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"Shake It Off" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, and is the third single from her fourteenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi. Released in 2005 (see 2005 in music), the single is still on the rise and has peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Carey's twenty-seventh Top 10 single. So far, some believe that the single has relatively underpeformed in its bid to secure the top position. For weeks, Billboard and a panel of chart experts had expected the song to replace Carey's previous single, "We Belong Together", at the number one position, which would have made Carey the first female artist to replace herself at the top of the chart. However, Kanye West's "Gold Digger" replaced "We Belong Together" instead, preventing Carey from setting the record.

Song information

The single was co-written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan Michael Cox, and Johnta Austin and was co-produced by Carey, Dupri, and Cox. In the song, Carey leaves a message on her boyfriend's answering machine announcing that she is leaving him as she packs her Louis Vuitton and diamonds. She compares herself to a Calgon commercial and declares, "I gotta shake it off, cause the loving ain't the same..."

Musically, the song establishes a groove early, but then fails to further develop a distinction song structure, with Mariah just vamping in the initial groove.

Chart performance

"Shake It Off" was released on July 12 2005, having met with drama, as Carey and her record label had disagreed over what her third single should be. Originally "Say Somethin'" was set for release, as endorsed by L.A. Reid and Carey's label, Island/Def Jam. However, Carey felt that this was not a good choice and fought to get "Shake It Off" released. She lost her battle to begin with, and "Say Somethin'" was declared the next single. Things were set in motion for the single as Paul Hunter was contacted to direct the video and Snoop Dogg had talked about the single and the music video behind it on mtv.com.

However, Carey continued to fight, and a new compromise was reached with the two songs being a double-sided release. Eventually, though, "Shake It Off" was declared the next single. Carey's actions, however, have caused polarized reactions among fans and critics, who believe that "Say Somethin'" had more potential to be a hit single. Many also feel that, although Island/Def Jam let Carey win her battle, as a result they may not promote the single as much. (The song's early success seems to have proved doubters wrong.) Finally, the two conflicting parties were able to meet in the middle, as it has been confirmed that "Say Somethin'" will be the third single in Europe, where "Shake It Off" is not being released.

In the U.S., "Shake It Off" currently has over 158 million weekly audience impressions at Mediabase. In its first week, it became the Hot Shot Debut on the Billboard Hot 100 (number sixty-six) and the Hot 100 Airplay (number fifty-two) charts. In its second week of release, the song flew up the Hot 100 Airplay chart to number twenty-eight. Because of low downloads, however, it was only number fifty on the Hot 100. The song was solicited as a single on iTunes and other legal download services on July 26 2005. As a result of this, in the song's third week downloads increased along with airplay, and the song advanced to number fifteen on the Hot 100 Airplay and became the Greatest Gainer/Airplay on the chart, causing it to leap from fifty to nineteen on the Hot 100. The song was the Greatest Gainer/Airplay for three more weeks and by its seventh week on the chart it had already reached number two. The song holding it back from number one was Carey's own "We Belong Together", making it the first time a female artist has occupied the top two positions of the Hot 100.

On the song's 8th week, it was expected by chart analysts and even Billboard, that Carey would replace herself at #1 with "Shake It Off" taking the lead position from "We Belong Together". This predicted move would have made Carey the first female artist to replace herself. However, Carey would not be able to reap in this accomplishment, as "We Belong Together" lost the top spot not to "Shake It Off", but to Kanye West's "Gold Digger".

As West's airplay was below 100 million audience impressions, many thought he didn't stand a chance at challenging the top spot. However, in a record breaking fashion, "Gold Digger" received over 80,000 downloads, giving him enough steam to propell the song from #19 to #1. Billboard has gotten many comments crying foul as many have alleged shady dealing, as the song was not released as an advanced single (causing people who wanted to download "Gold Digger" to wait until last week). Billboard has not commented on the situation.

Others have also postulated that Kanye West was probably immeasurably helpd by the controversy surrounding his Hurricane Katrina remarks that "George Vush doesn't care about black people." While such remarks might offend some people, they also helped spur curiousity in him, giving him national attention, and helping his downloads. Carey supporters declaim that political controversy should play "no role" in who is #1, and that "Shake It Off" was robbed. Supporters of West label all this grapes of the sourest order, as they point out that Carey has had her fair share of notoriety (with her nervous brekdown of 2001) which failed to help out her singles and albums from 2001's Glitter.

However, this is not to say that "Shake It Off" should be ruled out from the top spot yet. West's downloads are based on unprecedent factors: the single was not released as an advanced single meaning that people who wanted to download the song had to wait until the album was released to download the song. It is felt that the downloads of "Gold Digger" were thus highly condensed, and that next week they may drop off giving "Shake It Off" possible room to hit the top position.

On still, yet other hand, some analysts say that "Shake It Off" is a fundamentally weak track, and wouldn't have even made it this high had it not been for "We Belong Together"'s immense success right before it. Its failure to gain the top spot is in itself it's own responsibility. In essence, they feel that the song should be grateful it even got to the #2 position.

Remixes

As is the case with most of her singles, Carey created a remix for "Shake It Off" and enlisted DJ Clue who produced her last remix for "We Belong Together" to help produce it. On July 9, 2005, the remix featuring Jay-Z and Young Jeezy leaked onto the internet. Critical response among fans of Carey was generally not positive.

Live performances

For the first time in fourteen years, Carey was invited to perform at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. As she had not performed in a while, Carey wanted to make her performance memorable. Exclusive photographs from secret rehearsals of the event were leaked, detailing a larger-than-life set and revealing plans for Carey to perform at a location separate from the main ceremony: the National Hotel in South Beach. A substantial setback arrived when Hurricane Katrina entered the area, placing the awards ceremony in jeopardy.

Nevertheless, the ceremony continued as planned. Actress and model Eva Longoria was chosen to introduce Carey's medley of songs, which began with "It's Like That", and then segued into "Shake It Off"; the latter was performed in a blue-themed tropical setting adorned by dancers and water features, with co-producer Jermaine Dupri rapping the song's opening lines. Carey, donned in a silver dress, then performed the "We Belong Together" remix–with guest stars DJ Clue, Jadakiss, and Styles P rapping–on a staircase that resembled Roman architecture, surrounded by flaming torches.

Carey is also slated to perform at the World Music Awards.

Live performance tracker

Music video

It had been announced that the music video was to have been directed by Brett Ratner (who also directed Carey's first two videos from Mimi, "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together)"; however, Brett had to drop out after he was appointed director of the third X-Men film X-Men 3. In his place, Carey selected Jake Nava as the new director.

The video was released to the public on July 27 2005. It premiered on the internet at Yahoo! Music, who stated that they were excited to premiere Carey's new video after "We Belong Together" had broken several Yahoo! Music records, and on television on BET's Access Granted, which showed the making of the video. After premiering at Yahoo! Music, it debuted at number one on their top 100 chart, while the "We Belong Together" video sat at number two and the "Vision of Love" sat at number ten, due to a "Then and Now" video special for the release of "Shake It Off". The video has also reached number one on AOL's top eleven video countdown.

The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on August 1 at number eight, and in only four days (on August 4) it reached the top position.

The music video is notable for its special effects, especially the scene changes, and Carey's variety of unique looks. The video starts with a shot of a television screen in which Jermaine Dupri raps the intro of the song. Behind the television, Carey is shown in a bathtub that is overflowing with water and filled with red rose petals. Although it is never mentioned, it is implied that the tub is filled with Calgon.

The scene changes to downstairs (Carey's cat Willy D is shown during the change), and Carey is sitting on a table singing through a telephone, which she then violently throws down. The video then cuts to her boyfriend in a club smoking a cigar and surrounded by women.

In response to his cheating ways, Carey picks up her Louis Vuitton bag and leaves the house. On the street, many men are captivated by her beauty and stare at her as she walks by. Carey's friend, rapper Da Brat, is shown in a cameo appearance stealing a woman's purse. Carey stops near a set of payphones where Jermaine Dupri makes another appearance waiting at a bus stop. A few young girls using the public phones perform the signature "Shake It Off" dance; the chubby girl is similar to the one who dances in Carey's "Fantasy" video.

The next scene shows Carey in a car on her cell phone driving away. The scene then changes back to her boyfriend on a beach surrounded by women and then cuts back to Carey in the car. Actor Chris Tucker makes a cameo appearance as the man in the passenger seat of Carey's car.

Behind the car, a "Hollywood" sign can be seen. Carey is then shown on bleachers at a high school football game. A member of Carey's management team, Mark Sudack (who is rumored to be Carey's boyfriend) has a cameo in the background as a man being yelled at by Da Brat. Carey pays no attention to these events and instead takes a marker out of her pocket and writes "MIMI" on one of the bleachers. The writing instantly transforms into a large shiny "MIMI" sign made of purple lights. Carey is then shown dancing and singing with a mic stand in front of the sign. The scene is meant to parallel Carey's 2003 Blender magazine photo shoot (in which she is seen in a similar pose, except with a "MARIAH" sign) and Elvis Presley's comeback special (in which he does the same thing, but with an "ELVIS" sign). The last scene shows her from behind walking towards the water on a beach at sunset. She shakes off her dress, and the video ends.

The video features several signs and billboards that are meant to be in-jokes for Carey's fans. "Jack's Cafe" refers to her famous Jack Russell Terrier named Jack. "Pink Yet Lavender" is a reference to an interview she did with Lambs Radio in January 2005. "The Rarity" refers to her E! Uncut special where her leg muscles were called that name. "So So Fetch" refers to Jermaine Dupri's record label, So So Def, and the word fetch comes from one of Carey's favorite films, 2004's Mean Girls.

Chart trajectory

Comprehensive charts

USA

"Shake It Off" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number sixty-six, and has so far stayed in The Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. It is her twelveth on the Hot 100 Airplay, second on the Pop 100 Airplay, and seventh on the Rhythmic top 40.

Official remixes/versions list

• "Shake It Off" (Album Version)
• "Shake It Off" (Instrumental)

• Mariah Carey singles
• 2005 singles