Artist: Weekend
Title: Fired Up
Genre(s): Pop, Rock-Pop, Electropop, Dance
Length: 38:42
Writers: Various
Producers: Various
Format(s): CD, Vinyl, Cassette, Digital Download, Streaming
Label: Five Pesky Kids, Angel Music (Original Release)
Singles Released: Everything About You (#2), Smile About It (#1), Fired Up (#5)

Fired Up is the debut studio album from British-Irish boy band Weekend, initially released on March 27th, 2012 via Angel Music Records. After acquiring the rights, Five Pesky Kids are releasing a remastered 10th anniversary edition. The album was recorded over a short period of five months between November 2011 and February 2012, in the UK and Sweden, working with a variety of writers and producers. Unlike the albums that followed, the majority of the tracks already existed before the band's involvement, resulting in fewer writing credits amongst the members. The album's lyrical content regards youth, first love, relationships, heartbreak, partying and empowerment.

After being formed through rounds of auditions held by former G2L member Lyrica Ocha and management company FireStar Talent in October 2011, Weekend were signed by label owner and rapper Mykaylah Landers to a £1 million Angel Music Records recording contract. With Ocha and Landers' involvement in the group as well as the hefty sum of money, Weekend began garnering media attention before recording even began. Hailed as a "great pop experiment", expectations were high and deadlines were short. Recording for "Fired Up" began in November 2011, as the group moved between London and Stockholm to work with multiple producers and writers. With interest being high, many creatives entered "bidding wars" to be able to work with the band. The fast-paced recording process was described as "intensive", with the group recording a multitude of tracks in order to find the "perfect" songs for their anticipated debut. Many of the songs already existed as either full or chorus-only demos before being presented to the band. "Smile About It", "The Weekend" and "Almost Persuaded" were the only three tracks written entirely from scratch by the members of the band. Dustyn Blue recorded and re-cut all guitar segments heard throughout the album.

Critical reception of the album was initially mixed to positive upon release, with further acclaim generating in retrospect over the last decade. Many contemporary music critics praised the record's "fun", "youthful" and "energetic" pop-oriented melodies and production which deviated from the "glossier", "high end" and "artsy" material which was popular in the charts at the time. Retrospective reviews have also highlighted and applauded Weekend's decision to make all of their records gender neutral, allowing further appeal and inclusivity towards all gender and sexual identities. The album's tracks feature a mainstream metronomic pop sound, delving into other pockets of the genre such as rock and dance-pop, combining a mixture of both authentic and synthesised instrumentation. While the members' vocals are presented individually on the album, this record heavily featured Oscar Ward as lead vocalist, with Dustyn Blue as secondary lead. Members Billy Khan and Riley Hamilton alternated as the tertiary singers while Scott Wellington received the least vocal airtime.

"Fired Up" was an international success, debuting at #1 on the Chart Heat Albums list with 370k units sold. The record has since been certified 5x Platinum, became the third best-selling album of 2012, best-selling by a group, and began a trend of consecutive #1 albums for the band. With "Fired Up" debuting atop the Albums Chart, they subsequently became the first all-vocal male group to reach #1 on that chart with acts such as ELMNT, Public Warning, Midnight20 and Orion following suit in later years. Three singles were released from the album. The record's lead single, "Everything About You", released in January 2012, debuted and peaked at #2 on Chart Heat Singles and catapulted the group to global stardom. Second single, "Smile About It", became the group's first #1 hit. Third and final single, the title track, "Fired Up", performed more modestly, peaking at #5. The former two singles are listed among the best-selling singles of all-time.

---

A 10-YEAR CELEBRATION MESSAGE FROM WEEKEND

---

TRACKLIST



Everything About You
(S.Hollywood, J.Stellfox, H.Thompson)

Smile About It
(D.Blue, R.Hamilton, B.Khan, O.Ward, S.Wellington)

Fired Up
(W.Nugent, C.Peters)

Crash
(D.Blue, S.Hollywood, S.Wellington)

Tell Me What You Want
(D.Blue, B.Khan, L.Mathers, O.Parker)

On Replay
(J.Stellfox)

Gone
(K.Daniels, B.Jackson, V.Knight)

Moon is Blue
(F.Millar, O.Parker)

The Weekend
(D.Blue, R.Hamilton, B.Khan, O.Ward, S.Wellington)

Ain't the Same
(K.Daniels, E.Poole)

Almost Persuaded
(D.Blue, R.Hamilton, B.Khan, O.Ward, S.Wellington)

Artist: Weekend
Title: Smile About It
Genre(s): Pop, Electropop, Dance-pop
Length: 3:24
Writers: D.Blue, R.Hamilton, B.Khan, O.Ward, S.Wellington
Producer: MakeAScene
Label: Five Pesky Kids
From The Album: Fired Up

Smile About It is a song by British-Irish boy band Weekend. It served as their second single from their freshman album, Fired Up. Written by Dustyn Blue, Riley Hamilton, Billy Khan, Oscar Ward and Scott Wellington, the song was released by Angel Music Records on March 13th, 2012. Production was handled by British duo MakeAScene. It is an upbeat pop and electropop song which has a bombastic and anthemic sound to it. "Electro-tinged", the track also contains prominent siren sound effects throughout its duration. Although likened to its predecessor for its "loud", "catchy" and "boisterous" nature, "Smile About It" differs in the fact that its production is studio generated unlike the live instrumentation of their debut release. The song features lead vocals from Dustyn Blue and Oscar Ward while all five members sing the chorus in unison. "Smile About It" is a noteworthy release in Weekend's discography as it was the first song ever written by the band and is the result of a "fight" with their team at the time over creative control. Lyrically, the song is a tongue-in-cheek take on dealing with the aftermath of a breakup.

Upon release, "Smile About It" received generally positive reviews with many publications appearing less hostile and more receptive to the band in comparison to when they released their debut. Many critics commended the group's first attempt at writing and others praised their ability to switch from rock-pop to dance while some perceived it as "hit chasing". Kallum Devine of AllMusic branded the song as "instantly infectious" before proclaiming that "Weekend have arrived". The song gained instant attention and traction across radio and television networks, aided by another viral music video. The clip was noted for its vibrancy and the "iconic" coloured suits worn by the band. It kickstarted the long association of Weekend with a specific individual colour; Oscar (Red), Dustyn (Blue), Billy (Purple), Riley (Green) and Scott (Orange). The single debuted at #1 on Chart Heat, becoming the first of multiple chart-topping records for the band. After claiming the top spot, backlash from other artists ignited once more with many dubbing them "industry plants" and "disingenuous". "Smile About It" has since gone on to become one of the best-selling songs of all-time according to Chart Heat data. It was Weekend's biggest selling single until 2019's "Be A Man".

---

WEEKEND'S REFLECTION

Riley: "This was the first song we ever wrote together, lads!"

Scott: "My how we've grown."

Dustyn: "We must've thought we were real grown back then. The lyrics are so icy and pessimistic. Sarcastic little buggers. I had literally just turned 16 when we wrote this. What life experience had I had? Who hurt us?!"

Riley: "I still think it holds up to be fair. It's such a punchy song and that's what we set out to do. This one was all about proving people wrong."

Dustyn: "Yeah, I remember we battled with the label to allow us to write..."

Billy: "A few chairs were thrown."

Dustyn: "A few chairs were thrown, yes. When they caved in and allowed us to write something, I remember thinking; "OK, we have to knock this out of the park. We need to prove that we can write a great pop song on our own." I think we did that!"

Oscar: "We owe a lot to this track. I vividly remember the rush we felt during the release and that feeling of satisfaction. Not only had we been able to prove people wrong and shown that we could write, the label sheepishly came to us and told us that they wanted it to be the second single. Oh, we were so smug!"

Riley: "And it went to number one!"

Oscar: "Yeah, our first number one! For me, one of the highlights of our career. Felt on top of the world and untouchable at the moment."

Billy: "MakeAScene really did their thing on the production as well. I knew we had a great song with the vocal melody alone but when they hit play on that big, bubbly electro track?! Pairing that with the cold, sarcastic as fuck lyrics was genius. And that intro?! Holy fuck."

Riley: "God, yeah. That instrumental could strip paint. That and the video with us in those hideous but iconic coloured suits."

Scott: "Not those fucking suits! I still have nightmares. Some of yours weren't that bad. I was walking around all day in a bright orange suit looking like a bottle of Fanta!"

Dustyn: "I loved those suits! They were so camp! I've still got mine in storage."

Oscar: "I looked like a used tampon in mine!"

Riley: As garish as it all might have been, it all came together and just screamed the ballsy image and sound of Weekend. Those opening lines about tea and toast as well..."

Scott: "How British Invasion of us!"

Dustyn: "Yes and you make the Irishman sing them!"

Oscar: "To be fair, I'm sure you did actually write those lines, Dust."

Dustyn: "Oops!"

Billy: "When I think of "Smile About It", I definitely associate it with our true arrival."

Dustyn: "Weekend have arrived, baby!!"

---

All
Dustyn
Billy
Oscar
Riley
Scott

"SMILE ABOUT IT"

Toast is burnt and the tea's turning cold
Only static churning on the radio
Concrete jungles block out the rainbow
Oh isn't it the saddest story ever told?
Third breakdown I've had today
Headphones on to numb the pain
Ticket for the late night train
Hope to meet common sense when I'm halfway

Cliches of dancing 'til I die
"After dark comes the morning light"
Oh, whatever you say, hey!
I'm sure that I'll be a-okay!
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"
God, does it go on much longer?

So I'm gonna scream (ay!)
Yeah, I'm gonna shout (oh!)
Like I've got something to smile about
Come on, let's preach it to the choir
Leave these fractured hearts inspired
So I'm gonna scream (ay!)
Yeah, I'm gonna shout (oh!)
Like I've got something to smile about
No, you can't put out my fire
And yeah, see I'm a real good liar

Another chat with an expert on relations
Textbook quotes with no heart in the equation
Threatened to reroute all my invitations
Guess it's time to build a new foundation
But they play our song in every bar
Salt in the wound before I even scar
Cursing your name in the back of this car
One day I'll work this out on my guitar

Turning through a broken sleep
Tired of counting dirty little sheep
But "tomorrow's a new day", hey!
I'm sure that I'll be a-okay!
"There's a light at the end of the tunnel"
Get me out before the whole thing crumbles

So I'm gonna scream (ay!)
Yeah, I'm gonna shout (oh!)
Like I've got something to smile about
Come on, let's preach it to the choir
Leave these fractured hearts inspired
So I'm gonna scream (ay!)
Yeah, I'm gonna shout (oh!)
Like I've got something to smile about
No, you can't put out my fire
And yeah, see I'm a real good liar

Cliches of dancing 'til I die
"After dark comes the morning light"
Oh, whatever you say, hey!
I'm sure that I'll be a-okay!
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"
God, does it go on much longer?

So I'm gonna scream (ay!)
Yeah, I'm gonna shout (oh!)
Like I've got something to smile about
Come on, let's preach it to the choir
Leave these fractured hearts inspired
So I'm gonna scream (ay!)
Yeah, I'm gonna shout (oh!)
Like I've got something to smile about
No, you can't put out my fire
And yeah, see I'm a real good liar



Can Be Compared To: