Thong Song
| "Thong Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Sisqó | ||||
| from the album Unleash the Dragon | ||||
| Released | December 31, 1999 | |||
| Format | CD single, vinyl record, music download | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 4:12 | |||
| Label | Def Soul | |||
| Writer(s) | Mark Andrews, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson, Desmond Child, Robi Rosa | |||
| Producer | Tim & Bob | |||
| Sisqó singles chronology | ||||
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"Thong Song" is a song recorded by American R&B artist Sisqó. It was released in Late 1999 as the second single from Sisqó's 1999 debut LP Unleash the Dragon. Thong Song garnered 4 Grammy nominations and numerous other awards as well. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, his second highest-peaking song and the biggest hit in the United States and major success worldwide, reaching the top ten throughout Europe, including number three in the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Denmark. Meanwhile, the song topped the charts in New Zealand.
Contents |
Content[edit]
The song is about women who wear thong underwear and bikini bottoms.
Production[edit]
The song was written by Sisqó, Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson and also produced by Tim & Bob as well. Songwriters Desmond Child and Robi Draco Rosa receive songwriting credit because of the interpolation of part of their composition, "Livin' la Vida Loca" (Ricky Martin), in the song's lyrics. The strings heard throughout the song are lifted from Wes Montgomery's cover of "Eleanor Rigby".
The alternate version, the official remix to the original version, "Thong Song Uncensored" (which has no explicit adult language), features a guest rap from Foxy Brown in the spot where Sisqó whispers the main verse for the third time, and is included on the soundtrack for Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. A second, more urban-themed,[clarification needed] video was shot for the remix by Little X.
Music video[edit]
MTV version[edit]
Set in Miami, Sisqó goes to the beach from his home to participate in a Spring Break party with a large number of young women who are all wearing bikinis and thongs, with the exception of one female who wears a g-string. There are also scenes with Sisqo and the members from Dru Hill driving a Bentley Azure down the highway and cameos from Method Man, Redman, Ja Rule and LL Cool J. Sisqó proceeds to perform acrobatic feats atop the crowd that contradict the laws of physics, culminating in a stage performance lit with blacklights and an orchestra in the background. The whole video, being cuts between Sisqó and barely clad women, drew minor criticism for exploiting women as sex objects, and was credited for starting a new wave of "booty" videos. The director of the video, Joseph Kahn, was quoted as saying, "I listen to 'Thong Song', and I say, 'Well, this song is about asses.' So you can either accept it and do something like I did, or you can go and try and turn the 'Thong Song' into some kind of Chemical Brothers video and make it all pretentious; about some fucking communist upheaval or something. Let's just relax and make a booty video, and let's make a really good one, and make it fun."[1]
Alternate version with Foxy Brown[edit]
After giving a radio interview in his home town of Baltimore, Sisqó escapes from a group of fans with the help of Foxy Brown to a fashion show, where models strut in sexy costumes, which (again) all consist of bikinis just as in the original video, this time for the exception of two females who did sport thongs. The video also features a cameo by professional wrestler Big Show. The song was done for the soundtrack of Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. The video was directed by Little X.[2]
Charts and sales[edit]
Peak positions[edit]
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End of year charts[edit]
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Chart successions[edit]
| Preceded by "Poison" by Bardot |
RIANZ (New Zealand) number one single 28 May 2000 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Oops!... I Did It Again" by Britney Spears |
Notes[edit]
- ^ Lee, Jimmy (June 2001), The Wrath of Kahn: Joseph Kahn's trek to music video stardom, KoreAm
- ^ Murphy, Keith (March 2008). "Is the music video dead?". Vibe: 66. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sisqó – Thong Song" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sisqó – Thong Song" (in French). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ Canadian peak
- ^ "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 06/24/00". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 112 (26): 99. 24 June 2000. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Hits of the World: Europe (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 06/24/00". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 112 (26): 99. 24 June 2000. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Sisqó - Thong Song". Charts.de. Media Control.
- ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song". Top Digital Download. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Sisqó search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40.
- ^ "Charts.org.nz – Sisqó – Thong Song". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song". VG-lista. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Sisqó – Thong Song – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Sisqó Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Sisqó. Prometheus Global Media.
- ^ "2000 Australian Singles Chart". Aria. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ "2000 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart". Ultratop. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ "2000 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart". Ultratop. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ "2000 French Singles Chart". Snep. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ "INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20". Ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de. 2001-03-05. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 2000". Retrieved 2010-08-31.
