"Wonderman" is a song by British rapper Tinie Tempah featuring British singer Ellie Goulding. It was released on 7 March 2011 as the fifth single from Tinie Tempah's debut studio album,Disc-Overy (2010).[3][4] The song was produced by long-time collaborator Labrinth.[5] who has also worked with Tinie Tempah on "Pass Out" and "Frisky",and mixed by James F Reynolds,who mixed the entire Disc-Overy album.[6] The single peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
Ellie Goulding provides guest vocals on this track,which lays Tempah's rap over a dreamy electropop beat. She told the BBC programme Newsbeat:"He's one of these people I believe in,and not just because of his music,but because he's a lovely person. [The track is] about not having all that much when you're little and then working very hard and then having a lot more than you used to have and being very grateful. So I can relate to it –it's really cool." Tempah told The Sun how he met Goulding:"We met properly earlier this year at the Dingwalls venue in Camden,North London,when we were on the same bill and just hit it off. She's just a really cool chick. She's come to watch a few of my shows and vice versa. We continued to stay in touch. The media kept saying. 'When are you guys going to work together?' So I was like 'You know what? Let's do it for the album.'"[7]Labrinth also provided backing vocals although he was uncredited.
Critical reception
Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review,giving it four out of five stars and stating:"A typically savvy Labrinth production,'Wonderman' blends elements of rap,rock,electronica and dance into a parcel as glossily tempting as all the best pop –and then ribbons it with the inimitable quivery vocals of Ellie Goulding,sounding suitably celestial as she sings about "the chosen one" calling his name. And Tinie himself? Well,to his credit,he's still eking juice out of this well-squeezed theme –or maybe we're just suckers for a rapper who namechecks Kestral Lager and Benidorm in a song whose subject matter touches on the fatalistic,the supernatural and the biblical?"[8]
Live performances
Tempah and Goulding performed the track for the first time on live television at the 2011 BRIT Awards official launch ceremony in January 2011.[9] Tempah and Goulding also performed the track at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in April 2011.[10] They also performed the track together at the 2011 Radio 1's Big Weekend.
Chart performance
It entered the UK Singles Chart the week after Disc-Overy released on 17 October 2010 at number 45,slipping to number 66 the following week. "Wonderman" then made its first appearance in the top 40 on 30 January 2011 at number 40. The next week it climbed 26 places to number 14 before peaking at number 12. It finished as the 89th biggest selling single of 2011 in the UK,selling approximately 256,000 units that year.
Music video
The music video was directed by Robert Hale.[11] A press release stated that the music video is a "fun-filled homage to seventies classic The Six Million Dollar Man,with Tinie starring as 'The Wonderman' aided by his assistant,Ellie Goulding in their mission to save the world."[12] The full official video was released on 19 January 2011 by Tempah's Vevo on YouTube.[13] The video ends with the text "TO BE CONTINUED" with Tempah as the background.
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