Who I Am (Golden)

"Who I Am (Golden)" is a charity single by a number of various artists collaborating under the title URAPS United. It was written as a response to the suicide of teenage trans-gendered female Leelah Alcorn, and released to support LGBT rights organizations. The single features an all-star gathering of over 30 artists, many of which have their own ties to the LGBT community. The song was a massive success, topping charts across the UK and Britain in its debut week thanks to the collective star power of its participants.

Background & Recording
At the end of 2014, news broke of the story of Leelah Alcorn, an American teenager from Ohio who committed suicide over her perceived inability to successfully transition from male to female. Pop singer Ashley! reacted strongly to the story, and made efforts to organize a charity single to raise awareness of her tragic story, and to support LGBT organizations working to improve rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. Ashley enlisted the help of friend Kleo to produce the song, who in turn brought James Moss on board as the other half of production duo Kloss Mafia. She and James co-wrote the song with the help of Raphael Monaghan, and both Moss and Monaghan provide live instrumentation on the track.

A large number of A-list stars offered their time and support for the project when Ashley sent out a call for participation; this included groups such as Curriculum and Victory, as well as global superstars like Alesha and Syd Wolfe, but most importantly, actual LGBT artists such as Paulo Araujo, Bella-May, Jason and Darren Clarke. The only newcomer of the participants was Dustin Hadley, son of Audiodrama's gay vocalist Chace Hadley. A recording session was scheduled to take place over one weekend in early January, held in the home studio of James Moss in his New York City apartment.

Most artists were able to attend the recording session at some point during the weekend; those who did not recorded their vocals elsewhere and corresponded via e-mail. This led to an issue where Syd Wolfe almost missed out on a solo appearance on the finished track; despite being present for a photoshoot for the cover artwork and spending some time laying down her vocals for the track, an initial mix of the song was almost sent to mastering without her addition. Syd was reportedly furious with the oversight, but let it go due to the single's nature as a charity release. James Moss issued an apology for the error, citing stress and a lack of sleep while compiling the vocal arrangement for the single on such short notice.

As reported by Dustin Hadley on his weekly Youtube video blog, all artists involved recorded the entirety of the song individually, with Kloss Mafia and the other songwriters then tasked with the job of sorting through every artist's vocal performances to pick out what would be used in the final mix. Consequently, there was a great quantity of unused recordings from the sessions as solos were assigned. While every artist features in the collective choir on the track, not everybody had a solo on the final mix. To work around this, a tactic previously employed on the SAVE URAPS single "Play The Game" was re-visited, that of an alternate vocal arrangement on remixed versions of the track.

Two main remixes were completed for the single; a Kloss Mafia-produced R&B mix and a dark, emotional club remix by James Moss in collaboration with Audiodrama producer Katrina Benson. Each remix features a different vocal arrangement allowing every artist who participated to have a solo section on the track. Some artists retained their solo on all three versions, others appear exclusively only on a remixed version. Other remixes were completed by DJ's Mark Kinchen and Christian Stone, using only the vocal arrangement from the main single mix.

Uraps United
Uraps United is the name of the various artists that took part in the song:
 * Ashley!
 * Dustin Hadley
 * Jason
 * Nicola
 * Victory
 * Persephone
 * Curriculum
 * Lady Lou
 * Paulo Araujo
 * Malaya
 * Iris
 * Ellen Fitzpatrick
 * Kenya
 * Darren Clarke
 * Cassie Fox
 * Raphael
 * Regina Harper
 * Crystal Barker
 * Sandi Cohen
 * Amy-Jayne
 * Jackson Bradshaw
 * Jodie Steele
 * James Moss
 * Syd Wolfe

Reception
Public favour to the song was rapid, as the song rapidly gained ground on national airplay. Endorsements from various involved celebrities also helped build anticipation for the release, particularly from project organizor Ashley, and from 16-year-old Dustin Hadley, who was a large part of the song's word-of-mouth across social media with a video from his blog declaring his support and involvement in the project. With the rapidly positive response to the single upon its premiere, many critics tipped it to be a chart-topper, which it easily did upon release - topping all three major charts simultaneously.

Tracklisting

 * Radio Promo #1
 * 1) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Main Mix)
 * 2) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Instrumental)
 * 3) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Call-Out-Hook)


 * Radio Promo #2
 * 1) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Kloss Mafia R&B Re-Rub)
 * 2) "Who I Am (Golden)" (The Mossman & Benson Burner Club Edit)


 * CD & Digital Release
 * 1) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Main Mix)
 * 2) "Who I Am (Golden)" (The Mossman & Benson Burner Club Edit)
 * 3) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Kloss Mafia R&B Re-Rub)
 * 4) "Who I Am (Golden)" (The Mossman & Benson Burner Club Anthem)
 * 5) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Instrumental)


 * DJ Remix Promo
 * 1) "Who I Am (Golden)" (The Mossman & Benson Burner Club Edit)
 * 2) "Who I Am (Golden)" (The Mossman & Benson Burner Club Anthem)
 * 3) "Who I Am (Golden)" (The Mossman & Benson Burner Dark Gold Dub)
 * 4) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Christian Stone Golden Delicious Edit)
 * 5) "Who I Am (Golden)" (Christian Stone Golden Delicious Mix)
 * 6) "Who I Am (Golden)" (MK Remix Edit)
 * 7) "Who I Am (Golden)" (MK Remix)
 * 8) "Who I Am (Golden)" (MK Gold Dub)

Music Video
A music video was confirmed by Ashley! but has yet to be released.

Chart Performance
"Who I Am (Golden)" was a massive success upon release, immediately topping both the UK and Irish singles charts. Digitally and on airplay, the song quickly shot to #1. In the UK it became the biggest opener of the year, with over 145k sold in its debut week. In America it has reached the top 10 on iTunes, hindered by the after-effects of the Superbowl Half-Time Show and the release of the 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' soundtrack. Airplay has been at a slow but steady rise, and it has yet to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

In Summer 2014, the track was heavily used and featured on E! Documentary show 'I Am Cait', which has documented the transition of Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce Jenner, as she undergoes gets to grips with her new transgender life and helps to bring recognition and support for the community. In the penulitmate episode of the show, Ashley meets Jenner for the first time and a friendship begins to blossom. The pair discuss the creation of the single and the attention and reception it has brought to the LGBT community. The song reached a new peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at 21. It has since been certified double platinum, connoting sales of over two million sales.