Freak like Me

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This article is about the song. For the book, see Freak Like Me (Real, Raw, and Dangerous).
“Freak like Me”
Single by Adina Howard
from the album Do You Wanna Ride?
Released January 24, 1995
Format CD single, Vinyl single
Recorded 1994
Genre R&B
Length 4:13
Label East West
Writer(s) Eugene Hanes
Marc Valentine
Loren Hill
William Collins
George Clinton
Producer Mass Order
Certification Platinum
Adina Howard singles chronology
"Freak like Me"
(1995)		 "My Up and Down"
(1995)
Do You Wanna Ride? track listing
"You Got Me Humpin'"
(1)		 "Freak like Me"
(2)		 "If We Make Love Tonight"
(3)

"Freak like Me" is the first single from Adina Howard's 1995 R&B debut album Do You Wanna Ride?. Like Howard's image, the song can be best described as hypersexual. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the RIAA.

The song's chorus is a lyrical interpolation of the verses found in Bootsy Collins' "I'd Rather Be With You". While the lyrics in "Freak like Me"'s chorus are different from the Bootsy Collins song, they are sung in identical melody. The song's drum beat is sampled from Sly & the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song." The song returned to the public conscience when covered by British pop group Sugababes in a production by Richard X.

Contents

[edit] Charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 2
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 4
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 1
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 20
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 2
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 22

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Freak like Me" (Radio Version) (4:04)
  2. "Freak like Me" (Remix) (4:17) (featuring rap by Inspector Rick)
  3. "Freak like Me" (Dub Instrumental) (4:12)
  4. "Freak like Me" {Remix Without Rap) (4:06)
  5. "Freak like Me" (Instrumental) (4:10)
  6. "Freak like Me" (Accapella) (2:35)

[edit] Sugababes version

“Freak like Me”
“Freak like Me” cover
Single by Sugababes
from the album Angels with Dirty Faces
B-side "Breathe Easy"
Released April 22, 2002
Format CD single, Vinyl single
Recorded London, England
Genre Pop/Rock, R&B/Soul, Electronic, Dance
Length 3:14
Label Island Records
Writer(s) Eugene Hanes
Marc Valentine
Loren Hill
William Collins
George Clinton
Gary Numan
Producer Richard X
Sugababes singles chronology
"Soul Sound"
(2001)		 "Freak like Me"
(2002)		 "Round Round"
(2002)
Overloaded: The Singles Collection track listing
"Freak like Me"
(1)		 "Round Round"
(2)


In May 2002, the UK girl group Sugababes covered "Freak like Me". Their version, however, used a completely different backing track (sampled from Tubeway Army's "Are 'Friends' Electric?") and used the radio edit lyrics of Howard's song (the word "brotha" is used instead of "nigga"). Numan was now credited as a co-writer of the song.

It was originally a bootleg mashup titled "We Don't Give a Damn About Our Friends", created by producer Richard X under the alias Girls on Top.

Going on record as having been inspired by the UK garage version created by Tru Faith & Dub Conspiracy in 2000 (which reached number 12 in the UK charts), Richard X created the mashup without the permission of the copyright holders of the songs, but it became a successful underground dance track. After failing to gain permission to use Adina Howard's vocals for a commercial release, the Sugababes were chosen by Richard X to record them instead.

The sound effect featured at the beginning of the song is the coin-insert tone from the popular 1981 video game Frogger. (The sound was also used to begin the song "Froggy's Lament," about the video game itself, on Buckner and Garcia's Pac-Man Fever album.)

The song appeared on the Sugababes' second studio album Angels with Dirty Faces. It was produced by Richard X and received rave reviews from music critics. It was released as the first single from the album in the spring of 2002 and reached number one in the UK (where it sold 235,000 copies), number two in Ireland, and number 4 in Norway. "Freak like Me" is the first single to feature vocals by Heidi Range, after the departure of Siobhán Donaghy in 2001. The song also appears on Richard X's CD, "Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1". It was released as "Are 'Freaks' Electric?" on the club promo.[1]

[edit] Music video

Sugababes in the music video for "Freak like Me". From right to left: Mutya Buena & Heidi Range.
Sugababes in the music video for "Freak like Me". From right to left: Mutya Buena & Heidi Range.

The music video was directed by Dawn Shadforth and Sophie Muller and was filmed in London. The video acts as an introduction for the recent addition of Heidi Range, following Siobhan Donaghy's departure the previous year, and was also noted for its dark, yet rather surreal tone. The video, set at a strange nightclub, begins outside the nightclub with a man tumbling down the stairs, Keisha Buchanan in a long coat, seen only from below the knee, walking out of a door, over the man's body and up the stairs. Mutya Buena is seen standing on the stairs facing the direction where the man is lying. Inside, they spot Range dancing and flirting with many guys. They both quickly clash with her, and a fight between them ensues, which ends with Range falling to the floor unconscious. A man tries to help her up, but Buena grabs him by the neck and throws him away from her. Range then wakes up again soon after, and stumbles out of the club with another man, where they begin to kiss, until she suddenly bites hard into his arm.

Meanwhile, Buchanan takes a man outside, and she leads him into a dark alley, where they flirt briefly, before she scares him away. Buena then goes outside as well, and overpowers a man who towers over her. The music video ends with Buchanan and Buena accepting Range into the group, and dancing into the night. The demonstrations of supernatural strength shown throughout the video and Range biting the man on the arm are generally understood to imply that the woman are vampire-like "freaks", as the song suggests.

The video uses the We Don't Give a Damn Mix of the song, which is more faithful to the original mash-up.

British actor Julian Morris stars in the music video as one of the boys running from Buena.

[edit] Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Freak like Me".

# Title Time
Australian/European CD single
1. "Freak like Me" [Radio Version aka Album Version] 3:14
2. "Freak like Me" [We Don't Give A Damn Mix] 3:39
3. "Breathe Easy" 4:09
4. "Freak like Me" [Video] 3:39
Vinyl single
1. "Freak like Me" [Different Gear Mix]
2. "Freak like Me" [We Don't Give A Damn Mix] 3:39
3. "Freak like Me" [Capoeira Twins Mix]
4. "Freak like Me" [Jameson Mix]

[edit] Chart performance

On April 22, 2002, "Freak like Me" was released in the United Kingdom. The song became Sugababes' first number one single when it debuted at number one on the singles chart, remaining in the top ten for four weeks. The single remains one of the best selling singles released by the group, selling 235,000 copies since its release.

Outside of the UK, the song was also successful. While it reached the top ten in Ireland, Norway and Belgium, the song entered the top 30 of most of the charts it appeared on.

In Australia, "Freak like Me" became the fourth single by Sugababes to make the singles chart, reaching number forty-four. It would be their lowest-charting single in Australia until the release of "Shape" in 2003.

[edit] Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
Position
UK Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart 2
Norwegian Singles Chart 4
Croatian Singles Chart 5
Europe 9
Belgian Singles Chart 10
Swiss Singles Chart 11
Polish Singles Chart 11
Danish Singles Chart 13
Spanish Singles Chart 15
Japanese Singles Chart 16
United World Chart 17
Brasilian Singles Chart 18
Austrian Singles Chart 22
Dutch Singles Chart 23
New Zealand Singles Chart 25
German Singles Chart 26
Australian Singles Chart 44

[edit] Official versions and appearances

These are the official versions and remixes and the release they appear on, of:

"Freak like Me"

Version Release appearance
Radio/Album Version "Freak like Me" single,
Overloaded: The Singles Collection,
Angels with Dirty Faces
We Don't Give A Damn Mix "Freak like Me" single,
Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1
Different Gear Mix "Freak like Me" single,
Overloaded: The Remix Collection
Video "Freak like Me" single,
Overloaded: The Videos Collection
Capoeira Twins Mix "Freak like Me" single
Jameson Mix
Girls On Top Dancehall Mix "Round Round" single
Brits 2003 Version "Shape" single
Maida Vale Session Overloaded: The Live Collection

"Breathe Easy"

Version Release appearance
Single Version "Freak like Me" single
Acoustic Jam Angels with Dirty Faces

[edit] References


v • d • e
Sugababes
Keisha Buchanan · Heidi Range · Amelle Berrabah
Siobhán Donaghy · Mutya Buena
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
Other songs
Tours
Related topics
Preceded by
"The Hindu Times" by Oasis		 UK number one single
April 28, 2002 - May 4, 2002		 Succeeded by
"Kiss Kiss" by Holly Valance