Dust My Shoulders Off Explained

Dust My Shoulders Off
Cover:Dust My Shoulders Off (featuring Timbaland) (Official Single Cover) by Jane Zhang.png
Border:yes
Type:single
Artist:Jane Zhang featuring Timbaland
Album:Past Progressive
Genre:R&B
Label:Montage

"Dust My Shoulders Off" is a song by Chinese singer and songwriter Jane Zhang. It features American rapper and producer Timbaland, and was released on October 14, 2016, through Montage Records. It was included on Zhang's first English-language studio album, Past Progressive (2019).

Critical reception

Jennifer Dill of E! Online said "The song tells the story of someone who may be having a rough day but who quickly decides to 'dust her shoulders off' in swaggy fashion. It features a catchy beat and a heartening don't-sweat-the-small-stuff vibe."[1] PopCrush's Bradley Stern stated "The fresh and breezy, feel-good ode to sh-sh-shaking off the blues, gliding across folk-y harmonies recalling Oh Land and Timba and Jim Beanz’s knocking hip-hop beats, really doesn’t sound like anything on radio right now. The world keeps spinning, life goes on and on / I won’t cry for long she confidently croons across the quirky and carefree production, shrugging off all of life’s little inconveniences. It's no secret that breaking into the American market in a big way is still an all-but-impossible feat for any Asian act — from any country. (Sad, but true.) We're inching there at a snail's pace with acts like Utada and CL, and BTS just notched the highest Korean-language debut on the Billboard 200 yet this week, but to see Jane riding high on the Top 10 out of nowhere is an absolute unexpected delight: it's not only a massive victory for C-Pop, but for the Asian music market as a whole. Here's hoping this is only the start of Jane's US success story."[2]

Music video

On October 21, 2016, a 34-second teaser of the video was revealed.[3] The music video, directed by Outerspace Leo, was released on October 28, 2016.[4]

Eleven famous paintings are recreated and reenacted for this music video:

  1. Edward Hopper "Nighthawks" (1942)
  2. Vincent van Gogh "Selfportrait" (1889)
    • in which van Gogh is bitten in his ear by Mike Tyson
  3. Jean-François Millet "The Gleaners" (1857)
  4. Johannes Vermeer "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (c. 1665)
  5. Andrew Wyeth "Christina's World" (1948)
  6. Georges Seurat "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" (1884)
  7. Edvard Munch "The Scream" (1893)
    • in which the screamer's memory is erased by the Men in Black
  8. Salvador Dalí "The Temptation of St. Anthony" (1946)
  9. Maurits Cornelis Escher "Ascending and Descending" (1960)
  10. Maurits Cornelis Escher "Another World Gallery"(1946)
  11. René Magritte "The Son of Man" (1964)
    • in which the Son of Man transforms to Salvador Dalí

Live performances

In November 2017, Jane Zhang performed "Dust My Shoulders Off" at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai, China, along with "Work for It" and "808".[5]

Accolades

YearOrganizationAwardResult
2016Hello Asia! C-Pop AwardsBest Single[6]
2017Red Dot Design AwardBest of the Best[7]
2017Golden Melody AwardsBest Music Video
2017ADC Annual AwardsMotion / Music Video: Bronze Cube[8]
2017London International AwardsMusic Video / Animation:Bronze[9]

Trivia

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Spot All the Famous Painted Faces in Jane Zhang's Trippy New Video for 'Dust My Shoulders Off' - E! News. Jennifer Dill. October 29, 2016. October 28, 2016. E! Online.
  2. Web site: Who Is Jane Zhang, and Why Is She in the Top 10 on iTunes?. Bradley Stern. October 29, 2016. October 21, 2016. PopCrush. Townsquare Media.
  3. Web site: Jane Zhang - Dust My Shoulders Off (Teaser) - YouTube. October 29, 2016. October 21, 2016. YouTube.
  4. Web site: Jane Zhang - Dust My Shoulders Off (Official Video). October 29, 2016. October 28, 2016. YouTube.
  5. Web site: Jane zhang - victoria's secret 2017 . YouTube . 19 February 2024 . en.
  6. News: 2016 Hello Asia! C-Pop Awards - Nominees Revealed!. 2016-12-15. Hello Asia!. 2018-10-07. en-GB.
  7. Web site: 张靓颖《Dust My Shoulders Off》MV获红点设计大奖-新华网. https://web.archive.org/web/20181007111429/http://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/2017-08/24/c_1121533385.htm. dead. October 7, 2018. www.xinhuanet.com. 2018-10-07.
  8. Web site: Beijing Showcitytimes Entertainment Co., Ltd. / Dust My Shoulders Off. www.oneclub.org. en. 2019-04-05.
  9. Web site: LIA Winners & Finalists London International Awards. 2017.liaentries.com. 2019-04-05.
  10. Web site: http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f[0=ss_chart_search_title%3A%22Dust%20My%20Shoulders%20Off%22&f[1]=itm_field_chart_id%3A395&refine=1 Jane Zhang - Chart history (Digital Songs)]. November 1, 2016. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.