"Music Sounds Better with U" is a song by American boy band Big Time Rush from their second studio album, Elevate. The song features American rapper Mann. "Music Sounds Better With U" was leaked two weeks before its official release, which was on November 1, 2011, as the first single from Elevate. Columbia Records released the song to US mainstream radio on November 15, 2011.
The band co-wrote "Music Sounds Better with U" with Noel Zancanella, Eric Bellinger, and OneRepublic members Ryan Tedder & Brent Kutzle. Production of the song was also handled by Tedder.[3] On Big Time Radio, it was announced that before the final cut, there were around "nine or ten versions of the song".[4] The track covers the chorus from the 1998 single "Music Sounds Better with You" by Stardust.[5][6]Logan Henderson also revealed that the track features a guitar sample from Chaka Khan.[7]
Critical reception
Jenna Hally Rubenstein of MTV stated that the track "is a beyond addictive, polished and sugary pop song that's ready for da club... Tightly layered synths and guitars pair perfectly with the track's vocals."[1] Kevin Apaza of Directlyrics called the song "a bit generic and dated," but still had praise for the track.[8]
Chart performance
"Music Sounds Better with U" peaked at number 26 on the BillboardMainstream Top 40 chart during a ten weeks chart run.[9]
Music video
An accompanying music video premiered on Nickelodeon on November 12, 2011.[10]