The Recipe

"The Recipe" is the debut single from British-born singer-songwriter Dakota Prescott. Released on the 21 March 2016, the single was released on the same date as the album and featured pop singer Kleo. The song is Dakota's first official single, following three promotional releases in 2015. Upon it's release, the single charted at #1 in the United Kingdom, on all available charts (singles, digital and airplay).

Background
"The Recipe" is an electronic rock and alternative rock song, set against a "propulsive" synthpop groove. In an interview with Billboard, Dakota stated:

"It's definitely riskier than something a bit more... simple. It's so different and futuristic. And I don't mean futuristic in the sense of it's some cool techno beats, I mean the words are futuristic. The lyrics are words no other girl in the industry would dare say. I'm sick of girls trying to be flawless. I'll be badass, I'll sing about kicking a guy in the balls. Why can men be powerful in a song and girls can't? I tried to mix different cultures and eras — things that typically don't go together — to create a new sound too. I can never be safe; I always try and go against the grain. As soon as I accomplish one thing, I just set a higher goal. I think if I start with that mentality on my very first single, then hopefully in ten years time my career will still be fresh and successful. I'd hate to be called safe or boring, that's the one thing that would hurt me."

Release and reception
Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun praised the track saying it, "screams summer radio hit, complete with Police-style reggae stabs and an F-bomb for impact."Likewise, Noel Mengel of The Courier-Mail called it "a hit single in waiting." PopJustice named the song as one of the highlights of 'Welcome To The Brat Pack' along with "80's Bomb" and "Hate You". Renowned for Sound's Marcus Floyd gave "The Recipe" four out of five stars. He wrote that it "should be a decent radio hit for 2015, it sells itself really with its seemingly endless supply of energy and its powerful lyrics...". The partnership between Dakota and Kleo was also well received, and a lot of focus was placed on Dakota for creating her own distinct and unique sound and style so early on in her career.

Music video
The music video premiered on 21 March 2016, the day of the singles release.

The video begins with an introduction to Dakota. She is shown tying her shoe lace and putting her make-up on in a mirror. The camera pans upstairs (showing that Dakota is in a basement of a house). Here we see Kleo being assaulted and abused by a man she lives with.

The camera returns back down to the basement where it is shown Dakota has an army of fiesty females (all members of her Brat Pack) preparing a war against the man to rescue Kleo. The girls are all armed with guns, and shooting at targets and filling their guns with ammo.

The video returns back upstairs in the house, where Kleo has locked herself into another room. She sings her verse as she looks out of a window staring into the world, waiting for her team of girls to bring on the battle. The camera then returns back to the basement, as Dakota and her girls show how bad ass they are, firing their guns everywhere and partying. Eventually the time comes to attack, and the girls leave the basement as Kleo manages to escape from the man and get out the house. The girls hand Kleo a gun, and she walks side by side with Dakota as they all begin to shoot at the house. The house is destroyed and presumably the abusive man burns inside. Girl power!

Track listing

 * Digital download
 * 1) "The Recipe" – 3:29


 * Digital download – Remixes
 * 1) "The Recipe" (Bakermat Remix) – 3:46
 * 2) "The Recipe" (Bakermat Remix Instrumental) – 3:46
 * 3) "The Recipe" (TCTS Remix) – 4:39
 * 4) "The Recipe" (TCTS Remix Radio Edit) – 3:34
 * 5) "The Recipe" (TCTS Extended Dub) – 4:03


 * Digital download – Live EP
 * 1) "The Recipe" (Live at Google) – 3:23
 * 2) "$ex Tape" (Live at Google) – 3:19
 * 3) "Hearts (Live at Google) – 3:26
 * 4) "80s Bomb (Live at Google) – 3:14

Performances
Dakota performed the song live on This Morning on 23 March 2016.

Chart performance
The song was released on 21 March 2016. The song debuted at #1 on the UK singles chart, with first week sales of 91,424, with no other songs that week being anywhere near the same sales. The song debuted at #1 on the Digital chart, with first week downloads of 31,745. On 13 March 2016 the song debuted on the Airplay chart at #18, becoming that weeks highest new entry, Dakota's highest debut and only her second entry within the top twenty. The following week it rose to #12, becoming her highest position on the Airplay chart the next week, on the week of the singles official release, it rose to #1, becoming both Dakota's first top ten on the chart and her first chart topper.