"Fight for You" is a song originally recorded by Stevie Hoang, featuring Iyaz, for his third independent album, Unsigned (2011). It was later performed by American recording artist Jason Derulo, released as the fourth single from his second studio album, Future History, on December 2, 2011. The song was written by Derulo, Hoang, David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, while production was handled by RedOne, BeatGeek and Geo Slam. Musically, "Fight for You" is an urban-pop ballad, that samples the song "Africa" (1982) by American rock band Toto. The lyrics revolve around how Derulo, the protagonist, has "got a girl in his life he isn't ready to let go of just yet". Hoang had originally recorded "Fight for You" for his third independent album, Unsigned (2011) with his original track featuring Iyaz.
The song's production and Derulo's vocal performance garnered positive reviews from music critics, however, some criticized its lack of originality. "Fight for You" attained moderate chart success, peaking at number five in Australia, and reaching the top twenty in the United Kingdom. The accompanying music video portrays a fictional relationship between Derulo and his love interest. Derulo performed the song at KDWB-FM's annual Jingle Ball in 2011.
Jason Derulo version
"Fight for You" was written by Jason Derulo, Stevie Hoang, David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, while production of the song was helmed by RedOne, BeatGeek and Geo Slam.
Derulo's version of "Fight for You" was recorded and engineered by Gelly Kusuma, Slam and Teddy Sky at Serenity West Recording Studio and Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles, California. Derulo, RedOne, Laila Khayat, Samya Khayat and Sky performed background vocals on the song. The recordings were later mixed by Trevor Muzzy. All instruments and programming were provided by RedOne, BeatGeek and Slam. In a cover story for the Daily Star, Derulo stated that "Fight for You" was the first song he worked on with RedOne, saying "I'm glad it turned out so dope". On working with RedOne, he said: "Red first became hot when he produced the album The Fame with Lady Gaga. He is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. ... RedOne was a nice, humble, down-to-earth, special person".
"Fight for You" was added to mainstream radio playlists in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2011. A digital extended play, featuring four remixes of the song, was released in Ireland and the UK on December 2, 2011.
Composition
"Fight for You" is an urban-pop ballad with a length of four minutes and two seconds. According to Meena Rupani of DesiHits, the song finds Derulo as the male protagonist singing "that he's got a girl in his life he isn't ready to let go of just yet". The song contains a sample of the song "Africa" (1982) by American rock band Toto. Lewis Corner of Digital Spy noted that "Fight for You" features "airy synths and bouncy castle-sized beats". During an interview with New! magazine, Derulo explained the concept of "Fight for You", saying: "It's very relationship-based and the line ["fight for you"] means so much, whatever you believe in you should go for. The song is based on a personal experience, I was in a relationship and I put myself in that place again where you would do anything to keep the relationship together so I went back to that place."
Critical reception
"Fight for You" garnered positive reviews from music critics for its catchy production and Derulo's vocal performance. David Griffiths of 4Music called it a "catchy little ditty" that "is guaranteed to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day". Shawn Kitchener of Entertainment Wise described the song as "the kind of sweet-as-candy R&B fodder" that could have been featured on the High School Musical soundtrack. Meena Rupani of DesiHits noted that the song's lyrical theme is similar to "It Girl", and that Derulo's "vocals are enough to put any girl into a trance". However, "Fight for You" also received unfavorable reviews from critics because of its lack of originality. Lewis Corner of Digital Spy gave the song a three out of five star rating, calling Derulo "extremely lazy" for sampling "Africa". Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian described the song as "languid", while writing that the sample gives it "a bit of bounce". Although Jess Holton of The Music Network described "Fight for You" as a "touching ballad", she added that sampling "Africa" does not do the latter "any form of justice". In an album review of Future History, Michael Cragg of BBC Music noted that the songs "revolve around the joys of being in a relationship or the pain of not being in one", however disapproved of the lyrical content and sample in "Fight for You", calling it "perhaps the worst offender" on the album.