"Swagger Jagger" is the debut single by English singer Cher Lloyd, taken from her debut studio albumSticks and Stones. It was released as the album's lead single on 31 July 2011. The song was written by the two production teams The Runners and The Monarch with Lloyd, Petr Brdičko, Autumn Rowe, Marcus Lomax and Clarence Coffee Jr. and is composed to the tune ofOh My Darling, Clementine. The music video was released on 26 June 2011. It was also used in the movie Identity Thief with Melissa McCarthy. Despite receiving negative reviews from music critics, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and at number two in Ireland, becoming her biggest point to date in these countries. The Guardian chose the song as the best number one single of 2011.
Background
"Swagger Jagger" received its first airplay on 20 June 2011. The single was leaked onto the internet on June 15, but this version was later confirmed as only the demo of the track on Lloyd's Twitter account. Lloyd performed the song on T4 on the Beach and also performed at the Leeds Aire FMParty in the Park and Key 103 Live Manchester, both on the day of release of "Swagger Jagger".
Critical reception
The song received mainly negative reviews from critics. Initial reviews compared the song to the Christmas carol "Little Donkey". However, in a positive review, Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song four out of five stars. He noted similarities between the song's chorus and the Americanwestern folk ballad "Oh My Darling, Clementine",an opinion shared by users at "whosampled.com". In a negative review, Sabotage Times said of the "abominable" track: "Coming across like a sink estate answer to the Black Eyed Peas, the track combines a shouty, tuneless verse with a chorus that riffs on 'Oh My Darling Clementine'".
Chart performance
"Swagger Jagger" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 7 August 2011 ― for the week ending dated 13 August 2011. As of 16 December 2011, the single's sales have exceeded 200,000 copies in Britain. In Ireland, the single charted at number two on the Irish Singles Chart. The single debuted at number seventy nine on the Mega Top 100 in the Netherlands. After a performance during the finals of So You ThinkYou Can Dance, the song re-entered the chart at number sixty.
