This Is Real Explained

This Is Real
Cover:Jax Jones - This Is Real.png
Type:single
Artist:Jax Jones featuring Ella Henderson
Album:Snacks (Supersize) and Everything I Didn't Say and More
Released:21 October 2019
Recorded:2014
Studio:Metropolis (London, UK)
Genre:Dance pop
Length:3:19
Label:
Producer:
Chronology:Jax Jones singles
Prev Title:Jacques
Prev Year:2019
Next Title:Tequila
Next Year:2020

"This Is Real" is a song by British DJ and record producer Jax Jones and featuring British singer and songwriter Ella Henderson. The song was released as a digital download on 21 October 2019 as the second single from his debut studio album Snacks (Supersize).[1] The song peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

On 15 August 2019, Jones spoke to Capital Breakfast about his then upcoming debut album Snacks (Supersize) (2019), confirming collaborations with Raye and Ella Henderson for the album. Jones described the latter as having an "amazing voice".[2] Then in an interview on 17 August Jones spoke to The Big Top 40s Will Manning where he revealed that the Henderson collaboration was called "This is Real." During this interview it was also revealed that Henderson and Jones wrote the song but Henderson's record label (at the time this was Syco Music) said "you can't put this out you're not relevant".[3] Jones determined to release the song in some format subsequently took the recording to American singer Selena Gomez who recorded a version of the song but for similar reasons, Gomez's label also rejected the song.[3]

Although Jones ended up with two versions of the song, he stated it felt right to release the version featuring Henderson's vocal as the pair wrote the song together. The version of "This is Real" which was released features Henderson's original vocals from the first recording of the song, prior to Gomez's version.[3] Reflecting back on how the collaboration came about, Henderson said that she and Jones were friends as Jones' wife used to babysit her when she was younger. The duo recorded the song back in 2014.[4]

Promotion and release

"This is Real" was released along the same time as announcements that Henderson had signed a new record deal with Major Tom Records, a collaborative partnership between UK band Rudimental and Asylum Records. Around the same time, Henderson also released her own EP (extended play), Glorious and appeared on Sigala's single "We Got Love".[5] Polydor Records noted during an interview with Music Week, that they had specifically selected "This is Real" as one of two songs to promote ahead of the release of Jones' album.[6]

Jones and Henderson performed "This is Real" a number of times together, including at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball on Saturday 7 December 2019. Capital FM noted that Jones brought the largest number of guests and guest vocalists in the history of the ball.[7] The duo also performed on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on 7 March 2020.[8]

Critical reception

Huw Baines in writing a review for The Guardian said that "This is Real" and "Play" (with Years & Years) "sound[ed] glorious atop crisp, thudding percussion" were examples of Jones' successful release tactics. Baines said that these collaborations were like "a cogent narrative in order to bounce from set piece to set piece like an action film director out for the next endorphin rush."[9]

Chart performance

Though not an official chart in the United States, media monitoring organisation Mediabase reported that "This is Real" reached number one on their US Dance Radio chart in February.[10] In Henderson's hometown of Grimsby, England, the local news hailed "This is Real" as a "remarkable" comeback for Henderson who previously appeared on the UK charts in 2014 with singles "Ghost" and "Glow" which reached number one and number seven respectively.[11]

Music video

Director 'Favourite Colour: Black' from the Park Village production company helmed an official music video themed around the concept of human meets machine.[12] Working with Choreographer Mark Jennings, the company produced a concept whereby "human meets machine is set up with a Jax-branded cheerleader against an artificial robotic opponent which at first feels cold and inhuman, but by the end of the film has been brought to life by the music, establishing an almost human connection between the two."[12] The machine character in the video is "the BOLT high speed cinebot - a motion control arm specially developed for use with the Phantom camera to capture movement in super slow motion."[12]

The video made its premiere on 21 October 2019.[13]

Track listings and formats

Digital single (album version)[14]

  1. "This Is Real" (with Ella Henderson) – 3:19

Digital single (Acoustic)[15]

  1. "This Is Real" (acoustic) (with Ella Henderson) – 2:49

Digital single (Amazon Original)[16]

  1. "This Is Real" (VIP) (with Ella Henderson) – 3:21

Album track download/stream (from the Midnight Snacks (Part 1) EP)[17]

  1. "This Is Real" (with Ella Henderson) (Jax Jones Midnight Snack Remix) – 3:39

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2019–2020)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[18] 7
Belgium Dance (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 15
Belgium Dance (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 15
Mexico Airplay (Billboard)[21] 44
Netherlands (Single Tip)[22] 26

Year-end charts

Chart (2020)! scope="col"
Position
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 82
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[24] 76

Release history

Release history and formats for "This Is Real"! Region! Date! Version! Format! Label!
Various21 October 2019Album / original version
13 November 2019Jax Jones Midnight Snack Remix
15 November 2019Acoustic single
20 December 2019VIP Mix (Amazon Original)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Singles To Radio (Issue 1259). themusicnetwork.com. 7 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191023180015/https://themusicnetwork.com/charts/issues/1259/1259-singles-to-radio/. 23 October 2019. live.
  2. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: Jax Jones reveals two exciting new collaborations from his new album . Planetradio.co.uk . Dodds . Emma . 15 August 2019 . 30 April 2020.
  3. Web site: WATCH: Jax Jones Reveals Selena Gomez Recorded 'This Is Real' & Why He's Glad Ella Henderson Sang It . . 17 August 2019 . 30 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191225113307/https://www.bigtop40.com/news/jax-jones-selena-gomez-this-is-real-record/ . 25 December 2019 . live .
  4. Web site: Ella Henderson's Jax Jones collaboration was penned five years ago . Female First . 1 October 2019 . 30 April 2020.
  5. Web site: British Pop Singer/Songwriter Ella Henderson Returns With Two U.K. Hits: "This Is Real" (with Jax Jones) and "We Got Love" (with Sigala) . Songwriteruniversity.com . Kawashima . Dale . 2 December 2019 . 30 April 2020.
  6. Web site: 'The hope is to create our biggest spike yet': How Jax Jones and Polydor transformed the debut LP campaign . . Paine . Andre . 1 September 2019 . 30 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190925203735/https://www.musicweek.com/labels/read/the-hope-is-to-create-our-biggest-spike-yet-how-jax-jones-and-polydor-transformed-the-debut-lp-campaign/077273 . 25 September 2019 . live .
  7. Web site: Jax Jones Proves He's The King Of The #CapitalJBB With Huge Twist . . 8 December 2019 . 30 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191208202403/https://www.capitalfm.com/artists/jax-jones/jingle-bell-ball-2019-set-list/ . 8 December 2019 . live .
  8. Web site: Watch Ella Henderson and Jax Jones perform on Saturday Night Takeaway . TellyMix . Darvill . Josh . 7 March 2020 . 30 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200411102722/https://tellymix.co.uk/tv/435964-watch-ella-henderson-and-jax-jones-perform-on-saturday-night-takeaway.html . 11 April 2020 . live .
  9. Web site: Jax Jones review – gym-playlist workouts from potent hitmaker . . Baines . Huw . 20 March 2020 . 30 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200326045911/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/09/jax-jones-review-swx-bristol . 26 March 2020 . live .
  10. Web site: Jax Jones & Ella Henderson's "This Is Real" Reaches #1 On US Dance Radio Chart . Headlineplanet . Cantor . Brian . 23 February 2020 . 30 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200402064227/https://headlineplanet.com/home/2020/02/23/jax-jones-ella-hendersons-this-is-real-reaches-1-on-us-dance-radio/ . 2 April 2020 . live .
  11. Web site: Grimsby's X Factor finalist Ella Henderson making remarkable comeback in music industry . GrimsbyTelegraph.co.uk . Freshwater . Paige . 4 January 2020 . 30 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200216000849/https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/grimsbys-x-factor-finalist-ella-3702789 . 16 February 2020 . live .
  12. Web site: Favourite Colour: Black directs new Jax Jones ft Ella Henderson music video . 1 November 2019 . 30 April 2020.
  13. Web site: Jax Jones, Ella Henderson – This Is Real (Official Video). YouTube. 7 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191025154606/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpArZkzrU3g. 25 October 2019. live.
  14. Web site: This Is Real – Jax Jones & Ella Henderson – Aus dem Album Snacks (Supersize) [Explicit] ]. Amazon (DE) . 6 September 2019 . 12 June 2020 . German.
  15. Web site: This Is Real (Acoustic) – Jax Jones & Ella Henderson . Amazon (DE) . 15 November 2019 . 12 June 2020 . German.
  16. Web site: This Is Real (VIP) (Amazon Original) – Jax Jones & Ella Henderson . Amazon (DE) . 20 December 2019 . 12 June 2020 . German.
  17. Web site: This Is Real (Jax Jones Midnight Snack Remix) – Jax Jones & Ella Henderson . Amazon (DE) . 13 December 2019 . 12 June 2020 . German.
  18. Web site: Jax Jones feat. Ella Henderson – This Is Real – Ultratip (WA) . . 16 November 2019 . 12 June 2020 . French.
  19. Web site: Jax Jones feat. Ella Henderson – This Is Real – Ultratop Dance (FL) . . 23 November 2019 . 12 June 2020 . Dutch.
  20. Web site: Jax Jones feat. Ella Henderson – This Is Real – Ultratop Dance (WA) . . 16 November 2019 . 12 June 2020 . French.
  21. Web site: Ella Henderson Chart History: Mexico Airplay. Billboard. 22 March 2022.
  22. Web site: Jax Jones feat. Ella Henderson – This Is Real (Single Tip) . . 30 November 2019 . 12 June 2020 . Dutch.
  23. Web site: End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2020. Official Charts Company. 5 January 2021.
  24. Web site: Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2020. Billboard. 4 December 2020.