Freak (Estelle song)

"Freak" is a single by British musician Estelle. The song, which features Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, was produced by French DJ David Guetta. It contains an interpolation of "Back to Life" by music group Soul II Soul in the chorus. "Freak" was featured on the soundtrack to Step Up 3D and the reissue of David Guetta's album One Love, entitled One More Love.

"Freak"
Single by Estelle featuring Kardinal Offishall
from the album Step Up 3D, One More Love and All of Me
Released	26 February 2010
Recorded	Gum Studios, Paris Circle House Studios, Miami CMS Studios, Toronto
Genre	Electrohop[1] Baltimore club
Length	3:41 (radio edit/album version) 4:52 (extended version)
Label	Atlantic, Homeschool
Songwriter(s)	Estelle Swaray Jason Harrow David Guetta Nick Van De Wall Ruben Fernhout Beresford Romeo
Producer(s)	David Guetta Nick Van De Wall
Estelle singles chronology
"One Love" (2009) "Freak" (2010) "Fall in Love" (2010)
Kardinal Offishall singles chronology
"Milkshakes & Razorblades" (2010) "Freak" (2010) "Body Bounce" (2010)

The single was released in North America on 26 February 2010, and in the UK on 3 May 2010 as a buzz single after the song failed to chart in the Top 100.^[2] The song was released as her third international single, after "American Boy" and "Come Over" and received positive reaction from most music critics. The song was used as one of the songs of the São Paulo Fashion Week 2010, during the parade of Colcci and in the movie Step Up 3D in 2010.^[3] "Freak" was due to be released as the first single from her third studio album All of Me but was instead included as a US bonus track.^[4]

Reception

The song received a positive review from Billboard's Melanie Bertoldi. She described the song as "wilder and freakier, and ultimately appealing," she went on to comment on Offishall's verse, stating "Kardinal Offishall jumps in for a silly verse that adds to the free-form fun." She finished the review positively, stating "the song's bridge ("I wanna hear you say," she coos) serve as the cherry atop this club-worthy treat."^[5] Dirrtyinc.com gave a positive review of the song, calling it "A fun song to sing along, Estelle definitely doesn’t disappointment [sic]."^[6] Nick Levine from Digital Spy rated it 4 stars and said, positively, that: "Fortunately, the track itself is almost as ear-snagging as the lyrics. Produced by David Guetta - has he had a day off in the last 12 months? - this 'Freak' is a rubbery, club-ready electro-hop tune that lifts the chorus from Soul II Soul's "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" and turns it into a sexual invitation. So, however do we want it? Well, however Estelle wants to give it to us, to be honest".^[7]

Music video

The music video was released on Estelle's website on 26 February 2010.

Controversy

On 2 March 2010 it was reported on British entertainment website Digital Spy that Estelle's latest video had been criticised online for apparently 'blacking up'.^[8] She was accused of 'blacking up' because of her decision to wear black make-up in the "Freak" video. When asked about the decision to wear black make-up she responded in saying "I think [people] need to wait to see the clip. I could defend myself, but it's just silly. I'm black, so how do I do blackface?" She went on to compare her video to Missy Elliott's video for her 1999 single "She's a Bitch" by saying that "Missy [Elliott] did the same thing [with her video] 'She's a Bitch'."

Track listings

US digital single^[9]

1. "Freak" (album version) – 3:41

US & UK "Remixes" digital EP^[10]

1. "Freak" (Riva Starr Extended Vocal Mix) – 6:16
2. "Freak" (Riva Starr Dub) – 6:17
3. "Freak" (Riva Starr Extended Instrumental) – 6:16
4. "Freak" (Michael Woods Remix) – 7:01
5. "Freak" (Plastik Funk Remix) – 5:54
6. "Freak" (Plastik Funk's Listen & Repeat Mix) – 6:24
7. "Freak" (extended version) – 4:52

Charts

Chart performance for "Freak"

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Canadian Hot 100[11]	83
German Black Chart[12]	5
UK Singles Chart[13]	103
UK Dance (OCC)[14]	13
US Hot Dance Club Play[15]	27

Release history

Release history and format for "Freak"

Region	Date	Format	Label
United States	26 February 2010	Digital download	Atlantic, Homeschool
Canada
United Kingdom	3 May 2010

References

1. ^{[dead link]}
2. "Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples Downloads". Archived from the original on 2012-12-21. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
3. "Estelle". IMDb. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
4. "Play.com - Buy Estelle - All Of Me online". Play.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
5. "Estelle featuring Kardinal Offishall, "Freak"". Billboard.com. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-04. Retrieved 2014-01-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. Levine, Nick (May 10, 2010). Music - Singles Review - Estelle ft. Kardinal Offishall: 'Freak' - Digital Spy' Copyright © 1999-2011 Digital Spy Limited. All Rights Reserved. "Digital Spy" is the Registered Trade Mark of Digital Spy Limited. Retrieved 2011-03-05
8. "Estelle stands by 'blacked up' video". Digital Spy. 2 March 2010.
9. ^{[dead link]}
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2017-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. "Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
12. ":: mtv.de | charts". Mtv.de. Archived from the original on 2007-12-29.
13. "Chart Log" (TXT). Zobbel.de. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
14. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
15. "Chart Highlights: Pop, Country, Latin Songs & More". Billboard. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-04-26.