I Can't Lose
{{Infobox song
| name = I Can't Lose
| cover = Mark Ronson - I Can't Lose.png
| caption = The Remixes EP artwork
| alt =
| type = Promotional single
| artist = Mark Ronson featuring Keyone Starr
| album = Uptown Special
| released = {{start date|2015}}
| recorded = 2014
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Synthfunk|soul-pop}}
| length = {{duration|m=3|s=16}}
| label = {{hlist|Sony|Columbia|RCA}}
| writer = {{hlist|Jeff Bhasker|Calvin Broadus|Ricardo Brown|Michael Chabon|Warren Griffin|Nathaniel Hale|Joseph Longo|Mark Ronson|Andre Young}}
| producer = {{hlist|Jeff Bhasker|Mark Ronson|Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs}}
}}
"I Can't Lose" is a song by English DJ and record producer Mark Ronson with featured vocals by Keyone Starr. The song is a promotional single from Ronson's fourth studio album Uptown Special, released on 13 January 2015.
Background
The song was written as the follow-up to "Uptown Funk" from Uptown Special. "I Can't Lose" was written mostly by Jeff Bhasker and samples Snoop Dogg's "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)" and "Hot Music" by Soho;{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/uptown-special-mw0002791862|title=Uptown Special - Mark Ronson|publisher=AllMusic}} in an interview with The Guardian, Ronson described how Bhaskar had decided that the most appropriate way of discovering an appropriate vocalist for the song was to "drive through the deep south to find someone to sing it", an idea which Ronson loved. This trawling process led to Ronson and Bhaskar sifting through "a few hundred amazing singers" in assorted churches, nightclubs, bars and community centres. However they "had a very specific vocalist in mind", who turned out to be Keyone as both of them realised as she started singing{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/12/mark-ronson-uptown-special-exclusive-album-stream|title=Mark Ronson – Uptown Special: Exclusive album stream|author=Guardian Music|work=The Guardian|date=12 January 2015 |accessdate=13 January 2015}} in Mississippi State University.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/6312180/mark-ronson-bruno-mars-uptown-funk|title=Mark Ronson Talks New Single With Bruno Mars|magazine=Billboard}}
Music video
A music video was produced for the song. It features both Ronson and Starr performing in an underground Chinatown club along with assorted musicians. The title of the source album, Uptown Special, appears frequently throughout the video. Two rival gangs gamble whilst this performance is going on; after one group loses, a dance-fight breaks out in the car park, with the song's trumpet break causing the club to vibrate. Starr then proceeds to abscond with the winnings and Ronson acts as the getaway driver.{{cite episode|title=This Week's Fresh Music Top 20|publisher=4Music|airdate=1 July 2015}}
Critical reception
Rolling Stone termed the song "a seductive soul-pop jam".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/gangsters-dance-battles-highlight-mark-ronsons-i-cant-lose-video-20150624#ixzz3efcGTlho|title=Gangsters, Dance Battles Highlight Mark Ronson's 'I Can't Lose' Video|magazine=Rolling Stone}} The Guardian described it as "a brass-studded, synth-funk bagatelle that sounds straight outta [sic] 1982".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/18/mark-ronson-uptown-special-review|title=Mark Ronson: Uptown Special review: Many hands make light work|work=The Guardian|date=18 January 2015 |last1=Empire |first1=Kitty }}
Track listing
- ;The Remixes EP{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/i-cant-lose-feat-keyone-starr-remixes-ep/1010680484|title=I Can't Lose (feat. Keyone Starr) [Remixes] - EP|work=Apple Music}}
- I Can't Lose (Artful Remix) – 4:47
- I Can't Lose (Lindstrøm Remix) – 7:42
- I Can't Lose (Pomo Remix) – 3:37
- I Can't Lose (Duke Dumont Remix) – 4:21
- I Can't Lose (MenuWriteMessage Remix) – 2:32
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| Chart (2015)
!Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| UK Singles (Official Charts Company){{cite web|url=http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/150712cluk.txt|title=Chart Log UK - New Chart Entries - 12 July 2015|publisher=zobbel.de|accessdate=17 July 2015}}
| 103 |
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Mark Ronson}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Jeff Bhasker
Category:Songs written by Mark Ronson
Category:Songs written by Snoop Dogg
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