Background
The first studio version of "Up" premiered on Popjustice on 17 July 2008 in the form of a short clip, after the group previously performed the song, when it was being recorded, live at various gigs in the United Kingdom. The song then officially premiered in full on 31 August 2008 on BBC Radio 1.
"Up" was co-written by Josef Larossi and Andreas Romdhane of Quiz & Larossi, in collaboration with Ina Wroldsen. The song was produced by Swedish musicians Quiz & Larossi, with additional production done by Jeremy Wheatley. Additional programming and keyboards were by Fiasco. Quiz & Larossi also contributed to the track's keyboard, drum instrumentation and programming. The song was mixed by Jeremy Wheatley with the assistance of Richard Edgeler. The vocals performed by The Saturdays were recorded by Ina Wroldsen, engineered by Graham Archer and mastered by Dick Beetham.
"Up" is an upbeat bubblegum pop, dance-pop and electropop song. Its style has also been described as "electro-tinged" and "robotic disco-pop". The song has a fun and anthemic feel to it. It is 4 minutes and 4 seconds in length. The track also contains prominent siren sound effects which have been likened to the sound of Mis-Teeq's 2003 song "Scandalous". The backing is synthesised on one note throughout the whole song. Written in the key of A minor the beat of the song is set in 6/8 and progresses at an uptempo 126 beats per minute. The chorus follows an Am–F–Dm–E chord progression.
Una Healy sings both the first and second verse. While Vanessa White sings the 2 bridges, middle 8 and leads the chorus. Rochelle Wiseman sings backing vocal in Healy's second verse. Healy and Wiseman take lower harmony's in the chorus while Mollie King and Frankie Sandford who don't sing solos in the song, both take higher harmonies.
"Up" contains several travelling-themed lyrical lines which act as a metaphorical way of taking a relationship to the next level. It is descriptively influenced by feelings of feminism and self-confidence of a woman involved in a relationship that is not going anywhere. The lyrics have been interpreted by music critics to not make sense.
Read more about this topic: Up (The Saturdays Song)
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