On The Download: Cee-Lo Green’s ‘F*** You’

This past summer was one of the most memorable summers in the music industry in quite a long time. This was thanks, in part, to phenomenal singles and albums from Big Boi, B.o.B, Janelle Monae, Kanye West, Mark Ronson and Eminem… just to name a few. Just when you thought it was over, wham, our ear drums are hit with perhaps the heaviest hitter of them all. Summer is going out with a bang (and helping to kick start the fall music season into full swing!) with the latest hit from Cee-Lo Green — “F*** You.” off his upcoming third solo album, “The Lady Killer.”

(Warning: When clicking through, this song’s lyrics contain profanity which might be offensive to some)

This isn’t the first time Cee-Lo has had a huge single on his hands which has garnered widespread attention from Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Facebook users and countless music blogs. Five years ago, one could hardly escape the catchy debut single “Crazy” from the then unknown group, Gnarls Barkley, which consisted of producer Danger Mouse (how he has yet to win a Grammy by now is beyond me and for discussion another time) and Cee-Lo. This latest single could easily be mistaken for a Gnarls B-side… and that’s a very good thing.

Cee-Lo Green has taken what he has learned from working with Danger Mouse on their last two albums — “St. Elsewhere” and “The Odd Couple” — and has taken it to a whole new level with “F*** You.” This catchy Motown-esque sounding song of heartbreak and rejection is an instant classic (and not just because, as an Access co-worker so kindly put it, “Never has the f-bomb been delivered so eloquently…”). It showcases Cee-Lo’s silky smooth vocals, and ever since it debuted on YouTube with a plain text video that showcased the song’s wonderful, catchy lyrics and memorable hook, it has since been watched (and heard) by more than 4 million viewers.

Today it officially received a real music video – one that is just as good as the song itself – delivering an appropriate vibrant look and sweet message (profanity aside), to accompany the tune. Even Cee-Lo was surprised at the reception the song has been receiving, telling EW.com, “…it’s totally surpassed just about everyone’s expectations. We had no clue…but this has been extraordinary.”

But the love doesn’t stop there. There’s an old saying in Hollywood that states that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery – in the music world, the most sincere form of flattery is having your song remixed. With that being said, after only days of being released to the world, Cee-Lo received such treatment thanks to 50 Cent.

Now, if this song is not suitable for your ears (or NSFW, for that matter) then you should check out his other two previously released singles in 2010, “Georgia” and “What Part of Forever,” (the latter is from the “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” soundtrack) which are just as good of a listen as his third single. You just can’t go wrong with Cee-Lo Green.

If “F*** You” is any indication of what we can expect from Cee-Lo’s full-length third solo album, scheduled to hit shelves December 7, it could just end up being one of the most killer (pun intended), can’t miss albums of the year.