Harlem Shake (song): Difference between revisions

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| Format = [[Music download|Digital download]]
| Format = [[Music download|Digital download]]
| Recorded =
| Recorded =
| Genre = [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]], [[Bass music|bass]]<ref name="Ryce"/> [trap]
| Genre = [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]], [[Bass music|bass]]<ref name="Ryce"/>
| Length = 3:16
| Length = 3:16
| Label = [[Mad Decent]]
| Label = [[Mad Decent]]
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[[Brooklyn]]-based DJ [[Baauer]] recorded "Harlem Shake" and had it released by [[Mad Decent]]'s [[imprint label]] Jeffree's as a free [[music download|digital download]] on May 22, 2012.<ref name="Fitzmaurice">{{cite web|last=Fitzmaurice|first=Larry|date=May 22, 2012|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/13635-harlem-shake/|title=Baauer: "Harlem Shake"|publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]|accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref> It is a [[hip hop music|hip hop]] and [[bass music|bass]] song with an undulating synth, harsh [[snare drum|snares]], a mechanical [[bassline]],<ref name="Ryce">{{cite web|last=Ryce|first=Andrew|date=August 3, 2012|url=http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=11378|title=RA Reviews: Baauer - Harlem Shake (Single)|publisher=[[Resident Advisor]]|accessdate=February 16, 2013|quote=Style / Hip-Hop, Bass}}</ref> and [[sampling (music)|samples]] of growling lions.<ref name="Fitzmaurice"/> The song also samples the line "then do the Harlem shake" from hip hop group [[Plastic Little (band)|Plastic Little]]'s 2001 song "Miller Time".<ref name="Zeichner">{{cite journal|last=Zeichner|first=Naomi|date=February 15, 2013|url=http://www.thefader.com/2013/02/15/fader-explains-harlem-shake/|title=FADER Explains: Harlem Shake|journal=[[The Fader]]|location=New York|accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref>
[[Brooklyn]]-based DJ [[Baauer]] recorded "Harlem Shake" and had it released by [[Mad Decent]]'s [[imprint label]] Jeffree's as a free [[music download|digital download]] on May 22, 2012.<ref name="Fitzmaurice">{{cite web|last=Fitzmaurice|first=Larry|date=May 22, 2012|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/13635-harlem-shake/|title=Baauer: "Harlem Shake"|publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]|accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref> It is a [[hip hop music|hip hop]] and [[bass music|bass]] song with an undulating synth, harsh [[snare drum|snares]], a mechanical [[bassline]],<ref name="Ryce">{{cite web|last=Ryce|first=Andrew|date=August 3, 2012|url=http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=11378|title=RA Reviews: Baauer - Harlem Shake (Single)|publisher=[[Resident Advisor]]|accessdate=February 16, 2013|quote=Style / Hip-Hop, Bass}}</ref> and [[sampling (music)|samples]] of growling lions.<ref name="Fitzmaurice"/> The song also samples the line "then do the Harlem shake" from hip hop group [[Plastic Little (band)|Plastic Little]]'s 2001 song "Miller Time".<ref name="Zeichner">{{cite journal|last=Zeichner|first=Naomi|date=February 15, 2013|url=http://www.thefader.com/2013/02/15/fader-explains-harlem-shake/|title=FADER Explains: Harlem Shake|journal=[[The Fader]]|location=New York|accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref>


On February 2, 2013, [[YouTube]] personality Filthy Frank posted a video set to "Harlem Shake". It featured 15 seconds of a few costumed people dancing in place to the song, then breaking out into spontaneous dancing and spasms for the remaining 15 seconds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJiSSAMNWw |title=DO THE HARLEM SHAKE (ORIGINAL) |work=YouTube |accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref> Later on the same day the YouTube channel The Sunny Coast Skate released a parody, where one person would dance for the first half surrounded by people not paying attention then switching to the spontaneous dance done by all the people, through a quick cut.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=384IUU43bfQ |title=The Harlem Shake v1 (TSCS original) |work=YouTube |accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/five-bored-teens-queenslands-viral-dance-the-harlem-shake-generates-collectively-20-million-hits-on-youtube-worldwide/story-e6freoof-1226576409237 |title=Queensland teens' viral dance The Harlem Shake generates 20 million hits on YouTube |work=The Courier-Mail |accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref> This video's template was subsequently parodied more than 3,000 times in other user-submitted videos, including videos by television shows ''[[Late Night With Jimmy Fallon]]'' and ''[[The Today Show]]'', television personality [[Ryan Seacrest]], and recording duo [[Matt & Kim]].<ref name="Hampp">{{cite journal|last=Hampp|first=Andrew|date=February 15, 2013|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1539277/harlem-shake-the-making-and-monetizing-of-baauers-viral-hit|title='Harlem Shake': The Making and Monetizing of Baauer's Viral Hit|journal=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref> Andrew Hampp of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' likened the "dance craze" to [[PSY (rapper)|PSY]]'s "[[Gangnam Style]]".<ref name="Hampp"/>
On February 2, 2013, [[YouTube]] personality Filthy Frank posted a video set to "Harlem Shake". It featured 15 seconds of a few people dancing in place to the song, followed by quick edits showing groups of people breaking out into spontaneous dances and spasms for the video's remaining 15 seconds. The video's template was subsequently parodied more than 3,000 times in other user-submitted videos, including videos by television shows ''[[Late Night With Jimmy Fallon]]'' and ''[[The Today Show]]'', television personality [[Ryan Seacrest]], and recording duo [[Matt & Kim]].<ref name="Hampp">{{cite journal|last=Hampp|first=Andrew|date=February 15, 2013|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1539277/harlem-shake-the-making-and-monetizing-of-baauers-viral-hit|title='Harlem Shake': The Making and Monetizing of Baauer's Viral Hit|journal=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=February 16, 2013}}</ref> Andrew Hampp of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' likened the "dance craze" to [[PSY (rapper)|PSY]]'s "[[Gangnam Style]]".<ref name="Hampp"/>


== Commercial performance ==
== Commercial performance ==
The late-week media response to the video helped the song sell 12,000 units on [[iTunes Store|iTunes]] in the week ending February 10, according to [[Nielsen SoundScan]]. It consequently entered the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Dance/Electronic Digital Songs]] at number nine and the [[Dance/Electronic Songs]] at number 12.<ref name="Hampp"/> Mad Decent's manager Jasper Goggins said that "Harlem Shake" is the "biggest thing we've released on Mad Decent as a label, and it's happened within six days. It's really crazy. Every 15 minutes my mind is blown by something else."<ref name="Hampp"/>
The late-week media response to the video helped the song sell 12,000 units on [[iTunes Store|iTunes]] in the week ending February 10, according to [[Nielsen SoundScan]]. It consequently entered the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Dance/Electronic Digital Songs]] at number nine and the [[Dance/Electronic Songs]] at number 12.<ref name="Hampp"/> Mad Decent's manager Jasper Goggins said that "Harlem Shake" is the "biggest thing we've released on Mad Decent as a label, and it's happened within six days. It's really crazy. Every 15 minutes my mind is blown by something else."<ref name="Hampp"/>

Airplay has been limited thus far; in the United States, the song has not been officially issued to radio stations, but has received unsolicited spins in several major markets.<ref name="Soybel">{{cite web|last=Soybel|first=Adam|date=February 15, 2013|url=http://popgoesthecharts.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/shake-it-up-will-baauer-bounce-at-radio/|title=Shake It Up: Will Baauer Bounce At Radio?|publisher=[[Wordpress]]|accessdate=February 15, 2013}}</ref> It is expected to gain support as sales increase.


== Critical reception ==
== Critical reception ==
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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}



== External links ==
== External links ==

Revision as of 06:46, 17 February 2013

Not to be confused with Harlem shake (meme).
"Harlem Shake"
Song

"Harlem Shake" is a song recorded by American DJ and producer Baauer. It was released as a free digital download by Mad Decent on May 22, 2012. The hip hop and bass song incorporates samples of growling-lion sounds and Plastic Little's 2001 song "Miller Time", specifically its line "then do the Harlem shake".

In February 2013, a user-submitted video set to "Harlem Shake" became a viral hit on YouTube. The media response to the video helped increase the single's sales, as it charted at number 12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs.

Background

Main article: Harlem Shake (meme)

Brooklyn-based DJ Baauer recorded "Harlem Shake" and had it released by Mad Decent's imprint label Jeffree's as a free digital download on May 22, 2012.[2] It is a hip hop and bass song with an undulating synth, harsh snares, a mechanical bassline,[1] and samples of growling lions.[2] The song also samples the line "then do the Harlem shake" from hip hop group Plastic Little's 2001 song "Miller Time".[3]

On February 2, 2013, YouTube personality Filthy Frank posted a video set to "Harlem Shake". It featured 15 seconds of a few people dancing in place to the song, followed by quick edits showing groups of people breaking out into spontaneous dances and spasms for the video's remaining 15 seconds. The video's template was subsequently parodied more than 3,000 times in other user-submitted videos, including videos by television shows Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and The Today Show, television personality Ryan Seacrest, and recording duo Matt & Kim.[4] Andrew Hampp of Billboard likened the "dance craze" to PSY's "Gangnam Style".[4]

Commercial performance

The late-week media response to the video helped the song sell 12,000 units on iTunes in the week ending February 10, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It consequently entered the Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Songs at number nine and the Dance/Electronic Songs at number 12.[4] Mad Decent's manager Jasper Goggins said that "Harlem Shake" is the "biggest thing we've released on Mad Decent as a label, and it's happened within six days. It's really crazy. Every 15 minutes my mind is blown by something else."[4]

Critical reception

Pitchfork Media's Larry Fitzmaurice labelled it "Best New Track" upon its release in May 2012 and called it a "disorienting banger" with an "irresistible appeal" that "owes almost everything" to its "menacing, world-smashing bassline". Fitzmaurice concluded, "Along with this purely visceral pleasure, it's hard not to marvel at how awesome those growling-lion samples sound."[2] Andrew Ryce of Resident Advisor gave the song a rating of three-and-a-half out of five and found its musical climax "admittedly satisfying—that is, until it resumes flailing like a novelty track", writing that "it's not hard to see why the track is well-liked, but its snowballing ubiquity is a bit of a head-scratcher, simply because it's not all that interesting."[1]

Track listing

Digital download[1]
No.TitleLength
1."Harlem Shake"3:16
2."Yaow!"2:11

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[5] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 38
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 16
U.S. Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[4] 12

Release history

Date Format Label Catalog
May 22, 2012[2] digital download Mad Decent JEFF016[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Ryce, Andrew (August 3, 2012). "RA Reviews: Baauer - Harlem Shake (Single)". Resident Advisor. Retrieved February 16, 2013. Style / Hip-Hop, Bass
  2. ^ a b c d Fitzmaurice, Larry (May 22, 2012). "Baauer: "Harlem Shake"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  3. ^ Zeichner, Naomi (February 15, 2013). "FADER Explains: Harlem Shake". The Fader. New York. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hampp, Andrew (February 15, 2013). "'Harlem Shake': The Making and Monetizing of Baauer's Viral Hit". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  5. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  6. ^ "Chart Track: Week 07, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  7. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 16, 2013.

External links

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