| Privacy | |
| Cover: | Privacy cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Chris Brown |
| Album: | Heartbreak on a Full Moon |
| Released: | March 24, 2017 |
| Recorded: | December 31, 2016 |
| Studio: | Platinum Sound Recording Studios, New York City |
| Length: | 3:40 |
| Label: | RCA |
| Prev Title: | Bruk Off Yuh Back |
| Prev Year: | 2017 |
| Next Title: | Jiu Jitsu |
| Next Year: | 2017 |
"Privacy" is a song by American singer Chris Brown from his eighth studio album, Heartbreak on a Full Moon. After being previewed at the beginning of 2017, it was released by RCA Records as the third single from the album on March 24, 2017.[1] The song is an R&B mid-tempo entirely written by Brown, and produced by David Doman and Jim Stewart, where Brown both sings and raps. The song's lyrical content features the singer's perspective of a lustful sexual encounter.
"Privacy" achieved commercial success in English-speaking countries, being certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Its music video was directed by Brown, shot in Los Angeles, and released on April 14, 2017.
According to the song's recording engineer Patrizio Pigliapoco, "Privacy" was written and recorded at Platinum Sound Recording Studios, in New York City the night of New Year's Eve 2016, minutes before the ball drop.[2] Pigliapoco said that Brown wrote and recorded "Privacy" in fifteen minutes, and that they “didn't think anything of it either, it was just like another record we have done and that's it. But everyone kept telling him 'this is it'”, then Brown chose it to be his next single. Brown talked about the making of the track in a 2017 interview with Angie Martinez: “I wrote [Privacy] in a studio full of girls (...) I was in the booth so you can see the glass, and it was all girls dancing, sexy and all that. They were drinking and all this, I was smoking, drinking and all that. I'm watching through the mirror and I'm like 'man, ain't none of them 'bout to give me nothing, because they all want to have it in private' (...) so I know you're a freak, but I know you want your privacy. That's how I came up with the concept”.[3]
On January 4, 2017, Brown previewed two snippets on his Instagram profile from the songs "Privacy" and "Tell Me What to Do", that were unreleased songs planned to be on his upcoming eighth studio album, Heartbreak on a Full Moon.[4] On January 10, 2017, Brown posted a video of himself and rapper Casanova dancing to "Privacy" in his recording studio.[5] It was later announced in February that "Privacy" would've been released as the next single from Heartbreak on a Full Moon.[6] [7] The single was released on March 24, 2017, after being premiered on SoundCloud on the same day.[8]
"Privacy" is an R&B mid-tempo entirely written by Brown, and produced by David Doman, with additional production done by keyboard player Jim Stewart. In the song Brown sings the first two verses and the chorus, rapping on the third verse.[6] According to Complex, the sexual content of the song "shelves innuendos for straightforward, explicit lyrics".[9] [10] Billboard commented that "Privacy" is "soaked in the joys of sex and lust".[11] The song contains an interpolation of the 1997 dancehall song "Tight Up Skirt" by Red Rat in the first part of the hook.[12] [13]
On March 24, 2017, Brown uploaded the audio for "Privacy" on his YouTube and Vevo account.[14] The music video for the song was directed by Chris Brown and shot in Los Angeles on March 27, 2017.[15] [16] The music video was released on April 14, 2017 on Vevo.
The neon-colored, dance-filled music video starts off in a Casino, where Brown walks through and even dances on tables as gamblers look on. Once he enters an elevator, a girl catches his eye. He follows her to a mystical room full of female dancers and a cosmic sky, executing an erotic dance sequence with a few of the girls, and then switching outfits to a black and white stripped dress shirt, black tie, jeans and matching hat, when he performs some solo moves. At the end Brown is transported back to that hotel elevator. This time, he walks out with the girl he had been searching for, holding hands, and looking at the camera with a knowing smile.[17] [18] [19]
Chris Brown performed the track during 2017 Bet Awards,[20] and also during a charity concert organized by Tidal, and during a free pop-up concert in New York City few days before the release of his album Heartbreak on a Full Moon.[21]
The song was included on the setlists of all Brown's tours after its release, including "The Party Tour", "Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour", "Indigoat Tour", "Under the Influence Tour" and "The 11:11 Tour".
Credits adapted from Tidal.[23]
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[24] | 61 |
| Australia Urban (ARIA)[25] | 7 |
| France (SNEP)[26] | 73 |
| New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[27] | 4 |
| Chart (2017) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[28] | 66 | |
| US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (Billboard)[29] | 34 |