Bang!

"Bang!" is the first single from Amy Marshall's fourth album Reincarnation. Amy co-wrote the song with Romo, who produced the track. The middle 8 contains a guest vocal from Alesha, who wrote her own verse for the song. The single was released July 6, 2009.

"Bang!" is Amy's 15th overall single release. Coincidentally, she is also the 15th act Alesha has released a collaborative single with.

The single debuted at #2 upon its release, making it Amy's highest-charting lead single to date.

Song information
Amy, best known for the rock sounds of her diamond-selling albums Peculiar Secret and Morbid Lullabies, reinvented herself in the middle of the latter era as a pop artist, taking cues from her partner Katrina Regalna's band Horrorfilm Horizon. It was at that point she expressed interest in recording a full-length pop album, after taking little breaks in between to experiment outside her comfort zone in the past.

For the first single, Amy wanted to work with her former backup singer Romo, who had since gone on to experience a strong #1 streak and embark on the highly successful SAVE URAPS campaign (which Amy was a part of as well). Romo wanted to work with Amy on a song that would "blow her past out of the water". Originally Amy wanted Romo to be the featured vocalist, but she did not want to ruin the introspective nature of the record. She approached Alesha about the guest spot on the song while the two were recording the track "The Pretty Ones" for her album Bigger Than God and she accepted, performing (and writing) her own middle 8 verse. Amy previously contributed to Alesha's albums as a songwriter, writing "Too Much" for her 2005 album Buried Underneath and "Something Good" (a last minute reject from her Peculiar Secret album) for her 2006 compilation album Chic/Freak. To make up for not featuring on "Bang!", Romo appeared as a guest on Amy's 2010 single "Game Over!"

The title "Bang!" was inspired by Romo's verse on "The Pretty Ones", which begins, "Bang bang, did you hear that sound?" The idea to reference events from Amy's past was inspired by "The Pretty Ones", as well as many Alesha and Shell Ruin songs reflective of the "Power Power" collaboration.

The song contains references to Amy's outburst at the 2005 Shit Awards and subsequent heart attack, as well as her 2007 feud with Esmeralda Dimuzio. The intro includes the line "I'll give a love bizarre so we can be the odd couple", referencing the Sheila E. song "A Love Bizarre" and Neil Simon's play (later adapted into a TV series and movie) "The Odd Couple". The line "take your publicized spats and shove them in a sack" is a reference to China's "Publicised Spats & Love Rats". Alesha's verse contains references to British tabloid The Sun and her album Bigger Than God. Her line "You don't have to be beautiful but it always helps" is lifted from the Pet Shop Boys single "Love Etc."

Response
Critics gave the song mixed reviews. The positive reviews praised the versatility of Amy, Alesha, and Romo in coming together for a superstar collaboration, while negative reviews raised concerns of whether Romo will ever change up her formula, thinking the lyrics and musical structure are too similar to her breakthrough single "Schizo Pop". The majority of reviewers gave Alesha high marks for her middle 8.

Lucreacia, one of Amy's greatest influences and a former duet partner on her album Peculiar Secret, complimented the song as "a bit me".

Track listings
CD1 1. Bang! (featuring Alesha) (Album Version) 2. Bang! (featuring Alesha) (Radio Edit) 3. Talk Talk CD2 1. Bang! (Radio Edit) 2. Bang! (Alesha's I Got Dat Boom Boom Remix) 3. Bang (Twisted Disco's Dynamite Horror Vocal Edit) 4. Bang (EC's Best Shot Is The HOT Shot Sparks Mix) 5. Bang! (Motherfunking Firecracker Vox) 6. Bang (Princess P's Boomin' Bass Club Edit) 7. Bang (Morris' Stompin' Mix) 8. Hard To Find Something Nice To Bang (Amy VS DAMNED Wideboys Mix) 9. Sh-Bang! (Amy Marshall Vs UpTempo & Charlie C) 10. Ooh! Bang! (The Magic of Hot Brunettes) (Amy vs. Venus)

Promotion
Promotion for "Bang!" consisted largely of club sightings. She was seen partying it up with ROUGE (where she got a little more than close with God-fearing member Lily) and attended a Village People tribute concert (with the cop being Amy's ex Sebastian Rossi, who she insulted after the show). Amy also spent an afternoon playing baseball with her wife Katrina (in heels), eating a giant cheeseburger at McDonalds, and was arrested for manhandling Sabrina after she bum-rushed her at the Rainbow in Los Angeles.

There has also been speculation as to whether or not Amy is still interested in her partner Katrina Regalna, as well as lesbians altogether. Amy commented that she got bored of Katrina doing nothing except taking care of their daughter Katramy, was spotted sunning it up with a black man, and spent an evening licking lollipops at the couture shop Sugar Factory.

Music video
The video co-stars Amy, Alesha, and Romo as a pyromaniac biker gang obsessed with exploding buildings. The most notable scene occurs in the beginning of the video, when Amy trashes the break room of an office building containing newspaper clippings of articles reporting on infamous events from her early career and several Shit Awards trophies, douses the entire room in gasoline and sets it on fire.

Chart performance
"Bang!" followed the lead of her previous two lead singles and placed within the top 3 upon its release. The single debuted at #2 with 72,323 copies in its first week, coming behind Esmeralda Dimuzio, who collaborated with Amy on her previous lead single "Close My Eyes Forever". The #2 entry for "Bang" made it Amy's highest charting lead single to date, as her previous two both reached #3. It also gave Amy her best first-week sales since "Fake Smiles From Hollywood" in 2006, which opened at #3 with 70,435 copies. It sold a total of 284,993 copies, enough to be certified platinum.

"Bang!" entered the Urapopstar Airplay 40 at #27 on May 31, 2009, and on the week of its charting, became Amy's seventh #1 single, continuing the trend of all her lead-off releases reaching #1. She once again tied Esmeralda Dimuzio for the record for most airplay chart #1s.