They (song)
| "They" | ||||||||||||
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| Single by Jem | ||||||||||||
| from the album Finally Woken | ||||||||||||
| Released | 2004 (US) 13 March 2005 (Europe) |
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| Format | CD | |||||||||||
| Genre | Trip hop | |||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Jem | |||||||||||
| Producer | Jem, Yoad Nevo, Ge-ology | |||||||||||
| Jem singles chronology | ||||||||||||
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"They" is the first single released by Jem from her debut album Finally Woken. It includes a sample of the Swingle Singers' 1963 adaptation of Johann Sebastian Bach's Prelude in F minor (BWV 880) from Book II of Well-Tempered Clavier from their album Jazz Sebastian Bach.[1]
The song became her most popular single, peaking at #6 on the UK Singles Chart. "They" was used in TV series like Crossing Jordan and Grey's Anatomy. A Chinese version of the song "Le Yuan" was covered by popular Taiwanese singer, Jolin Tsai, for an advertisement advertising Motorola phones. "They" is also the title song for the hit MTV show The X Effect, and currently featured on the Pantene advert in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
[edit] They Pt. 1
- "They"
- "Maybe I'm Amazed" (Paul McCartney)
[edit] They Pt. 2/Australian CD
- "They" (Original Version)
- "They (Cut Chemist Remix)"
- "They Mdk & Ayesha Mix (Eye in the Sky Mix)"
- Music video
[edit] They remixes
- "They" (Cut Chemist Remix)
- "They" (Cut Chemist Instrumental Remix)
- "They" (Eye in the Sky Mix)
- "They" (Tech Breaks Mix) by Kid Freeze
- "They" (Photek Mix)
- "They" (Album version)
[edit] Meaning
According to Jem: "Who are they/Where are they/How can they possibly know all this? It is a song about the things that 'they' say, whoever 'they' are that we listen to and we act on without questioning. The example being, and what I wrote it about, was when I went to New York I had read in a New York guide, to not look people in the eye on the subway it kind of implied that I would get shot or something. When I got there I was really scared and literally would not look at anyone."
"Years later I was on the subway every day going to Brooklyn and I thought, 'Oh my God, it's fine!' I had completely believed this book. It made me think about all the things 'they' say."[2]
[edit] Music videos
Jem released two music videos for They. The UK version, inspired by the Barbarella opening scene, features Jem stripping herself in a spaceship (although she remains covered by strategically placed holograms); actually a boy dreams her as he constructs a model of the same spaceship back on Earth. The US version features Jem breaking various rules.
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (2005) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[3] | 28 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[4] | 15 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] | 61 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[6] | 47 |
| Germany (Media Control AG)[7] | 45 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[8] | 8 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] | 27 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[10] | 47 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)[11] | 6 |
[edit] References
- ^ Allegro, Ostin. "Ostin Allegro's Pop Meets The Classics". http://www.allegro.philharmonic.me.uk/. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
- ^ "Interview". http://www.blueyonder.co.uk/blueyonder/getContent.do?page=698793&group=dir_mus_int_room.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – Jem – They". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Jem – They – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Jem – They" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Jem – They" (in French). Ultratop 40. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ^ ACharts.us Jem - They
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Jem search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Jem – They". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
- ^ UK Singles Chart Archive
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