BTSTU

"BTSTU (Edit)"
Single by Jai Paul
Released 21 April 2011
Format Digital download
Recorded 2007, Rayners Lane
(London, England)
Genre
Length 3:30
Label XL
Writer(s) Jai Paul
Producer(s) Jai Paul

"BTSTU" is a song by British songwriter and record producer Jai Paul. A demo recording of the song received widespread blog coverage throughout 2010 after having been uploaded to Paul’s MySpace page, as well as receiving numerous plays on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. The BBC’s Zane Lowe made “BTSTU (Demo)” his Hottest Record in the World. On the strength of this demo, Paul was long-listed for the BBC Sound of 2011 poll.[1]

An edited version of “BTSTU” entitled “BTSTU (Edit)” was officially released on April 21, 2011, via XL Recordings.[2] The song received airplay again on UK national radio by DJs including Gilles Peterson, Annie Mac, Nick Grimshaw, Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton, with Zane Lowe making it his Hottest Record in the World for a second time.[1] By this time, the song had struck a chord internationally; with the Canadian rapper Drake leaking a track titled “Dreams Money Can Buy” which sampled “BTSTU (Demo)” in May 2011.[3] In the same month, American R&B singer Beyoncé released a track entitled End of Time, which also sampled “BTSTU”.[4] In July 2011 the song was sampled again for Travis Garland and JoJo’s duet “Paint”,[5] and New York singer/songwriter Niia uploaded a cover version of “BTSTU” to her SoundCloud page.[6]

The single received favourable reviews. Lucy Jones of The Daily Telegraph professed her admiration for Paul’s vocal and production by writing; “Gentle, angelic falsettos sing curses and threaten warnings while a sparkling dub-bass jolts and plays tug of war with electro-soul synths. Paul brings in different elements of his orchestra, the saxophone, alto voices and ploppy drums to support and boy, it works”.[7] These sentiments were echoed in the US with American blog The Wounded Jukebox writing that “Paul fits 10 tons of pop and funk into a three and a half minute lambasting. There’s a deceptive sensitivity within the words, but it’s betrayed and assimilated quickly by a sinister kind of undercurrent”.[8] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork observed Paul’s style of meshing pop music with underground sensibilities by stating that “BTSTU” is “an off-kilter pop tune that's automatically raw, bright, new. The palm-slap beat is a little dirty and drunk as it recalls the unmistakable lope of one J Dilla”.[9] A number of publications included “BTSTU” in their end-of-year lists in 2011 including Pitchfork,[9] The Fader, and Pigeons and Planes.[10] The Washington Post mentioned “BTSTU” in their ‘Singles File: Best of 2011’ describing it as “a precursor to the entire career of James Blake”.[11]

The song was used in a TV series named Harland Cobens 'The Five' in S1 E10

Track listing

Digital download[2][12]
No. Title Length
1. "BTSTU (Edit)"   3:30

Chart performance

Chart (2011) Peak
position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[13] 139

Release history

Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom 21 April 2011 Digital download[2][12] XL Recordings

References

  1. 1 2 Sound of 2011 - Jai Paul, BBC Music website. Retrieved on December 18, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 “BTSTU (Edit) on iTunes”, iTunes. Retrieved on April 23, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Drake Leaks New Song". Mtv.co.uk. 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  4. ↑ "Beyonce "Till the End of Time" MP3". Thefader.com. 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  5. ↑ Garland – Paint ft JoJo”, Singers Room. Retrieved on July 23, 2011.
  6. ↑ “Niia BTSTU”, ‘’Soundcloud. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Top Ten Songs Of 2011". The Daily Telegraph. 2011-12-25. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
  8. ↑ "The Wounded Jukebox. Retrieved on December 20, 2011". The Wounded Jukebox. 2011-12-25. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
  9. 1 2 “The Top 100 Tracks Of 2011”, ‘’Pitchfork. Retrieved on December 20, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Pigeons And Planes. Retrieved on December 20, 2011". Pigeons And Planes. 2011-12-25. Archived from the original on 2012-01-08. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
  11. ↑ "The Singles File 2011. Retrieved on December 20, 2011". Washington Post. 2011-12-25. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
  12. 1 2 "BTSTU - Jai Paul - Amazon.co.uk". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  13. ↑ "CHART: CLUK Update 28.05.2011 (wk20)". Retrieved 2012-06-17.
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