Masculine

"Masculine" is a song by American alternative pop band Curriculum. Written by members Gregory Preston Olivier, Phillip Mandelbaum, and Wyatt van Cleef and produced by member Dana Breckenridge, the song was released as the fourth single from the band's second studio album Sophomore on 17 November 2014 via Blacklight Records.

The song's lyrics details the characteristics of a fearless warrior who is bravely preparing for battle. Sonically, the song is an alternative rock song with elements of hard rock, dubstep and pop and is noted by critics and fans for sounding "aggressive", a slight departure from the rest of the band's material.

Despite controversial promotion regarding the fact that "Masculine" replaced fan-favorite "Vice City 1986" as the fourth single, the titling of the electronic press kits regarding the single that went viral (in which the band labeled them starting with the statement "Real men..."), and only for the promotion to be eclipsed by the falling out between member Mandelbaum and the rest of the band, the song was critically successful, receiving generally positive reviews from critics who praised the vocals, production, and lyrics of the song and the band for "playing with a new sound that we wouldn't expect them to mess with."

Commercially successful and an international hit, "Masculine" became the band's first number one single in the UK, while reaching the top three in the United States, Canada, Australia, and most of Europe, while reaching the top five in New Zealand. The single has sold 518,381 copies in the UK and has been certified Platinum by the Urapopstar Recording Association Phonographic Society (URAPS).

Writing and composition
Written by members Gregory Preston Olivier, Phillip Mandelbaum, and Wyatt van Cleef and produced by member Dana Breckenridge, the song was written and recorded in 2013 for the band's second studio album Sophomore. Lyrically, the song speaks of the description of the characteristics of a warrior who can be described as "might and fearless" as he bravely and nonchalantly prepares to fight another war. Sonically, the song is of the alternative rock genre while also incorporating elements of hard rock, dubstep, and pop and featuring "aggressive" and "brooding" overtones to it. The song has been described many to be the band's most "rock-sounding" song ever to date.

The title of the song derives from the fact that many people would describe the fearless warrior in the song and the sound of the song itself as "masculine". The title of the song was also inspired by the fact that member Mandelbaum sarcastically joked that the song sounded "too masculine" for him. Despite its title and the inspirations for the title, the song itself is not about masculinity.

Promotion
Promotion for "Masculine" was slightly controversial as it involved electronic press kits for the single being sent to various media outlets beginning with the statement "Real men [statement goes here]". The EPKs for the single went viral and helped raised attention for the single, but the band for was slightly criticized for using the statement "Real men...". Olivier defended the usage of "Real men..." stating that it was supposed to be "sarcastic" and that the song itself was not about masculinity and had nothing to do with the statements of "what real men should do and should not do in accordance of our so-called patriarchal society."

Before "Masculine", fan-favorite "Vice City 1986" was supposed to be chosen as the fourth single from Sophomore in October 2014. Despite heavily promoting the single, the band suddenly postponed the single in late September 2014 and then later announced its release of "Masculine" in its place. Though "Masculine" was initially another fan favorite from Sophomore upon the album's release, the song was met with initial backlash as fans wanted "Vice City 1986" to be released instead. Olivier defended the band's choice to postpone the single by reassuring that "Vice City 1986" would still be released (it was eventually released as the next single from Sophomore) and that he was confident that fans of the band would at least "tolerate" it.

Controversy
Promotion for the single was essentially eclipsed by the controversial and sudden falling out between Mandelbaum and the rest of the band, prompting Mandelbaum to go to Asia and start promoting his solo debut album Wonderful Is Everything. Though there were multiple speculations as to what led to the falling out, Mandelbaum confirmed that the "breaking point" of the feud began with his Syd Wolfe albums being borrowed with his permission by van Cleef and his brother. Mandelbaum also stated that there were other factors that led to the feud, such as the band being supposedly "standoffish" with him. Mandelbaum, as a result of the feud, refused to promote the single; the rest of the band promoted "Masculine" as a trio.

The band on several occasions were accused of the "throwing shade" at Mandelbaum. When revealing their artwork for the single, which featured three Ancient Greek-looking soldiers on the cover, many people interpreted it as the band symbolizing that they were promoting the single as a trio without Mandelbaum. van Cleef denied that the cover art was directed at them promoting as a trio and towards Mandelbaum and would also go on to say that Mandelbaum did not want to promote the single because he hated the song because "it was a sensitive subject to him since he will never considered by many to be masculine whatsoever." Mandelbaum has repeatedly denied that he hates "Masculine".

Release
"Masculine" was released on 17 November 2014 on CD single, digital download, and streaming internationally. Prior to its official release, "Masculine" began receiving high unsolicited airplay on alternative radio in the United States.

The single formats of "Masculiine" features two b-sides "He Ain't Got..." (which was originally as a digital single in October 2014) and "Take My Vote Right Back". Both songs were re-workings of previously recorded songs; "He Ain't Got..." was originally a demo recorded by Loretta Lambert in 2009 as "She Ain't Got..." while "Take My Vote Right Back" is a re-working of "Break Your Heart Right Back" by Ariana Grande. On the song, the band puts a political twist of the lyrics and is about someone who feels betrayed by a politician that they trusted and were highly fond of. On the rap in the middle eight, which was done by van Cleef, lyrics were interpolated from "I'm Just A Bill" from Schoolhouse Rock.

Critical reaction
"Masculine" received generally positive reviews from critics who praised the song's production, lyrical content, and the band's vocal performance. The song's production was noted for being "manly-sounding" and "aggressive" and that, according to one critic, "it fits its name very well."

Commercial performance
"Masculine" surprisingly peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's first number one in the UK. It has sold 518,381 copies in the UK and has been certified Platinum by the Urapopstar Recording Association Phonographic Society (URAPS).

Elsewhere, the single reached the top three on various singles chart including in the United States, where it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. The single also reached #1 in the Netherlands.

Certifications

 * (*)Since May 2013 RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.