and energy on the music video. Shenequa Golding, writing for Vibe, found the outfits on the homage to be "jiggy". Frank Guan from Vulture.com criticized Mars for not being innovative due to the video being in tribute to In Living Color, but praised Cardi B's playful and goofiness social-media presence, as it fits "the early-'90s aesthetic lovingly re-created by Mars". Several cast members of the TV show, including Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Kim Wayans, Grier, and Jennifer Lopez, praised and thanked Mars for the tribute.The music video for "Finesse" was listed tenth on Billboard
In 2018, the music video won Video of the Year at the 2018 Soul Train Music Awards, and was nominated for Best Dance Performance at the same award show. That same year, it earned earned nominations for Video of the Year at the BET Awards and at the MTV Video Music Awards, as well as both Best Choreography and Best Editing at the latter award show. The video received the award for Best Music Video at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards and was nominated for Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album at the 2019 NAACP Image Awards. The video received 13 million views within its first two days of release.
Live performances and other usage
Mars' first televised live performance of "Finesse" occurred at the Apollo Theater alongside the majority of 24K Magic for his CBS prime time special titled ', which aired on November 29, 2017. He performed the single with Cardi B for the first time at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. The performance started with Cardi B entering the stage in a color-blocked outfit, while Mars, along with his band and dancers, also wearing colorful outfits, appeared on a separate stage, which had a background featuring the word "Finesse" spelled out in the show's logo font. It included a dance break performed by Mars and his dancers to the sound of Prince's "Gett Off" and House of Pain's "Jump Around". The live show ended with Cardi B rapping verses of her single, "Bartier Cardi". The performance received positive reviews, who found it similar to the 1990s theme of the music video. Chris Payne of Billboard commented, "In one of the most captivating moments if the 2018 Grammys combined for an action-packed, '90s-tastic performance." Writing for Vibe, J'na Jefferson dubbed the performance as "stand-out", while People Maria Pasquine wrote, "The duo, who broke the internet with their In Living Color-inspired video, tore up the Grammys stage." Charles Holmes from MTV News praised the performance, affirming that "the chemistry between Cardi and Mars was so electric the duo should think about dropping a collaboration album to save 2018". Cardi B confessed that she was nervous during the performance and decided to use a common stage fright technique in picking a blank spot in the crowd. She said that Mars is a perfectionist, henceforth they rehearsed every day for a whole week, and she didn't want to disappoint him.Cardi B opened the 2018 iHeart Music Awards with a medley of her biggest hits, including a verse from the remix of "Finesse". Hilary Hughes from Billboard found the performance of the "Finesse" remix to have "shined on its own". On May 20 at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, Kelly Clarkson performed a medley of various Billboard Hot 100 hits during her monologue, including Cardi B's verse from the remix of Mars' "Finesse". On Mars' third worldwide tour, the 24K Magic World Tour, "Finesse" was the opening act of the setlist. Paste Ellen Johnson considered the performance at the Grammys one of the best of all time, ranking it at number seven, saying that the nostalgia along with Mars' charisma and Cardi B's personable rapping couldn't go wrong. Pentatonix, an American a cappella group, recorded a cover of the single for their 2018 album '. It was part of the soundtracks for the video games Just Dance 2019 and NBA 2K19. The remix was also used as the background music for the swimsuit competition of Miss Universe 2018, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand in December of that year.
Track listing
Credits and personnel
Original version
Recording- Recorded at: Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California; mixed at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- Bruno Mars – lead vocals, songwriting, background vocals
- Philip Lawrence – songwriting, background vocals
- Christopher Brody Brown – songwriting, background vocals
- James Fauntleroy – songwriting, background vocals
- Johnathan Yip – songwriting
- Ray Romulus – songwriting
- Jeremy Reeves – songwriting
- Ray McCullough II – songwriting
- Shampoo Press & Curl – production
- The Stereotypes – production
- Charles Moniz – recording, engineering
- Jacob Dennis – engineering assistantance
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- John Hanes – mix engineering
- Tom Coyne – mastering
Cardi B remix
Personnel from the original version remains the same.- Cardi B – guest vocals, songwriting
- Klenord Raphael – songwriting
- Randy Merrill – mastering