Magic - Rude

[Emir Ballard]

Rude" was an international commercial success amidst mixed reception from music critics. The song peaked at number six on the Canadian Hot 100 and internationally topped the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden. "Rude" was the ninth best-selling song of 2014, with global sales of 8.6 million units, and won the Juno Award for Single of the Year.[2]

"Rude" was named after the reggae term "rude boy" and originally based on a real-life situation. The lead singer of Magic!, Nasri, had been in an unhealthy relationship with a previous girlfriend. After the two of them got into a fight with each other, the band based the song off that headline. The couple was in a "mean time" when they were both being rude to each other, as Nasri says in what he describes as a "dark vibe".[6]

Critical reviews for "Rude" have been mixed. 4Music complimented the song, saying: "One listen and you'll be hooked."[7] An article in Psychology Today drew a connection between the lyrics of the song and social attitudes about interracial relationships,[8] while Time magazine named "Rude" the tenth-worst song of 2014, criticizing its "sanitized reggae-fusion sound" and lyrics.[9] Renowned for Sound gave "Rude" a 4 out of 5 star rating, calling the track "lighthearted fun."[10]

The music video was filmed in November 2013, directed by David Rousseau.[11] It features the band singing the song in a garage while scenes show Nasri in a relationship with a woman played by model Ayla Parker. After this, Nasri asks her conservative father, played by actor Brian Knudson,[12] for her hand in marriage, but the father refuses and won't explain why. The mother, played by actress Mary Kay McCartney, is somewhat softer. Eventually, Nasri secretly proposes to her and together with the rest of the band, try to convince the father, but he still refuses. Nasri marries her anyway and all party in the garage as Parker proclaims her love for Nasri and she abandons her overprotective father's house once and for all. The video was released on the band's YouTube account on December 5, 2013.[13] As of January 2023, the video has over 2.3 billion views on YouTube, and is one of the top 70 most viewed videos on the site.[14]

On December 9, 2013, the band made their Australian television debut on Sunrise, where they performed "Rude".[15] In June 2014, the band performed an acoustic version of the song on On Air with Ryan Seacrest.[16] In July, they performed it on The View and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[17][18] On August 10, 2014, the band performed the song at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards.[19] Magic! and American singer Marc Anthony performed a Spanglish version of the song at the 15th Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in 2014 with Anthony singing parts of the song in Spanish.[20]

"Rude" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 97 on May 10, 2014.[27] On the issue dated July 26, 2014, the song reached number one, marking their first and only number-one single. "Rude" spent six consecutive weeks at number one. On the chart issue dated September 6, 2014, the song tumbled from number one to number 5 on the Hot 100 as Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" debuted atop the chart. This is the first time since The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" that a song fell all the way to the number 5 spot after spending as many as six weeks atop the chart. The song spent 16 weeks in the chart's top 10. Magic! is the sixth Canadian band to top the Billboard Hot 100, the first since Nickelback with "How You Remind Me" in 2001. It is also the ninth reggae song to reach the summit, the last being Sean Paul's "Get Busy" in 2003.[28]

"Rude" reached number two on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs on June 18, 2014, selling 207,000 digital copies.[29] The following week the song peaked at number one, selling 210,000. It is only the second reggae song to top the Billboard Hot Digital Songs, after Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" in 2007.[30] The song was certified three-times Platinum by the RIAA in September 2014 and has sold 3 million copies in the US, as of January 2015.[31]

The song "Rude" by the band MAGIC! is annoying and stupid. It's annoying and stupid for a few reasons. One of those reasons is the fact that the band stylizes their name as "MAGIC!," which makes my job as an editor difficult, because I have to insert a stupid exclamation point in the middle of a sentence for no reason.

More importantly, though, lyricist Nasri Atweh doesn't seem to understand what being rude actually entails. If you're confused or haven't had access to a radio in the last few months, here's the idiotic earworm of which I'm speaking:

To be fair, part of why this song is so irritating is the fact that's grossly overplayed, and that has more to do with radio payola and record labels than it does with the band MAGIC!. (Again, how the Hell am I supposed to punctuate that? That's rude.)

But the message of the song is worse. The lyrics describe the Atweh going to visit his girlfriend's father, while wearing his best suit, to ask for her hand in marriage, but that doesn't go as well as Atweh would have liked:

"Saturday morning jumped out of bed and put on my best suit / Got in my car and raced like a jet, all the way to you / Knocked on your door with heart in my hand / To ask you a question / 'Cause I know that you're an old fashioned man yeah yeah."

Here's Atweh's second problem. He sounds overeager, like a four-year-old begging for candy or a 14-year-old begging for Justin Bieber tickets or me begging for Chris Hemsworth to lift the restraining order. The guy knows what answer you want, you don't need to spell it out for him. That's insulting to his traditional nature as well as to his intelligence. Remain calm and poised and you'd be more likely to impress this dude.

"You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die / Tough luck my friend but the answer is no! / Why you gotta be so rude? / Don't you know I'm human too / Why you gotta be so rude / I'm gonna marry her anyway / Marry that girl / Marry her anyway / Marry that girl / Yeah no matter what you say."

Here's the thing. The dad's message is harsh, sure, but is it actually rude? He could've been like, "Get off my lawn and off my little girl, asshole!" And he didn't. Instead he just delivered a really firm message, and Atweh responds by acting like a petulant child: "I'm gonna marry her anyway!" Great. That's great. Then just do it, big boy. That'd be more respectable than standing on her dad's front steps essentially sticking out your tongue and whining, "Nyah nyah nyah." Just because you don't like an answer doesn't make it rude.

Then you need counseling, good sir, because you're in an overly dependent relationship and possibly suicidal (and definitely a stage five clinger). Get help, then go back to pops when you're rational and psychologically sound. (Also, thank your lucky stars that your girlfriend doesn't have any real daddy issues and that she hasn't kicked your whiny ass to the curb already.)

Oh, that'll work. Disrespect him and bring him down to your level, instead of respecting him as an elder. Chances are he's going to hate you, if he even shows up. And if he trips you heading up to that altar, you've earned it.

Okay, Charles Manson. No father will approve of a guy who clearly can't take no for answer and who has about as firm a grasp on the word "rude" as Alanis Morissette did on the word "ironic." It's time to take a seat and get the Hell off his lawn. And my radio.

Saturday morning jumped out of bed and put on my best suit

Got in my car and raced like a jet, all the way to you

Knocked on your door with heart in my hand

To ask you a question

'Cause I know that you're an old fashioned man yeah yeah

'Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes

'Cause I need to know

You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die

Tough luck my friend but the answer is no!

Why you gotta be so rude?

Don't you know I'm human too

Why you gotta be so rude

I'm gonna marry her anyway

Marry that girl

Marry her anyway

Marry that girl

Yeah no matter what you say

Marry that girl

And we'll be a family

Why you gotta be so rude

I hate to do this, you leave no choice

Can't live without her

Love me or hate me we will be boys

Standing at that alter

Or we will run away

To another galaxy you know

You know she's in love with me

She will go anywhere I go

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes

'Cause I need to know

You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die

Tough luck my friend cause the answer's still no!

Why you gotta be so rude?

Don't you know I'm human too

Why you gotta be so rude

I'm gonna marry her anyway

Marry that girl

Marry her anyway

Marry that girl

No matter what you say

Marry that girl

And we'll be a family

Why you gotta be so rude?

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes

'Cause I need to know

You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die

Tough luck my friend but no still means no!

Why you gotta be so rude?

Don't you know I'm human too

Why you gotta be so rude

I'm gonna marry her anyway

Marry that girl

Marry her anyway

Marry that girl

No matter what you say

Marry that girl

And we'll be a family

Why you gotta be so rude?(yeah)

Why you gotta be so rude?(yeah)

Why you gotta be so rude?

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