The Power (Snap! song)

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"The Power"
Single by Snap!
from the album World Power
B-side Remix
Released January 3, 1990 (original version)
June 17, 1996 (remix version)
Format CD maxi, 7" single, 12" maxi
Genre Hip house, rapcore
Length 3:47 (7" single version)
8:14 (12" single version)
6:01 (12" jungle fever remix '90)
5:42 (Album version)
Label Ariola Records
Writer(s) Benito Benites/John "Virgo" Garrett III/Toni C.
Producer Snap!
Certification see certifications
Snap! singles chronology
"The Power"
(1990)		 "Ooops Up"
(1990)
Music sample
"The Power"

"The Power" is an electronic pop hit song by the German music group Snap! from their album World Power. It was released in January 1990 and reached number-one in the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, as well as the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Rap charts. It is particularly known for its hook "I've got the power!".

Contents

[edit] Background

Written by Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III) and produced by Snap!, it was the group's third single. Featuring a rap by Turbo B and vocals by Jackie Harris, the single became a massive international hit.

The song opens with the somewhat enigmatic line in Russian: “Американская фирма Transceptor Technologies приступила к производству компьютеров «Персональный спутник»” (meaning “The American company Transceptor Technologies has started production of the ‘Personal Companion’ computer”). “Personal Companion” was a computer-like device for the blind and visually impaired. Released in 1990, it was controlled by voice and could, among other functions, automatically download articles from USA Today by a built-in modem. It was made by Transceptor Technologies of Ann Arbor, Michigan.[1]

Benites and Garrett III first released the song in 1990 on the Wild Pitch Records label in the United States calling themselves "Power Jam (featuring Chill Rob G)". However, they failed to legally clear samples in the song. The song contained samples from "Let the Words Flow" by Chill Rob G, "Love's Gonna Get You" by Jocelyn Brown, and "King Of The Beats" by Mantronix. The song was re-recorded in the U.S. in response to the unlicensed samples with Durron Butler, aka Turbo B, replacing the a cappella vocal of Chill Rob G, and for this new version they adopted the name Snap!.

[edit] Covers and remixes

In 1990 the American act Deff Boyz sampled the track for their single "Swing."

The song was covered in 2002 by the German crossover band, H-Blockx. Turbo B featured in the song taking turns to rap lyrics with H-Blockx's then frontman Dave Gappa. Of note, Turbo B replaces the word 'Snap!' with 'H-blockx' in the line "If they are Snap! don't need the police to try to save them". The single charted at No. 48 in Germany[2] and No. 34 in Australia.[3]

In 2003, the song was remixed by Motivo, with added Indian vocals from Joshilay and released as Snap! Vs. Motivo - The Power (of Bhangra).

In 2010, Swizz Beatz sampled the song on the second half of Kanye West's official remix to his single Power featuring Jay-Z.

[edit] Tremors at Techno-Mart

On July 5, 2011, a 39-story shopping mall called the "Techno-Mart" in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, shook violently for 10 minutes and was evacuated for two days.[4] After study, it was determined that about 20 people performing Tae Bo exercises to "The Power" caused the building to vibrate by creating a mechanical resonance. The tentative conclusion was the consensus among the six professors from an architectural institute and vibration measurement experts who participated in a recreation of the event. The Architectural Institute of Korea was scheduled to release the final results of the safety inspection later in 2011.[5][6]

[edit] Track listings

1990 version
12" maxi
  1. "The Power" (ful mix) (6:00)
  2. "The Power" (switch mix) (6:21)
  3. "The Power" (potential mix) (5:42)
7" single
  1. "The Power" (3:47)
  2. "The Power" (dub) (5:35)
1996 version
  1. "The Power '96" (silk 7") (3:53)
  2. "The Power '96" (E=mc2 12") (6:44)
  3. "The Power '96" (original dub 12") (4:57)
  4. "Ex-Terminator" (from the class 'X) (5:21)

[edit] Charts and sales

[edit] Peak positions

Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 13
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[7] 3
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[8] 2
Canada (RPM)[9] 16
Canada Dance (RPM)[10] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 3
France (SNEP)[7] 15
Germany (Media Control Charts)[12] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 5
Italy (FIMI)[14] 4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 1
New Zealand (RIANZ)[7] 6
Norway (VG-lista)[7] 3
Spain (AFYVE)[16] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[7] 1
United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)[17] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[18] 2
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[18] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[18] 4
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles[18] 1
Chart (1996)1 Peak
position
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 12
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 40

1 "The Power '96"

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (1990) Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 13
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 9
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[23] 26

[edit] Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
Germany[24] Gold 1990 250,000
Netherlands[25] Gold 1990 40,000
Sweden[26] Gold August 1, 1990 10,000
UK[27] Silver April 1, 1990 200,000
U.S.[28] Platinum July 17, 1990 1,000,000

[edit] Chart successions

Preceded by
"Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor		 Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
4 March 1990 - 1 April 1990 (3 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Vogue" by Madonna
Dutch Top 40 number-one single
14 April 1990 – 5 May 1990		 Succeeded by
"Kingston Town" by UB40
UK number-one single
31 March 1990 – 7 April 1990		 Succeeded by
"Vogue" by Madonna
Preceded by
"Dub Be Good to Me" by Beats International		 Swiss number-one single
6 May 1990 – 27 May 1990		 Succeeded by
"Vogue" by Madonna
Preceded by
"Vogue" by Madonna		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
2 June 1990		 Succeeded by
"Dub Be Good to Me" by Beats International

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Abledata.com
  2. ^ German Charts - H-blockx ft. Turbo B
  3. ^ Australia Charts - H-Blockx
  4. ^ SF Gate Hot Topics Blog. "Korea solves mystery of shaking skyscraper", SFGate.com, 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  5. ^ Yun Suh-young. "Aerobic exercise blamed for tremor at Techno-Mart", The Korea Times, 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  6. ^ Lee Ji-sang, Kim Hee-jin. "Gym rats shook TechnoMart: Owner", Korea JoongAng Daily, 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Lescharts.com". http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Snap%21&titel=The+Power&cat=s. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
  8. ^ Belgian peak
  9. ^ Canada Top Singles peak
  10. ^ RPM Dance: issue date July 7, 1990
  11. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006) (in Finnish). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 13-978-951-1-21053-5. 
  12. ^ "Charts-surfer.de". Archived from the original on 2007-10-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20071029144156/http://charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php. Retrieved 2008-04-10. 
  13. ^ "Irishcharts.ie". http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2008-04-10. 
  14. ^ "Hit parade Italia"]. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1990.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-30. 
  15. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 15, 1990". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=5137. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
  16. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 8480486392. 
  17. ^ "Chartstats.com". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=17415. Retrieved 2008-04-10. 
  18. ^ a b c d "Billboard.com Snap! chart history". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=5704&model.vnuAlbumId=190279. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
  19. ^ a b ""The Power '96" at lescharts.com". http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Snap%21+feat%2E+Einstein&titel=The+Power+%2796&cat=s. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
  20. ^ "1990 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. http://www.austriancharts.at/1990_single.asp. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  21. ^ "Single top 100 over 1990" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201990.pdf. Retrieved 12 April 2010. 
  22. ^ "1990 Swiss Singles Chart". Hitparade language=German. http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=1990. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  23. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1990". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1990. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
  24. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('The+Power')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=The%2BPower&strInterpret=&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved 8 March 2010. 
  25. ^ Dutch certifications nvpi.nl (Retrieved 9 December 2008)
  26. ^ Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved 9 December 2008)
  27. ^ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved 9 December 2008)
  28. ^ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved 9 December 2008)
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