MISSY ELLIOTT – GET UR FREAK ON

Publicada: 13 de març de 2001

Posició a les Llistes: EUA: #7 · Regne Unit: #4

“Get Ur Freak On” és un senzill innovador de Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, publicat el març del 2001 com a cançó principal del seu tercer àlbum d’estudi “Miss E… So Addictive”. Escrita i produïda juntament amb el seu col·laborador habitual Timbaland, la cançó va fusionar el hip-hop americà amb ritmes bhangra de l’Índia, creant un dels sons més originals i influents dels primers anys 2000. Construïda al voltant d’una melodia punjabi de sis notes tocada amb un tumbi, acompanyada de percussió de tabla, la peça va trencar barreres sonores i va introduir textures musicals globals dins del rap comercial.

Quan es va publicar, “Get Ur Freak On” es va convertir en una sensació internacional, arribant al número 7 del Billboard Hot 100 dels Estats Units i entrant al Top 10 al Regne Unit i als Països Baixos —donant a Elliott el seu primer èxit en solitari dins del Top 10 a Gran Bretanya, on va arribar al número 4.

Elliott va explicar més tard que el títol i l’esperit de la cançó estan oberts a la interpretació. “Podria tractar sobre ballar —el dormitori, el que sigui. Estàs netejant la casa? Doncs get your freak on!” va dir. Aquesta actitud lliure i espontània definia tant la cançó com a la seva creadora.  La peça representava un altre pas valent dins de la col·laboració sense gènere fix entre Elliott i Timbaland. La fascinació de Timbaland pels sons globals —especialment la instrumentació índia— va ser clau per donar forma al seu ritme hipnòtic. “El ritme estava basat en la música bhangra”, va recordar. “Vam trobar una cosa fresca, una cosa que ningú no estava fent. Timbaland va samplejar i seqüenciar el tumbi nota per nota, barrejant-lo amb baix potent i una programació de bateria sincopada que es va fer instantàniament reconeixible.

“Get Ur Freak On” també va marcar un punt d’inflexió visual en la carrera de Missy Elliott. Després d’anys de col·laborar amb Hype Williams, l’estètica futurista del qual s’havia convertit en sinònim de la seva imatge, Elliott va decidir reinventar-se. “Ja veus, jo canvio la meva música i canvio la meva imatge al mateix temps”, va explicar. “Sentia que, mentre jo i Hype continuéssim treballant junts, probablement seguiríem anant en la mateixa direcció.”

En lloc d’això, Elliott va començar a treballar amb el director Dave Meyers, que es convertiria en el seu soci creatiu durant la dècada següent. Junts, van reimaginar la seva identitat visual —atrevida, surrealista i transgressora. El vídeo de “Get Ur Freak On”, rodat en una fleca abandonada a Glendale, Califòrnia, mostrava Elliott com una figura alhora reial i caricaturesca, dominant un submón industrial ple de ballarins suspesos cap per avall, arrossegant-se pel formigó i movent-se amb precisió insectívora. En un dels seus moments més famosos, el coll d’Elliott s’estira fins a longituds impossibles cap a la càmera —una barreja d’humor i terror que encaixava perfectament amb el seu estil atrevit.

La coreografia, dirigida per Nadine “Hi-Hat” Ruffin, va convertir la dansa hip-hop en teatre avantguardista, amb cossos que es torcien i es congelaven en posicions visualment impossibles. El vídeo també incloïa una llarga llista d’aparicions estel·lars, amb Ludacris, LL Cool J, Timbaland, Busta Rhymes, Eve, Ja Rule, Master P, Lil’ Romeo, Nate Dogg, Spliff Star i Nicole Wray, reflectint la posició central d’Elliott dins de l’univers del rap de principis dels 2000.

“Get Ur Freak On” es va convertir en un punt de referència cultural, influenciant tota una generació de productors i artistes que van contagiar-se de la fusió global dins del hip-hop i el pop de la peça. El seu llegat es va revifar l’any 2015, quan Elliott va fer una aparició sorpresa durant l’espectacle del descans de la Super Bowl de Katy Perry, interpretant “Get Ur Freak On” davant d’un públic sorprès i provocant una resurgència viral que va fer que la cançó tornés a entrar al Billboard Hot 100, reentrant al número 40.

MISSY ELLIOT - GET UR FREAK ON

Released: March 13, 2001

Chart Peak: US: #7  UK: #4 

“Get Ur Freak On” is a groundbreaking single by Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, released on March 2001, as the lead track from her third studio album “Miss E… So Addictive”. Written and produced alongside longtime collaborator Timbaland, the song fused American hip-hop with Indian bhangra rhythms, creating one of the most original and influential sounds of the early 2000s. Built around a six-note Punjabi melody played on a tumbi, accompanied by tabla percussion, the track broke sonic barriers and introduced global music textures into mainstream rap.

Upon its release, “Get Ur Freak On” became an international sensation, peaking at No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the Top 10 in the UK and Netherlands—giving Elliott her first solo top-10 hit in Britain, where it climbed to No. 4.

Elliott later explained that the song’s title and spirit are open to interpretation. “It could be about dancing—the bedroom, whatever. You’re cleaning your house? Get your freak on!” she told. This free-spirited attitude defined both the song and its creator.

The track represented another bold step in Elliott and Timbaland’s genre-defying partnership. Timbaland’s fascination with global sounds—especially Indian instrumentation—was key to crafting its hypnotic rhythm. “The beat was based on Bhangra music,” he recalled. “We found something fresh, something nobody was doing.” Timbaland sampled and sequenced the tumbi one note at a time, mixed with heavy bass and syncopated drum programming that became instantly recognizable.

“Get Ur Freak On” also marked a visual turning point in Missy Elliott’s career. After years of collaborating with Hype Williams, whose futuristic aesthetic had become synonymous with her image, Elliott chose to reinvent herself. “You see, I change my music and I change my image at the same time,” she explained. “I felt like as long as me and Hype continued to work together, we would probably keep going in the same direction.”

Elliott instead teamed up with director Dave Meyers, who became her creative partner for the next decade. Together, they reimagined her visual identity—bold, surreal, and boundary-pushing. The video for “Get Ur Freak On,” shot in an abandoned bakery in Glendale, California, portrayed Elliott as both queenly and cartoonish, commanding an industrial underworld of dancers suspended upside down, crawling over concrete, and moving with insect-like precision. In one of its most famous moments, Elliott’s neck stretches to impossible lengths toward the camera—a blend of humor and horror that perfectly matched her audacious style.

The choreography, directed by Nadine “Hi-Hat” Ruffin, turned hip-hop dance into avant-garde theater, with bodies twisting and freezing in visually impossible poses. The video also featured a star-studded lineup of cameos, including Ludacris, LL Cool J, Timbaland, Busta Rhymes, Eve, Ja Rule, Master P, Lil’ Romeo, Nate Dogg, Spliff Star, and Nicole Wray, reflecting Elliott’s central position in the early-2000s rap universe.

“Get Ur Freak On” became a cultural touchstone, influencing an entire generation of producers and artists who embraced global fusion in hip-hop and pop. Its legacy was reignited in 2015, when Elliott made a surprise appearance during Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime show, performing “Get Ur Freak On” to a stunned audience and sparking a viral resurgence that sent the song back into the Billboard Hot 100, re-entering at No. 40.

VAN HALEN - WHY CAN’T THIS BE LOVE?

Released: March 1986

Charts: US: #3   UK: #8 

Released in 1986 as the lead single from Van Halen’s seventh studio album, “5150”, “Why Can’t This Be Love” marked a new era for the band — and a bold change in direction. It was the first single to feature Sammy Hagar on vocals, following the departure of founding frontman David Lee Roth, and it introduced fans to a sleeker, more melodic sound that would define the group’s next chapter. The gamble paid off: the song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Cash Box Top 100 in May 1986, while also breaking into the Top 10 across the UK, Germany, and Australia.

“Why Can’t This Be Love” was built around Eddie Van Halen’s Oberheim OB-8 synthesizer, continuing his evolution from guitar virtuoso to multi-instrumental composer. The song’s shimmering keyboard riff and driving rhythm were unlike anything from the band’s early Roth years, signaling a decisive shift from barroom bravado to arena-scale sophistication. According to Hagar, the song came together quickly after he asked Eddie if he could follow the keyboard melody with his vocals — something the guitarist typically resisted. “You don’t mind if I follow your keyboard melody, do you?” Hagar asked. Eddie replied, “No, not at all,” even though he preferred vocals to act as counterpoint rather than reinforcement.

Lyrically, the song captured a more emotional and introspective tone than Van Halen’s earlier work. Where Roth was known for swagger and innuendo, Hagar leaned into sincerity — singing about the confusion and longing of love with lines like, “Only time will tell if we stand the test of time.” His vulnerability helped redefine the band’s identity, ushering in a more mature phase without sacrificing their signature energy.

The transition from Roth to Hagar was not without controversy. Fans split into camps — “Van Halen” versus “Van Hagar” — but “Why Can’t This Be Love” made it clear that the band’s creative fire hadn’t dimmed. When Van Halen hit the road for the 5150 tour, they faced the daunting task of convincing live audiences that the new lineup worked. To keep momentum high and minimize “Where’s Dave?” chants from the crowd, Hagar recruited Bachman–Turner Overdrive as the opening act, ensuring a seamless handoff between sets.

Years later, at the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, only Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony attended, with Hagar performing “Why Can’t This Be Love” alongside Paul Shaffer’s house band — a fitting tribute to a song that marked both a turning point and a rebirth.

VAN HALEN - WHEN IT’S LOVE

Released: June 1988

Charts: US: #5    UK: #28 

Released in 1988 as the second single from “OU812”, “When It’s Love” it’s one of Van Halen’s most enduring successes of the Sammy Hagar era. The song climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and No. 5 on the Hot 100, becoming the band’s third and final Top 10 hit. Built around a soaring melody and a heartfelt vocal performance, it remains a centerpiece of their live shows.

The song began as a collaboration between brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, who composed the music before Sammy Hagar added the lyrics. Musically, it’s a classic late-’80s power ballad — lush, anthemic, and anchored by Eddie’s shimmering guitar tone. The solo, Eddie later revealed, was a tribute to Eric Clapton, one of his lifelong influences.

“When It’s Love” doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Its themes — the universality and endurance of love — are familiar territory. The opening line, “Everybody’s lookin’ for something,” echoes countless pop anthems before it. Yet, when paired with Van Halen’s signature musicianship, the song transcends its clichés and matches with the sincerity and warmth that defined the band’s mid-career peak.

The parent album’s title, “OU812”, was itself a cheeky cultural in-joke — a phonetic pun meaning “Oh, you ate one too.” It had appeared in various pop culture contexts before, from the sitcom Taxi to Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie.

For Hagar, “When It’s Love” carried an additional challenge: the music video. Never entirely comfortable with lip-syncing, he pushed to perform the song at full volume during filming to keep his delivery authentic. The commitment came at a cost — he blew out his voice during the shoot, leaving him unable to sing at a concert the following night.

VAN HALEN - UNCHAINED

Released: July 1981

Album: Fair Warning

“Unchained” is one of the standout tracks from Van Halen’s fourth studio album, “Fair Warning”. Released as a single in select international markets including Germany, Spain, and Japan, the song has since become a fan favorite and a defining anthem of the band’s David Lee Roth era. Built around one of Eddie Van Halen’s most explosive riffs, “Unchained” captures the raw, muscular sound that made “Fair Warning” the darkest and most uncompromising album in Van Halen’s early catalog.

The song is a masterclass in controlled chaos. Eddie Van Halen deploys a low, drop-D tuned guitar riff that churns with a metallic intensity, while drummer Alex Van Halen locks into a syncopated groove that swings between aggression and swagger. The result is a sound that feels both heavy and airborne — a paradox of weight and freedom that perfectly suits the song’s title. As Guitar World would later note, “It’s as heavy as music can be without being heavy at all.”

Lyrically, “Unchained” is less about narrative and more about attitude. David Lee Roth delivers a performance that’s part strut, part sneer, part self-parody. Lines like “blue-eyed murder in a side-swiped dress” are pure Roth — playful, nonsensical, and utterly magnetic. Midway through the track, the band breaks the fourth wall entirely when Roth begins bantering with producer Ted Templeman in the studio. “That suit is YOU!” Roth quips, to which Templeman famously replies, “Come on, Dave, gimme a break.” The exchange wasn’t planned — it happened spontaneously during recording and was kept in the final mix.

At the time, “Fair Warning” was a sharp contrast to what would come three years later with “1984”, the album that catapulted Van Halen into pop superstardom. Released in the same year Eddie married actress Valerie Bertinelli, “Fair Warning” remained firmly rooted in the hard rock underground, finding its audience on Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) radio rather than the singles charts. Despite not charting, “Unchained” received extensive airplay and became a staple of the band’s live setlists, often serving as a high-voltage centerpiece in their concerts.

A music video was created to promote the song, though the band’s indifference to the medium was evident. MTV had just launched, and the label hired director Bruce Gowers to film a concert performance. Van Halen provided no additional lighting or staging for the shoot, but editor Robert Lombard managed to piece together a compelling clip from the raw footage. The band unexpectedly loved the result, which encouraged them to make future videos — including their next one for “(Oh) Pretty Woman.”

Decades later, Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen would call “Unchained” “the definitive Van Halen song from the Roth era”. It’s easy to see why. The song distills everything that made early Van Halen electric: monstrous riffs, reckless humor, and a swagger that borders on supernatural.

CHANGE - THE GLOW OF LOVE

Publicada: octubre de 1980

Llistes: Regne Unit: #14

Quan el projecte italoamericà de disco Change va publicar “The Glow of Love” el 1980, difícilment podien imaginar que estaven llançant no només la seva pròpia carrera, sinó també la d’un dels més grans vocalistes de soul de tots els temps: Luther Vandross.

El grup va ser una idea de Jacques Fred Petrus, un empresari i productor francoitalià que ja havia aconseguit èxit amb formacions de disco com Machinery i B. B. & Q. Band. Amb Change, Petrus volia crear un col·lectiu d’estudi capaç de combinar la sofisticació rítmica del disco europeu amb el cor ple d’ànima del R&B nord-americà. La música va ser principalment obra dels productors italians Mauro Malavasi i Davide Romani, que van escriure i produir gran part de l’àlbum de debut del grup, també titulat “The Glow of Love”.

Publicada com a segon single de l’àlbum, “The Glow of Love” va ser un triomf immediat a les pistes de ball. Impulsada per una línia de baix exuberant, cordes lluents i una tornada plena d’alegria, la cançó va capturar l’optimisme eufòric dels darrers anys del disco. Va arribar al número 1 de la llista Billboard Dance el 1980, on s’hi va mantenir durant nou setmanes impressionants.

Al centre de tot hi havia Luther Vandross, que aleshores encara era un cantant de sessió relativament desconegut. Vandross ja havia prestat la seva veu a anuncis i com a corista per a David Bowie, Bette Midler i Chaka Khan, però “The Glow of Love” li va donar una rara oportunitat per destacar com a vocalista principal. La seva interpretació en aquesta cançó i en “Searching”, del mateix àlbum, va ser reveladora: càlida, sedosa i plena de matisos emocionals. La crítica i la indústria se’n van adonar, i en menys d’un any Vandross va iniciar la seva pròpia carrera en solitari, convertint-se en una de les veus definidores del R&B dels anys vuitanta i posteriors.

L’herència de la cançó no es va acabar amb l’era del disco. El 1999, el duo britànic de house Phats & Small en va fer un sample per al seu èxit “Turn Around”, que va arribar al número 2 de les llistes del Regne Unit. Dos anys més tard, Janet Jackson va construir el seu èxit del 2001 “All for You” al voltant del mateix ritme central, presentant així a una nova generació la irresistible calidesa de “The Glow of Love”.

CHANGE - THE GLOW OF LOVE

Released: October 1980

Charts:  UK: #14 

When Italian-American disco project Change released “The Glow of Love” in 1980, they could hardly have known they were launching not just their own career, but also the career of one of the greatest soul vocalists of all time: Luther Vandross.

The group itself was the brainchild of Jacques Fred Petrus, a French-Italian businessman and producer who had previously found success with disco acts like Machinery and B. B. & Q. Band. With Change, Petrus envisioned a studio-based collective that could combine the rhythmic sophistication of European disco with the soulful heart of American R&B. The music was largely crafted by Italian producers Mauro Malavasi and Davide Romani, who wrote and produced much of the group’s debut album, also titled “The Glow of Love”.

Released as the album’s second single, “The Glow of Love” was an instant triumph on the dance floor. Driven by its lush bassline, shimmering strings, and joyous chorus, the song captured the euphoric optimism of disco’s twilight years. It shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Dance chart in 1980, where it stayed for an incredible nine weeks.

At the center of it all was Luther Vandross, who at the time was still a relatively unknown session singer. Vandross had already lent his voice to jingles and backup parts for David Bowie, Bette Midler, and Chaka Khan, but “The Glow of Love” gave him a rare opportunity to step out as a featured vocalist. His performance on both this track and the album’s “Searching” was revelatory: warm, silky, and full of emotional nuance. Critics and industry insiders took notice, and within a year, Vandross launched his own solo career, becoming one of the defining voices of R&B in the 1980s and beyond.

The song’s legacy didn’t stop with the disco era. In 1999, British house duo Phats & Small sampled it for their hit single “Turn Around”, which reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Two years later, Janet Jackson built her 2001 No. 1 hit “All for You” around its central groove, introducing a new generation to the irresistible warmth of “The Glow of Love.”

BON JOVI - BORN TO BE MY BABY

Released: November 1988

Chart Peak: US: #3  UK: #22 

Released in November 1988, “Born to Be My Baby” was the second single from Bon Jovi’s blockbuster album “New Jersey”. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child, the song built on the band’s signature blend of arena-ready hooks and heartfelt storytelling, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on the Cash Box Top 100, and No. 7 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. Internationally, it cracked the Top 20 in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand.

The song’s writing team reunited the powerhouse trio of Bon Jovi, Sambora, and hitmaker Desmond Child, who had already co-written “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “You Give Love a Bad Name”, and “Bad Medicine.” Child’s ability to pair melodic immediacy with emotional sincerity once again helped deliver a universal anthem rooted in everyday resilience. Like “Livin’ on a Prayer”, the song revisits the lives of young, working-class lovers struggling to make ends meet but bound together by faith and fate.

Originally, “Born to Be My Baby” was recorded as an acoustic track, reflecting its humble lyrical origins, but producer Bruce Fairbairn persuaded the band to re-record it in a more polished, hard rock style, aligning it with the big, radio-ready sound of “New Jersey”. Jon Bon Jovi later expressed some regret over this decision, suggesting that the acoustic version might have pushed the song all the way to No. 1.

Directed on a low budget and filmed in-studio, the music video, shot entirely in black and white, chronicles the band during the recording process, with candid scenes of camaraderie, laughter, and hard work. Unlike their more theatrical clips, this video showcases the group’s human side — gathered around microphones, joking between takes, and re-singing the chorus until it felt right. A particularly touching moment comes midway through the video, when Dorothea Hurley, Jon Bon Jovi’s longtime partner (and later wife), enters the studio to embrace him. The video concludes with the band celebrating upon learning that “New Jersey” had reached No. 1 in the United States — a real-life moment of triumph captured on film.

Following “Bad Medicine”, “Born to Be My Baby” kept Bon Jovi’s momentum roaring through late 1988, leading directly into their next chart-topping single, “I’ll Be There for You.”