X (Chris Brown song)

"X"
Promotional single by Chris Brown
from the album X
Released	August 25, 2014
Genre	Alternative R&B soul EDM [1]
Length	4:20
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Chris Brown Thomas Pentz Andrew Swanson Leon Youngblood Dewain Whitmore Amber Streeter
Producer(s)	Diplo
Audio video
"X" on YouTube

"X" is a song by American singer Chris Brown, taken from his sixth homonym studio album X (2014), and was released as an instant-gratification track alongside the album pre-order on iTunes on August 25, 2014. ^[2] It was written by Brown, Diplo, Djemba Djemba, RoccStar, Dewain Whitmore and Sevyn Streeter. Musically, "X" is a song that unites R&B and soul vocals with a dance beat. The song contains lyrics about Brown forgetting a failed relationship with a woman. "X" received critical praise from music critics, which praised the maturity of the lyrics and his production. Following the release of X, as a result of the strong digital downloads, the song charted on multiple charts worldwide; it peaked at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 26 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, number 63 on the French Singles Chart, number 12 on the UK Singles R&B Chart, number 81 on the UK Singles Chart and number 75 on the Australian Singles Chart.

Composition and lyrics

"X" is a song that unites R&B and soul vocals with an EDM beat, with an instrumentation provided by a roland TR-808 and synthesizers. ^[3] In the song Brown sings over a soft beat before transitioning into a more up-tempo sound. ^[4] In the song, Brown says that he's forgetting a failed relationship with a woman, as he sings, "I swear to god i'm moving on!", admitting his past errors singing "I deal with my pain like a lonely child". ^[5] Alex Camp of Slant Magazine speculated that the lyrics were about Brown's former relationship with recording artist Rihanna. ^[6]

Reception

"X" received critical praise from music critics. Miranda J. of XXL gave a positive review saying that in the song Brown "speaks of maturing and accepts his role in recent events, over the soft beat before transitioning into a more up-tempo sound". ^[7] Brad Wete of Billboard called the song "Brown's most honest song", saying also that "it's safe to say that this is a man who knows he's got to get his life together and has to prove to himself and others". ^[8] Slant Magazine's Alexa Camp felt that "X" was "an admirable attempt to take responsibility for his anger-management issues" from Brown, speculating that the lyrics were about Brown's relationship with Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. ^[9] Marcus Dowling of HipHopDX wrote that "Brown emphatically stating that “[he] swears to god he’s moving on!” is either an amazing kiss-off to well documented on again/off again flame Rihanna. ^[10]

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA) [11]	75
France (SNEP) [12]	63
Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20) [13]	9
UK Singles (OCC) [14]	91
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC) [15]	12
US Billboard Hot 100 [16]	98
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [17]	26

References

1. "Review: Chris Brown Plays the Blame Game on Cathartic Album 'X'". 15 September 2014.
2. Brown, Chris. "Download X on @iTunesMusic today!". Twitter.
3. "Chris Brown - X". 15 September 2014.
4. "Chris Brown Delivers Standout Hits on 'X' - XXL". 16 September 2014.
5. "Review: Chris Brown, X". Slant Magazine . 13 September 2014.
6. "Review: Chris Brown, X". Slant Magazine . 13 September 2014.
7. "Chris Brown Delivers Standout Hits on 'X' - XXL". 16 September 2014.
8. "Chris Brown, 'X': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard .
9. "Review: Chris Brown, X". Slant Magazine . 13 September 2014.
10. "Chris Brown - X". 15 September 2014.
11. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20140905010800/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20140905-1108/ARIAIssue1279.pdf
12. "Brown, Chris – X" (in French). Les classement single.
13. "The Official Lebanese Top 20 - Chris Brown". The Official Lebanese Top 20 . Retrieved September 20, 2017.
14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
15. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
16. "Chris Brown Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
17. "Chris Brown Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.