Hey Ya!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Hey Ya!" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by OutKast | ||
| from the album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | ||
| A-side(s) | The Way You Move/Hey Ya! | |
| Released | September 9, 2003 | |
| Format | DVD single 12" maxi single CD single (AUS only) |
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| Recorded | Stankonia Studios & Tree Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA; Larrabee Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA: 2002 | |
| Genre | Pop, funk, hip hop | |
| Length | 3:20 | |
| Label | LaFace 55883 |
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| Writer(s) | André 3000 | |
| Producer(s) | André 3000 | |
| Certification | 3x platinum | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| OutKast singles chronology | ||
| "Land of a Million Drums" (with Killer Mike) (2002) |
"Hey Ya!"/"The Way You Move" (2003/2004) |
"Roses" (2004) |
"Hey Ya!" is a 2003 number-one single recorded by André 3000 of the hip-hop duo OutKast, released on LaFace Records. It and "The Way You Move", recorded by Big Boi, the other member of the duo, were released as the first singles from OutKast's double album project Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which includes a solo album from each member. Released from André's The Love Below half of the album,"Hey Ya!" peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming OutKast's second number-one single. It also peaked at number three in the UK charts. Like the rest of The Love Below, "Hey Ya!" features an idiosyncratic, funk influenced sound, which caused the song to chart on the Modern Rock charts. The song is remembered for introducing the phrase "shake it like a Polaroid picture" into modern pop culture.
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[edit] Song history
[edit] Music video
The song's music video, directed by Bryan Barber, features a performance, styled as one from the black and white era of television (although the video itself is in color), in which André 3000 plays several different versions of himself as the different members of a band, "The Love Below", all wearing green and white outfits, but all with different names and personalities. The video is based on the Beatles' landmark appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, but sets the action in London. An enthusiastic crowd of girls can hardly be restrained as he sings. Most live performances of the song featured similar antics, parodying the British Invasion with the dance movements and costuming. The video also features a special appearance by Ryan Phillipe as the host, but in the DVD version of OutKast music videos, it was played by a different British actor who looks somewhat like a young Ed Sullivan.
The "Hey Ya!" music video was designed to be shown in tandem with the video for Big Boi's "The Way You Move". A long-form "The Way You Move/Hey Ya!" video combines both clips with a bridging sequence. The combination is included in the OutKast: The Videos DVD. The profanity was censored on the DVD.
The "Hey Ya!" music video won four MTV Video Music Awards in 2004, most notably for Video of the Year. It also won Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Special Effects, and Best Art Direction, as well as gaining an additional nomination of Best Direction for Barber.
[edit] Critical response, chart performance, and covers
"Hey Ya!" was the number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, from December 6, 2003 to January 31, 2004. It was replaced at number-one by Big Boi's "The Way You Move", the sixth time a recording act has replaced itself at number one since Elvis Presley first did so in 1956[citation needed].
"Hey Ya!" was voted as the best single of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll, and was the most recent song to be included in the 2004 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, ranked at number 180. "Lose Yourself" and "Stan" are the only other songs from the 21st century on Rolling Stone's list, making it the only song on the list from this century not performed by Eminem.
According to AcclaimedMusic.net (a site which combines hundreds of 'best of' lists from critics and musicians), "Hey Ya!" is ranked at #42 on the list of the top songs of all time, and #1 for songs released in the 2000s.[1]
One of the first covers of the song was by Razorlight, who performed the song with the London Community Gospel Choir for a BBC Radio 1 (the British youth/popular music radio station from the BBC) session, later releasing their version as a B-side for their single "Vice". In a similar vein, Will Young, also on the station, recorded a slower piano version of the song, which became the B-side for his single "Friday's Child".
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine have also swankified the song in their traditional manner on their "I'd Like a Virgin" 2004 album.
Mat Weddle of the band Obadiah Parker also released a cover which quickly became a viral video and gained notoriety around the net, after being shared on YouTube. The cover made the song into a lyrical, acoustic melodious song, a completely different style from the original hip-hop chart.
Other bands that have covered the song include Yo La Tengo, Tilly and the Wall, and Drive-By Truckers.
It was also one of the first songs to become a hit on Apple's iTunes Music Store[citation needed], replacing "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne at No. 1 and staying there for months[citation needed]. The song went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and also in Canada and Australia and has charted in twenty-eight countries around the world[citation needed].
[edit] Trivia
- Ottawa's Radio Station The Team 1200 remade a version called "Leafs Suck" in reference to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was sang by some its radio hosts during the ungoing feud of the Battle of Ontario between the Leafs and the Ottawa Senators.
- Andre 3000 has mentioned The Smiths as having had a large influence on the song.
- The song is often covered live by Jason Webley in his own style. He introduces it frequently as being "a classic American song".
- The Hives performed a part of the song in their "Favourite Songs recent years"-medley, when Musikbyrån (a Swedish music show) celebrated 10 years.
| Preceded by "Stand Up" by Ludacris featuring Shawnna |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 13, 2003 |
Succeeded by "The Way You Move" by OutKast featuring Sleepy Brown |
| Preceded by "Shut Up" by The Black Eyed Peas |
ARIA (Australia) number one single January 18, 2004 - January 25, 2004 |
Succeeded by "What About Me" by Shannon Noll |
[edit] See also
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | 2003 singles | 2004 singles | Number-one singles in Australia | Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles | Number-one singles in Canada | OutKast songs | Hip hop songs popular at sporting events | Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine songs | Will Young songs | Kids' Choice Awards winners | MTV Video of the Year Award
