"Shut Up and Let Me Go" is the fourth single by English duo The Ting Tings from their debut studio album We Started Nothing. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 21 July2008, and was the follow-up to the number one hit single "That's Not My Name". The song was added to the coveted A-list of BBC Radio 1's playlist, and has received a substantial amount of airplay during the day on the station. The single peaked at number six in both the UK Singles Chart and the UK Download Chart. After featuring in a successful Apple iPod advertisement in April 2008, "Shut Up and Let Me Go" was hastily released in the US on 15 April, and was The Ting Tings' first single to chart on the BillboardHot 100 Singles Chart.
Music video
The live action music video for "Shut Up and Let Me Go" was directed by Alex and Liane for Factory Films. The video, filmed in one day, features the Ting Tings performing kung fu and uses a variety of hand gestures to transition from scene to scene. Directors AlexandLiane described the video as "a bit over-ambitious" because of its fight scenes which "were just so time consuming to get right". The various hand gestures were inspired by the Neoist art movement. The video debuted on MTV in the United States on 13 June 2008. It was nominated for 2008 MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year, but lost to Britney Spears' "Piece of Me" and won for Best UK Video.
Chart performance
"Shut Up and Let Me Go" was released in the United States on 15 April 2008. The song debuted on the BillboardHot 100 at #93 on 17 May 2008. The following week it reached its peak position at #55. The song was certified Gold in America with sales of 500,000+ on 14 October 2008. In Canada, the song reached #29 and remained on the Hot 100 chart for six weeks. "Shut Up and Let Me Go" debuted at #49 on the UK Singles Chart. The following week the song peaked at #29. Two weeks later, the song fell out of the chart, but on 29 June 2008 the song re-entered the chart at #24 and peaked at #6. Even though "Shut Up and Let Me Go" peaked lower than "That's Not My Name", the song showed great longevity by remaining in the Top 40 for many weeks. In Australia the single has debuted at #79 on 10 November.
Usage in media
The song was also used in The CW's 90210, Gossip Girl, Showtime's The L Word, and MTV Latin America's Acapulco Shore as well as films such as The House Bunny and I Love You, Beth Cooper. It was also featured in the series premiere of USA's Royal Pains. This song was number 27 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. The song is currently being regularly played on Lifetime Movie Network. It is also played during the one-minute countdown to Final Score in the BBC Sport section of BBC Red Button. Additionally the song is also played during the current French TV advertisement for Danette, a dessert from Danone.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Shut Up and Let Me Go". US digital download
