Rock Me (One Direction song)

"Rock Me" is a song by English-Irish boy band One Direction from their second studio album, Take Me Home (2012). It was written by Peter Svensson, Sam Hollander, Lukasz Gottwald, Henry Walter, Breanna Smith, and Allan Grigg, with production handled by Dr. Luke, Cirkut and Kool Kojak. Created in one day, Grigg carried out the mid-tempo beat, Hollander conceptualised the title and the pop rock melody "just came".[1] Its clapping riff has been noted as similar to that of the 1977 Queen single "We Will Rock You".

"Rock Me"
Song by One Direction
from the album Take Me Home
Recorded2012
GenrePop rock
Length3:21
LabelSyco
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Cirkut
  • Dr. Luke
  • Kool Kojak

The song garnered mostly positive reviews from music critics, who centred on production quality and its rock elements. Upon the release of Take Me Home, "Rock Me" debuted at number one on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart due to strong digital download sales, and ultimately peaked at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Background and conception
Peter Svensson (pictured), Allan Grigg, and Sam Hollander composed "Rock Me" in a single-day collaboration.

"Rock Me" came together in a single-day collaboration between guitarist Peter Svensson of the Swedish band the Cardigans, Sam Hollander, and Allan 'Kool Kojak' Grigg for One Direction's second studio album, Take Me Home, which was released in November 2012.[1] First, Grigg carried out its mid-tempo beat.[1] "If you can slow a song down to mid-tempo, the girls are just gonna lose their minds," Grigg told Time magazine in 2012. Svensson reflected that Hollander "had an idea for a title that's like 'rock me' instead of ‘rock you,’ and the melody just came."[1] Co-producers Lukasz 'Dr. Luke' Gottwald and Henry 'Cirkut' Walter ended up with writing credits on the finished recording too — "standard operating practice, now that the sound of a song has as much to do with its identity as its lyrics or melody," according to Time magazine correspondent Douglas Wolk.[1]

Composition and lyrical interpretation
Its clapping riff has been noted as similar to that of Queen's 1977 single "We Will Rock You"

"Rock Me" is a mid-tempo pop rock song.[2][3] Chris Payne of Billboard noted that the song deviates from One Direction's signature bubblegum pop sound, a notion shared by Al Fox for BBC Music, who dubbed it "vaguely rockier".[4][5] The song's clapping riff are similar to those of the Queen 1977 single "We Will Rock You".[1][3][6] According to the digital sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, One Direction's vocal range in the song span from the note of Eb3 to C5.[7] Instrumentation includes guitar strings, piano lines and vocals.[7] Written in the key of Ab major, the beat is set in common time and moves at a moderate 84 beats per minute.[7]

It also incorporates a Queen-referencing chorus: "I want you to rock me, yeah, I want you to hit the pedal, heavy metal, show me you care."[4][8] The track's lyricism regards a nostalgic message about a former significant other and a blatant double entendre for sexual intercourse. In the regard to its double entendre, Grigg noted, "but at the same time, there's a vulnerability in it that's, like, so sweet for girls. It's a little self-deprecating. There's not a lot of overt machismo in the song".[1] "I approached it like high school," said Hollander: "On the first record, they were freshmen, innocent and wide-eyed. Now it's sophomore year, there are parties and driver’s licenses, and the world is theirs for the taking. That's what I wanted to capture".[1]

Critical reception

The song garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, who centred on production quality and its rock elements. The New Zealand Herald writer Lydia Jenkin deemed "Rock Me" one of "the most banal songs ever written", but noted that the group "know what teenage girls want to hear."[9] Idolator critic Sam Lansky praised the track as "irresistible" and commended its sonic palette as "explosively punchy".[8] Writing for HitFix, Melinda Newman favoured its "nearly hypnotic anthemic" beat, and noted that "Rock Me" seems perfectly tailored to become a live staple.[3] Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star thought the song's Queen-references are "clever", assessing: "to show that One Direction’s puppeteers aren't totally operating on autopilot."[2] Robert Copsey from Digital Spy opined that the song's "simple-yet-genius catchiness" is its strongest attribute.[6] Billboard reviewer Chris Payne applauded its rock elements, regarding it as "welcome" deviation from Take Me Home's predominant bubblegum pop sound.[4] In contrast to the positive reception, Alexis Petridis, writing for The Guardian, criticised the song as "excruciating", describing its lyricism as tedious and uninspiring.[10]

Chart performance

In the week of 18 November 2012, "Rock Me" debuted at number one on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart due to strong digital download sales.[11] As a result of an "end-of-year download rush" in the week ending 30 December 2012, the track entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 98, marking its peak position.[12][13]

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Canada Hot Digital Singles (Billboard)[14] 69
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 98

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[15]
Streaming 		Gold 900,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[16] Gold 30,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Douglas Wolk (13 November 2012). "One Direction's songwriters: They're what make the boy band beautiful". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  2. Rayner, Ben (11 November 2012). "One Direction album review: cookie-cutter pop for 12-year-olds". Toronto Star. Star Media Group. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  3. Melinda Newman (12 November 2012). "Album Review: One Direction's 'Take Me Home' masterfully hits its target". HitFix. HitFix Inc. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  4. Chris Payne (8 November 2012). "One Direction, 'Take Me Home': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  5. Al Fox (12 November 2012). "Music – Review of One Direction – Take Me Home". BBC Music. BBC. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  6. Robert Copsey (11 November 2012). "One Direction: 'Take Me Home' — album review". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  7. "One Direction – Rock Me sheet music". Musicnotes.com (EMI Music Publishing). Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  8. Sam Lansky (13 November 2012). "One Direction's 'Take Me Home': Album Review". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  9. Lyndia Jenkin (15 November 2012). "Album review: One Direction — Take Me Home". The New Zealand Herald. APN News & Media. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  10. Alexis Petridis (8 November 2012). "One Direction: Take Me Home — review". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  11. "Bubbling Under Hot 100 – Issue Date: 2012-12-01". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  12. Paul Williams (4 January 2013). "US charts: One-track downloads hit record high". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  13. "One Direction Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  14. Hot Canadian Digital Songs : 1 December 2012. Billboard Biz. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  15. "Danish single certifications – One Direction – Rock Me". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  16. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 9 October 2020. Type One Direction in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Rock Me in the box under TÍTULO
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