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Rumors (Lindsay Lohan song)

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"Rumors"
Song
B-side"Over"

"Rumors" is a song by American singer-songwriter and actress Lindsay Lohan, taken from her debut studio album, Speak (2004). Originally titled "Just What It Is", the song was written and produced by Cory Rooney, while additional writing was done by Lohan, Taryll Jackson, and TJ Jackson. It was released as Lohan's debut single and lead single from the "Speak" on September 21, 2004, through Casablanca Records. The dance song draws influences from electropop and teen pop, while its lyrics allude to the constant paparazzi and media backlash regarding Lohan. Music critics reviews were mixed; with statements like "infectious" or "unnecessary".

"Rumors" achieved moderate commercial success worldwide, reaching top thirty positions in Australia, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, but was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping over 500,000 units of the single. The music video directed by Jake Nava featured Lohan attending a club, playing around with the paparazzi. The video was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards and reached the top position on MTV's Total Request Live. In 2014 Billboard ranked the song in its "Top 50 Forgotten Gems From the Now! Series", which list songs from the series that were underrated at the time of their release.[1]

Background and composition

"Rumors"
A 20-second sample of the song's chorus features Lohan singing that she is "tired of rumors starting" and "sick of being followed", addressing the media and paparazzi.[2] The composition draws influence from several genres such as electropop and teen pop[3][4]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Rumors" was originally titled "Just What It Is".[2] The track was written by Lohan, Cory Rooney, Taryll Jackson, and TJ Jackson.[5] It was also produced by Rooney, who provided keyboards and background vocals.[5] Peter Wade Keusch assisted the production, and was responsible along with Chris Avedon for Lohan's vocal recording, which occurred at the Poolhouse West and The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, California.[5] Audio mixing was done by Keusch at Sony Music Studios in New York, New York.[5] Christopher J. Warner provided the guitar present in the song's composition.[5] It was released as a single on September 21, 2004, through Casablanca Records.[6] "Rumors" is a dance song that draws influences from electropop and teen pop, and features a heavy R&B bassline.[3][4] Lyrically, the song was written as a response to the paparazzi and media's backlash, both which are addressed in the chorus lines, where Lohan sings, "I'm tired of rumors starting/ I'm sick of being followed/ I'm tired of people lying/ Saying what they want about me/ Why can't they back off me?/ Why can't they let me live? I'm going to do it my way/ Take this for just what it is."[2] Spence D. of IGN noted that the singer's vocals are "driven by snarls, breathy croons, and emotionally restrained angst,"[7] while John Murphy of musicOMH considered it "a feisty dance anthem with intelligent lyrics attacking the paparazzi and press in general."[8]

Reception

Critical response

"Rumors" received generally mixed reviews from music critics, however it has become one of Lohan's most recognized songs and has now been labeled as "cult pop treasure". Charles Merwin of Stylus Magazine thought that "Rumors" was not a good choice for a single, stating, "in fact, for a girl, that has been tagged as America’s next sweetheart by some media outlets, it might be the worst choice of subject matter for the opening statement from a girl that automatically has more to prove to audiences because of her stature as an actress. Unfortunately, 'Rumors' is about as good as it gets."[9] Erik Missio of ChartAttack thought that the song "presented potential for a semi-palatable debut effort", but further added that it is a "crap of a spectularly unspectacular level."[10] AOL Radio reviewer Matthew Wilkening ranked "Rumors" at number 67 on a list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating, "with all the stories buzzing around [Lohan] now, this song can almost be seen as prophetic. Oh, wait... pa-thetic."[11] Entertainment Weekly contributor Nicholas Fonseca, however, considered "Rumors" a guilty pleasure,[12] while Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic selected the song a Track Pick in the review of Speak.[13] IGN's Spence D. described it as "pervasively infectious, the kind of track that will no doubt keep the dance floors sweaty and steamy for a few months to come."[7] John Murphy of musicOMH praised "Rumors" as a departure from Speak's soft rock genre.[8]

Chart performance

"Rumors" achieved moderate commercial success worldwide. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, and reached number 23 on the Pop Songs component chart.[14][15] However, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in February 2005 for shipping over 500,000 copies of the single.[16] In Australia, "Rumors" debuted at number 19 on the ARIA charts, peaking at number 10 six weeks later,[6] while being certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[17] The song also attained top thirty positions in Austria and Switzerland, and reached the top forty in Netherlands and Sweden.[6] In Germany, the song debuted and peaked at number 14.[18]

Promotion

Music video

Casablanca Records commissioned a music video to be directed by Jake Nava, who previously worked in the same year with Britney Spears on her music video for "My Prerogative" (2004).[19] The music video for "Rumors" premiered on October 14, 2004 and October 20, 2004 through Disney Channel and MTV.[20] In the beginning of the video, Lohan is followed by paparazzi as she is entering her car. It is revealed that this is a Lindsay-look-alike, and that the real Lohan is entering another car to go to a club. The car comes to a stop, and she then steps into an elevator and sings the first verse of the song, while she is filmed by a CCTV camera in the elevator. The next sequence shows her running through a hallway, dressed up, before getting into the club. There, she dances in the crowd, where she takes a picture of one of the paparazzi herself to get back at him. In the next sequence, she is walking slowly through the club where she finds the man who seems to be her boyfriend. She takes a seat next to her lover and they begin kissing and touching each other, all the while being constantly filmed by cameras in the club. While Lohan sings the second chorus, she is trapped in a cage in the middle of the club and the whole crowd is watching her. After this Lohan is shown dancing in the club with her friends. At the end of the music video Lohan and her friends enter the top of a high-rise and perform a dance routine while helicopters are circling around them. Finally Lohan gets into a helicopter and escapes. In the end, she throws her camera away with all the pictures taken of her.

Critical response

The music video for "Rumors" received very positive reviews from critics and viewers which eventually lead to the video reaching the top position on the countdown of Total Request Live in the week of October 27, 2004,[21] and was nominated on the category Best Pop Video during the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.[22]

Live performance

Lohan performed "Rumors" on Good Morning America on December 2004. According to a MTV News staff report, "Lohan missed the cue to mouth along, forcing cameras to cut away when her mouth remained closed as she was heard singing, thanks to a backing track." A representative for Lohan, however, revealed that the singer actually sang it live, and noted that Lohan only used a background track "to help make the song sound like it does on her album."[23]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Recording
Personnel

Credits are taken from Speak liner notes.[5]

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ^ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6077575/now-thats-what-i-call-music-50-forgotten-gems?page=0%2C1
  2. ^ a b c "For The Record: Quick News On Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Lyttle, Jennifer Lopez, Twista, Backstreet Boys, U2 & More – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. MTV Networks. September 14, 2004. Retrieved December 31, 2011. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  3. ^ a b Cheung, Vincent. "Speak". Teen Ink. Cambio Network. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (November 24, 2004). "Lindsay Lohan: Speak". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Speak (album). Lindsay Lohan. United States: Casablanca. 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Australian-charts.com – Lindsay Lohan – Rumors. ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien". Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  7. ^ a b D., Spence (December 7, 2004). "Speak – Music Review". IGN Entertainment. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Murphy, John (April 4, 2005). "Lindsay Lohan – Speak". musicOMH. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  9. ^ Merwin, Charles (December 7, 2004). "Lindsay Lohan – Speak – Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  10. ^ Missio, Erik (December 7, 2004). "Lindsay Lohan — Speak". ChartAttack. andPOP. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  11. ^ Wilkening, Matthew (September 11, 2010). "100 Worst Songs Ever – Part Two of Five". AOL Radio. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  12. ^ Fonseca, Nicholas (December 7, 2004). "Speak Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  13. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (December 7, 2004). "Speak – Lindsay Lohan". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles – Subscription Required". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 18, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  15. ^ "Rumors Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. November 27, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  16. ^ a b "RIAA – Searchable Databse". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  17. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Lindsay Lohan – Rumors – Music Charts". aCharts. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  19. ^ Staff, Reporter (2009-02-04). "Earlier Filming Date Scheduled For Britney If U Seek Amy Music Video Shoot". Britney.com. RCA/Jive Label Group. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  20. ^ "Lindsay Lohan – "Rumors"". MTV. MTV Networks. October 14, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  21. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer; Moss, Corey (October 27, 2004). "Lindsay Lohan Released From Hospital, Feeling 'Much Better'". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  22. ^ "MTV Video Music Awards 2005". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  23. ^ MTV News staff reporter (December 7, 2004). "For The Record: Quick News On Lindsay Lohan, Destiny's Child, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, Hilary Duff & More". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  24. ^ "Rumors EP by Lindsay Lohan". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. November 29, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  25. ^ "Lindsay Lohan Album & Song Chart History – European Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  26. ^ "Ukrainian Chart". FDR. 2009-05-10. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
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