"Bulletproof"
Single by La Roux
from the album La Roux
Released21 June 2009 (2009-06-21)
Recorded2008
StudioElfin (Teddington, London)
Genre
Length3:25
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ben Langmaid
  • Elly Jackson
La Roux singles chronology
"In for the Kill"
(2009) 		"Bulletproof"
(2009) 		"I'm Not Your Toy"
(2009)
Music video
"Bulletproof" on YouTube
Audio sample
"Bulletproof"

"Bulletproof" is a song by English synth-pop duo La Roux from their eponymous debut studio album (2009). Written and produced by the duo's members, Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid, the song was released digitally in the United Kingdom on 21 June 2009 and physically the following day as the album's third single.

"Bulletproof" was met with both critical and commercial success, debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart.[1] It was a sleeper hit in the United States, where it peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2010, following televised performances of the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Last Call with Carson Daly. It had been downloaded 2,324,000 times in the US as of September 2012.[2] It also reached within the top 10 of Australia, Austria, Flanders, Ireland, New Zealand and Ukraine. The song was used in a 2022 advertisement for Telfast.[3]

In 2023, Jackson teamed up with Chromeo and released a rework of "Bulletproof", titled "Discoproof", on 25 August. This version of the track had previously been premiered during Chromeo's set at Coachella.[4]

Writing

Jackson discussed writing "Bulletproof":

"We started it, and it felt really good. We had a great verse, and then we did about five choruses. The lyric went "This time I'll be... " and there was too much of a gap. We'd both been sitting there in silence for ages trying to work it out. Suddenly, we both looked up and went "This time, baby" and thought, "Yes, let's get it down." I do remember that when we wrote that, we thought "Call the manager, we've got the one"."[5]

Critical reception

"Bulletproof" received acclaim from music critics. One author of Pitchfork called it "a catchy-as-hell electro-pop smash",[6] and another, Joshua Love, called it the best song on La Roux.[7] Digital Spy music editor Nick Levine gave the song five stars and described it as "a bright, bouncy slice of Yazoo-ish electropop with a chorus every bit as immediate as 'In For The Kill'", adding that "Jackson's vocals are less shrill this time around, but she comes off just as formidable, informing a useless sod who's messed her about that she won't be letting him do it again."[8] Fraser McAlpine of the BBC Chart Blog, who also awarded the song five stars, stated that "the one sentence that crops up most often goes something like this: "...yes, 'Bulletproof' is brilliant, but...", hinting that this might be a song which possesses magical powers of persuasion." He went on to give five points on why the song is good: marvellous verses, marvellous chorus, the music serves the song brilliantly, less shrill to the singing, and the vocoder breakdown.[9] Adam R. Holz of Plugged In opined "Homage isn't a strong enough word to capture just how uncannily La Roux has repackaged that vibe of yore popularized by the likes of Erasure, The Human League, Depeche Mode and Eurythmics."[10]

In a more mixed review from Common Sense Media, however, Stephanie Bruzzese gave "Bulletproof" two stars, calling the song a "less creative imitation of the classic tunes created by [1980s groups including Depeche Mode, Erasure, and The Human League]" and criticizing the chorus for being "nothing unique" and Jackson's vocal performance which she described as "a higher, whinier version of Alison Moyet's". On a lighter note, she highlighted the lyrical content for being clean and the strong positive message, suggesting to parents that the song was appropriate for kids twelve years of age or older.[11]

In a September 2014 interview, Jackson expressed regrets of the song's critical and commercial success, because it was one of the reasons she was experiencing panic attacks while touring for the debut album: "I wasn't that keen on it. I don't know if I want to have a hit like that again [...] But it's 10 years ago for me now and I think it's weird when so many people see you as being represented by that song, and you feel so far away from it. [...] You stop being able to be respected in any way shape or form. I started to feel that basically [...] I really didn't like it" Also in the interview, she looked back at the song's music video, saying she'd "wish I could erase it! I don't want it to erase the house that I bought from it."[12]

Music video

Directed by The Holograms@UFO and Production Design by Alun Davies, the music video for "Bulletproof" opens with various retro patterns and abstract geometric designs in one scene. Then the camera shows Jackson sitting in a chair in a bright setting with her eyes closed. As the song starts, Jackson leaves the chair and the camera pans to show random designs of La Roux which are shown behind her. She continues to walk, while singing the song itself. At the bridge of the song, she stops and then the song starts to build to the chorus and she starts walking again while polyhedra bounce around her. The video ends with Jackson sitting back in dark setting with her eyes open. During the video, there is a variation of Jackson in the setting of bright and dark colours. Throughout the video, Jackson is styled in high-fashion clothes by House of Holland and others where references to Piet Mondrian's lozenge works can be seen. The music video was also the final music video that aired on VH1 MegaHits before it ceased broadcasting on August 31, 2020 in Latin America.

Accolades

Year Publication Country Rank List
2009 Rolling Stone United States 25 The 25 Best Songs of 2009[13]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of La Roux.[17]

Recording and management

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Bulletproof"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[60] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[61] Platinum 40,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[62] Gold 45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[63] Gold 150,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[64] Gold 7,500*
United Kingdom (BPI)[66] Platinum 530,524[65]
United States (RIAA)[67] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates for "Bulletproof"
Region Date Label Format Ref.
United Kingdom 21 June 2009 Polydor Digital EP [14]
22 June 2009
[68][69]
United States 21 July 2009
  • CD single
  • digital EP
 [15][70]
11 May 2010 Digital download – The Gold EP [16]

See also

References

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