Untouched (song)
Encyclopedia
"Untouched" is an electropop song written by Jessica
and Lisa Origliasso
, and Toby Gad
, produced by Gad for The Veronicas
' second album Hook Me Up
(2007). It was released as the album's second single in Australia
on 10 December 2007. The song is notable for becoming the band's breakout hit in the United States
, reaching the top twenty on the Hot 100. This single was also the girls' breakthrough single in the United Kingdom
in 2009. The was featured in 90210
and then in Hellcats
.
on 10 December 2007, as a CD single
and digital download
and became their fifth top ten single peaking at number two on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. This is their United States breakthrough single; it is getting heavy rotation on the biggest station in New York, WHTZ
(Z100). It has reached #17 on the US Billboard Hot 100
, becoming their first single to chart there, and their first Top 20 in the US. The song was featured on episodes of the television programs So You Think You Can Dance in America, Australia and Canada. The Veronicas also performed "Untouched" live on the American TV drama 90210
. "Untouched" was included in the FIFA 09
soundtrack. The song was also featured in the finale walk for the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
" from pop/rock to electropop/techno
. The song is set in common time
with an energy-filled fast tempo
of 176 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of F-sharp minor. The song begins with ominous strings, which are sometimes performed by a real string section in live performances, followed by guitars and synthesized drums playing electropop/dance music
. Lisa and Jess's vocal ranges span from A3-E5.
United States
"Untouched" made its debut on the US Billboard charts
at number sixteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
chart, but eventually dropped off the charts until 3 December 2008, when it rose to number sixty-two on the Hot 100
countdown, due to radio play, and became their first Hot 100 entry. The song later peaked at number seventeen as of 30 January 2009, making it their first top 20 hit in the U.S.. The single has been certified Platinum with over 1,000,000 paid downloads. On 6 January 2009, was released, on iTunes
, the "Lost Tracks EP" which contained the acoustic version of the song and three B-sides.
United Kingdom and Ireland
As of 11 May 2009, "Untouched" had been added to "The B List" on Radio 1, which is where many songs are chosen for airplay. "Untouched" debuted on the UK Singles Chart
at 92. "Untouched" received an "MTV Push" and large amounts of airplay on music channels when it was officially released on 25 May 2009. On 31 May, 2009, "Untouched" re-entered the chart at #8, becoming it's British chart peak. In Ireland, the song debuted at #2 in the Irish Singles Chart
on 29 May. After two weeks in the #2 spot, on 12 June 2009, "Untouched" climbed to #1 on the Irish Singles Chart, making "Untouched" The Veronicas' first number-one single outside of Australia.
for the song was filmed at the Marble Bar in Sydney
’s Hilton Building and it took eighteen hours to film with fifty extras dressed in gothic
glamour. The video starts with a lot of pictures in the hallway. It goes to the band performing with a crowd in front of them. Jess and Lisa are in the hallway singing. They meet a man later. In the chorus, Jess and Lisa perform with the rest of the group. Jess is hanging around with the man and after a while, she goes to get something. The man then sees Lisa walking around in the crowd, and, since they are twins, he thinks that she is Jess. So he follows her and brings her back to the couch where he was sitting. In a little bit, Jess comes back to the couch. She sees that the man is kissing Lisa, and is offended. They see that he is trying to make a move with both of them, so together, they walk away. The music video was released on 3 December 2007 to Australian music channel shows. The video made its debut on MTV's TRL
as a first look on 9 July 2008, and a week later made its debut on the countdown at #10.
CD single, iTunes EP
iTunes EP "Lost Tracks"
Remixes EP
CD remixes promo
Jessica Origliasso
Jessica Louise Origliasso is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Born and raised in Albany Creek, Queensland she, along side twin sister Lisa Origliasso, performed in show business at a young age. Origliasso rose to fame in 2000's when she and her sister formed a pop duo...
and Lisa Origliasso
Lisa Origliasso
Lisa Marie Origliasso is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Born and raised in Albany Creek, Queensland she, along side twin sister Jessica Origliasso, performed in show business at a young age. Origliasso rose to fame in 2000's when she and her sister formed a pop duo...
, and Toby Gad
Toby Gad
Tobias "Toby" Gad is a Los Angeles-based hit producer and songwriter from Germany, perhaps best known for co-writing Fergie's Grammy nominated hit song "Big Girls Don't Cry" as well as co-writing and producing Beyoncé's worldwide #1 hit "If I Were a Boy", and The Veronicas multi-platinum #1...
, produced by Gad for The Veronicas
The Veronicas
The Veronicas are an Australian electrorock, pop-punk and rock band. Twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso formed the band in 1999 in Brisbane. They have their own line of clothing which was released in 2007....
' second album Hook Me Up
Hook Me Up
Hook Me Up is the second studio album by Australian band The Veronicas, which was released on 3 November 2007 by Rhino Entertainment, Sire Records and London Records. The album shows a new direction in music for the duo – exploring a New Wave/electro-pop sound which was influenced by Los Angeles...
(2007). It was released as the album's second single in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 10 December 2007. The song is notable for becoming the band's breakout hit in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, reaching the top twenty on the Hot 100. This single was also the girls' breakthrough single in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2009. The was featured in 90210
90210 (TV series)
90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
and then in Hellcats
Hellcats
Hellcats is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010 to May 17, 2011...
.
Background
The Veronicas state the song is about a "long distance relationship and having to interact over the technology of today, talking to some one on the phone, seeing them on video chat etc, but not being able to physically touch them." It was released as the album's second single in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 10 December 2007, as a CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
and digital download
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...
and became their fifth top ten single peaking at number two on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. This is their United States breakthrough single; it is getting heavy rotation on the biggest station in New York, WHTZ
WHTZ
WHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
(Z100). It has reached #17 on the 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...
, becoming their first single to chart there, and their first Top 20 in the US. The song was featured on episodes of the television programs So You Think You Can Dance in America, Australia and Canada. The Veronicas also performed "Untouched" live on the American TV drama 90210
90210 (TV series)
90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
. "Untouched" was included in the FIFA 09
FIFA 09
FIFA 09 is the 2008 installment of Electronic Arts' FIFA series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in October 2008 for Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii,...
soundtrack. The song was also featured in the finale walk for the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Music and structure
"Untouched" is an energized electropop song, and follows the genre shift of the previous single "Hook Me UpHook Me Up (song)
"Hook Me Up" is a song by Australian duo The Veronicas for their second album, Hook Me Up. Produced by Greg Wells, it was released as the albums lead single in late 2007 in Australia. The downtempo, electropop-dance song is a change in direction from the pop rock sound from their previous album,...
" from pop/rock to electropop/techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
. The song is set in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
with an energy-filled fast tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 176 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of F-sharp minor. The song begins with ominous strings, which are sometimes performed by a real string section in live performances, followed by guitars and synthesized drums playing electropop/dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
. Lisa and Jess's vocal ranges span from A3-E5.
Release and chart performance
The song was released to Australian radio on 21 November 2007, and became the most added song to radio for that week. The song debuted on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number four on 17 December 2007. The following week it moved up to number two, and stayed there for three weeks and became the seventy-eighth highest-selling single in Australia for 2007.United States
"Untouched" made its debut on the US Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
at number sixteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
chart, but eventually dropped off the charts until 3 December 2008, when it rose to number sixty-two on the 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...
countdown, due to radio play, and became their first Hot 100 entry. The song later peaked at number seventeen as of 30 January 2009, making it their first top 20 hit in the U.S.. The single has been certified Platinum with over 1,000,000 paid downloads. On 6 January 2009, was released, on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, the "Lost Tracks EP" which contained the acoustic version of the song and three B-sides.
United Kingdom and Ireland
As of 11 May 2009, "Untouched" had been added to "The B List" on Radio 1, which is where many songs are chosen for airplay. "Untouched" debuted 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 ...
at 92. "Untouched" received an "MTV Push" and large amounts of airplay on music channels when it was officially released on 25 May 2009. On 31 May, 2009, "Untouched" re-entered the chart at #8, becoming it's British chart peak. In Ireland, the song debuted at #2 in the 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...
on 29 May. After two weeks in the #2 spot, on 12 June 2009, "Untouched" climbed to #1 on the Irish Singles Chart, making "Untouched" The Veronicas' first number-one single outside of Australia.
Music video
The music videoMusic 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...
for the song was filmed at the Marble Bar in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
’s Hilton Building and it took eighteen hours to film with fifty extras dressed in gothic
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
glamour. The video starts with a lot of pictures in the hallway. It goes to the band performing with a crowd in front of them. Jess and Lisa are in the hallway singing. They meet a man later. In the chorus, Jess and Lisa perform with the rest of the group. Jess is hanging around with the man and after a while, she goes to get something. The man then sees Lisa walking around in the crowd, and, since they are twins, he thinks that she is Jess. So he follows her and brings her back to the couch where he was sitting. In a little bit, Jess comes back to the couch. She sees that the man is kissing Lisa, and is offended. They see that he is trying to make a move with both of them, so together, they walk away. The music video was released on 3 December 2007 to Australian music channel shows. The video made its debut on MTV's TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
as a first look on 9 July 2008, and a week later made its debut on the countdown at #10.
Track listing
iTunes single- "Untouched" – 4:14
CD single, iTunes EP
- "Untouched" – 4:14
- "Hollywood" – 3:46
- "Hook Me Up" (Tommy Trash remix) – 2:53
iTunes EP "Lost Tracks"
- "Untouched" – 4:14
- "Untouched" (acoustic) – 3:39
- "Hollywood" – 3:46
- "Insomnia" – 3:22
- "Everything" – 3:28
Remixes EP
- "Untouched" (Eddie Amador remix edit) – 4:47
- "Untouched" (Napack - Dangerous MuseDangerous MuseDangerous Muse is an American electropop duo based in New York. The duo comprises vocalist Mike Furey and Musician/Programmer Tom Napack, who is often depicted using a Keytar.-History:...
remix edit) – 4:52 - "Untouched" (Designers Drugs remix edit) – 4:49
- "Untouched" (Von Doom radio) – 4:07
CD remixes promo
- "Untouched" (Eddie Amador Club remix) – 8:13
- "Untouched" (Eddie Amador Dub) – 7:45
- "Untouched" (Napack - Dangerous MuseDangerous MuseDangerous Muse is an American electropop duo based in New York. The duo comprises vocalist Mike Furey and Musician/Programmer Tom Napack, who is often depicted using a Keytar.-History:...
remix) – 8:15 - "Untouched" (Napack - Dangerous MuseDangerous MuseDangerous Muse is an American electropop duo based in New York. The duo comprises vocalist Mike Furey and Musician/Programmer Tom Napack, who is often depicted using a Keytar.-History:...
Dub) – 6:30 - "Untouched" (Von Doom Club mix) – 7:34
- "Untouched" (Von Doom mixshow) – 5:58
- "Untouched" (Designers Drugs remix) – 5:34
Charts
| Charts (2007-2009) | 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... |
2 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 23 |
| Belgium Ultratip charts Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders Flanders Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp... ) |
12 |
| 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... |
5 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 5 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 22 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 10 |
| German Singles Chart | 48 |
| 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... |
1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 9 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 34 |
| 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 ... |
8 |
| 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... |
17 |
| US Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
17 |
Year-end charts
| Charts (2007) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 78 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 21 |
| Hungarian Singles Chart | 120 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 34 |
| 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 ... |
69 |
Certifications
| Country | Certifications |
|---|---|
| Australia | Platinum |
| Ireland | Platinum |
| New Zealand | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Gold |
| United States | Platinum |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
8 December 2007 | Sire Records Sire Records Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a... |
Digital download 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... |
|
| 15 April 2008 13 May 2008 (Re-release) August 2008 (2nd re-release) |
Airplay | |||
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
8 December 2007 | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digital download |
9362498882 | |
| Chile Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... |
Digital download | |||
| France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
30 March 2009 | CD, digital download | B001TEKHBI | |
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
22 May 2009 | |||
| UK | 25 May 2009 |