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Unlock It

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"Unlock It"
Promotional single by Charli XCX featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park
from the album Pop 2
Released2017
Length3:52
LabelAsylum
Songwriter(s)
Composer(s)Aaron Aguilar
Producer(s)

"Unlock It" is a 2017 song by Charli XCX featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park from XCX's mixtape Pop 2. Released as the second teaser from that mixtape either side of "Out of My Head" featuring Tove Lo and Alma and "I Got It" featuring Cupcakke, Brooke Candy, and Pabllo Vittar, the track samples A. G. Cook's "Beautiful" and was premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show the day of release. Reviewers praised the song, especially its lyrics. A mashup of the song with Tinashe's "Superlove" went viral on TikTok in 2021, shortly after which XCX renamed the track "Unlock It (Lock It)" to fan discontent. In 2022, Piri & Tommy released a cover that Vice rated as the 14th best song of 2022.

Charli XCX version

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Background and release

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XCX scrapped her planned album, christened XCX World by fans,[1] after it was leaked.[2] She first mentioned the idea of making Pop 2 to A. G. Cook in late September 2017 while he was in New York. The pair started work once Cook was back in London and recorded the body of it at Oven Studios, with the whole mixtape taking two months.[3] After implying that she had recorded a mixtape with Kim Petras, Jay Park, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, Dorian Electra, Alma, Mykki Blanco, Cupcakke, Tommy Cash, Brooke Candy, Caroline Polachek, Pabllo Vittar, MØ, and A. G. Cook,[4] she announced the mixtape on 8 December 2017 and released its lead single, "Out of My Head" featuring Tove Lo and Alma.[5]

On 11 December, XCX followed this with "Unlock It",[6] which premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show that day.[7] The song featured Petras, who XCX had met at a Sophie concert, and Park, who had previously featured in the music video for her earlier track "Boys".[8] XCX used her Beats 1 interview to state that she had hired Park on the basis of how well he had gone down when the "Boys" video was published.[9] XCX wrote her contribution about her experiences of driving in New Jersey around the time she was supporting Halsey on her Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour[10] and its lyrics invite the listener to fall in love.[11] Produced by Cook and Life Sim,[12] the song features a spoken word chorus[13] that contains the phrase "Unlock It" 18 times[1] and samples Cook's earlier track "Beautiful" as he felt the song was missing something.[3]

Reception and aftermath

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Megan Burger of Pitchfork described the track as "art-pop at its finest, just shy of parody but hyper-aware of contemporary trends", and its lyrics as "over-the-top and blissfully artificial".[14] Ross McNeilage of MTV News wrote that "If you want my love / Twerk to unlock it!" was one of the best lyrics of 2017.[8] The song was released two days before "I Got It" featuring Cupcakke, Brooke Candy, and Pabllo Vittar[15] and four days before the release of its parent mixtape Pop 2.[16] A mashup of the song with Tinashe's "Superlove" by Jeff Prior, a resident DJ at queer dance party Ctrl, went viral on TikTok in 2021 after being used in an accompanying dance on TikTok, eventually soundtracking 2,400,000 videos.[1] By 6 April, the track had been streamed 20,000,000 times and had been added to Spotify's Viral Hits playlist.[1]

On 2 May 2021, she updated the song's title to streaming platforms to "Unlock It (Lock It)"; after being criticised for this, she took to Twitter to opine that her audience should be intelligent enough to be challenged.[17] The following year, Clash described the song as one of XCX's best 17 songs, wrote that the song had a "power chorus, pure electronic happiness, bold, computerized melodies, and lyrics that offer cosmic escapism", and offered particular praise for the line "cosmic kiss, tastes like cherry maraschino", calling it "sweetly satisfying".[18] In 2024, Adam Graham of The Detroit News described the song as "an annoyingly catchy earworm that latches onto your brain and refuses to let go".[19]

Personnel

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Musicians

Production

Release history

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Release history for "Unlock It"
Region Date Version Label Ref.
Various 11 December 2017
Asylum [21]

Piri & Tommy version

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"Unlock It"
Single by Piri & Tommy
Released2022
Length3:13
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Composer(s)Aaron Aguilar
Producer(s)

Piri & Tommy, who had previously opened for Charli XCX at a Brighton concert,[22] released a cover version of the song on 11 November 2022.[23] The track had been recorded and previously released for an Apple Home Music Session, in which artists make music at home.[24] Aisha Sembhi of Indiependent.co.uk described the track as a "blend [of] bubblegum pop and drum & bass".[13] Clash described the song as "reminiscent of the original [but] deliver[ing] a more laidback edge" and described Piri's vocals as "silky smooth, laced in AutoTune, [and] bathed in reverb and delay" and the track's production as "clean and polished" with lo-fi drums.[25] In addition, their version of the song was rated as the fourteenth best song of 2022 by Vice.[26]

Track listing

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Apple Home Music Session[24]

  1. "On & On" (acoustic version) – 2:24
  2. "Unlock It" – 3:13

Single version[27]

  1. "Unlock It" – 3:13

Personnel

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Release history

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Release history for "Unlock It"
Region Version Date Format Label Ref.
Various Apple Home Music Session 13 September 2022 Digital download
[24]
Original version 11 November 2022
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 [27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Dazed (6 April 2021). "We give thanks for the TikTok resurrection of Charli XCX's 'Unlock It'". Dazed. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  2. ^ Richards, Will (17 October 2019). "Lost albums of the 2010s – what became of the albums we were promised but that never arrived?". NME. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Charli XCX and A. G. Cook explain the secrets of her ambitious new mixtape". The FADER. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Charli XCX hints at new mixtape featuring MØ, Carly Rae Jepsen, and more". DIY. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Charli XCX confirms 'Pop 2' mixtape featuring Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, MØ and more". DIY. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Charli XCX Shares 'Unlock It' Feat. Kim Petras and Jay Park". Billboard. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Charli XCX shares new single "Unlock It" featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park". The FADER. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Charli XCX Drops New Banger 'Unlock It' With Kim Petras and Jay Park". MTV News. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Charli XCX on "Unlock It" on Apple Music". Apple Music - Web Player. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  10. ^ Seidita, Nico (2 January 2018). "Charli XCX's Closes 2017 With New, Futuristic Mixtape, Pop 2". EUPHORIA. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Charli XCX wants you to "Unlock It" on new song: Stream". Consequence. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Charli XCX shares sublimely synthy slow jam "Unlock It" featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Track Review: Unlock It // piri & tommy". Indiependent.co.uk. 14 November 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ Buerger, Megan. "Charli XCX: "Unlock It" [ft. Kim Petras and Jay Park]". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  15. ^ O'Neill, Lauren (13 December 2017). "Charli XCX Teams Back Up with CupcakKe on "I Got It"". VICE. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Charli XCX reveals brand new single 'Unlock It'". NME. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Charli XCX discusses relationship between artists and fans after updating "Unlock it" title". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Charli XCX: Her 17 Best Songs". Clash Magazine. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  19. ^ Graham, Adam. "Before 'Brat': Charli xcx and the rise of pop music's Number 1 Angel". The Detroit News. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Credits / Unlock It (Lock It) [feat. Kim Petras and Jay Park] / Charli XCX". Music on TIDAL. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  21. ^ Unlock it (Lock It) [feat. Kim Petras and Jay Park], 11 December 2017, retrieved 2 October 2024
  22. ^ "Charli XCX plays intimate Brighton concert". Brighton & Hove News. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  23. ^ Holden, Finlay (11 November 2022). "piri & tommy have released their cover of Charli XCX's 2017 hit, 'Unlock it'". Dork. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  24. ^ a b c "Apple Music Home Session: piri & tommy by piri & tommy on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  25. ^ "piri & Tommy Share Charli XCX Cover 'Unlock It'". CLASH. 14 November 2022. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  26. ^ "The 50 Best Songs of 2022". Vice. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  27. ^ a b "piri Singles and EPs discography". Spotify. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
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