2012 (It Ain't the End)

"2012 (It Ain't the End)" is a song by British singer Jay Sean taken from the compilation album, Hit the Lights. It features rapper and labelmate Nicki Minaj and is the album's lead single. The song was produced by OFM production team J-Remy and Bobby Bass. It was released to US radio stations and made available for digital download on 3 August 2010.^[3] The title is a reference to the 2012 phenomenon.

"2012 (It Ain't the End)"
Single by Jay Sean featuring Nicki Minaj
from the album Hit the Lights
B-side	"Your Love – Remix (featuring Jay Sean)"
Released	3 August 2010
Recorded	2010^[1]
Genre	Dance-pop synthpop^[2]
Length	3:41 3:19 (without Minaj)
Label	Cash Money Republic
Songwriter(s)	Kamaljeet Singh Jhooti Onika Maraj J-Remy Bobby Bass Jared Cotter J. Perkins
Producer(s)	J-Remy Bobbybass
Jay Sean singles chronology
"Each Tear" (2010) "2012 (It Ain't the End)" (2010) "Hit the Lights" (2011)
Nicki Minaj singles chronology
"Bottoms Up" (2010) "2012 (It Ain't the End)" (2010) "Letting Go (Dutty Love)" (2010)

According to his interview on MTV News, the song was inspired by the sci-fi movie 2012 and theories about the world ending. In addition, he wanted to inspire fans to jam like the world is ending but also to remember that it's not. "Sometimes you need to remind people to let go of all the heaviness they're carrying through the day. Yes, you had a stressful day but it ain't the end there. That's why it's called '2012 (It Ain't the End),' " Sean explained.^[4]

Critical reception

Bill Lamb from About.com rated the single 4 out of 5 stars, commenting on "The powerful vocal kickoff", "[e]xpansive world party atmosphere" and "Nicki Minaj on guest raps". Lamb also noted that the song was similar to that of "Down" and concluded that "2012 (It Ain't the End) feels like a wise move for Jay Sean capitalising on the party success of his two prior hits "Down" and "Do You Remember" while moving into an even more expansive sound".^[5] Robert Copsey from Digital Spy rated the song 3 out of 5 stars, also noting its similarity to "the USA-slaying synthpop/R&B sound of his breakthrough".^[6]

Chart performance

"2012 (It Ain't the End)" debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of 13 August 2010, later peaking at number 31. It peaked at number 34 on the US Pop Songs chart and climbed for a few weeks from its debut at number 92 to its ultimate height at number 23 on the Canadian Hot 100 .^[7] The single also debuted at number 40 on the ARIA Charts for the chart week of 26 August 2010 and at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, on the issue of 24 October 2010.^[8]

Track listing

Digital Download

No.	Title	Length
1.	"2012 (It Ain't the End)" (featuring Nicki Minaj)	3:42

UK iTunes Remixes EP Digital Download

No.	Title	Length
1.	"2012 (It Ain't the End) [WestFunk & Steve Smart Radio Edit]" (featuring Nicki Minaj)	3:45
2.	"2012 (It Ain't the End) [WestFunk & Steve Smart Club Remix]" (featuring Nicki Minaj)	7:26
3.	"Your Love" (featuring Nicki Minaj)	3:33

Music video

The music video for "2012 (It Ain't the End)" was shot in Los Angeles on 19 July 2010, with Nicki Minaj. The video is set to many flashing lights and a typical hip-hop club scene environment. But in post-production, Sean says the music video's director Erik White would be zooming out to show parties in three cities around the world. "There's all these wonderful ideas the director Erik White has been telling me [about]." 'They are gonna zoom out, and it's gonna zoom into Tokyo! And the world is gonna spin around!' And I'm like, 'Really? That's amazing!' So for me, I'm looking forward to seeing those effects." "The concept of the video is basically all about throwing the biggest party, celebrating life. It's basically going around the world, from London to Tokyo to New York, seeing people celebrating good times."^[9] The video should have a premiered on 8 August 2010 on MTV,^[10] however the same day Sean confirmed on Twitter that the premiere has been rescheduled.^[11] The video was leaked on 14 August 2010, but Jay Sean confirmed that the leaked version of the video wasn't the final version.^[12]

The video features a cameo appearance from former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, Cash Money Records CEO Birdman, writer Jared Cotter, producers J-Remy and Bobby Bass, and Thara. On 24 August 2010 was the final version of the video was released to VEVO. The prelude and the music video of his song "Break Your Back" can be heard and seen in the end of the music video, but the full version is yet to be released.^[13]

The video won Best Video in the 2011 UK Asian Music Awards.^[14]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2010) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[15] 40 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[16] 22 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[17] 23 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)^[18] 20 Canada Hot AC (Billboard)^[19] 32 Ireland (IRMA)^[20] 44 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[21] 9 Scotland (OCC)^[22] 8 UK Asian Chart (The Official Charts Company)^[23] 1 UK Singles (OCC)^[24] 9 US Billboard Hot 100^[25] 31 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[26] 20

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[27] 184

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[28]	Gold	7,500^*
United States (RIAA)^[29]	Gold	500,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
United States	3 August 2010	Mainstream radio^[30]	Cash Money Records, Universal Republic
		Digital download^[31]
Canada^[32]
United Kingdom^[33]	24 October 2010		Jayded, 2Point9 Records

References

1. "Jay Sean ft. Nicki Minaj – 2012 (It Ain't The End)". DJBooth. 25 July 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
2. Smith, Grady (14 July 2010). "Jay Sean's new single '2012': A late-summer anthem?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
3. 2012 (It Ain't the End) feat. Nicki Minaj – Single by Jay Sean on iTunes
4. [1]
5. 2012 Review by About.com 17 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 12 October 2010
6. 2012 Review by Digital Spy Digital Spy Retrieved 22 October 2010
7. Jay Sean Music News & Info | Billboard.com
8. The UK Singles Charts, week of October 24 Digital Spy Retrieved 24 October 2010
9. JaySeanVideos. "Jay Sean – 2012 Feat. Nicki Minaj (Behind The Scenes)". Youtube. from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
10. Bhansali, Akshay (22 July 2010). "Jay Sean, Nicki Minaj Shine In Exclusive '2012' Video Preview". MTV. from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
11. Twitter (Update) / Jay Sean
12. @jaysean (14 August 2010). "thanx4all ur amazing comments on 2012 vid (tho it LEAKED!) this isnt the final version!Look out for the special ending on official version!" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 February 2011 – via Twitter.
13. Jay Sean – 2012 (It Ain't The End) ft. Nicki Minaj on YouTube
14. Jas Sembhi (10 March 2011). "2011 UK Asian Music Awards Winners". desiblitz.com. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
15. "Jay Sean feat. Nicki Minaj – 2012 (It Ain't the End)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
16. "Jay Sean feat. Nicki Minaj – 2012 (It Ain't the End)" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
17. "Jay Sean Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
18. "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
19. "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
20. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Jay Sean". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
21. "Jay Sean feat. Nicki Minaj – 2012 (It Ain't the End)". Top 40 Singles.
22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
23. "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. 30 October 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
25. "Jay Sean Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
26. "Jay Sean Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
27. "End of Year 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
28. . Radioscope. 21 August 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
29. "American single certifications – Jay Sean – 2012 (It Ain't the End)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
30. . FMQB. Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Inc. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
31. "2012 (It Ain't the End) – Single by Jay Sean". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
32. "2012 (It Ain't the End) – Single by Jay Sean". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
33. "2012 (It Ain't the End) – Single by Jay Sean". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 3 June 2012.