"Troublemaker" is a song by English recording artist Olly Murs, released as the lead single from his third studio album, Right Place Right Time (2012). It features American rapper Flo Rida. "Troublemaker" was co-written by Murs, Steve Robson, Claude Kelly and Flo Rida, and was produced by Robson. The song premiered on 8 October 2012, in the United Kingdom on the Capital FM radio station and was made available to download on 12 October in certain international territories.
"Troublemaker" was a major commercial success. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted atop the UK Singles Chart, making it Murs' fourth solo single to reach number one and his first to spend more than a week at the top spot. It also served as the closing song at Murs's 2013 arena tour. It is Murs' best selling single.
Background and release
"Troublemaker" was written by Olly Murs along with Claude Kelly and Steve Robson, with whom he also wrote his previous hits "Please Don't Let Me Go" and "Dance with Me Tonight". Lyrically Murs has said that the song is about "that special girl that you can't shake off, even if you know you should because, let's face it, she's got a bit of a wild side."
Murs said that although he initially expected it would be difficult to get Flo Rida to appear on the track, it was "kind of easy, in a way. [It] wasn't hard ... We just literally sent him the track, his people heard the track and they really liked it. And Flo Rida was like, 'I really want to do it'. So he was up for doing it." Flo Rida spoke about Murs and his appearance on the track during a promotional interview for his single "I Cry" on ITV breakfast show Daybreak on 26 September 2012, saying: "I'm very excited, [my record company said] we have this record from a guy named Olly. As soon as I heard it, I know a hit record when I hear it. I'll probably have a chance to meet him soon." "Troublemaker" premiered in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2012 on Capital FM. The premiere was followed by a "bold and colourful" lyric video that was posted on Murs' Vevo account. At a launch party for the album, Murs revealed that "Troublemaker" was originally meant to be the second single from the album with "Army of Two" being the first single, but this idea was scrapped due to Murs' work in America.
Composition
"Troublemaker" is an uptempo pop song which lasts for a duration of three minutes and six seconds, containing influences of soul and disco. According to the digital sheet music published by Alfred Music Publishing, "Troublemaker" is written in the key of C minor and it is set at a groove of 106 beats per minute. The chorus is written in E-flat major. Described as an "airy pop anthem" the songs' instrumentation consists of "lightly funky, guitar-led backdrop", which some critics have compared the guitar riffs to Maroon 5's "This Love" and "Misery".
Reception
Critical reception
The song received positive reviews from critics. Seventeen wrote that it is "upbeat and just as catchy" as Murs previous single "Heart Skips a Beat". Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush called it "an uptempo pop delight". John Aizlewood of BBC Music favored Flo Rida's appearance describing it as an "engaging cameo". Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a four out of five star rating, praising its composition, but he criticised Flo Rida's appearance, describing it "confusing, [...] but if it makes Olly a hit across the pond, we suppose we can let it slide." Idolator's Robbie Daw echoed Copsey's comments describing the song " a total disco-pop winner, and would stand on its own without [Flo Rida]." The song was nominated for Best British Single at the 2013 BRIT Awards, which was held on 20 February 2013, but lost out to Adele's "Skyfall".
Chart performance
"Troublemaker" was first released in the Netherlands on 18 October 2012 and peaked at number 98 on the Single Top 100. In the United Kingdom, "Troublemaker" debuted at number one with 121,000 copies on 2 December 2012. With "Troublemaker" debuting atop the singles chart, it marked Murs' fourth and Flo Rida's fifth number one single in the UK. In its second week the song retained its number-one position scoring his first "chart double" with Right Place Right Time. Murs was the fourth act in 2012 to achieve that feat following Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams and One Direction. "Troublemaker" sold over 441,000 copies in the UK in 2012, becoming the 29th biggest-seller of the year. As of November 2016, it has sold 765,000 copies, making it Murs' second best-selling song, behind "Dance with Me Tonight".