"Do It Like a Dude" is the debut single by English singer-songwriter Jessie J. She co-wrote the song with George Astasio, Jason Pebworth, Jon Shave, Kyle Abrahams and Peter Ighile. The track was produced by The Invisible Men & Parker and James and was included in her debut album, Who You Are. It was released as a download in November 2010 in the United Kingdom with a physical release in January 2011. It peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, number eight in New Zealand and Belgium, and number eleven in Ireland. "Do It Like a Dude" was awarded Best Song at the 2011 MOBO Awards.

Background[link]

"Do It Like a Dude" was written by Jessie J, George Astasio, Jason Pebworth, Jon Shave, Kyle Abrahams and Peter Ighile^[2] and was produced by The Invisible Men and Parker & James.^[3] Cornish originally wrote the song with Rihanna in mind because "Rude Boy" was released at the time, partly inspiring Cornish to write the song. She then sent the song to her label, Island Records, before sending it to Rihanna's management. Island then insisted the song become Cornish's first single, since they thought it was 'amazing'.^[4] In April 2011 Cornish stated that she wishes to perform "Do It Like a Dude" with Rihanna, "I wanna ask her, I really wanna ask her if we can perform it together.. either on her tour or at V Festival or one of the big festivals. I definitely think that she would kill it."^[5]

Composition[link]

"Do It Like a Dude" is a pop, pop rock^[6] and R&B^[7] song which features hip hop beats^[8] and rock riffs.^[9] According to the sheet music published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing at Musinotes.com, "Do It Like a Dude" is set in common time with a tempo of 140 beats per minute. Written in the key of D minor, the song features a basic chord progression of Dm–F–C–B♭. J's voice spans from the low note of A₃ to the high note of D₅.^[6] According to PopMatters' Max Feldman, J speaks patois on the song.^[10] J said to Artistdirect that "Do It Like a Dude" is about equality and self-confidence.^[11]

Reception[link]

Critical reception[link]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic noted "Do It Like a Dude" as one of the best tracks from Who You Are.^[12] Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review stating, "Now here's how to make an entrance into the capricious, peacock-packed party of pop."^[8] Rolling Stone's Erika Berlin awarded the "fierce" song three out of five stars and praised its chorus.^[9] Max Feldman of PopMatters called the song's chorus "chunky and cheeky, with some infectious chilli-infused pre-choral warbling", but criticised J's "patois" vocals.^[10]

Chart performance[link]

In the United Kingdom, "Do It Like a Dude" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 25 on 28 November 2010 as the third highest new entry of the week.^[13] Following a decline during December, the single climbed 13 places to number 21 on 26 December and again climbed a further 3 places the week after to a number 18. Following the announcement that Jessie J had topped the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll, "Do It Like a Dude" propelled 13 places into the top 10 at number 5 on 9 January 2011. On its second week in the Top 10, the single climbed 3 places to a peak of number 2; being beaten to the top spot only by Bruno Mars' "Grenade". The single has now gone on to sell 573,000 copies in the UK alone.^[14] In the Republic of Ireland, the single also saw a chart placement on the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 11.^[15]

Music video[link]

The video was filmed on 25 and 26 October 2010, The video was directed by Emil Nava, An explicit version premiered 9 November 2010 and a clean version the next day on 4 Music. It was filmed in a dark hall tower. In the music video for "Price Tag", as J says the words "video hoes", a scene of her wearing the same outfit as in her "Do It Like a Dude" video.

The video begins with a close-up shot of Jessie's black bejeweled lips as she sings. The scene then intercuts with: someone being tattooed, a woman slicing a pig's trotter, a woman doing some chemical experiments and licking a bottle of "poison", before following Jessie dancing in an orange hoodie and entering the flat where alt-looking women are seen throughout the video. The video also features Jessie dancing with back-up dancers, and a party with people acting fiercely. The video ends with Jessie, clad in a revealing, plunging white top and black costume bra, shaking her head exaggeratedly and laying down, disappearing from the scene.

In the clean version, graphically explicit shots were removed including the close up on two women kissing and the drinking scene, except for Jessie's studded lips (which are frequently shown compared to the explicit version).

Live performances[link]

Jessie J performed an acoustic rendition of "Do It Like a Dude" at the 2011 BRIT Awards launch on 13 January 2011.^[16][17] On 27 April 2011 she sang the song on MuchMusic's New.Music.Live.^[5][18] Also, the Jessie presented the song in the 2011 MTV VMAs. On 5 April 2011, Jessie J performed "Do It Like A Dude" at the 2011 Music of Black Origin Awards and she also won 4 awards that night.

Cover versions[link]

• British singer Talay Riley covered "Do It Like a Dude" as part of a set for BBC Radio 1Xtra's Live Lounge on 24 January 2011, alongside own track "Sergeant Smash".^[19] The song then appeared on the sixth compilation of the Live Lounge.^[20]
• British electropop band Fenech-Soler covered "Do It Like a Dude" as part of their set for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 20 February 2011, alongside own track "Demons".^[21]
• British Singer Joe Brooks covered "Do It Like A Dude" along with Jessie J's #1 Hit Single "Price Tag" at his "Joe Brooks Tour" on the 3rd of March 2012, live at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Track listings[link]

Charts and certifications[link]

Release history[link]

References[link]