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BuzzJack Music Forum _ Pop _ What About Us
Posted by: (Zach) 8th February 2016, 07:44 PM
What About Us
UK Release Date: 17th March 2013
Peak: #01
Weeks: 26
Certified: Gold
Week - Date - Position - Sales
01 - 24/03/13 - #001 - 114,292
02 - 31/03/13 - #003 - 70,152
03 - 07/04/13 - #004 - 39,810
04 - 14/04/13 - #008 - 29,684
05 - 21/04/13 - #013 - 22,000 *
06 - 28/04/13 - #018 - 16,500 *
07 - 05/05/13 - #023 - 13,682
08 - 12/05/13 - #027 - 10,400 *
09 - 19/05/13 - #039 - 07,400 *
10 - 26/05/13 - #036 - 08,600 *
11 - 02/06/13 - #043 - 05,800 *
12 - 09/06/13 - #055 - 05,200 *
13 - 16/06/13 - #063 - 04,500 *
14 - 23/06/13 - #068 - 04,300 *
15 - 30/06/13 - #066 - 04,400 *
16 - 07/07/13 - #086 - 03,800 *
17 - 14/07/13 - #109 - 02,400 *
18 - 21/07/13 - #116 - 02,000 *
19 - 28/07/13 - #132 - 01,914
20 - 04/08/13 - #144 - 01,500 *
21 - 11/08/13 - #181 - 01,000 *
22 - 18/08/13 - #158 - 01,476
23 - 25/08/13 - #170 - 01,350 *
(OUT)
24 - 20/10/13 - #178 - 01,179
(OUT)
25 - 29/12/13 - #177
26 - 05/01/14 - #172 - 01,971
(OUT)
Most Recent Sales Total: 407,563 [August 2014]
United Kingdom #1
Scotland #1
Serbia #1
Hungary #2
Poland #2
Europe Digital Songs #3
Ireland #6
Estonia #12
Australia Hitseekers #14
Ukraine #18
United World Chart #24
New Zealand #27
US Dance #27
Bulgaria #38
Germany #44
US Pop Digital Songs #50
Austria #57
Canada Digital Songs #58
Canada #79
Belgium (Wallonia) #90
Slovakia #97
Belgium (Flanders) #105
US Digital Songs #127
"What About Us" is a single released by English-Irish girl group The Saturdays. Their first international single, it is the lead single from their first American-only release EP, Chasing The Saturdays (2013). It also acts as the second single from their fourth studio album Living for the Weekend (2013). The single was first released in the United States and Canada on 18 December 2012 via digital download, before being released in the United Kingdom on 16 March 2013 via CD single and digital download. The single was written by Camille Purcell, Ollie Jacobs, Philip Jacobs. There are two different versions of the track which have been recorded and released: a solo version, which was released exclusively in the US and Canada, and a version featuring Jamaican rapper Sean Paul, which was released internationally. Music critics gave the song positive feedback, but questioned the heavily auto-tuned chorus and the move away from the group's traditional sound.
Posted by: Hurricane 9th February 2016, 09:32 PM
Their best single, or literally top 3. The melodies are so strong, and it's genuinely hook after hook. It's mental really.
I'm glad it was their first #1 even if they did technically deserve one before that.
I suppose now with streaming the song should have racked a few more sales.... ?
Posted by: Joe. 9th February 2016, 09:35 PM
Unpopular opinion alert:
One of their worst, most generic songs. They had plenty of other singles that were more worthy of #1, and what a poor chart run and sales for such an initially fast selling #1?!
All in all though, I'm glad they DID get a number 1 in the end even though Higher, Ego, All Fired Up, Up, Disco Love, Not Giving Up, Notirous were all much stronger pop songs.
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 9th February 2016, 09:50 PM
I love it, but have to agree with Joe. Compared to the likes of Ego, Higher, All Fired Up, Disco Love, etc, it doesn't stack up. Although i'm so glad it got them their first number 1, and it definitely deserved to number 1, they should have had so many before this, and they deserved it more
Posted by: Hurricane 9th February 2016, 10:34 PM
One of their worst, most generic songs. They had plenty of other singles that were more worthy of #1, and what a poor chart run and sales for such an initially fast selling #1?!
All in all though, I'm glad they DID get a number 1 in the end even though Higher, Ego, All Fired Up, Up, Disco Love, Not Giving Up, Notirous were all much stronger pop songs.
Posted by: (Zach) 10th February 2016, 01:38 AM
Buzzjack Reception
It was a little hard to gather Buzzjack reception since we got the song in phases. First the live version, then the remixes, then the extended, then the single version. I think the song would've had more of an impact on me had I heard the single version first rather than the gradual buildup to the single version. Sort of ruined it for me tbh.
The beat is a lot more better than I thought it would be.
I think it sounds pretty good. Not as good as the live version but it's much better than the preview suggested.
I just f***ing hate the stupid Jamaican accent on the "suffocating" lines.
(oh, and it should be a tiny bit faster)
I. LOVE. IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#1!
I really don't like the production that much or the robotic na na na's, but it does stick in your head even if they are a bit too slowed down for my liking. Disappointed doesn't cover it. It sounds so basic and dull. Whoever makes their single decisions needs to be locked away, lol. It's criminal... they've got their single choices wrong time after time. This was their chance to shine and bring out something big (not big as in 'huge', but better than this), strong, unique... a song that makes a bold statement about them and gets people talking and sitting up and getting all audiences onside... and they bring this out. Lol. They're capable of much, much better and this is a bad move. This just sounds tacky, amateur and cheaply produced, doesn't sound like much of a hit let alone an international one. I hope there's far superior material on the album. The subpar 30 Days... and now this. Gawd. They're never going to reach the heights of Higher and All Fired Up again are they? Since AFU they just seem to have descended rather than continue to ascend.And should I get accused of being a 'bad fan', I'm anything but... I'm not going to pretend the sun shines out of their a*ses and pretend this is amazing or what not. Being a fan, you can disagree with their direction and decisions whether we all agree or not... doesn't mean I don't care and so on... if anything it shows I do when I'm disagreeing with their choices because I feel they can do better than this and I want them to do better and improve. I wish they'd take on feedback a bit more and wake up rather than act oblivious and continue to make the wrong moves when it's so clear to a wider audience that they've got this so wrong. They seem to settle for anything rather than push to make something truly outstanding or great, they seem to fall short most of the time. It feels like they never go that little bit further with material, it all feels a bit rigid and 'that'll do, that's fine, that's enough'. There's no real excitement or spark around them anymore. They're better than the track IMO. Fair enough if you don't agree, that's fine, we all have differing opinions and that's cool but just thought I'd say that as recently people have been jumping on members who have a slightly negative view on the girls' careers around here.
Posted by: (Zach) 10th February 2016, 01:38 AM
On the other hand, the song ISN'T bad. It's much better than '30 Days' and 'My Heart Takes Over', so it's a step in the positive direction. Whether you like the hook or not, the "na na na"s do stand out and will probably help the song get stuck in people's heads. All members get a solo, there's a nice beat behind the chorus and it's a very fun and radio friendly song. The live performances have been fantastic so far so even if the official version doesn't appeal to people on the radio, maybe seeing the girls perform it live will change their minds. Songs don't need to be massive sounding to be a hit in the US. All it needs is airplay (which The Sats should be fine with due to their E! and Ryan Seacrest connections and the fact the song is catchy), promotion (again, they have connections) and people to take interest in them (again, the E! show should help them with that). They also need to really hype up the British girl band thing because it's going to get people interested in them. They might not achieve a big hit with What About Us, but i'd say as long as it goes top 40 and goes Gold i'd count it as a success especially considering it's The Saturdays.
I'm sure the song will grow on people anyway. We get the "worst single ever" thing after every leak/premiere and eventually by the time the release rolls around we all are pretty fond of it.
It's not overly dancey, and has such an incredibly catchy chorus!! I honestly can't see a problem with the "na na na"s, they sound perfectly fine to me. And the Jamaican accent is fine too.
I'm not getting that same 'OMG MUST REPLAY THIS 20 TIMES' like I did with All Fired Up, 30 Days and even My Heart Takes Over but it sounds good from that mix - and it shouldn't be too far off the original.I'll hold off charting it and giving a proper opinion until the original mix comes out though.
However, I looooooooove the track.
The beat is so uplifting. It reminds me of a way better White Lies.Posted by: (Zach) 10th February 2016, 01:41 AM
Radio Airplay: 75-50-49-24-23-07-06-05-05-06-09-15-14-13-14-13-21-31-61-65-68-67-66-68-83
TV Airplay: 27-22-19-07-12-10-09-10-17-02-02-02-03-08-12-15-19-28-21-33-35-35-X-36-39
Posted by: (Zach) 10th February 2016, 01:43 AM
Critical Reception
The song received mainly mixed reviews from critics. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy said that Rochelle Humes asks in a "curious Jamaican-flecked timbre" during the intro of "What About Us". During the lyrics "Oh why are we are waiting so long I'm suffocating", and he went onto say that it is in reference to "man-related drama" and also pointing out that there is plenty of that on their reality series, Chasing The Saturdays. Copsey later went onto tip the band for their first number-one single as he said: "but we suspect it could also be a sly wink at their enduring quest for a number one single". He said that track was "radio-friendly" due to the "trace beats" and "demanding their contrary lover to give up the hard-to-get schtick sharpish". Although he didn't think that the song was "original" enough for the band, but is "strangely addictive" and he would be happy to see the song at the top of the charts.
4Music described the song as a "electro-pop affair with a bucket-load of synths thrown in for good measure. It's quite good, but we wonder if they should reconsider this single choice if they truly want to launch an invasion on America's charts." Idolator wrote a mixed review criticizing the track for lacking the group's signature style; "While the beat is pounding enough to nab the girls a chart hit, it doesn’t feel true to the spirit of The Sats. Then again, maybe it isn’t supposed to." Jessica Sager from PopCrush also touched on the departure from their original sound; "It’s a pretty big departure from their usual sugary oeuvre, but not necessarily in a bad way." She went on to praise Sean Paul's feature; "His presence on the track gives it an air of authenticity and fun, but pretty much only during his own verses and interjections." However, she criticised the mediocre attempt at dialect the groups sing in throughout the track; "When the Saturdays try to emulate island tones, it sounds a little awkward and they start out like that right off the bat, but go in and out of the undistinguished dialect throughout the song." She also felt that the heavily Auto-Tuned chorus was not need; "The Auto-Tune seems extraneous, because the Saturdays can actually sing well without it." She end the review by labeling their latest effort as "generic" and "not the best the Saturdays have to offer", also rating it two and a half stars out of five.
Posted by: mr_pmt 11th February 2016, 05:55 PM
I love this song so much, it has so many memories. I remember moving in to the best place I ever lived in the week it made #1.
Although the version on my iTunes is Sean Paul free, I like to pretend his version doesn't exist.
Posted by: missingyou 11th February 2016, 07:14 PM
f*** i called it number on 20 November 2012. shoulda put a bet on. 
Posted by: Hurricane 12th February 2016, 06:56 PM
It's just soooo sooooo goooooooooooooood.
I can't decide which part of the song is the least catchy. They are all hooks!
Posted by: (Zach) 13th February 2016, 08:55 PM
Chart Runs
UK Top 100: 1-3-4-8-13-18-23-27-39-36-43-55-63-68-66-86-out
Ireland Top 100: 6-7-7-9-15-20-19-22-23-35-46-48-71-58-86-70-89-out
Scotland Top 40: 1-1-5-8-11-19-20-26-32-33-38-out
Euro 200: 75-36-37-41-45-47-50-54-77-106-106-124-131-161-out
World Top 40: 24-out
German Top 100: 44-56-47-50-52-61-out
Austrian Top 75: 75-57-69-out-67-out
New Zealand Top 40: 36-27-37-out
Airplay Peaks
UK Airplay Official Peak: 5
UK TV Airplay Official Peak: 2
UK Airplay Rolling Peak: 4
UK Commercial Airplay Rolling Peak: 5
UK TV Airplay Rolling Peak: 1
Irish Airplay Rolling Peak: 13
German Airplay Rolling Peak: 56
US Pop Airplay Rolling Peak: 64
French Airplay: 148
US, Canada, UK & Ireland iTunes Peaks
What About Us Single: #102 US, #31 US Pop, #47 CAN, #22 CAN Pop, #1 UK, #1 UK Pop, #3 Ireland, #1 Ireland Pop
What About US EP: #1 UK, #1 UK Pop, #4 Ireland, #2 Ireland Pop
UK iTunes First Week Run (12 Hour Intervals)
1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1
*Highest % on Kworb = 100%
Ireland iTunes First Week Run (12 Hour Intervals)
14-5-4-3-5-6-6-8-6-6-7-7-7-7
*Highest % on Kworb = 78%
Year-End Charts
UK Singles Chart 37 (2013)
UK Airplay Chart 29 (2013)
UK TV Airplay Chart 7 (2013)
Hungary Airplay Chart 34 (2013)
Radio 1 A-List Vote 7 (Five Years)
Certifications
UK: Gold
Venezuela: Gold
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 13th February 2016, 09:27 PM
It did surprise me that a song that did so well, and their biggest hit, only lasted 10 weeks top 40, when something like Ego did almost double that
Posted by: Hurricane 14th February 2016, 03:32 AM
I know what you mean, but it was slightly different, 'Ego' being a post-album single, meaning before impact week it couldn't really do anything but stand around the top 40.
'What About Us' being a lead single in the UK was obviously incredibly frontloaded.
Posted by: LushLifeLee 14th February 2016, 05:55 AM
I feel like 'What About Us' would be on similar sales to 'Black Magic' had it been released during the streaming era.
Posted by: Juliano 14th February 2016, 12:39 PM
I second that. It done pretty well on streaming aswell, just they didn't count.
But then it makes me wonder how the other singles would have handled.
Posted by: missingyou 14th February 2016, 01:51 PM
Disco Love® would have also done super well I think. Black Magic is basically a complete rip of it.
Posted by: (Zach) 14th February 2016, 03:19 PM
Disco Love should've done super well but I don't think it spent more than two weeks in the Top 100 on streaming. So not sure adding those in would've affected sales much.
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 14th February 2016, 05:29 PM
I know what you mean, but it was slightly different, 'Ego' being a post-album single, meaning before impact week it couldn't really do anything but stand around the top 40.
'What About Us' being a lead single in the UK was obviously incredibly frontloaded.
I agree with all of this actually. I forgot that Ego spent a good 6 or 7 of those weeks hanging round the bottom part of the top 40. Had Ego been released as the lead single, it probably would have performed similarly to WAU
WAU was definitely the Sats Black Magic Moment, unfortunately they weren't quick enough/didn't release the right new material after which would have boosted WAU sales a but more, and keep some momentum with them *sigh*
Posted by: Juliano 14th February 2016, 06:04 PM
Which we all know means Not Giving Up or Wildfire.
Posted by: Joe. 14th February 2016, 06:16 PM
Argh, I wish Disco Love had more longevity, airplay just wasn't strong enough, though. Such a shame. 51k opening is still pretty decent but I can't believe it fell so quickly and didn't even go silver, it's much catchier than WAU, in my opinion. And I certainly see the Black Magic comparisons.
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 14th February 2016, 06:51 PM
Completely agree, it's criminal the lack of support Disco Love got. For me it's one of their big moments, and best tracks, certainly the best from LFTW era.
Posted by: Hurricane 15th February 2016, 12:36 AM
'Disco Love' could have had better support, that's for sure, but ya'll seem to forget it was basically the only recent single (that isn't What About Us) that was actually supported by Radio 1 effectively. (It was played by Radio 1 a lot more than My Heart Takes Over, 30 Days, Gentleman, Not Giving Up and What Are You Waiting For? were.)
Pretty sure there were rumors going around about how they ditched their radio plugger sometime after 'Gentleman' because the budget was tight.
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 15th February 2016, 12:57 AM
'Disco Love' could have had better support, that's for sure, but ya'll seem to forget it was basically the only recent single (that isn't What About Us) that was actually supported by Radio 1 effectively. (It was played by Radio 1 a lot more than My Heart Takes Over, 30 Days, Gentleman, Not Giving Up and What Are You Waiting For? were.)
Pretty sure there were rumors going around about how they ditched their radio plugger sometime after 'Gentleman' because the budget was tight.
That would explain a hell of a lot
It did get played a lot, and I remember loads of people were using it for advert promos for their various shows etc, so maybe it just didn't connect with the public, or something, but either way it's criminal
I do wish it had been A-listed though
Posted by: (Zach) 15th February 2016, 01:42 AM
Disco Love did have more longevity on Radio 1 than those other singles but during release week and the weeks following, when it mattered most, it really wasn't supported like it should've been. I mean it only made it to the B-List and reached #24 on the airplay charts. That's pretty dismal. Had it been A-Listed and reached the Top 10 on airplay, I think Silver would've been a sure thing.
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 15th February 2016, 03:03 PM
With A-List and better promo-ing by the sats I think it could have gone gold. Maybe. Probably not straight away, but with trickle sales. Like Ego and Up will in 2054
Posted by: Joe. 15th February 2016, 03:11 PM
Yeah, when it was released, wasn't it still C-list on Radio 1? Even Gentleman had managed a week on the B-list running up to it's release. It still did pretty well and was their last "hit". It got played lots on R1, but only really after the release had died off a bit. Didn't it have the shortest stay on the playlist (Not including WAYWF and NGU which got 0 support from anywhere that would have had an effect)
Posted by: LushLifeLee 15th February 2016, 03:28 PM
Everytime that Joe speaks in this thread I always assume he's shading 'What About Us' and it breaks my heart.
Posted by: Joe. 15th February 2016, 03:31 PM
This thread has been hijacked as the Disco Love thread now.
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 15th February 2016, 03:35 PM
Yaaaasss
Posted by: LushLifeLee 15th February 2016, 03:37 PM
Lets discuss their biggest EVER television performance which put them #102 on USA iTunes.
https://vimeo.com/57466629
I remember we got excited thinking they could have went top 75 after the Today Show but their performance was cut short as Obama had a speech, It would have been interesting to see how radio would have supported this had it went for adds in December rather than March.
It got 1million views less than 24 hours :cheeseblock: They should have put UK Pre-order up when video debuted also and got those extra front loaded sales
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 15th February 2016, 03:45 PM
yaaaasss! I remember this! pretty good performance. Although I remember being horrified at that tasseled mess Una was wearing Queeny obviously gets a free pass for looking soso as she was preggers with the second coming. Also Vanessa's face in the third verse, girl looks possessed 
Mollie and Franks looking hot af
I'm surprised the song did so poorly in America tbh, they had some pretty amazing promo. They did Chelsea Handler, Wendy Williams, Fashion Police, Today Show, Chasing the sats etc 
Posted by: (Zach) 15th February 2016, 03:51 PM
I've actually tried projecting that for Ego based on its streams and I got something like 2028 
Exactly. And I thought My Heart Takes Over and 30 Days were A-Listed? 30 Days made it to #19 on airplay and sold half of Disco Love. Granted there was very little promo for 30 Days. I guess my point is for the limited support Disco Love got, it did incredibly well and very well could've sold a lot more had it gotten even half the support What About Us did.
I forgot about that!! Must have tried blocking it out from my memory. This would only happen to the Sats, absolute mess.
Posted by: (Zach) 15th February 2016, 03:53 PM
Radio is where they dropped the ball with What About Us. Promo doesn't go as far in America as it does in the UK.
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 15th February 2016, 04:00 PM
Radio is where they dropped the ball with What About Us. Promo doesn't go as far in America as it does in the UK.
I'm f***ing dying
ah, it's a real shame really, they were more than capable of cracking America if they had just played it better
2028! That's earlier than I expected
I think we can all agree Disco Love was the worldwide smash that never was
Posted by: Hurricane 15th February 2016, 11:36 PM
The girls were in an obvious decline in 2012 (My Heart Takes Over, On Your Radar, 30 Days). Back in 2013, they gave everything they could to 'What About Us', from radio plugging to reality TV-show ; it succeeded. Then, we all know the story, they released 'Gentleman' and destroyed what they had just rebuilt. Now, they were technically back to the same place they were after '30 Days'. So the fact that 'Disco Love' managed that much radio support after 'Gentleman' is still rather impressive to me, instead of being "poor airplay".
It's easy to say "It should have been supported more". You can say that for literally all of their singles but "Shitting You" (). That's a pretty normal thing to do because we're fans and all. But really, when it came down to radio producers and adding songs to their playlists, The Saturdays just weren't a priority anymore already after Gentleman, so the fact it was played with quite some longevity is, well, good luck.... Because that shouldn't have happened on paper.
It's just ironic because people are saying "It should have been supported a lot more", but the way I see it , it's "It shouldn't have had that much support considering where they were at that time". At the end of the day, I guess it does speak volumes about how great of a song 'Disco Love' is.
Posted by: Joe. 16th February 2016, 09:17 AM
If they've had a big number 1 single only like 6 months prior, it's very rare for radio not to give the same artist decent support, regardless of how a second single performed.
Look at Jason Derulo as a currently example (I know they're totally different artists, but he's just a recent example of something that happens all the time)
1st single WTWM: #1
2nd Cheyenne: #184 (Flopped way worse than Gentleman)
3rd Get Ugly #12 so far but currently doing verrrrry well due to great support.
Only making it to #22 on airplay for an album-lead-in single is pretty bad for an artist who at the time had one of the highest selling singles of said year. But what happened with Disco Love, happened. And it still performed decently enough. Can we it Disco Love to silver plz?
Posted by: Jimmy Jam 16th February 2016, 12:49 PM
Platinum
Posted by: (Zach) 17th February 2016, 01:22 AM
Posted by: Martyn 17th February 2016, 05:24 PM
I will always love What About Us, don't really care for the Sean Paul version though.
Posted by: mr_pmt 18th February 2016, 01:59 AM
I feel like with 'Disco Love', they were still in a decent enough position to get support but after 'Gentleman' they were reluctant, then the album's flop was really the absolute final nail in the coffin for them. It really does all link back to 'Gentleman' when you think about it.
Posted by: Joe. 18th May 2017, 11:27 AM
This is quite high up on Throwback Thursday today. I've never seen a Saturdays song on there before! Can it enter the top 200 tomorrow?!
Posted by: Joe. 19th May 2017, 10:47 AM
#134 on Spotify!
Posted by: WallIsSoGood 19th May 2017, 10:54 AM
*.*
Posted by: Mr. C. Joel 2nd June 2017, 12:20 AM
GOD I MISS THEM SO MUCH.
Gentleman ruined everything for them.
I mean I purchased every Single, download, remix and album possible and Gentleman is bar far my least favourite single EVER.
I can't help thinking if they released 808 as the follow up to What About Us they would have had another top 5/10 single 
Posted by: Neil 2nd June 2017, 12:31 AM
^ but then, Wildfire is one of their best B-sides so...
Posted by: (Zach) 3rd June 2017, 03:58 PM
When a song's only redeeming quality is it's b-side
Posted by: SeanGrey 4th June 2017, 07:40 AM
Genetleman is a fab track just wasn't the follow up they needed for What About Us - even if they'd released the album after WAU would have been more appropriate.
Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn 5th June 2017, 10:55 PM
What they should have done at the time is released 'Not Giving Up' in place of 'Gentleman' (seeing as 'Disco Love' didn't yet exist).
'Gentleman' is always the number one thing that comes to mind now whenever I hear anyone say "career-killing single".
Posted by: SeanGrey 9th June 2017, 10:33 AM
'Gentleman' is always the number one thing that comes to mind now whenever I hear anyone say "career-killing single".
The summer vibe would have been perfect too and then late summer/Autumn have Disco Love.
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