This Is Real

"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).[2] The song peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart.

"This Is Real"
Single by Jax Jones featuring Ella Henderson
from the album Snacks (Supersize) and Everything I Didn't Say and More
Released21 October 2019
Recorded2014
StudioMetropolis (London, UK)
GenreDance pop[1]
Length3:19
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Jax Jones singles chronology
"Jacques"
(2019)		 "This Is Real"
(2019)		 "Tequila"
(2020)
Ella Henderson singles chronology
"Young"
(2019)		 "This Is Real"
(2019)		 "We Got Love"
(2019)
Official Music Video
This is Real on YouTube

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".[3] Then in an interview on 17 August Jones spoke to The Big Top 40's 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".[4] 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.[4]

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.[4] 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.[5]

  • Henderson (co-wrote "This is Real" and sings vocals on the final version)
    Henderson (co-wrote "This is Real" and sings vocals on the final version)
  • Gomez also recorded a version of the song
    Gomez also recorded a version of the song

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".[1] 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

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "This Is Real"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release history and formats for "This Is Real"
Region Date Version Format Label Ref.
Various 21 October 2019 Album / original version
–
13 November 2019 Jax Jones Midnight Snack Remix [17]
15 November 2019 Acoustic single [15]
20 December 2019 VIP Mix (Amazon Original) [16]

References
  1. Kawashima, Dale (2 December 2019). "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. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. "Singles To Radio (Issue 1259)". themusicnetwork.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  3. Dodds, Emma (15 August 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Jax Jones reveals two exciting new collaborations from his new album". Planetradio.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. "WATCH: Jax Jones Reveals Selena Gomez Recorded 'This Is Real' & Why He's Glad Ella Henderson Sang It". bigtop40.com. 17 August 2019. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  5. "Ella Henderson's Jax Jones collaboration was penned five years ago". Female First. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. Paine, Andre (1 September 2019). "'The hope is to create our biggest spike yet': How Jax Jones and Polydor transformed the debut LP campaign". Music Week. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  7. "Jax Jones Proves He's The King Of The #CapitalJBB With Huge Twist". capitalfm.com. 8 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  8. Darvill, Josh (7 March 2020). "Watch Ella Henderson and Jax Jones perform on Saturday Night Takeaway". TellyMix. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  9. Baines, Huw (20 March 2020). "Jax Jones review – gym-playlist workouts from potent hitmaker". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. Cantor, Brian (23 February 2020). "Jax Jones & Ella Henderson's "This Is Real" Reaches #1 On US Dance Radio Chart". Headlineplanet. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. Freshwater, Paige (4 January 2020). "Grimsby's X Factor finalist Ella Henderson making remarkable comeback in music industry". GrimsbyTelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  12. "Favourite Colour: Black directs new Jax Jones ft Ella Henderson music video". 1 November 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  13. "Jax Jones, Ella Henderson – This Is Real (Official Video)". Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019 – via YouTube.
  14. "This Is Real – Jax Jones & Ella Henderson – Aus dem Album Snacks (Supersize) [Explicit]" (in German). Amazon (DE). 6 September 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  15. "This Is Real (Acoustic) – Jax Jones & Ella Henderson" (in German). Amazon (DE). 15 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  16. "This Is Real (VIP) (Amazon Original) – Jax Jones & Ella Henderson" (in German). Amazon (DE). 20 December 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  17. "This Is Real (Jax Jones Midnight Snack Remix) – Jax Jones & Ella Henderson" (in German). Amazon (DE). 13 December 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  18. "Jax Jones feat. Ella Henderson – This Is Real – Ultratip (WA)" (in French). Ultratop. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  19. "Jax Jones feat. Ella Henderson – This Is Real – Ultratop Dance (FL)" (in Dutch). Ultratop. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  20. "Jax Jones feat. Ella Henderson – This Is Real – Ultratop Dance (WA)" (in French). Ultratop. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  21. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 202019 into search. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  22. "Ella Henderson Chart History (Euro Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  23. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  24. "Ella Henderson Chart History: Mexico Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  25. "Jax Jones feat. Ella Henderson – This Is Real (Single Tip)" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  26. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  27. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  28. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  29. "Jax Jones Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  30. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  31. "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  32. "British single certifications – Jax Jones Ft Ella Henderson – This Is Real". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 August 2020. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type This Is Real in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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