Fire Burning

Album: Tomorrow (2009)
Charted: 12 5
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Sean Kingston kept the fire burning with this track from his second album, Tomorrow. It was released in 2009 when he was 19; two years earlier he had a #1 hit with his first single, "Beautiful Girls," which made him the latest hot young star from the Caribbean (he lived in Florida but has roots in Jamaica).

    "Fire Burning" was a big hit in the summer of 2009, when it set dance floors ablaze. Kingston, though, had trouble following it up and faded from the charts a few years later. In 2025 he and his mother were convicted of wire fraud.
  • Lady Gaga producer RedOne helmed this fast-tempoed number and wrote it along with Kingston and Bilal Hajji.
  • Kingston explained to The Boombox that this song defines summertime. He said: "Being that I'm coming out with my sophomore album, it's the summertime, I wanted to do something with a lot of energy, very club." Kingston added: "I basically went in with a lot of producers looking for a big, huge club record. That's what's going on right now. I'm big on the computer. I like to read blogs and like to listen to radio and see what's working right now. I feel like the club is where it's at. I worked with a couple producers and the last producer I went with was RedOne. He did a lot of stuff with Lady Gaga. He came up with the record. He already had the beat in mind. He already had the idea of where he wanted to take the song. I came in and put the icing on the cake. It was crazy."
  • Kingston told Artist Direct how this song was created: "RedOne called me right when I got back from Africa as a matter of fact. He was like, "I've got this dope beat, and I hear you all over it." I told him to send it to me, and he didn't want to send it because so many email accounts are getting hacked nowadays. He didn't want this beat to leak, so he told me to holler at him when I wanted it. When I was in LA, he was the first person I called. I went over to his studio, listened to the beat and I got goosebumps. I knew it was going to be a club smash with the right melodies and hook. The beat has so many different elements—techno, pop, R&B and reggae. I started coming up with different concepts and topics, but I kept humming "Fire burning, fire burning." I knew that was it. The next thing we knew, the track was cut. It sets up the record the right way."

Comments: 3

  • Bob from Dallas, NcWell I like it. It's catchy.
  • Jim from Philadelphia, PaThis song has a decent beat, but honestly, the lyrics are pretty weak and overall it lacks character.
  • Ashleigh from ?????, MoLove the song. It has an awesome beat.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Benny Mardones

Benny MardonesSongwriter Interviews

His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.

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?

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.