In today's world, About Damn Time has become a topic of great relevance and interest to a large number of people. Whether due to its impact on society, its relevance in the workplace or its connections with other current issues, About Damn Time is a topic that does not leave anyone indifferent. Therefore, it is important to analyze and understand in depth all its facets and dimensions, in order to adequately address its implications and consequences. In this article, we will explore different aspects related to About Damn Time, with the aim of offering a broad and complete vision of this topic that is so relevant today.
"About Damn Time" was the final song created for Special. Prior to the song's creation, Lizzo felt the album was not yet complete, so she wanted to write a song that had the same uplifting emotional impact as "Good as Hell."
Blake Slatkin, a co-writer and co-producer of the song, explained in a 2022 Billboard interview that he and Ricky Reed began creating the song in January of that year. According to Slatkin, the song began with four piano chords which Reed used as a basis for a bassline. At that point, the two played Lizzo the instrumental, motivating her to travel to the studio to contribute to the track. Slatkin credits Lizzo with crafting the hook and melodies. The song required approximately thirty additional studio sessions to finish, spanning four months. At one point, the song featured an entirely different chorus from the one included in the final release.
About the song's thematic content, Lizzo stated, "I think life had thrown some major traumas and hard experiences at us, especially globally these last few years. And I wanted to write a song that allowed us to take a moment and celebrate our survival, and celebrate how far we’ve come."
Composition
Billboard's Rania Aniftos said "About Damn Time" has a "feel-good" chorus, and Rachel Brodsky of Stereogum described the song as "a funk-pop cut with tons of instant-classic Lizzo-isms". Similarly, Alex Gallagher of NME called the song "a funk-tinged, classically Lizzo cut that comes replete with a groove-heavy bassline, an instantly memorable flute melody and lyrical gems". Nardine Saad from the Los Angeles Times said the song has an "affirmative, instantly uplifting disco beat", Ree Hines from Today labeled the record as "a uplifting disco bop".
For the week dated April 30, 2022, "About Damn Time" debuted at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 7,000 digital downloads and 6.5 million U.S. streams. On the week dated May 14, 2022, the song jumped from number 60 to number 19, becoming her fourth top 20 hit. One week later, the song rose to number nine becoming her fourth top 10 hit. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in its 14th week, becoming her second number one on the chart after "Truth Hurts". "About Damn Time" held at number one on the Hot 100 for 2 consecutive weeks.
On June 26, 2022, Lizzo performed "About Damn Time" at the 22nd BET Awards; during the song, Lizzo stated, "It’s about damn time we stand in our power. Black people, my people." On June 27, The Late Late Show with James Corden premiered a Carpool Karaoke segment with Lizzo, which culminated in Corden and Lizzo performing the song's TikTok choreography with a troupe of dancers. Jaeden Gomez appeared as a cameo in the segment.
Music video
The song's music video was directed by Christian Breslauer. In the video, Lizzo runs out of a "Stressed & Sexy" support group meeting. While dancing in a school building, her outfit changes from a sweatsuit into a sequined jumpsuit that she wears for the remainder of the video. In further scenes, Lizzo dances down a hallway with an illuminated dance floor and plays a flute while walking atop the water in a swimming pool.
"About Damn Time" was used in the pre-game montage for the October 15, 2022 broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada on Canadian sports channel Sportsnet celebrating its 70th season on television. The montage began with host Ron MacLean summarizing events that occurred when the program went on the air in 1952 before cutting into the song beginning. The game the montage served as the intro for the game between the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs, which was broadcast on all Sportsnet regional channels except Sportsnet East, which broadcast the game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals instead. "About Damn Time" is also included in Just Dance+.
References
^Billboard Staff (December 7, 2022). "The 100 Best Songs of 2022: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2023. It's always Lizzo Standard Time when this carefree nu-disco Hot 100 topper comes on.
^"Top 100 Brasil: November 7, 2022 - November 11, 2022" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Crowley Broadcast Analysis. Retrieved April 7, 2023. Note: In SEMANA REFERÊNCIA select 07/11/2022 - 11/11/2022. To access the full Top 100, click on VER TOP 100 COMPLETO and enter your name and email. Then enter the code you received by email.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202220 into search. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 202237 into search. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202220 into search. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2022.