"Can I Get a Moment?" is a song recorded by Australian singer Jessica Mauboy for the platinum edition of her third studio album, Beautiful. It was released on 17 October 2014 as the album's fifth overall single and the first single from the platinum edition. "Can I Get a Moment?" was written by Antonio Dixon, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes, Carmen Reece, Leon Thomas III and Helen Jane Culver. Production of the song was helmed by Edmonds, Dixon and The Rascals. Musically, "Can I Get a Moment?" is an up-tempo funk and soul song that consists of a percussion, horns, "chunky beats" and handclaps. Upon its release, the song received positive reviews from various publications, who praised its production and Mauboy's vocal performance.
"Can I Get a Moment?" debuted at number five on the ARIA Singles Chart and became her eighth top-ten single. It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for sales exceeding 70,000 copies. The accompanying music video was directed by Stu Gosling and filmed at Crown casino in Melbourne. It features various shots of Mauboy in several outfits, singing the song's lyrics in different sets and in front of different coloured backgrounds. The video received positive feedback from critics, who compared it to Beyoncé's video for "Love on Top" (2011) and noted that Mauboy was channeling Mariah Carey. However, the video received mixed opinions from fans, who complained about Mauboy's outfits and the video's budget. She promoted the song with interviews and performances on television and radio programs.
Background and release
"Can I Get a Moment?" was written by Antonio Dixon, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes, Carmen Reece, Leon Thomas III and Helen Jane Culver. It was produced by Edmonds, Dixon and The Rascals. Mauboy was gifted the song by Edmonds after she was given the rare opportunity to write and work with him in Los Angeles in September 2014. On working with Edmonds, Mauboy said: "Working with someone like him is something I have always dreamt with and we had had three good writing sessions when he played me 'Can I Get a Moment?'. It's so funky and cool that as soon as I heard it I told them 'This is my track!'"
On 28 September 2014, it was announced that "Can I Get a Moment?" would be released as Mauboy's next single. The song was then made available to pre-order the following day. An audio teaser of "Can I Get a Moment?" was uploaded to Mauboy's Vevo account on 30 September 2014. The song was released both digitally and physically on 17 October 2014, as the fifth overall single from Mauboy's third studio album, Beautiful, and the first single from the album's platinum edition. The physical release features a Carl remix of the album's fourth single "Never Be the Same". An acoustic version of "Can I Get a Moment?" was released digitally on 13 March 2015.
Composition
"Can I Get a Moment?" is an up-tempo funk and soul song with a duration of three minutes and twenty-five seconds. Its instrumentation consists of a percussion, horns, "chunky beats" and handclaps. Naomi Janes of Renowned for Sound noted that "Can I Get a Moment?" features "'Blurred Lines' style backing vocals" and compared Mauboy's vocals to Christina Aguilera. Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that the song "sounds like a winning mix of B'Day-era Beyoncé and Jessie J's 'Bang Bang'", while Kathy McCabe of News.com.au felt it was reminiscent of Pharrell Williams' "Come Get It Bae". "Can I Get a Moment?" opens with a purring vocal style by Mauboy as she sings: "Too hot to touch, I'm burnin' up, Have you heard the news? I'm on the move". In the chorus, Mauboy sings: "No disrespect, I'm not impressed, right now I'm doing me. You do the most, you're way too close, it's hard for me to breathe! Can I get a moment?". In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mauboy described the song as "sexy" and "sassy" and said "it is about being in a really great place, my head is clear and I am just having a moment and I'm celebrating that moment".
Reception
Naomi Janes of Renowned for Sound awarded "Can I Get a Moment?" three stars out of five and called it a "catchy" track that "is a fresh and new sound" for Mauboy. Janes also praised Mauboy's "impressive vocals", noting that it is "the most redeeming feature" on "Can I Get a Moment?". Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that the song "sounds like an on-trend, percussion-heavy club-banger", while Take 40 Australia described it as a "sassy new anthem" and "certified bop". "Can I Get a Moment?" earned Mauboy a nomination for Best Female Artist at the 2015 ARIA Music Awards.