Bulletproof (La Roux song)

Last updated

"We started it, and it felt really good. We had a great verse, and then we did about five choruses. The lyric went "This time I'll be... " and there was too much of a gap. We'd both been sitting there in silence for ages trying to work it out. Suddenly, we both looked up and went "This time, baby" and thought, "Yes, let's get it down." I do remember that when we wrote that, we thought "Call the manager, we've got the one"." [5]

Critical reception

"Bulletproof" received widespread acclaim from music critics. One author of Pitchfork called it "a catchy-as-hell electro-pop smash", [6] and another, Joshua Love, called it the best song on La Roux. [7] Digital Spy music editor Nick Levine gave the song five stars and described it as "a bright, bouncy slice of Yazoo-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." [8] Fraser McAlpine of the BBC 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. [9] Adam R. Holz of Plugged In (publication) opined "Homage isn't a strong enough word to capture just how uncannily La Roux has repackaged that vibe of yore popularized by the likes of Erasure, The Human League, Depeche Mode and Eurythmics." [10]

In a more mixed review from Common Sense Media, however, Stephanie Bruzzese gave "Bulletproof" two stars, calling the song a "less creative imitation of the classic tunes created by [1980s groups including Depeche Mode, Erasure, and The Human League]" and criticizing the chorus for being "nothing unique" and Jackson's vocal performance which she described as "a higher, whinier version of Alison Moyet's". On a lighter note, she highlighted the lyrical content for being clean and the strong positive message, suggesting to parents that the song was appropriate for kids twelve years of age or older. [11]

In a September 2014 interview, Jackson expressed regrets of the song's critical and commercial success, because it was one of the reasons she was experiencing panic attacks while touring for the debut album: "I wasn't that keen on it. I don't know if I want to have a hit like that again [...] But it's 10 years ago for me now and I think it's weird when so many people see you as being represented by that song, and you feel so far away from it. [...] You stop being able to be respected in any way shape or form. I started to feel that basically [...] I really didn't like it" Also in the interview, she looked back at the song's music video, saying she'd "wish I could erase it! I don't want it to erase the house that I bought from it." [12]

Music video

Directed by The Holograms@UFO and Production Design by Alun Davies, the music video for "Bulletproof" opens 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. As the song starts, 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 polyhedra bounce 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 and others where references to Piet Mondrian's lozenge works can be seen. The music video was also the final music video that aired on VH1 MegaHits before it ceased broadcasting on August 31, 2020, in Latin America.

Accolades

"Bulletproof"
La Roux - Bulletproof.png
Single by La Roux
from the album La Roux
Released21 June 2009 (2009-06-21)
Studio Elfin (Teddington, London)
Genre
Length3:25
Label Polydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ben Langmaid
  • Elly Jackson
La Roux singles chronology
"In for the Kill"
(2009)		"Bulletproof"
(2009)		"I'm Not Your Toy"
(2009)
Music video
"Bulletproof" on YouTube
YearPublicationCountryRankList
2009 Rolling Stone United States25The 25 Best Songs of 2009 [13]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of La Roux . [17]

Recording

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Bulletproof"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [61] 2× Platinum140,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [62] Platinum40,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [63] Gold45,000‡
Germany (BVMI) [64] Gold150,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [65] Gold50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [66] Gold7,500*
United Kingdom (BPI) [67] 2× Platinum1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA) [68] 2× Platinum2,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Bulletproof"
RegionDateLabelFormatRef(s)
United Kingdom21 June 2009 Polydor Digital EP [14]
22 June 2009 [69] [70]
United States21 July 2009
  • CD single
  • digital EP
 [15] [71]
11 May 2010Digital download – The Gold EP [16]

See also

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