The song, described as being "the stand-out track" onThe Alesha Show,[2] received largely positive reviews and became a commercial success, charting within the top 10 on the majority charts it entered and entering the charts in over 20 different territories worldwide. The single was certified Gold in the United Kingdom and sold over 1 million copies worldwide.[3][4] Dixon stated that despite the title "The Boy Does Nothing", the song is "not a male-bashing kind of record,"[5] explaining that "the lyrical content is just cheeky more than anything".[5]
Dixon had worked withBrian Higgins, ofXenomania, on her previous single, "Knockdown", but it failed to enter the top 40 on theUK Singles Chart, resulting in Dixon being dropped by her record label,Polydor Records. In early 2007, still with no recording contract, Dixon received a phone call from Higgins, who asked if she would like to continue working together.[6] Dixon stated, "The plan was to make the whole record with Brian without talking to any record labels, we were just going to wait until we had made something special and then approach people with a finished album."[6] However Dixon's profile was raised when she signed up to compete inStrictly Come Dancing, which she eventually won. Soon afterwards, Dixon signed a deal withAsylum Records.[7] "The Boy Does Nothing", by this time already written, was originally intended to be ajazz orientated track, but Dixon and Higgins decided to change the genre, incorporatingmambo influences, due to her experience onStrictly Come Dancing.[6] Dixon described the song as "a very tongue-in-cheek record"[5] and Higgins likened the song to "bottled happiness".[5]
"The Boy Does Nothing" is aR&B-mambo song with anup-tempo beat consisting of 88beats per minute.[8] The original key isE♭ minor.[8] The instruments used were the bass guitar, drums, guitar and the keyboard.[9]
The lyrics focus on the men in Dixon's past relationships and their lazy attitudes. The chorus states her frustration with men not completing everydayhousekeeping tasks; "Does he wash up? Never wash up/Does he clean up? No he never cleans up/Does he brush up? He never brushed up". In the final verse the lyrics state, "And if the man can't dance/He gets no second chance"; a reference to her refusal to date men if they cannot dance. In an interview Dixon explained in further detail about the lyric, saying "I have to be honest, I do like a man who can dance, but it's not a deal-breaker. It's nice if they can dance, but if they can't we'll just have to work on other areas!"[10]
Dixon performed her single on the results show ofStrictly Come Dancing on 19 October 2008, with the show's professional dancers, including her professional partner whilst on the show in 2007,Matthew Cutler. On 8 November, Dixon performed a 5-song set at London'sG-A-YClub. On 14 November, she presented and performed forChildren in Need 2008. She presented at the beginning of the show in theBT Tower, monitoring the calls and donations, and later performed in theBBC Television Centre. On Saturday 13 December, Dixon sang atMiss World 2008,[11] which is said to have been watched by over 2 billion people worldwide. She also performed atGMTV, and on 31 December 2008 she performed on the BBC as part of the New Year celebrations. On 20 February 2009 Dixon performed the single at Le Grand Journal on French TV to promote her single and album in France.[12] Alesha promoted the album in Spain, performing "The Boy Does Nothing" onOperación Triunfo,[13] a reality television show similar toStar Academy. She also performed on other Spanish television shows, such asEl Hormiguero.[citation needed] In Australia, the song was used to promote the 2009 season of the AustralianDancing with the Stars and has since seen an Australian release, seeing regular radio play. On 20 November 2009, Dixon performed "The Boy Does Nothing" as the opener toChildren in Need 2009, which she also co-hosted, alongsideTerry Wogan andStrictly Come Dancing colleagueTess Daly.[14]
"The Boy Does Nothing", a song that bears more than a passing resemblance to "Mambo No. 5", is a smart choice of comeback single from Dixon. She could easily have wiggled her hips to its salsa-pop rhythms on Strictly, and the cheeky, lighthearted lyrics suit her personality. "If the man can't dance, he gets no second chance," she sings towards the end. On this evidence, Dixon has grabbed hers by the horns.[15]
Pop Justice gave the song a positive review and rated the song:
Starts off like "Mambo No. 5". Ends up likePerez Prado's "Guaglione". Has a brilliant "HEY!" bit in it. Has about 28 differenthooks and catchy bits. Will appeal as much to Strictly Come Dancing viewers as it does to annoying self-appointed internet pop 'sophisticates' like us lot.[16]
The video for "The Boy Does Nothing" is directed by the art director from the filmMoulin Rouge!, Michael Gracey, and Pete Commins. The choreography for the music video was created byAshley Wallen.[17]
The video, filmed inTottenham Town Hall,[18] takes place in a theatre styleballroom, where two children; one boy and one girl are spying from a balcony onto the stage below, with the gal worrying that they shouldn't be watching. Dixon is dancing on a stage wearing a yellow dress with six other girls dressed in pink. There are also around fifty other audience members, dressed in1950s style clothing, dancing along as well enjoying the show. Towards the end of the video, everyone starts to sing the last lines of the songsa cappella, and various male dancers try to impress Dixon with their dancing while everyone repeats the verse "If the man can't dance, he gets no second chance".
"The Boy Does Nothing" debuted at No. 84 on theUK Singles Chart. The single became her first solo single to reach the top 10, following a 76 spot jump from No. 84 to No. 8 on downloads alone, selling 27,683 copies. On 16 November 2008, "The Boy Does Nothing" had advanced to No. 5 on the chart after the physical release of the single.[21] The song spent 16 weeks in the UK Top 40. On theIrish Singles Chart, the song peaked at No. 19 on 11 November 2008 and falling to No. 20 the following week.[22]
On theSwedish Singles Top 60 the song debuted at No. 30, becoming her first ever chart appearance in Sweden. The following week, it jumped a further eight places to No. 22. On 12 February 2009 the song peaked at No. 11. "The Boy Does Nothing" debuted in the top twenty on the Finnish Singles Chart at No. 19. The following week, it jumped to the No. 5. It has now reached a peak of number No. 2. The single entered the French Single Charts at No. 2. In Spain, the song debuted at No. 35. It jumped in the following weeks to No. 16, but the massive success came when she performed live the single inOperación Triunfo, a famous talent show in Spain. After that performance "The Boy Does Nothing" jumped to No. 5, and peaked at No. 2 for three non-consecutive weeks. Finally it achieved 2× Platinum certification due to the 80,000 copies sold.
In the Netherlands, "The Boy Does Nothing" charted in theDutch Top 40 28 February, at No. 35. The following week saw the chart rose to No. 26. The song continued to gain some popularity and gained more and more airplay, which resulted in a 12th place on the top 40. This fact means that "The Boy Does Nothing" became Dixon's first top-20 single in The Netherlands so far, after 3 attempts with Mis-Teeq which all peaked just outside the top-20. After 10 weeks the song peaked at a chart high of No. 17. The single was a major club and radio hit inFinland, charting No. 2, and spent eleven weeks at No. 1 in the Czech Republic.
In Australia, the song was asleeper hit. It entered theAustralian ARIA Singles Chart at number 43 on 3 August 2009. On 14 September, it peaked at number eight, where it stayed for one week, and spent a total of five weeks in the top ten. It peaked higher thanMis-Teeq's most successful Australian single "Scandalous", which reached No. 9 in June 2003.[23] In the United States it has been released digitally via theiTunes site, it was released on 20 February 2009.[24]
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