Bizounce

"Bizounce"
A woman with one hand on her hip and staring toward the audience. The woman is standing in front of a pale blue background. The word Olivia is written in light blue cursive font on the left side and the words Olivia and Bizounce are written in smaller font over it in black and pink respectively. The parental advisory (explicit content) is in the lower right hand corner of the image.
Single by Olivia
from the album Olivia
B-side "Are U Capable"
"It's On Again"
Released March 20, 2001
Format
Genre R&B
Length 3:28
Label J
Writer(s)
  • Doug A. Allen
  • David L. Conley
  • Olivia T. Longott
  • Quincy Q. Patrick
  • Juan F. Peters
  • Joshua Paul Thompson
Producer(s)
  • Doug Allen
  • Joshua Thompson
Olivia chronology
"Bizounce" (2001) "Are U Capable" (2001)

"Bizounce" is the debut single recorded by American singer Olivia, from her debut studio album Olivia (2001). Producers Doug Allen and Joshua Thompson wrote the song in collaboration with Olivia and songwriters David L. Conley, Quincy Q. Patrick, and Juan F. Peters. The song was released on March 20, 2001 as the lead single from the album. It is an upbeat, R&B track with lyrics that revolve around dissatisfaction in a relationship and the desire to "bizounce" or leave the partner. In her autobiography Release Me: My Life, My Words, Olivia revealed her disappointment with the release of "Bizounce" as the lead single due to the interference from label executives.

"Bizounce" received primarily positive reviews from music critics, who praised Olivia's vocals and image and its choice as her debut single. The single was a commercial success in the United States, peaking at number fifteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number four on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It also peaked peaked at number sixteen on the Canadian Singles Chart. "Bizounce" remained Olivia's most successful song until her 2005 collaboration with rapper 50 Cent on "Candy Shop" reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote "Bizounce", Olivia performed it on various television and live shows. She also included the song as a part of the promotional tour leading up the album's release. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Marcus Raboy.

Background and release

A man in a suit smiling back at the camera
Olivia was signed to J Records by Clive Davis (pictured above). She described herself as "the one chosen to flagship the label" since her single and album were one of the first projects released by the company.[1]

After initially attempting to rap under the name "O-Lovely", Olivia chose to attend Hofstra University and Five Towns College to further her career in music. Olivia said people would frequently compare her voice to R&B singer Brandy. During her audition for American record producer Clive Davis, she sang the gospel hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow".[2] Musician Joshua Thompson produced Olivia's demo, and arranged her audition for Arista Records executives and Davis. In an interview with Billboard, Olivia said she was signed to the label immediately after the meeting. J Records senior vice president Ron Gillyard described Olivia as "the real deal", emphasizing her roles as "a songwriter, a singer, and a rapper".[3] At age 17, Olivia was the first artist signed to J Records by American record producer Clive Davis.[4] Executives from the record company referred to her as "the First Lady of J".[5] "Bizounce" was released as the lead single for Olivia's debut album Olivia on March 20, 2001, through J Records. The release included explicit and "PG-13" versions of the single along with a twenty nine second snippet of the second single "Are U Capable" and a minute and twenty-two second snippet of album track "It's On Again".[6] The instrumental and "X-rated" versions of the single was released on vinyl.[7] It was written by Olivia, producers Doug Allen and Joshua Thompson, and songwriters David L. Conley, Quincy Q. Patrick, and Juan F. Peters.[8]

Olivia later describing the recording and promotion of "Bizounce" and album as a learning experience for her future ventures; she said her time at J Records was "cut short by the politics of the industry and me not actually taking my career into my own hands". She said record executives took away her control over the creation of the album given her youth and inexperience.[4] During promotion for the record, Olivia described having a good working relationship with Davis,[3] but she called him "extremely controlling" after leaving the label. Olivia claimed that she was forced to be the bad girl while label mate Alicia Keys was promoted as the good girl. In an official statement, J Records' representatives pointed to Olivia's credits as a co-writer for a majority of the album as proof of her involvement with the project and maintained: "Clive doesn't categorize artists as good or bad girls".[2] In her 2014 autobiography Release Me: My Life, My Words, Olivia wrote that she disagreed with the record label's decision to release "Bizounce" as her debut single. Despite saying the single was a perfect fit for the clubs and one of her favorite tracks from the album, she believed it did not reflect her as an artist. She originally pushed for "It's On Again" to be a single.[1]

Composition and lyrics

Olivia – "Bizounce"
A 22-second audio sample of the song, which features the profanity in Olivia's rap introduction. A press release from J Records promoted the song's use of profane language, emphasizing its use of eleven "fucks", five "shits", and three "niggaz".[9]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

According to digital information from Beatport, "Bizounce" is a R&B and funk song composed in the key of G minor.[10] An overview from AllMusic described it as a rap and electronic song with elements of dance and Hi-NRG music.[11] The song's instrumentation is composed of drums, keyboards, and a bass guitar.[8] AllMusic's Jon Azpiri praised the contrast between the "brutally frank" lyrics about break-ups and infidelity and the "seductive" instrumental as making the single one of the most memorable of 2001.[12] According to a review in Billboard, Olivia's vocal performance reflects her hip hop influences and gives the single a "street edge" while its "orchestral tinges" are best-suited for R&B radio.[13]

In an interview with Billboard, Olivia called the single as "an empowering women's song" for inspiring women to leave unfulfilling relationships.[3] She said she wrote it "for all the people who don't know how to tell the other person to 'bounce' ".[5] An article from Vibe noted lyrics, like "I can't take this shit no more / Picture frame broken daddy 'cause I can't trust you / I'm ridin' high now / So nigga fuck you", as creating an impression of Olivia as a "potty-mouth".[2] NME's John Mulvey commented that Olivia's "ruthlessness rather than her vocabulary" was the standout, especially in the lyric "Shoulda known what you missed at home / Now you're all alone with no-one to bone". Mulvey described that the single as "a vicious kiss-off" and "a boudoir come-on" in the style of TLC, Kelis, and Eve. He joked the amount of censorship on the radio edit made Olivia sound "avant-garde".[9]

Promotion and music video

Olivia made appearances on television and on live shows to promote "Bizounce". Before the album's release, she performed the single on Soul Train, BET, MTV's hip-hop video block Sucker Free (known at the time as DFX), and The Source Sound Lab. On February 11, 2001, she embarked on a promotional tour[3] leading up to the album's release on May 15, 2001.[14] Director Marcus Raboy shot the accompanying music video for the single. A review from Billboard praised the video as something that would "catch the eyes and ears of music fans".[13]

Reception

Critical response

"Bizounce" received positive reviews from music critics. Mark Bautz of Entertainment Weekly described "Bizounce" as "a saucy hit single" and noted it as one of the album's highlights.[15] A review in Billboard praised Olivia's vocals, saying she "has the mouth of a bad girl and the voice of an angel", and described the single as making her: "a bona fide R&B singer".[13]

Commercial performance

"Bizounce" was a commercial success in the United States. It peaked at number fifteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number four on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.[16] The single was Olivia's highest charting entry on the Hot 100 chart until her 2005 collaboration with rapper 50 Cent on "Candy Shop" became her only number-one single on the chart.[17] Prior to the release and success of "Candy Shop", Fred Bronson of Billboard viewed Olivia as a one-hit wonder with "Bizounce" being her only previous success.[18] In Canada, the single peaked at number sixteen on the Canadian Singles Chart.[19] As of August 13, 2003, "Bizounce" has sold 415,000 copies.[20]

Formats and track listings

  1. "Bizounce" (X-Rated) — 3:28
  2. "Bizounce" (Instrumental) — 3:28
  • Cassette single[6]
  1. "Bizounce" (Explicit Version) — 3:28
  2. "Bizounce" (PG-13 Version) — 3:28
  3. "Are U Capable" (Snippet) — 0:29
  4. "It's On Again" (Snippet) — 1:22
  1. "Bizounce" (Explicit Version) — 3:28
  2. "Bizounce" (PG-13 Version) — 3:28
  3. "Are U Capable" (Snippet) — 0:29
  4. "It's On Again" (Snippet) — 1:22

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.[21]

Management
Personnel

Charts

Charts (2001) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19] 16
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 15
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[16] 4

References

  1. 1 2 Longott, Olivia (2014). Release Me: My Life, My Words. Urban Books. ISBN 978-1-60162-416-1.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sole Sister". Vibe. October 2005. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hall, Rashaun (2001-04-28). "Patience Pays Off For J's Olivia". Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  4. 1 2 namcgloster (2011-05-31). "Pandora’s Box: Mashonda Interviews Olivia Longott". Vibe. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  5. 1 2 Reid, Shaheem (2001-04-06). "Olivia 'Bizounce'-s up Chart, on Debut Album". Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  6. 1 2 3 Bizounce [CD-Single]. "Bizounce [CD-Single]: Olivia: Music". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  7. 1 2 Bizounce [Vinyl]. "Bizounce [Vinyl]". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  8. 1 2 Olivia. J Records (Inlay cover). Olivia. May 15, 2001.
  9. 1 2 Mulvey, John. "Olivia: Bizounce". NME. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  10. ↑ "Bizounce Album Version (Dirty)". Beatport. 2001-05-17. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  11. ↑ "Olivia Bizounce [US 12']". AllMusic. 2001-05-17. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  12. ↑ "Olivia review". AllMusic. 2001-05-17. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  13. 1 2 3 "New & Noteworthy". Billboard. 2001-02-03. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  14. ↑ "Olivia [Explicit]". Amazon. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  15. ↑ "Olivia". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 2001-06-18.
  16. 1 2 3 "Bizonce - Olivia Song Information". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  17. ↑ Whitmire, Margo. "50 Cent's 'Candy' Enters Ninth Week At No. 1". Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2005-03-21.
  18. ↑ Bronson, Fred. "Chart Beat Bonus". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  19. 1 2 "Olivia Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  20. ↑ Caulfield, Keith. "Ask Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  21. ↑ "Bizounce". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 2016-04-22.

Bibliography

  • Longott, Olivia. Release Me: My Life, My Words. Urban Books: 2014. ISBN. 978-1-60162-416-1

External links

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