"Don't Tell Me"
Single by Ruel
from the album Ready
Released13 July 2017 (2017-07-13)
Length4:01
LabelRCA Records/Sony Music Australia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)M-Phazes
Ruel singles chronology
"Golden Years"
(2017)		 "Don't Tell Me"
(2017)		 "Human"
(2017)
Music video
"Don't Tell Me" on YouTube

"Don't Tell Me" is the debut solo single recorded by Australian singer Ruel and produced by Grammy award-winner M-Phazes . The song was released in July 2017 and peaked at number 86 on the ARIA Chart in August 2017. The song is a musical declaration of his self-assurance. And he wrote it about committing sins and not even being Christian, and dating and falling in love at age 12 after his sisters mocked him and his parents said he was too young to fall in love.[1]

In September 2017, Elton John played the song on BBC Radio 1, saying “From Australia, this is a 14 year old boy ... with an amazing track. It's astonishing someone so young can write something so good. I give up.” After the song faded, John added “Amazing record. Wow. All I can say about that is, we'll be playing more of him, I hope.” [2]

The music video was released on 19 April 2018.[3]

Background

Ruel wrote the song when he was 12 years old[4] and was inspired by an evening spent sitting at the dinner table telling his parents and siblings about a girl he had a crush on. Ruel explained “My whole family was like, ‘Ruel, you don't know what you're talking about, you're way too young to think about that sort of stuff,‘ and that really frustrated me. I thought ‘they can't tell me how to feel’, so I wrote a song about it. I never thought it would lead to all of this.” The then 12 year old high school dropout later took matters into his own hands and argued in that song that love is NOT a choice.[5]

Reception

Mike Wass from Idolator said "[the] emotional vocal commands your attention from the opening line and he displays the songwriting maturity of a veteran." adding it "reeks of quality."[6] Nastassia Baroni from Music Feeds said "With defiant lyrics and uplifting M-Phazes-led production, the tender and soulful "Don’t Tell Me" makes clear Ruel is forging a path ahead for himself."[7]

auspOp said ""Don't Tell Me" oozes class. It’s overflowing with soul and seriously, it's one of the songs of 2017."[8] later adding "[it's] staggeringly good; beautifully vocalled, impassioned and laced with nuances that are way beyond Ruel’s tender years. It’s astonishing to contemplate that, if he’s this good at just 14, where’s he going to be in five or ten years from now?" [9] Nic Kelly from Project U called Ruel "the boy with the absurdly brilliant voice" and said the song "has the piano work of a Meg Mac song and the structure of Rag'n'Bone Man on a good day." calling it "Amazing."[10]

Track listing

One-track single

  1. "Don't Tell Me" - 4:01

Digital remixes

  1. "Don't Tell Me" - 4:01
  2. "Don't Tell Me" (acoustic) - 4:01
  3. "Don't Tell Me" (Jarami remix) - 3:08
  4. "Don't Tell Me" (Jerry Folk remix) - 3:28
  5. "Don't Tell Me" (IAMNOBODI remix) - 4:01

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 86

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[12] Platinum 70,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Version Label Catalogue
Australia 14 July 2017 [13] Digital download, streaming Original RCA Records, Sony Music Australia
United States 1 December 2017 [14] Digital download, streaming original RCA Records
Australia 19 April 2018 [15] Digital download, streaming Remixes RCA Records, Sony Music Australia

References

  1. ↑ "Ruel Is The 15-Year-Old Wunderkind Your Playlist Is Missing". Nylon. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Elton John jokes about 'giving up' after hearing Aussie teen singer songwriter Ruel". Herald Sun. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Ruel - Don't Tell Me (Official Video)". YouTube. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "Ruel Don't Tell Me". Girl. July 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "RUEL Debuts New Song 'DAZED & CONFUSED'". Amnplify. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "New Find: Ruel's "Don't Tell Me" Is One Of The Year's Best Debut Singles". Idolator. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Music Feeds Faves – 14/07/17". Music Feeds. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "SINGLE OF THE YEAR CONTENDER… FOR RUEL". auspOp. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "DON'T TELL ME… IT'S RUEL'S NEW VIDEO?". auspOp. 22 October 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "RUEL'S DEBUT 'DON'T TELL ME' HERALDS A NEW VOCAL FORCE IN AUSTRALIAN MUSIC". Project U. July 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "ARIA Chart Watch 434". auspOp. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  13. ↑ "Don't Tell Me - single by Ruel". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Don't Tell Me Ruel - single". amazon. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "Don't Tell Me - deluxe remixes by Ruel". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
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