Play The Game

"Play The Game" is an all-star charity single billed to SAVE URAPS, written for the telethon of the same name aimed as a fundraising effort to extend the uptime of the Urapopstar servers. The single was released March 23, 2009.

The ideas for the telethon and charity single were conceived by British pop singer Romo, who organized the telethon, recruited talents, and produced the charity single. She turned to American singer-songwriter Ben Johnston to write the official charity single. Both make vocal appearances on the song.

43 acts appear on the single, with 29 getting solos. Among those artists include Jake, Jack Stevens, Indigo Peak, China, Alesha, Stacy Hart, Elice Claire, and Paulo Araujo. Some acts, among those who have and don't have solos, have a greater role in remixes of the single.

"Play The Game" debuted at #1 on the singles charts on March 29, 2009, helping SAVE URAPS become the first various artists project since 2001 to top the singles charts.

Solos

 * Alesha
 * Alex Washington
 * Amy Marshall
 * Ana Simpson
 * Ben Johnston
 * Bleak September
 * Carl Reeves
 * Charlie C
 * China
 * Elice Claire
 * Esmeralda Dimuzio
 * Helena Rossi
 * Yannik from Indigo Peak
 * Jack Stevens
 * Jake
 * Kaylee Walker
 * Lindsay Belle
 * Morris David Cat
 * Paulo Araujo
 * Riley Hart
 * Rochelle
 * Romo
 * Ryan Dawson
 * Sandi York
 * Stacy Hart
 * Syd Wolfe
 * Miss Attitude from UpTempo
 * Venus Vegas
 * Violetta DiNozzo

Extras

 * Twisted Disco (additional production)1
 * Andre from Indigo Peak (background vocals/additional production)
 * Alexis1
 * Auntie FannyFlap
 * Christine Tyler1
 * Damned
 * Ellen Fitzpatrick1
 * Jaci
 * Jenna Marie1
 * Josh Adams from UpTempo
 * Loretta Lambert1
 * Elle from REBELS: With Cause1
 * Rita Repulsa1
 * Selan
 * Shell Ruin
 * Sleazy Sisters
 * SugaRush!1

1 Has a solo on Schizophonic's Retro Disco Remix.

Background
On February 25, 2009, Urapopstar administrator Sean Kennedy announced that he was facing a server suspension due to an inability to pay the server bill by that coming Friday, forcing himself to seek donations from PRs. Seven made donations and he made enough to pay the bill to keep the server active.

When Romo first got the news of the possible suspension, she felt it was in her best interest to hold a massive fundraising effort in order to keep instances like that from happening for as long as possible, because with the global recession, the financial situations of the people on the site are unpredictable. She announced the foundation of a nonprofit organization called SAVE URAPS in order to raise funding, announcing plans for an all-star telethon and charity single in mid-March.

"Play The Game" is the first various artists single to be released since December 2004, when 4tune organized the failed Uraps Aid project.

Though the single was distributed by Romo's label Elite, the majority of acts with solos appear courtesy of Ensemble. Oddly enough, weeks after the single's release, Romo stepped down from her management position at Elite in favor of a contract with Ensemble.

The song itself is a pop ballad, with its lyrics focusing on the game of Urapopstar and how although acts can't win every time, their contributions make the game worth all the while. Romo asked Indigo Peak's Andre Cassenove as well as Twisted Disco to help out on production to give the song a modern flair and hints of electro so that it wouldn't sound like "a yawn convention".

All 29 acts who perform solos have reached the top 10 at least once. At the time of its release, 17 of them had reached #1 at least once. Since then Elice Claire, Syd Wolfe and Ana Simpson have all reached #1 on their own.

Recording
The song was recorded over a three-day period in Manchester, England. Romo specifically wanted to do the recording in her home city of Manchester out of convenience because she, along with China and Esmeralda Dimuzio who were also involved in the single, were performing shows in Manchester over the three-day period as part of her Belle's Ball tour. The first day of recording was met with some in-studio tensions, particularly, everyone was afraid to look at or talk to Indigo Peak and Alesha because they feared being outed as paedophiles. Paulo Araujo later settled the tensions by giving everyone his "special tea".

The second day was marked by Romo, her tour's opening acts, and her opening night show's special guests all sleeping in and showing up to the studio late as a consequence from too much partying after the performance. A number of stars who didn't show up the first day showed up on the second after signing up later than expected.

On the third day, Romo had to break the bad news to some acts that they would not be performing solos on the song, saying, "I tried to make the song representative of the general public, but I had to make some unpopular decisions and some people weren't happy with me for it but that's just the way the industry works. I'm in it to make a difference. I'm not in it to be popular."

One of those who didn't take it so well was Sleazy Sisters vocalist Scarlett Summers, who launched an in-studio tirade that afternoon.

Co-producer Andre Cassenove worked with Jack Stevens in the studio separately from the rest of the group on his lines. Jack was the only performer given preferential treatment so that he didn't have to come face to face with the other stars in recording. Andre likened Jack's appearance on the song to Michael Jackson's on USA For Africa's "We Are The World" because they were both bigger than everybody else who contributed.

Romo tried to recruit a number of retired Urapopstar veterans to join in on the cause, among those being Lucreacia, but nobody returned her calls. Pop group Aftershock was the only act that turned down the chance to participate in the recording sessions, though they did perform at the telethon.

Promotion
On the advice of Jack Stevens, SAVE URAPS registered an account on Twitter as a promotional tool as well as an additional outlet to appeal for donations. But not all of SAVE URAPS' efforts of having a strong web presence were successful; its official web site was infiltrated by hackers, who spread hateful messages on the site and drew on pictures of the participants.

Those who bought copies of the single were entitled to receive a frisbee with the SAVE URAPS logo on it, meant to discourage people from using the actual CD single as a frisbee.

Minor controversies erupted surrounding the SAVE URAPS telethon on March 21st, the biggest promotional event for the single. First, Romo denied Jack Stevens' request to lip-sync his performances; the following week, music critics and bloggers began to label the project "a joke", speculating it was created as a moneymaking scam for Romo's benefit.

The single's B-side, a cover of Mariah Carey's "Never Too Far", was improvised by a group of about 15-20 singers from the recording sessions. Romo believed it to be a good idea citing X Factor's successes with Mariah Carey covers, with Leon Jackson's winner's song "When You Believe" and the series 5 finalists' charity single "Hero". But most acts were dissatisfied with the end result, leading to Elite Records crediting the recording to the pseudonym "Alan Smithee" in the liner notes.

On March 18, 2009, an article claimed that many music critics believed the SAVE URAPS organization was not a valid cause, with some believing it was a Ponzi scheme organized for Romo's monetary benefit. However, those claims were debunked the next day when the Urapopstar servers were shut down as a result of a miscommunication between co-admin Sean Kennedy and the forum providers vBulletin. This event alone led many to believe that the telethon would be a massive success and "Play The Game" would be a safe bet for #1 upon its release.

Telethon
The SAVE URAPS telethon, hosted by Romo, aired on BBC 1 on March 21, 2009, two days before the release of the charity single and two days after the forum shutdown.

The show opened with a comedy sketch featuring Romo, China, and Elice Claire as homeless people gathering by a bonfire, giving a look at what life would be like for them if Urapopstar closed down, taking place three years after the fact. Romo, telling China and Elice that their lack of leadership led them to where they were now, said she believes they need to prove the naysayers wrong and rebuild their once-strong empire. She "shows them how it's supposed to be done" by giving the first performance of the evening, of her single "Schizo Pop".

Performances came from Aftershock, Alesha, Amy Marshall, Ana Simpson, China, Dhany G, Elice Claire, Eskimo Jo, Esmeralda Dimuzio, Fat Lady, Helena Rossi, Jack Stevens, Kaylee Walker, Lindsay Belle, Nathan King, Phoenix Rising, Ryan Dawson, SugaRush!, Syd Wolfe with Loretta Lambert, UpTempo with Miss Attitude, and Venus Vegas.

Also, Luke Ramada performed his single "Kill Me" for the first time ever at the telethon. Dr. C and the Predicates and Charlie C briefly came out of retirement for the event. Claire Kitten was a surprise special guest, giving her first performance since Urapopstar Awards 15.

China did a comedy routine called "A Whale Of A Time"; Romo also engaged in comedy bits with Fat Lady and Dhany G.

The telethon closed with a performance of "Play The Game" with 28 of the 29 acts who appeared on the recording participating; Carl Reeves couldn't make it, so Andre from Indigo Peak took his place.

The telethon's legacy has continued on, with Esmeralda Dimuzio using archival footage of both the introductory skit and the group performance of "Play The Game" in her video for "Product Of The Past". An exhibit devoted to the organization and its telethon also appears in the real life URAPS Museum depicted in the video, which Dimuzio developed with assistance from the Official Charts Company.

Track listings
CD1 1. Play The Game 2. Never Too Far CD2 1. Play The Game (main version) 2. Play The Game (Schizophonic's Retro Disco Mix) 3. Play The Game (Indigo Peak tribal remix - featuring Indigo Peak, Jake, and Jack Stevens) 4. Play The Game (hip-hop remix - featuring Miss Drips, Paul, and Tiara Coles) 5. Play The Game (UpTempo remix - featuring Miss Attitude, Josh Adams, and Melodie) iTunes EP 1. Play The Game (main version) 2. Play The Game (Schizophonic's Retro Disco Mix) 3. Play The Game (Indigo Peak tribal remix - featuring Indigo Peak, Jake, and Jack Stevens) 4. Play The Game (hip-hop remix - featuring Miss Drips, Paul, and Tiara Coles) 5. Play The Game (UpTempo remix - featuring Miss Attitude, Josh Adams, and Melodie) 6. Never Too Far

Chart performance
"Play The Game" entered the Urapopstar Top 40 Singles Charts at #1 on the week of March 29, 2009 with sales of 89,934 copies in its first week. It effectively became the first various artists single to reach #1 since 2001, when two various artists projects topped the charts, the Charity Gang and the Urapopstar Boys. Before "Play The Game", the last various artists single to reach the top 10 was Artists Against AIDS' "Time After Time" in 2003, which peaked at #7, and the last to reach the top 20 was Icecube Artists' "Kiss You All Over" in 2004, which peaked at #14. SAVE URAPS was the first various artists project to release since Uraps Aid in 2004; its single "The Gift Of Christmas" flopped in at #24.

The single can be considered the first #1 for Elice Claire, Lindsay Belle, Riley Hart, Rochelle, UpTempo, and Venus Vegas, who all have at least one top 5 hit but at that time not a #1. Elice immediately followed it up with "Keepin' U Up", which became her first solo #1. It also made her just the second act to replace herself at #1, after Nadia Walker in 2004. It is not only the first #1, but also the first top 5, for Ana Simpson, Bleak September, Helena Rossi, Kaylee Walker, Syd Wolfe, and Violetta DiNozzo. Syd Wolfe and Ana Simpson reached #1 on her own the following summer; Helena Rossi and Violetta DiNozzo both earned their first #1s in 2010. To date Bleak September and Kaylee Walker are the only acts featured on "Play The Game" that have yet to reach the top 3 at least once on their own.

"Play The Game" sold a total of 369,433 copies, enough to be certified platinum. It is the biggest selling single for 19 of the 29 main acts involved; the only other acts to have had more successful singles are Alesha, Ana Simpson, Ben Johnston, China, Elice Claire, Indigo Peak, Jack Stevens, Jake, Paulo Araujo and Romo.

On the Urapopstar Airplay 40, "Play The Game" debuted at #4 with a whopping 11,715 spins in its first week, breaking the record for the most spins in its first week available for adds. "Play The Game" by far broke the previous record of 6930 set by Ellen Fitzpatrick and Full Quality's "I Was Made For Lovin' You", which took the record only a month ago, surpassing Angel Phillips' 2007 single "Should Have Known You Were Gay". In addition, it broke the record for the biggest one-week spin gain, previously held by Paulo Araujo's "Baritone" which gained 8656 spins in one week in October 2007. It also ties as the airplay chart's second highest debuting song; two other songs debuted in the same position, Delta Nu's "Electric Pulse Kisses" and Indigo Peak & Izzy's "Active Duty".

The following week, "Play The Game" climbed from #4 to #1 on airplay with 13,488 spins, clinching the top spot with just 15 spins separating it from Elice Claire's "Keepin' U Up".

"Play The Game" entered the Urapopstar Prerelease Chart at #3 on March 15, 2009, instantly making it the highest release on its week; it has since reached #1.