"Crank It Up" is a song by French DJ and record producer David Guetta, featuring vocals by Senegalese-American R&B recording artist Akon. Taken from the former's fifth studio album, Nothing but the Beat. The song was written by Aliaune Thiam, Guetta, Giorgio Tuinf, and Riesterer. Production was also handled by Guetta, Tuinfort, and Rister. On March 14, 2012, Guetta tweeted that he had a dilemma on choosing his next single, asking his fans for opinions, giving two tracks, "Crank It Up" and "I Can Only Imagine" featuring Chris Brown and Lil Wayne, but ultimately lost to the latter.