Cut to the Feeling
{{short description|2017 single by Carly Rae Jepsen}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Cut to the Feeling
| cover = Cut_to_the_Feeling.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Carly Rae Jepsen
| EP =
| released = May 26, 2017
| recorded = 2015
| studio =
| genre = *Power pop{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-carly-rae-jepsens-assertive-song-cut-to-the-feeling-w484449|title=Hear Carly Rae Jepsen's Assertive, Unearthed Song 'Cut to the Feeling'|last=Spanos|first=Brittany |date=May 26, 2017|website=Rolling Stone|access-date=June 23, 2017|archive-date=November 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120191410/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-carly-rae-jepsens-assertive-song-cut-to-the-feeling-w484449|url-status=dead}}
| length = {{duration|m=3|s=27}}
| label = * 604
| writer = *Carly Rae Jepsen
| producer = Sir Nolan
| prev_title = It Takes Two
| prev_year = 2017
| next_title = Party for One
| next_year = 2018
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|o97_jDomyqc|"Cut to the Feeling"}}
}}
}}
"Cut to the Feeling" is a song recorded by Canadian singer and songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen, from the Canadian-French animated film Ballerina (2016). It was released as a single on May 26, 2017, to promote the film's release under the title Leap! in the United States. The song was later included on the track list of Emotion: Side B+ (2017), a Japanese-exclusive expanded version of her second EP, Emotion: Side B (2016), serving as its first track. The song was written by Jepsen, Simon Wilcox, and Nolan Lambroza, and produced by Lambroza. The song serves as the theme song for the MTV reality series Siesta Key.
Billboard, The Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair named it one of the best songs of 2017 in their respective year-end lists. Commercially, the single was successful in Japan where it reached the top twenty, peaking at number 13, and was certified gold by the RIAJ.
Background
"Cut to the Feeling" was written during the creation of Jepsen's third studio album, Emotion (2015), but was not included on the album because it was too "cinematic and theatrical".{{cite magazine| url = https://ew.com/music/2017/02/07/carly-rae-jepsen-lil-yachty-new-album/| title = Carly Rae Jepsen previews Lil Yachty collaboration, Donna Summer-inspired new album| author = Nolan Feeney| date = February 7, 2017| magazine = Entertainment Weekly| access-date = April 2, 2020}} It was later intended for the album's follow-up EP, Emotion: Side B, but was then slated for release with Ballerina after Jepsen signed on for the film and felt the song was fitting for the story.{{cite magazine |last=Nolfi |first=Joey |url=http://ew.com/music/2017/04/10/carly-rae-jepsen-new-music-cut-feeling/|title=Hear Carly Rae Jepsen's new music from Canadian film Leap!|magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 10, 2017 |accessdate=May 26, 2017}} The track was one of two songs, along with "Runaways", that Jepsen contributed to the film.{{cite web |last=Helman |first=Peter |url=http://www.stereogum.com/1934191/carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling/music/ |title=Carly Rae Jepsen – "Cut To The Feeling" |date=April 9, 2017 |accessdate=October 1, 2018 |work=Stereogum |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410155018/http://www.stereogum.com:80/1934191/carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling/music/ |archive-date=April 10, 2017 }} "Cut to the Feeling" was included on the new edition of Emotion: Side B, released exclusively in Japan on September 13, 2017, and re-titled Emotion: Side B+. It was also used as the theme song for the MTV reality television show Siesta Key.{{Cite web|url=http://www.carlyslayjepsen.com/wp/2017/07/19/mtvs-siesta-key-trailer-features-cut-feeling/|title=MTV's Siesta Key Trailer Features "Cut to the Feeling"|date=July 19, 2017|website=www.carlyslayjepsen.com|access-date=May 27, 2020}}
Composition
"Cut to the Feeling" was originally published in the key of A major in common time with a tempo of 115 beats per minute. Jepsen's vocals span from A3 to the high note of F#5.{{cite web |url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0174575 |title=Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling |website=musicnotes.com |date=May 30, 2017 |accessdate=January 6, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603204300/http://www.musicnotes.com:80/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0174575 |archive-date=June 3, 2017 }}{{cite web |url=https://songbpm.com/carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling?q=Carly%20Rae%20Jepsen%20-%20Cut%20to%20the%20Feeling |title=Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling |website=songbpm.com |accessdate=January 6, 2018 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107130032/https://songbpm.com/carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling?q=Carly%20Rae%20Jepsen%20-%20Cut%20to%20the%20Feeling |archive-date=January 7, 2019 }} The song begins with a sample of the opening synth note from "Lucky Star" by Madonna.{{Cite web |last=Stern |first=Bradley |date=May 26, 2017 |title="Cut to the Feeling": Carly Rae Jepsen Offers a Warm, Familiar Embrace |url=https://muumuse.com/2017/05/carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling.html/ |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=MuuMuse |language=en-US}}
Critical reception
The song received widespread critical acclaim. J. Lynch of Billboard called the song "flawlessly constructed", adding it is "the closest we'll get to Whitney Houston's late-'80s dancefloor euphoria in 2017".{{cite magazine |last=Lynch |first=J. |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7816683/best-songs-2017-list-so-far |title=50 Best Songs of 2017 So Far: Staff List |magazine=Billboard |date=June 5, 2017 |accessdate=May 15, 2018 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605223303/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7816683/best-songs-2017-list-so-far |archive-date=June 5, 2017 }} Hayden Manders of Nylon describes "Cut to the Feeling" as a "masterclass" of the "best, sweetest pop music" today, celebrating the "possibility of big love" with a "chorus that blasts off to stars and doesn't let up for the rest of the song's duration". She further describes the song as being like the "butterflies you get before a first date with a crush". It was featured as Pitchfork{{'}}s "Best New Track", with Laura Snapes describing it as "bombastic and gaudy" while praising it for being "distinctly Jepsen, her coaxing vocal creakiness convincing her paramour to stop denying what they want and just fucking go for it with her".{{cite web|last=Snapes |first=Laura |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/19146-carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling/|title="Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen Review |date=May 26, 2017 |website=Pitchfork |accessdate=February 17, 2018 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527001118/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/19146-carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling/ |archive-date=May 27, 2017 }}
Rolling Stone wrote Jepsen "saved 2017 with her bracing rejoinder to Xanax-pop malaise", and that her "boisterous vocal {{sic}} adds extra urgency to this jump-along anthem's much-needed e•mo•tional rescue". Slant Magazine wrote the single is her best since "Call Me Maybe", adding that it "delivers breathless, syncopated vocals over a measured handclap beat before the whole thing erupts into its euphoric hook."{{cite web|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/review-cut-to-the-feeling-is-carly-rae-jepsens-best-single-since-call-me-maybe|title=Review: "Cut to the Feeling" Is Carly Rae Jepsen's Best Single Since "Call Me Maybe"|website=www.slantmagazine.com|date=May 27, 2017 }} Spin praised the song for deemphasizing Emotion{{'}}s "explicit '80s posing, using that well-worn synth-pop chug for something brighter, bigger, and more bombastic."{{cite web |last=Sargent |first=Jordan |url=http://www.spin.com/2017/05/carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling-review/|title=Carly Rae Jepsen's "Cut to the Feeling" Is as Good as Everyone Is Saying |date=May 26, 2017|work=Spin|access-date=May 27, 2017}} DJ Louie XIV of Vanity Fair praised Jepsen's directness, as she "cuts straight through the crap...No artifice. No posturing". He described the song as an ecstatic celebration of "diving in headfirst with a new guy (or girl)", providing "the smile we all needed in 2017".
=Year-end lists=
Music video
The music video for "Cut to the Feeling" was filmed on July 26, 2017,{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/3036205/carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling-video/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922191342/http://www.mtv.com/news/3036205/carly-rae-jepsen-cut-to-the-feeling-video/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 22, 2017|title=Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Cut To The Feeling' Video Will Help You Hold On To Summer|author=Patrick Hosken|date=September 15, 2017|publisher=MTV|access-date=May 30, 2020}} directed by Gia Coppola with whom Jepsen had worked on the "Your Type" video.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/09/15/551202093/carly-rae-jepsen-queen-of-meta-music-videos-shares-cut-to-the-feeling|title=Carly Rae Jepsen, Queen Of Meta Music Videos, Shares 'Cut To The Feeling'|author=Lars Gotrich|date=September 15, 2017|publisher=NPR|access-date=May 30, 2020}} It begins with behind-the-scenes footage of making this video, which shows the singer and her team getting ready for the shoot. As a clock positioned in the corner counts down from 1 minute and 32 seconds, Jepsen is seen having her make-up applied, posing with her team outdoors, making coffee and playing around the studio. She then arrives at the filming set and the clip launches into the black-and-white performance-style music video, which sees Jepsen's singing the last chorus of the song into a microphone, surrounded by her band. The video premiered on September 15, 2017.
before the official music video, a lyric video for the song was released in June 2017.
Live performances
At Lollapalooza 2018, fans gave Carly Rae Jepsen an inflatable sword during her performance of the song.{{Cite web |last=Clarke |first=Patrick |date=August 6, 2018 |title=Someone finally gave Carly Rae Jepsen a sword |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/someone-finally-gave-carly-rae-jepsen-sword-2363793 |access-date=January 29, 2024 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} This has since become a recurring part of her performances.{{Cite news |last=Liu |first=Rebecca |last2=@becbecliuliu |date=October 22, 2022 |title=Carly Rae Jepsen: ‘Lockdown was me, my cat, and a lot of questions about my life decisions’ |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/22/carly-rae-jepsen-loneliest-time-interview |access-date=January 29, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
Track listings
- Digital download/Streaming{{cite web |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/cut-to-the-feeling-single/1445304934?app=itunes |title=Cut to the Feeling - Single by Carly Rae Jepsen on iTunes |publisher=iTunes Store |accessdate=April 2, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/6S9qcfPMsqtYQXVyeC7Hip |title=Cut To The Feeling by Carly Rae Jepsen on Spotify |publisher=Spotify |accessdate=April 2, 2020}}
- "Cut to the Feeling" – 3:27
- Digital download/Streaming (Remix){{cite web |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/cut-to-the-feeling-kid-froopy-remix-single/1444274643?app=itunes |title=Cut to the Feeling (Kid Froopy Remix) - Single by Carly Rae Jepsen on iTunes |publisher=iTunes Store |accessdate=April 2, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/38cdrpNBW9xXl3oiKYsugt |title=Cut To The Feeling (Kid Froopy Remix) by Carly Rae Jepsen on Spotify |publisher=Spotify |accessdate=April 2, 2020}}
- "Cut to the Feeling" (Kid Froopy Remix) – 3:13
Charts
Certifications
{{certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|award=Gold|relyear=2017|certyear=2018|certmonth=7|digital=true|artist=Carly Rae Jepsen|title=Cut to the Feeling|access-date=June 27, 2020|type=single|note=Digital single}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Carly Rae Jepsen|title=Cut to the Feeling|award=Gold|relyear=2017|access-date=May 25, 2025|certyear=2024|source=radioscope}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|award=Silver|relyear=2017|certyear=2023|artist=Carly Rae Jepsen|title=Cut to the Feeling|access-date=February 10, 2023|type=single|id=18719-3386-1}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col"| Country
! scope="col"| Date ! scope="col"| Format ! scope="col"| Label |
|---|
| scope="row"| Various
| May 26, 2017 | {{flatlist|* Digital download |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Carly Rae Jepsen}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Schoolboy Records singles
Category:Interscope Records singles
Category:Carly Rae Jepsen songs
Category:Songs written by Carly Rae Jepsen
Category:Songs written by Simon Wilcox