B major · Camelot 1B · 144 BPM
Whatcha Say
by Jason Derulo
- 144
- BPM
- B major
- Key
- 1B
- Camelot
- 62
- Danceability
- 5
- Acousticness
Jason Derulo went into the studio with a story his brother had told him over the phone. "I cheated on my girl, but I love her so much and I hope she'll give me one more shot," the brother had said, and Derulo found the confession compelling enough to build "Whatcha Say" around it. The track, produced by J. R. Rotem with additional work from German producer Fuego, reinterpreted the bridge from Imogen Heap's 2005 hit "Hide and Seek" and featured its chorus prominently. Derulo called Heap an incredible talent and said she was in love with the finished song.
Before recording it himself, Derulo had written for Diddy, Danity Kane, Donnie Klang, Sean Kingston, Cassie and Lil Wayne. The song was originally intended for Kingston's album Tomorrow, but Kingston and his team rejected it. Derulo had been discovered by Rotem, who signed him to Beluga Heights Records and Warner Bros. Records after winning the 2006 season finale of Showtime at the Apollo.
Released digitally on May 5, 2009, the single debuted at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to number one by November 12. It peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and topped the Canadian Nielsen SoundScan Digital Songs chart. In 2010, Derulo recorded a French-English version with French Guiana singer Fanny J, and a second music video followed.
Whatcha Say runs at 144 BPM, the tempo of dubstep and trap counted in half time, and hardstyle. In classical terms it sits in allegro territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 1.67 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 417 ms. It is in B major, Camelot 1B, which shares its notes with Ab minor and mixes cleanly with E major and F# major.
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