Bulletproof (song)
Encyclopedia
"Bulletproof" is a song by English electropop duo La Roux
La Roux
La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...

 from their eponymous debut album, La Roux
La Roux (album)
La Roux is the eponymous debut album by English electropop duo La Roux. Released in the United Kingdom on 29 June 2009 by Polydor Records, the album includes the hit singles "In for the Kill" and "Bulletproof", which peaked at numbers two and one on the UK Singles Chart, respectively...

(2009). Written and produced by members Elly Jackson
Elly Jackson
Eleanor Kate "Elly" Jackson is an English singer-songwriter and the lead singer of the electropop duo La Roux. She is well known for her red hair and androgynous style.-Biography:...

 and Ben Langmaid, the song was released digitally in the United Kingdom on 21 June 2009 and physically the following day as the album's third single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

. "Bulletproof" was met with both critical and commercial success, debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. It was also a sleeper hit
Sleeper hit
A sleeper hit, a.k.a. surprise hit , refers to a film, book, single, album, TV show, or video game that gains unexpected success or recognition...

 in the United States, where it peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in June 2010, following performances of the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...

and Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....

. The single has sold 2,049,000 downloads in the US as of March 2011.

Critical reception

"Bulletproof" was well-received by music critics. Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....

 music editor Nick Levine gave the song five stars and described it as "a bright, bouncy slice of Yazoo
Yazoo (band)
Yazoo are a British synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of Top 10 hits in the UK charts in the early 1980s...

-ish electropop with a chorus every bit as immediate as 'In For The Kill'", adding that "Jackson's vocals are less shrill this time around, but she comes off just as formidable, informing a useless sod who's messed her about that she won't be letting him do it again." Fraser McAlpine of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 Chart Blog, who also awarded the song five stars, stated that "the one sentence that crops up most often goes something like this: "...yes, 'Bulletproof' is brilliant, but...", hinting that this might be a song which possesses magical powers of persuasion." He went on to give five points on why the song is good: marvellous verses, marvellous chorus, the music serves the song brilliantly, less shrill to the singing, and the vocoder breakdown. "Bulletproof" was listed at number twenty-five on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

s list of The 25 Best Songs of 2009.

Music video

Directed by The Holograms@UFO, the video
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...

 starts with various retro patterns and abstract geometric designs in one scene. Then the camera shows Jackson sitting in a chair in a bright setting with her eyes closed. Then the song starts and Jackson leaves the chair and the camera pans to show random designs of La Roux which are shown behind her. She continues to walk, while singing the song itself. At the bridge of the song she stops and then the song starts to build to the chorus and she starts walking again, while 3D shapes (including polyhedra
Polyhedron
In elementary geometry a polyhedron is a geometric solid in three dimensions with flat faces and straight edges...

) are bouncing around her. The video ends with Jackson sitting back in dark setting with her eyes open. During the video, there is a variation of Jackson in the setting of bright and dark colours. Throughout the video Jackson is styled in high fashion clothes by House of Holland
Henry Holland (fashion designer)
Henry Holland is a fashion designer from Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, England. He has attracted notice with his bold, '80s-inspired T-shirts with catchphrases such as "I'll tell you who's boss, Kate Moss". He is well known for his work with model Agyness Deyn...

 and others where references to Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...

's lozenge works can be seen.

Cover versions

The song was heavily sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 by South Korean singer NS Yoon Ji in her single "Don't Go Back" released May 2010. Australian classical pop band Aston
Aston (band)
Aston is an Australian classical music group from Sydney formed in 2009. The band consists of members who all have come out of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music: Eliza Morrison , Michael Bennett , Hanna Oblikov , Will Henderson , Ella Jamieson and Daniel Luscombe...

 recorded a cover version of "Bulletproof" on their self-titled debut album, released on 22 October 2010. American crunkcore
Crunkcore
Crunkcore is a musical genre that combines crunk hip-hop with elements of screamo...

 band Family Force 5
Family Force 5
Family Force 5 is a Christian crunk rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They consist of Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds, Jacob "Crouton" Olds, Joshua "Fatty" Olds, Nathan "Nadaddy" Currin, and Derek "Chap Stique" Mount...

 covered the track for the compilation album Punk Goes Pop 3
Punk Goes Pop 3
Punk Goes Pop 3 is the tenth compilation album released from the Punk Goes... series created by Fearless Records to feature covers by various artists of pop songs, and is the tenth album in the series overall...

, released on 2 November 2010. English singer and labelmate Natalia Kills
Natalia Kills
Natalia Keery-Fisher is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and short-film director who performs under the stage name Natalia Kills. She released her first single "Don't Play Nice" under the name Verbalicious in February 2005...

 performed an acoustic version on Germany's Radio Hamburg
Radio Hamburg
Radio Hamburg is a private commercial radio station set up in the '80s to play the big hits of the times. Nowadays it plays hits from the '90s onwards, on high rotation. Their slogan is "Die Mega-Hits der 90er, 2000er und dem Besten von heute“. Its services also include reports on weather and...

 in late January 2011. This song was also covered on Kidz Bop 19
Kidz Bop 19
Kidz Bop 19 is an album in the Kidz Bop series. It was released on January 18, 2011. The album eventually debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.-Track listing :All songs are performed by the Kidz Bop Kids...

.

Commercial use

"Bulletproof" was used on the pilot episode
Pilot (Cougar Town)
"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the American television sitcom Cougar Town, which premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The episode was directed by series creator Bill Lawrence, and written by Lawrence and Kevin Biegel...

 of the American television sitcom Cougar Town
Cougar Town
Cougar Town is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The series focuses on a recently divorced woman in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her son, ex-husband, and friends who together make...

, which originally aired 23 September 2009. It was also heard on the fifth episode of the fourth season
Ugly Betty (season 4)
The fourth and final season of the American Comedy-drama television series Ugly Betty was confirmed in the ABC lineup, which was picked up for a full season on April 23, 2009...

 of the American comedy-drama television series Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...

, titled "Plus None
Plus None
"Plus None" is an episode from the dramedy series Ugly Betty, which aired on November 6, 2009. It is the fifth episode from Season 4, and the 70th episode overall.-Plot:...

" and aired 6 November 2009, and was sung as a lullaby by the character Annie (Lenora Crichlow
Lenora Crichlow
Lenora Isabella Crichlow is a British actress best known for playing Annie in the science fiction drama Being Human.-Background:...

) on the British supernatural drama-comedy series Being Human
Being Human (TV series)
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama...

. Korean figure skater Kim Yu-Na, the 2010 Winter Olympic
Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles
The ladies' single skating competition of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The short program was held on February 23, 2010, with the free skating held on February 25, 2010.-Short program:...

 champion in ladies' singles, debuted an exhibition program to "Bulletproof" in July 2010. On 3 August 2010, "Bulletproof" was made available as a downloadable song
2010 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
The Rock Band series of music video games supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions through the consoles' respective online services. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks also offered as part of a "song pack" or complete...

 for Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

. It was also used in the 2011 direct-to-video Honey 2
Honey 2
Honey 2 is a dance film which follows the 2003 film Honey. It stars Katerina Graham, Randy Wayne, Melissa Molinaro, Lonette McKee and Audrina Patridge...

. The song is also included on Dance Central 2
Dance Central 2
Dance Central 2 is a dance video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems for the Xbox 360 Kinect. The game is the sequel to Dance Central. Dance Central 2 was officially announced at E3 2011 during Microsoft's press conference.-Gameplay:...

, which released on 25 October 2011.

Track listings

  • UK CD single
  1. "Bulletproof" – 3:25
  2. "Bulletproof" (Zinc
    DJ Zinc
    Benjamin Pettit, better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass / breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop / jungle fusion.-Biography:...

     Remix) – 4:49
  3. "Bulletproof" (Tepr Remix) – 5:36

  • UK 7" single
A. "Bulletproof" – 3:25

  • UK iTunes EP
  1. "Bulletproof" – 3:25
  2. "Bulletproof" (Zinc Remix) – 5:48
  3. "Bulletproof" (Tepr TsunAimee Remix) – 5:35

  • US CD single
  1. "Bulletproof" – 3:25
  2. "Bulletproof" (Tepr TsunAimee Remix) – 5:35
  3. "Bulletproof" (Zinc Remix) – 5:48
  4. "Bulletproof" (Lagos Boys Choir Remix) – 5:16


  • US iTunes remix EP
  1. "Bulletproof" (Dave Audé
    Dave Audé
    Dave Audé is a Grammy nominated producer, house DJ, and remixer. He has done production for musicians such as KoЯn, t.A.T.u., DJ Keoki, Barenaked Ladies, Faith No More, Cause and Effect, Hilary Duff, Wanessa, Ashley Tisdale, The Pussycat Dolls, Lady Gaga, Lunascape, Madonna, Britney Spears, CeCe...

     Cherry Radio Remix) – 3:55
  2. "Bulletproof" (Manhattan Clique
    Manhattan Clique
    The Manhattan Clique are producers, remixers and writers Philip Larsen and Chris Smith. Regular visitors to the higher reaches of the Music Week Club and Pop charts in the UK, plus the Billboard dance chart in the US, Manhattan Clique are equally at home with their more underground MHC guise as...

     Remix Radio) – 3:27
  3. "Bulletproof" (Tepr TsunAimee Remix) – 5:35
  4. "Bulletproof" (Zinc Remix) – 5:49
  5. "Bulletproof" (Lagos Boys Choir Remix) – 5:16

  • The Gold EP – digital
  1. "Bulletproof" (Live at Shepherds Bush) – 5:26
  2. "Bulletproof" (Tim Bran
    Dreadzone
    Dreadzone are a British band whose music is an eclectic fusion of dub, reggae, techno, folk and rock. They have so far produced six studio albums and two live albums.-Career:...

     Remix) – 3:26
  3. "Bulletproof" (Tiborg Remix) – 3:27
  4. "Bulletproof" (Fred Falke
    Fred Falke
    Frédérick "Fred" Falke is a French based house producer and DJ of German origin.Falke started out as a bass player around 1995 before turning his hand to production work in the late 1990s...

     Remix) – 7:48


Weekly charts

Chart (2009–10) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

5
Austrian Singles Chart
Ö3 Austria Top 40
Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann...

3
Belgian Singles Chart
Ultratop 50
Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...

 (Flanders)
5
Belgian Singles Chart
Ultratop 40
Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization...

 (Wallonia)
20
Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...

45
Czech Airplay Chart
Rádio Top 100 Oficiální
Rádio Top 100 Oficiální is the name of the Czech national airplay chart published by the IFPI Czech Republic on a weekly basis.Besides the main Top 100 record chart, also two component charts are effective. While the Rádio CZ 50 Oficiální features songs released exclusively by Czech and/or Slovak...

21
Danish Singles Chart
Tracklisten
Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl...

25
Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...

29
European Hot 100 Singles 6
German Singles Chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...

13
Hungarian Airplay Chart
Mahasz
Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary....

28
Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

5
Japan Hot 100
Japan Hot 100
The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com ....

89
New Zealand Singles Chart
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...

7
Norwegian Singles Chart
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...

18
Polish Airplay Chart
Polish Music Charts
The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies...

2
Slovak Airplay Chart
Rádio Top 100 Oficiálna
Rádio Top 100 Oficiálna is the name of the Slovakian national airplay chart published by the IFPI Czech Republic on a weekly basis since the cancellation of the Slovakian national section on December 31, 2009....

16
Swedish Singles Chart
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....

47
Swiss Singles Chart
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...

42
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

1
US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

8
US Adult Contemporary 30
US Adult Pop Songs 15
US Heatseakers Songs
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

1
US Hot Dance Club Songs 1
US Pop Songs 6


Certifications

Country Certification
Australia
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

Platinum
Canada
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...

Platinum
New Zealand
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...

Gold
United Kingdom
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...

Silver
United States
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

2× Platinum

Year-end charts

Chart (2009) Position
Australian Singles Chart 47
Austrian Singles Chart 28
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) 67
Dutch Top 40 213
German Singles Chart 61
UK Singles Chart 24
US Hot Dance Club Songs 42
Chart (2010) Position
US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2010
Billboard publishes annual lists of songs based on chart performance over the course of a year based on Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems and SoundScan information. For 2010, the list for the top 100 Billboard Hot 100 Year-End songs was published on December 8, calculated with data from...

42


Release history

Country Date Label Format
United Kingdom 21 June 2009 Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

Digital EP
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

22 June 2009 CD single, 7" single
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

United States 21 July 2009 Cherrytree
Cherrytree Records
Cherrytree Records is an American record label and is an imprint of Interscope Records.-History:Cherrytree Records was founded in 2005 by Martin Kierszenbaum, being German for cherry tree...

, Interscope
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...

CD single, digital EP
11 May 2010 The Gold EP (digital)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK