Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
arts

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Earthquake (Labrinth song)

2011 single by Labrinth


2011 single by Labrinth

FieldValue
nameEarthquake
coverLabrinth Earthquake featuring Tinie Tempah cover.jpg
typesingle
artistLabrinth featuring Tinie Tempah
albumElectronic Earth
released29 October 2011
recorded2011
genre
length
label
writer
producerLabrinth
chronologyLabrinth
prev_titleLet It Go
prev_year2010
next_titleTeardrop
next_year2011
misc{{Extra chronology
artistTinie Tempah
typesingles
prev_titleLove Suicide
prev_year2011
titleEarthquake
year2011
next_titleAngels & Stars
next_year2012

"Earthquake" is a song by British musician Labrinth which features long-time collaborator Tinie Tempah. The track was released on 29 October 2011 in the United Kingdom as the second single from the artist's debut studio album, Electronic Earth (2012). It debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, having sold 115,530 copies and setting the second-highest one-week sales at number 2 of the year, behind Little Mix.

Background

Labrinth first revealed the radio edit of "Earthquake" on his official YouTube channel, on 16 September 2011. Remixes by Benny Benassi, Noisia, Eyes, Gareth Wyn and Street Policy were uploaded to Labrinth's SoundCloud account on the same day. Labrinth explained the song's meaning to MTV UK: "For me, the track is about making an earthquake and having people look my way because of how much noise I'm making. Sometimes, the one that shouts the loudest is the one that gets heard, so 'Earthquake' is shouting as high as it can." Both the royal trumpets and the operatic monk chorus part were last-minute additions to the record. Labrinth inserted the bridge after a friend dared him to put it in.

The full explicit version of "Earthquake" was uploaded to Labrinth's SoundCloud account on 23 September 2011.

Labrinth and Tinie Tempah performed an acoustic version of "Earthquake" with an orchestra and choir in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 20 October 2011.

The song was originally intended to be a collaboration with former Welsh rock band Lostprophets.

On 1 January 2012, "Earthquake" was used for the New Year's Eve in London celebrations during the fireworks display at the London Eye.

The "All-Stars" remix featuring rappers Kano, Wretch 32 and Busta Rhymes and new verses by Labrinth and Tinie Tempah was included on the bonus edition of his debut album. The official remix with only the Busta Rhymes verse was also released as a single in the US through iTunes on 21 February 2012 and was included on Now That's What I Call Music! 42 as a "Now What's Next" bonus track.

The song is in the key of C minor, a fact alluded to in the lyrics of the song.

This song also featured in the trailer for the video game DiRT:Showdown.

Music video

The HD video of the song was uploaded to Labrinth's official Vevo/YouTube channel on 29 October 2011. As of October 2025, the song has received over 111 million views. The video was directed by a US Studio, Syndrome Studios, and was edited by Aleks Colic.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011–12)Peak
position
Australia Urban (ARIA)
UK Official Streaming Chart Top 10031
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)30

Year-end charts

Chart (2011)Peak
positionUK Singles (OCC)
23
Chart (2012)Peak
positionAustralia (ARIA)Australia Urban (ARIA)New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)UK Singles (OCC)
25
6
36
52

Certifications

Release history

RegionDateFormat
United Kingdom23 October 2011Digital download
23 October 2011CD single
Germany23 October 2011Digital download
United States28 February 2012Digital download

References

References

  1. "Labrinth ft. Tinie Tempah - Earthquake on YouTube".
  2. "Earthquake on Songfacts". Songfacts.com.
  3. "Labrinth on SoundCloud". SoundCloud.com.
  4. "Labrinth in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge". BBC Radio 1.
  5. "Lostprophets reveal Labrinth hit was intended to be collaboration".
  6. "London Fireworks 2012 in full HD - New Year Live - BBC One". BBC.
  7. "ITunes - Music - Earthquake (Feat. Busta Rhymes) - Single by Labrinth".
  8. "Archived copy".
  9. LabrinthVEVO. (2011-10-11). "Labrinth - Earthquake (Official Video) ft. Tinie Tempah".
  10. ""Labrinth Ft. Tinie Tempah - Earthquake" on iTunes". iTunes.com.
  11. (2011-09-15). "Earthquake - Street Policy Remix". SoundCloud.
  12. "Top 40 Urban Albums & Singles Chart". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]] (ARIA).
  13. "Official Streaming Chart Top 100 - 25th August 2012 the Official Streaming Chart Top 100 - Official Charts".
  14. "Billboard News".
  15. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2011". [[Official Charts Company]].
  16. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2012". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]].
  17. "End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Urban Singles 2012". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]].
  18. "Top Selling Singles of 2012". [[Recorded Music NZ]].
  19. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2012". [[Official Charts Company]].
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Earthquake (Labrinth song) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report