Projects › Music › Moves Like Jagger

Released	June 21, 2011
Format	Digital
Recorded	May 2011, Los Angeles
Duration	3:21 min
Label	A&M/Octone
Writers	Adam Levine, Benjamin Levin, Ammar Malik, Shellback
Producers	Shellback, Benny Blanco

“Moves Like Jagger” is a song by American band Maroon 5 featuring American pop singer Christina Aguilera. It was released for digital download on June 21, 2011 in conjunction with a live performance of the song on The Voice the same day. “Moves Like Jagger” was written by Adam Levine, Benjamin Levin, Ammar Malik and Shellback, and was produced by Shellback and Benny Blanco. It was later included on a re-release of the band’s third studio album, Hands All Over (2011). The song’s lyrics refer to a male protagonist’s ability to impress a female with his dance moves, of which he compares to those of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. “Moves Like Jagger” debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, therefore making it the band’s first top-ten single since “Makes Me Wonder” (2007), and Aguilera’s first top-ten since “Keeps Gettin’ Better” (2008). The song was a number-one single on the Canadian and New Zealand charts and was also a top-ten hit in most countries that it charted. The song also marks the first time two former Best New Artist Grammy Award winners have collaborated on a Hot 100 hit. A music video directed by Jonas Akerlund was released on August 08. The video not only features Christina Aguilera, but it also features some old video footage of Mick Jagger himself and his iconic moves.

Composition

“Moves Like Jagger” is a disco-pop and electro pop song with elements of rock and soul. It features a “throbbing” synth, fast-paced beat and electronic drums. Robbie Daw from Idolator wrote that, “Moves Like Jagger” slightly echoes the Rolling Stones’ chart-topping 1978 classic “Miss You”, and added that “Levine’s voice is distorted via Auto-Tune on the chorus.” Over an infectious whistle melody and light, funky guitar strings, Levine tries his best to impress his female interest with dance moves like Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger: “I don’t even try to control you / Look into my eyes and I’ll own you / With the moves like Jagger / I got the moves like Jagger / I got the mooooooves like Jagger.” Aguilera appears mid-way through the song’s bridge, playing her role as a tease before offering her signature soaring vocals: “You want to know how to make me smile / Take control, own me just for the night / But if I share my secret / You gonna have to keep it / Nobody else can see this.”

Critical reception

Bill Lamb from About.com gave the song a positive review, giving the single four-and-a-half out of five stars. Lamb wrote that, “The funky, whistle driven melody here is loose, light, and irresistibly funky. The punchy guest vocal from fellow judge Christina Aguilera is simply icing on the cake. There is a real vocal chemistry between Aguilera and Levine.” Lamb called the song an “outstanding summer song”, writing that “It is light, danceable, and would sound great in the car with the top down.” Robbie Daw from Idolator wrote that “It takes a full two minutes and 15 seconds for Christina’s soulful pipes to being trilling on “Moves Like Jagger.” But once she does, she immediately steals the show.” Daw concluded by writing that “this is the best thing from either of these two in years.” While naming the song “a contender for 2011′s song of the summer”, James Dinh from MTV Newsroom wrote that “Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera have turned their friendly rivalry on NBC’s The Voice into some studio chemistry.” Scott Schelter from Pop Crush awarded “Moves Like Jagger” four-and-a-half out of five stars. Schelter called the song “danceable and fun” and wrote that “the song would’ve been great even without Aguilera, but her fiery cameo makes it that much better.”

Chart performance

On the issue dated July 9, 2011, “Moves Like Jagger” debuted at number eight on the United States Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band’s fourth top-ten hit and Aguilera’s ninth. “Moves Like Jagger” also debuted at number two on the Hot Digital Songs chart, with 213,000 copies sold. It is the band’s biggest collaboration to date, surpassing “If I Never See Your Face Again” (2008) with Rihanna, which peaked at number fifty-one on the Hot 100. On August 1, 2011 “Moves Like Jagger” reached number two on the Australian ARIA Charts, making it Aguilera’s highest charting single since “Candyman” in 2007. On August 11th Moves Like Jagger re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at its previous peak of number 8. The single has also returned to the top of the iTunes chart. On the week of August 20, 2011, the song topped the Canadian Hot 100 chart, becoming the band second number-one single and Aguilera’s third number-one single, first in almost 9 years (the last one was the 2002 hit “Beautiful”).

Music video

The music video for “Moves Like Jagger” was directed by Jonas Åkerlund and filmed in Los Angeles, California on July 8, 2011. On July 9, Aguilera posted an image of herself from the video shoot via Twitter, saying, “Always great to see Jonas Akerlund. He created the perfect feel for the song. Expect a fun video.” The image showed Aguilera performing with a band in front of a background of the American flag. Four shirtless images of Levine from the shoot were also released online the same day. More images from the video shoot were released online on July 11, showing Levine and Aguilera performing in front of an American and British-themed backdrop with confetti falling from the ceiling. Another image showed Aguilera performing in front of a black backdrop with her name “Christina” shown in pink. Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger will make an appearance in the video “via archive footage.” The music video premiered on August 8 on E!

INSPIRATION: For Levine and his bandmates, the song and video are all about exposing a new generation to the rock legend. “We were lucky enough to get Mick’s endorsement [for the video], as far as him giving us access to a bunch of different footage that’s so cool,” Levine told MTV News when we visited the video’s set last month. “Not many people have seen [it], especially a newer generation of people that don’t know so much about how incredible he was.”

SYNOPSIS: The Jonas Åkerlund-directed clip opens with black-and-white footage of the theater, shots of work crews assembling lighting and equipment onstage and groups of extras getting into costume, warming up for a shoot. This is followed by classic footage of Jagger, during which a reporter asks the iconic Rolling Stones frontman how long he plans to make music. “I don’t know. I never thought I’d be doing it for two years even,” a young Jagger says, as the opening whistles of the Maroon 5 song kick in, throughout which a slew of Jagger look-alikes are shown dancing up to a central microphone, interlaced with archival footage of Jagger himself and shots of bandmembers James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, Michael Madden and Matt Flynn rocking out on their instruments. Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine eventually takes center stage to start singing wearing nothing but snug-fitting polyester pants and his colorful tattoos. The video is mostly a mash-up of people trying to move like Jagger, including Levine. When Aguilera makes her brief appearance, she fits right into the retro feel with mascara-heavy lashes and a floppy hat.

RECEPTION: Becky Bain wrote for Idolator that “Adam Levine wears a whole lot of ink on his upper torso instead of a shirt, and Christina Aguilera applies an entire bottle of mascara around her eyes.” The Huffington Post commented “We weren’t sure whether Levine and Aguilera would be able to bring it like Mick, but then again, no one can ever touch the original. The best they can do is try to imitate Jagger’s greatness–and Levine and Aguilera do a pretty solid job of that.”