Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)

Album: Planet Jedward (2010)
Charted: 2
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • John and Edward are an Irish duo, popularly known as Jedward, comprising of identical twin brothers John and Edward Grimes. Their unique performances and distinctive blonde quaffed hair on the 2009 series of X-Factor bought them to the attention of the UK public. After they were eliminated from the competition, the twins signed a £90,000 one album contract with Sony BMG. This mashup of the Queen and David Bowie hit "Under Pressure" and Vanilla Ice song "Ice Ice Baby" was released as their debut single.
  • John and Edward first performed this song on the Freddie Mercury/Queen week of X-Factor on November 14, 2009. They later performed the song during the National Television Awards on January 20, 2010, with Vanilla Ice joining them on stage in the second half of their performance.
  • Vanilla Ice himself is featured on the track. He praised their version of his song to ITN: "I think they're great. I didn't know anything about them until a couple of weeks ago, but YouTube is a great thing. I got the invite to come over here. The song is great and it is a compliment to me."
  • Jedward explained their songwriting process to CMU: "We go into the studio and we never know what's going to happen, it's like an experiment. We hear a beat, and we get on a vibe for a song, and start writing and sharing ideas! You know, it's really a great feeling to be in the studio, we are loving the music right now and working with all different producers is really exciting, and that adds loads of different flavours to an album, like sweets, and each track is unique! We have to be in the zone. When we are in the studio we have to think like we are performing to thousands of people to get the energy and life in our vocals! We have a huge input and are always looking for something different, and they are the types of songs we as artists get excited about! We always want every track on the album to be a potential single and Jepic and Jeadly, just like Jedward (John and Edward together! Name given by our fans!)."

Comments: 1

  • Mjn Seifer from Not Listed For Personal Reason, EnglandYeah, I know it's Jedward, but I actually quite like this song. I've always found samples to be kinda cool - and this song does what I have often thought about trying myself (singing both the sample and the original together).
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Tom Waits Lyrics Quiz

Tom Waits Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?