"Shot Me Down" is a song by French house music producer and DJ David Guetta, featuring vocals from American singer Skylar Grey. The song was released on 20 January 2014 as a digital download. It was produced by David Guetta and Giorgio Tuinfort, with additional production from Ralph Wegner. "Shot Me Down" peaked at number six on the French Singles Chart. Outside France, "Shot Me Down" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Lebanon and the United Kingdom, and the top 20 of the charts in Germany, Italy and Spain. The original version of the song, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", was released by Cher in 1966 and was famously covered by Nancy Sinatra in the same year.
Critical reception DJ Times described the song as "A clear departure from Guetta’s pop anthems of the past few years" and compared "the electro frenzy of percussion-laden drops and grinding pops" to Martin Garrix's song "Animals". Mike Wass of Idolator wrote: "The track closely follows Avicii's 'Wake Me Up' formula of blending raw acoustic moments — courtesy of Skylar Grey's husky vocal — with bone-rattling beats and the radio version simply trims away some of the instrumental." Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a mixed review stating: "Even before listening to David Guetta's new single, it's difficult not to think, is this really necessary? And if you feel like you've already heard it before actually hearing it, it's because essentially you have; the Cher/Nancy Sinatra classic has not only been covered to death already, but a dance version created by production duo Audio Bullys in 2005 remains perfectly serviceable today. So why is he bothering? Surprisingly, the song's infamous chorus remains largely similar to the original here, even with Skylar Grey's vocal, which bears a haunting resemblance to Sinatra's. It's a shame then that it's been sandwiched between sections of menacing beats, strobing EDM and grinding bass. In separation they both sound like promising songs, but together, the result feels lazy and disjointed."
Track listings
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for "Shot Me Down" Chart (2014) Peakposition Italy (FIMI)17 Lebanon (The Official Lebanese Top 20)8 Luxembourg Digital Songs (Billboard)2 Mexico Anglo (Monitor Latino)8 Slovenia (SloTop50)22
Year-end chart + Year-end chart performance for "Shot Me Down" Chart (2014) Position Australia (ARIA) 53 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 33 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) 55 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) 23 France (SNEP) 63 Germany (Official German Charts) 69 Hungary (Dance Top 40) 22 Hungary (Single Top 40) 53 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 78 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 91 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 85 Spain (PROMUSICAE) 40 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 67 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 70 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 182 UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 99US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard) 51
Certifications
Release history Region Date Format Label Various 20 January 2014 Digital download (Extended) What a Music Italy 31 January 2014 Radio airplay France 3 February 2014 Digital download United Kingdom 10 February 2014
References