Jump (For My Love)


"Jump " is a song by American vocal group the Pointer Sisters, released by the Planet label on April 11, 1984 as the third single from their tenth studio album Break Out. Remade as "Jump" the song would afford Girls Aloud a 2003-04 international hit.

History

"Jump " was co-written by regular collaborators Marti Sharron, Gary Skardina and Stephen Mitchell. Skardina and Mitchell were responsible for the chord progressions, melody and arrangement while Sharron's focus was on the lyrics and melody. According to Sharron the instrumental track for the demo of "Jump" was completed before the lyrics: on first hearing the playback of the instrumental track in the studio "My partners and I...were so happy with the results we jumped up and down" which led to the song being completed to be entitled "Jump". Sharron recalls phoning Richard Perry, who was producing the Pointer Sisters' upcoming album, and telling him: "I have the album's big hit" and - although Perry considered giving the song to Julio Iglesias, Perry being a contributing producer to the singer's 1100 Bel Air Place album - "Jump" did become the final song slated for the Pointer Sister's 1983 album release Break Out.
Despite typifying the overall sound of Break Out, "Jump " was passed over as the album's lead single in favor of the ballad "I Need You," which Perry felt would reinforce the Pointer Sisters' presence at R&B radio, and although originally scheduled as the album's second single, "Jump..." was superseded by another Break Out track: "Automatic", which had enjoyed heavy radio and dance club airplay as an album cut. "Automatic" returned the Pointer Sisters to the Pop Top Ten after a three-year absence; however, "Jump..." became the most successful US single off of Break Out upon its release as the album's third single in April 1984. The song ascended to a peak of #3 on both the Hot 100 and R&B chart in Billboard magazine that July, with the track also charting on Billboard's adult contemporary chart at #11.
"Jump " would afford the Pointer Sisters an international hit, charting in Belgium, West Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the UK. In Australia, "Jump..." was issued as the lead single off Break Out in December 1983 and peaked at #79: reissued after "Automatic," it would reach an Australian chart peak of #8 in September 1984. The Australian single release of "Jump" was also unique in featuring as B-side the Break Out track "Operator" with Anita Pointer on lead; in other territories, "Heart Beat", a track with Ruth Pointer on lead introduced on the Pointer Sisters previous album So Excited!, was utilized as the B-side of "Jump." Released prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics, the song's video featured footage of athletes competing in track and field events, as well as NBA stars Julius Erving and Magic Johnson.
The Pointer Sisters were awarded the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Jump...", and co-writer Stephen Mitchell received his nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1985 for his musical performance as the principal musician on the song's recording.
At the 1985 ASCAP Pop Awards, "Jump " received "Most Performed Song" honors for songs in the ASCAP repertory during the 1984 ASCAP Survey Year.
"Jump " is published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Anidraks Music, Inc., and Stephen Mitchell Music, Inc.

Personnel

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Girls Aloud version

In 2003, British girl group Girls Aloud covered "Jump" for the soundtrack to the romantic comedy film Love Actually although ultimately it was not used in the movie; the Pointer Sisters' original was instead. Their version was produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, recorded at the request of Love Actually director Richard Curtis. Upon its release in November 2003, "Jump" continued Girls Aloud's string of hits, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and receiving a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry. Their version appeared on the re-release of their debut album Sound of the Underground and was also included on 2004's What Will the Neighbours Say?. The song was also featured in Just Dance 3 for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
The music video was intertwined with scenes from Love Actually to make it appear that Girls Aloud snuck into 10 Downing Street to spy on the Prime Minister. "Jump" was promoted through various live appearances and has since been performed on all of the group's concert tours. Despite receiving criticism from contemporary music critics, "Jump" has been seen as a turning point in Girls Aloud's career.

Background and release

The director of Love Actually, Richard Curtis, phoned Xenomania while they were in a taxi in Berlin to tell them he thought "Jump" would make a good Girls Aloud single. Girls Aloud's version of "Jump" was not featured in the film itself. Love Actually uses the Pointer Sisters' original version due to international audiences being unaware of Girls Aloud, who feature in the end credits. Girls Aloud do, however, appear on the British soundtrack. The fourth single would have been the album track "Some Kind of Miracle" had the soundtrack opportunity not arisen. Girls Aloud's version retains the 1980s feel of the original, using a Roland Jupiter-6 in the chorus.
The single was released on November 17, 2003 in the UK. It was available on two different CD single formats and as a cassette tape. The first disc includes "Girls Allowed", a track from Girls Aloud's debut album Sound of the Underground, and a cover of "Grease" which was recorded for ITV1's Greasemania. The second CD format featured another track from Sound of the Underground, the Betty Boo-produced "Love Bomb", and the Almighty Vocal Mix of "Jump". Meanwhile, the cassette tape feature the single and the Almighty Vocal Mix of "Girls Allowed". Flip & Fill's remix of "Jump" appeared on CD1 of Girls Aloud's next single, "The Show", and the original Almighty Remix of "Jump" appeared on the "Long Hot Summer" 12" single.
According to Cheryl Cole in Girls Aloud's 2008 autobiography Dreams That Glitter - Our Story, the single "was the point when we realized everything we'd been doing was quite down and moody and that's not what people wanted." Nicola Roberts further stated it "was meant to be. It was a turning point and everyone loved it."

Reception

Critical response

Girls Aloud’s version received negative reviews from music critics. One said "the girls sound bored singing it and the listener is certainly fed up by the time the song finishes." Alexis Petridis of The Guardian exclaimed, "Xenomania throw everything they have at the track, but can't rescue a duff song." The track was slated by Lisa Verrico of The Times, who said it "takes whatever credibility had left and runs off with it. Horrible bass, klutzy production and so-so singing put the girls at the bottom of the pop pile". RTÉ.ie said that "fans of the group will love it, but the rest of us will just wonder why, particularly since the original is so much better." On the other hand, David Hooper of BBC Music complimented the track in his review of Girls Aloud's second album: "Twenty years on, this version updates the song nicely with a welcome return of those buzzy synth sounds and gnarly bass noises from "The Show". Good work." Paul Scott of Stylus Magazine was similarly favourable, saying it "demonstrates their phenomenal power in finding a certain joy in ugliness. It’s an authentic inauthenticity set to the sound of a thousand discothèques. It’s being surrounded by a drunken hen party and finding enchantment instead of repulsion."

Chart performance

The song debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, behind Westlife's cover of Barry Manilow's "Mandy". Coincidentally, both bands were managed by Louis Walsh at the time. "Jump" fell just two places the following week. The single spent four more weeks in the top twenty before falling. Overall, the song managed to spend a total of fourteen weeks in the top 75. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.
On the Irish Singles Chart, "Jump" entered at number two behind "Mandy" and spent an impressive three consecutive weeks at its peak. In its fourth week on the Irish chart, "Jump" slipped just two positions to number four. It spent two more weeks in the top ten at numbers seven and nine respectively, before rising up the chart again to spend two weeks at number six. "Jump" spent a final week in the Irish top ten before falling down the chart.
"Jump" is one of the few Girls Aloud songs that received an international release outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland, reaching the top ten in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Music video

The music video for "Jump", filmed on November 13, 2003 and directed by Katie Bell, was made to appear as if it was intertwined with the film Love Actually. During the video, the members of Girls Aloud sneak into the residence of the Prime Minister, played by Hugh Grant in the film. The group sneaks into 10 Downing Street through a bedroom window before tiptoeing down a set of stairs and looking around an empty, unlit conference room. Girls Aloud eventually re-exit through the window. Various shots of the women singing and dancing, like those featured on the single's artwork, are shown throughout the video. A Grant lookalike was also hired for the music video.
A version of the music video without scenes from Love Actually can be found on Girls Aloud's 2005 DVD release Girls on Film. The video also appears on 2007's Style.

Live performances

"Jump" was promoted through various live appearances on television shows across the UK. Girls Aloud appeared on programmes like , GMTV, Popworld, The Rolf Harris Show, Top of the Pops, Top of the Pops Saturday, UK Top 40: CBBC Viewers' Vote, and Xchange. They also performed at events such as the UK's National Music Awards and 2003's Children in Need telethon. In Europe, Girls Aloud performed "Jump" on the Netherlands' national lottery Staatsloterij. During the summer of 2004, Girls Aloud performed the show at a number of festivals and open-air concerts, such as Live & Loud, O2 in the Park, Pop Beach, and CBBC's Junior Great North Run charity concert. Girls Aloud also performed it on their MTV special in October 2004, as seen on the subsequent DVD Girls on Film. In 2006, the group performed "Jump" for a television show entitled All Time Greatest Movie Songs.
Since its release, "Jump" has been included on each of Girls Aloud's tours in some capacity. The track was included as the penultimate song on their 2005 tour What Will the Neighbours Say? Live. Performed amidst neon lights, the song's arrangement was closer to the Pointer Sisters' original version. For 2006's Chemistry Tour, "Jump" was included as the encore. The performance included a dance breakdown over a military drum. As the song reached its climax, pyrotechnics went off and confetti fell. There is a final explosion as Girls Aloud descend beneath the stage. It was included in the first section of 2007's. The song was included as the penultimate song again for 2008's Tangled Up Tour. The performance included an extended intro in which Girls Aloud commanded the crowd to jump. The song was slightly remixed for this tour. For 2009's Out of Control Tour, "Jump" was included in a greatest hits medley which closed the show.
The single has also been performed at Girls Aloud's appearances at V Festival in 2006 and 2008. They also performed it at Twickenham Stadium in 2006 after a rugby match between the England national rugby union team and New Zealand's.

Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Jump".
UK CD1
  1. "Jump" – 3:39
  2. "Girls Allowed" – 3:26
  3. "Grease" – 3:25
UK CD2
  1. "Jump" – 3:39
  2. "Love Bomb" – 2:52
  3. "Jump" – 7:34
Australia
  1. "Jump" – 3:39
  2. "Girls Allowed" – 3:26
  3. "Grease" – 4:26*
  4. "Jump" – 3:39
UK Cassette / Europe
  1. "Jump" – 3:39
  2. "Girls Allowed" – 6:15
The Singles Boxset
  1. "Jump" – 3:39
  2. "Girls Allowed" – 3:26
  3. "Grease" – 3:25
  4. "Love Bomb" – 2:52
  5. "Jump" – 7:34
  6. "Girls Allowed" – 6:15
  7. "Jump" – 7:08

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Belgium 63
Netherlands 57
Netherlands 64
Sweden 69

Certifications