Don't Say Goodnight

"Don't Say Goodnight" is a song by Canadian R&B singer Jackson Bradshaw taken from his sophomore album Take You Higher. The song was written by Bradshaw himself and his frequent songwriting partner Stephanie Kesh while it was produced by The Neptunes. The song was released worldwide as the lead single from Take You Higher on July 8, 2013 though it was released to streaming services in June 2013 in the US.

The song marks a departure of Bradshaw's typical and signature urban adult contemporary sound with lyrics about love; instead, the song has contemporary R&B with influences of pop and disco and the lyrics talk about a guy who is lusting after a woman that he wants to steal away from the guy she is with. The song received positive reviews from critics and fans who complimented Bradshaw's new direction in sound for the song.

Commercially, the single became Bradshaw's biggest international hit, reaching number one in many countries throughout Europe, and also in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, becoming his first number one in many of those countries. In the United States, the single became Bradshaw's first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for ten non-consecutive weeks, becoming his biggest hit there. The single first reached number one due to streaming and airplay alone before digital sales continued its reign at the top of the chart. The single also reached number one on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the Billboard R&B Songs chart, becoming his first chart topper on both. The single has been certified 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling three million copies in 10 weeks, becoming one of the fastest selling singles of the year in the US. In July 2013, "Don't Say Goodnight" broke a record for most radio audience for song by a Canadian artist, reaching 242.56 million listeners in the US.

In the UK, the single debuted and peaked at #5, becoming his sixth top ten single there; still charting for eleven weeks so far, the single has sold more 273,000 copies and has been certified Gold by the Urapopstar Recording Association Phonographic Society (URAPS). The single also charted high on the UK Downloads chart and performed moderately well on the UK Top 40 airplay chart.

The music video for the single was released in June 2013 and features Bradshaw randomly posing and singing shirtless. The video also features Bradshaw flirting and cavorting with attractive models and ends when he steps in a water sprinkler, purposely getting himself wet, and takes of his shirt, showing off his body. The video was well-received and has become his most-watched video on YouTube and Vevo. Bradshaw later performed "Don't Say Goodnight" at a variety of TV appearances and other events including at the inaugural Uraps Festival and at the 24th annual Urapopstar Awards, both in September 2013.

Background, writing, and composition
"Don't Say Goodnight" was written by Bradshaw and his frequent songwriting partner Stephanie Kesh while The Neptunes produced the song. The song was written, composed, recorded, and essentially completed within an hour. Bradshaw, who admitted that he was mostly drunk for most of the recording of his album Take You Higher, was mostly sober while recording the song. Towards the completion of it, however, Bradshaw was beginning to get drunk and was "completely intoxicated" by the time he recorded the song's middle eight, which was added to the song at the last minute. In the single version of "Don't Say Goodnight", the beginning parts of the middle eight is cut down. Bradshaw admitted that he was inspired to write the song after listening to Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers (who also have an unrelated song called "Don't Say Goodnight" that he would later cover for the song's b-side), and Paulo Araujo. The song was initially titled "Bar Fight" and had more "confrontational" lyrics at first before they, along with the title, were changed around to make Bradshaw sound more "classier, smoother, and seductive".

"Don't Say Goodnight" is a contemporary R&B song that sonically features elements of urban pop and disco. Lyrically, the song talks about a man who is presumably at a club where he sees a woman he is lusting after and smitten with, prompting him to want to take her home (to either his or her place) despite the fact that she is taken, or at least on a date, with someone else. The song is a departure from Bradshaw's signature sound which consists of an urban adult contemporary style featuring lyrics of love.

Release
"Don't Say Goodnight" was released as the official lead single from Take You Higher on July 8, 2013, where it was released worldwide. In June 2013, one month before the single's official release, the song was made available for streaming in the United States. When officially released, the single was released on CD single and digital download formats.

Bradshaw recorded two covers for as b-sides for the single's release in the UK: "Don't Say Goodnight", an unrelated song originally done by the Isley Brothers, and "Would You Go With Me?", originally done by Josh Turner. "Above Ground" and an acoustic rendition of "You Complicate Me" were also included as b-sides for the single.

Promotion
Bradshaw promoted "Don't Say Goodnight" along with its parent album Take You Higher, since the two were to be released two weeks apart from each  other (with "Don't Say Goodnight" released on July 8th while Take You Higher on July 22nd).

Bradshaw signed an endorsement deal to promote Dr. Dre Beats Pill. Bradshaw shot a commercial promoting a red-colored Beats Pill which used "Don't Say Goodnight". The commercial featured Bradshaw and models (which would appear in the video for the song) hold the Beats Pill while they also flirted. Bradshaw considered the commercial to also be a "teaser" to his video for the song which was uploaded to YouTube and Vevo three days later. Many people considered the commercial to be "provocative" and "racy".

Background
The music video for "Don't Say Goodnight" was filmed in May 2013 on a soundstage and later outside in a park in Los Angeles, California, United States. Bradshaw admitted that while he was shooting the video he had no idea what he was doing or how the video would turn out, something that worried him a bit. Bradshaw initially expressed ambivalence towards the video's outcome before its release. After its release, however, Bradshaw expressed he was pleased with how it came out.

The music video to "Don't Say Goodnight" was uploaded to VEVO on June 18, 2013, two to three days after it was initially supposed to premiere.

Synopsis
The video starts out with Bradshaw taking off his shirt and the rest of the video focuses on Bradshaw posing and singing shirtless. Intercut are scenes of him and two of his friends flirting with attractive models and the models dancing seductively. During one of the shots, Bradshaw can be seen drinking a glass of Remy Martin cognac (which was put in as a product placement). Throughout most of the video, the scenes are shown in a blue colored-tint. As the video nears its end, it suddenly switches to full color and the models are seen outside looking "normal"/"plain-looking" socializing together and drinking soda when they see Jackson and begin looking and talking about him. Jackson sees the girls and then sees a nearby water sprinkler going off, which he steps in to make himself wet. The girls are at first baffled by his actions but then are turned on when he takes of his wet shirt to ring out the water, flexing his muscles in the process. With the girls stunned by what they saw, Jackson smiles, laughs, and then walks away.

Reception
The video received mostly positive reviews though some people were confused by the video's "randomness". The video has been gained 92 million views, making it Bradshaw's most watched video to date.

In September 2013, the video was nominated for a Uraps Award for Best Male Video.

Critical reception
The song received mostly positive reviews from critics and fans who complimented Bradshaw's new direction in sound. His vocal performance and the song's production was also praised as well.

Commercial performance
"Don't Say Goodnight" debuted and peaked at #5 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 63,555 copies in its first week. It became Bradshaw's sixth top ten hit in the UK. To date, the single has sold 273,191 copies and has been certified Gold by the Urapopstar Recording Association Phonographic Society (URAPS). The song has spent eleven weeks on the charts, spending two weeks in the top ten. The single also peaked at #5 on the UK Pre-Release chart, #6 on the UK Digital chart, and #21 on the UK Top 40 airplay chart, essentially gaining "recurrent" status on the latter.

Internationally, "Don't Say Goodnight" became Bradshaw's biggest hit to date. It reached #1 in various countries in Europe and also in Australia, New Zealand, and Bradshaw's native country of Canada. It became Bradshaw's first number one single in most of those countries. In Italy, the single peaked at #2.

In the United States, the single debuted at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and jumped to #1, the following week. Without support from digital sales, the single reached #1 on streaming and airplay solely. The single eventually fell from the top spot but returned to #1 after the single was released digitally in the US. Its strong digital sales, coupled by its continued strong streaming and airplay, kept the single at #1 for an additional nine weeks. The single has spent a total of ten non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Bradshaw's biggest hit in the US. The single has been certified 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling three million copies in 10 weeks, becoming one of the fastest selling singles of the year in the US. The single also reached #1 on various Billboard charts including the Hot 100 Airplay, Hot Digital Songs, Streaming Songs, On-Demand Songs, Pop Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and Hot R&B Songs. The single was also Bradshaw's first entry on the Billboard Dance Club Songs, reaching #3. In July 2013, "Don't Say Goodnight" broke a record for most radio audience for song by a Canadian artist, reaching 242.56 million listeners in the US, becoming Bradshaw's biggest radio hit there.

Live performances
Bradshaw first performed "Don't Say Goodnight" on The Graham Norton Show in late June 2013. The performance was memorable for having popular superstar singing sensation China jump on stage, steal Bradshaw's microphone, and essentially hijack his performance. Bradshaw, a fan of China's, lost his composure and expressed excitement and shock that China joined him on stage. Bradshaw eventually finished up the performance. Bradshaw also performed the song at a promotional appearance in a club in London and at the BET Awards, where he sang twice and was nominated for Best Male R&B Artist at the ceremony.

In September 2013, Bradshaw performed the song at the inaugural Uraps Festival, giving a rather tame performance of the song. In contrast, later that month, Bradshaw also performed the song at the 24th annual Uraps Awards where he was joined by models in scantily clad but outrageous outfits, including one who was wearing an outfit that was made of bags of cotton candy that later revealed a baring two piece white outfit. Bradshaw also drank a glass, and later a bottle, of cognac while singing on stage. The performance surprised many but received positive feedback.

Remixes
Bradshaw revealed that a country remix and a dubstep remix was planned for the single. He would later plan on doing a fusion country-dubstep remix for the song.

Track listing

 * CD single/digital download #1
 * 1) "Don't Say Goodnight"
 * 2) "Don't Say Goodnight" (Laidback Luke Remix)
 * 3) "Would You Go With Me?"


 * CD single/digital download #2
 * 1) "Don't Say Goodnight" (Extended Mix)
 * 2) "Above Ground"
 * 3) "You Complicate Me" (Acoustic version)
 * 4) "Above Ground" (Acoustic version)
 * 5) "Don't Say Goodnight" [Isley Brothers cover]