4 Minutes

"4 Minutes" is a song by American singer and songwriter Madonna from her eleventh studio album Hard Candy (2008), featuring vocals by American singers Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 17, 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. According to Madonna, the song is about saving the environment and "hav[ing] a good time while we are doing it". She also cited the song as the inspiration for the documentary I Am Because We Are (2008).

The song was recorded at Sarm West Studios, in London, while the mixing of the track was finished at The Hit Factory studio, in Miami. Sound engineer Demo Castellon first worked on the vocals and then on the beats, while the synths were composed by Timbaland and Danja. An uptempo dance-pop song with an urban and hip hop style, "4 Minutes" incorporates Timbaland's characteristic bhangra beats and the instrumentation used in the song includes brass, foghorns and cowbells. The song's lyrics carry a message of social awareness, inspired by Madonna's visit to Africa and the human suffering she witnessed in the continent.

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys are marketing campaigns for food and other products. Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip". Since the creation and increased popularity of YouTube, mainstream artists now promote new music videos by releasing trailers of short promos on the site for their upcoming song and music video. Consequentially, YouTube has been converted into a social media platform for celebrities and artists to market themselves to their fans and audiences.

4Minute

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4Minute (Korean: 포미닛) is a five-member South Korean girl group formed in 2009 by Cube Entertainment with music singles and albums released primarily in South Korea and Japan. The members of the group are Nam Ji-hyun, Heo Ga-yoon, Jeon Ji-yoon, Kim Hyun-a, and Kwon So-hyun. The group debuted in June 2009 with its first single, "Hot Issue", and in December 2010, it released its first Japanese album, Diamond. In 2011, the group released its first Korean full-length album, 4Minutes Left.

The group received the Bonsang Award at the 20th Seoul Music Awards, and the Kpop New Artist Award at the 2010 Billboard Japan Music Awards.

History

2009–10: For Muzik, Hit Your Heart and Diamond

On May 14, Cube Entertainment announced the formation of a five-member girl group, called 4Minute, and revealed that its first member would be former Wonder Girls member Kim Hyun-a. Prior to the official announcement, the group was unofficially called the "Hyuna group". The next member, Nam Ji-hyun, was revealed on May 22. The remaining members were announced the following day.

Volume Up

Volume Up is an EP by the South Korean girl group 4Minute. It features a title track of the same name and was released on April 9, 2012.

Release

4Minute originally scheduled their EP release for February 2012; however, this date was subsequently delayed several times. Volume Up was finally released and officially revealed on April 9, 2012. The premiere of the music video for the title song took place on the same day.

Later in 2012, the group sang a shortened version of the title song in an Indian language. The music video for this song was showed as an art video on PRIME TIME Mnet.

Promotion

The group promoted the title track "Volume Up" (as well as the track "Dream Racer") on several music shows. Between April 12 and 15, 2012, they appeared onstage at music shows, including Mnet's M! Countdown, KBS's Music Bank,MBC's Show! Music Core and SBS's Inkigayo.

Music video

The set from the music video for "Volume Up" reportedly cost $132,538, making it the ninth most expensive K-pop music video. This video features a gothic set reminiscent of a Dark-Age castle. It consists of several tightly-edited shots of the group, sometimes with dancers and sometimes with animals in the background, combined with shots of the ominous-looking interior architecture. This music video was released on April 9, 2012.

Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. They released the albums NSYNC (1998), No Strings Attached (2000), and Celebrity (2001). During the group's hiatus, Timberlake released his debut solo album, the R&B-focused Justified (2002), which included the successful singles "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body", and earned his first two Grammy Awards.

His second record, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), distinguished from his previous release by its wide range of musical influences, debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around". With his first two albums exceeding sales of 10 million copies worldwide, he was established as one of the most commercially successful singers of the decade. He also has collaborated with other artists, including Timbaland ("Give It to Me") and Madonna ("4 Minutes"). From 2008 through 2012, Timberlake focused on his acting career, effectively putting his music career on hiatus; he held starring roles in the films The Social Network, Bad Teacher, In Time, and Friends with Benefits.