Rudebox (song)

For the album, see Rudebox.

"Rudebox"
Song

"Rudebox" is a 2006 single by English musician Robbie Williams, from the album of the same name. It is based around a sample from the song "Boops (Here To Go)" by Sly & Robbie.

The single was released on 4 September 2006, although download purchases allowed it to reach number 30 in the UK Charts on 3 September. After the release of the CD single, it went up 26 places to number 4 selling 24,821 copies, beaten by Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland's "Promiscuous", Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" and Scissor Sisters' "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'".

Although the single charted relatively high, Williams was mocked by sections of the tabloid press who said the single was a failure, due to his radical change in direction on the song, with The Sun claiming it was the "worst song ever". Williams responded to the criticism by joking about it, telling an audience at his concert in Leeds on September 8 that the song was "number one... in Germany" and saying it was "made to feel as welcome as a ginger step child". The track was also nominated for the 2006 Ivor Novello Award.

In the song Williams makes several cultural references including Adidas, T.K. Maxx (In a joke about product placement, TK Maxx costs less!), Michael Jackson, Durex condoms, The Matrix and Mandrex. Williams was quoted in September 2006 as saying that "for a box to be rude, the rude must be in a different box- and that took me a long time to realise"

Chart Success

The song had considerable success in Europe, peaking at number-two in the Euro Hot 100 Singles Chart, the single reached number-one in Germany, Italy and Switzerland, and it made the top ten in several other countries around the world.

In the United Kingdom the single debuted at number-thirty based on downloads only, when the single was physically released it climbed to its peak of number-four, the single spent two weeks inside the top ten and nine weeks overall becoming a commercial disappointment.

The song had huge success in Latin America, Mexico in particular. The song was nominated for Song of the Year - International at the Premios Oye!, the Mexican Grammys and won.

Tracklisting

UK CD1
(Released 4 September 2006)

1. "Rudebox" [Radio Edit] - 3:46
2. "Lonestar Rising" - 3:55

UK CD2
(Released 4 September 2006)

1. "Rudebox" [Album Version] - 4:45
2. "Rudebox" [Soul Mekanik Dub] - 5:55
3. "Rudebox" [Chicken Lips Malfunction] - 8:42
4. "Rudebox" [Chicken Lips Malfunction Dub] - 8:47
5. "Rudebox" [Enhanced Video]
6. "Rudebox" [Interview Clip]

UK Promo
(Released 21 August 2006)

1. "Rudebox" [Clean Radio Edit]
2. "Rudebox" [Dirty Radio Edit]
3. "Rudebox" [Instrumental]

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak Position
German Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	1
Turkey Top 20	1
European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)	2
Finnish Singles Chart	2
Danish Singles Chart	3
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	4
UK Singles Chart	4
Austrian Singles Chart	5
Spanish Singles Chart	5
Dutch Singles Chart	6
Russian Singles Chart	12
Australian Singles Chart	13
Norwegian Singles Chart	14
Swedish Singles Chart	16
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	17
Irish Singles Chart	17
French Singles Chart	31
Romanian Singles Chart	69

Information about the Song

The song was aired for the first time in the UK by Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills on 7 July 2007. The event caused some controversy, as the record label's embargo date was broken, although the artist himself later backed the presenter for doing so. This was the second time Scott Mills has broken a record label's embargo, the first being Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack".