The Ketchup Song

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"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)"
Single by Las Ketchup
from the album Las Hijas del Tomate
B-side	Remix
Released	29 July 2002
Recorded	Unknown
Genre	Soft rock, Beach, Latin Pop
Length	3:32
Label	Columbia, Sony
Writer(s)	Manny Benito Manuel Ruiz
Producer	Manuel Ruiz
Certification	2x Platinum (RIANZ) Gold (BPI)
Las Ketchup singles chronology
"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (2002) "Kusha las payas" (2003)

"The Ketchup Song" is the English title of the song "Aserejé", performed by the Spanish pop group Las Ketchup, which was an international hit in 2002. The song exists in two versions, Spanish and English, with the latter performed in a mixture of English and Spanish, described as "Spanglish". The chorus is identical in both versions. This song reached #1 in the UK charts, as well as 26 other charts worldwide.

[edit] Lyrics and music

The song tells the story of a pimp-like "afro-gipsy, rastafari" character named Diego who walks into a crowded nightclub at midnight, and the DJ, as he sees Diego walk in, plays the "twelve-o'clock anthem", "the song he desires most", which happens to be the 1979 rap hit "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang. The first verse of Rapper's Delight: "I say the hip hop, the hippie...", pronounced phonetically in Spanish the way it would sound to someone who does not understand English, becomes the chorus of The Ketchup Song. Although technically meaningless and sometimes referred to as gibberish, the chorus is a more-or-less phonetic pronunciation of the first verse almost in its entirety.^{[citation needed]}

I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie

Aserejé ja de jé de jebe

do the hip hip hop, a you don't stop

tu de jebere sebiunouva

the rockin' to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie

majabi an de bugui

to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

an de buididipí

The song was performed by a three-girl Spanish group called Las Ketchup, and had a distinctive accompanying dance known as "The Ketchup Dance". The song is performed in 180 beats per minute and in the key D# minor.

[edit] Reception and adaptations

For the release in Brazil, a version of song was sung in Portuñol and featured a Brazilian "girl band", named Rouge, alongside Las Ketchup. This pushed the album's sales up and eventually led to over 2 million copies sold in Brazil alone.

The song was remade in La Vida Mickey 2 by Walt Disney Records. In 2004, this song was included on the popular children's album series, Kidz Bop 4.

The popular German political comedy program Die Gerd-Show took the music and made a parody to the lyrics, called "Der Steuersong" (The Tax Song) for the taxation policies of the former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

This song is an example of a mondegreen, in this case one in which the lyrics of the original song are reinvented because of a linguistic difference.

In the Philippines, the Christian sect Iglesia ni Cristo does not allow their followers to listen to the song as the Church states that it is a form of prayer to the devil. Many other Christian groups^{[citation needed]} claimed that the song and lyrics were evil, particularly when the song was backmasked.^{[citation needed]}

Charo performed the song in a promotion for the American morning show Today Show and later released it to YouTube.

[edit] Track listings

CD maxi

1. "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (crystal sound Xmas mix) — 3:50
2. "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (karaoke version) — 3:44
3. "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Chiringuito club mix) — 5:30
4. "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (video - Crystal sound Xmas mix)

CD maxi

1. "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (spanglish version) — 3:32
2. "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Spanish version) — 3:32
3. "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Chiringuito club single edit) — 3:41
4. "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Motown club single edit) — 3:41

[edit] Certifications

[edit] Charts

[edit] References