7 Seconds (song)

"7 Seconds"
Single by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry
from the album The Guide (Wommat) (Youssou N'Dour) and Man (Neneh Cherry)
B-side	"Mame Bamba"
Released	1994
Format	12" vinyl, CD single, CD maxi
Recorded	Power Play Studios, New York[1]
Genre	Trip-Hop, Darkwave, Ethereal wave
Length	5:07
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Neneh Cherry, Youssou N'Dour, Cameron McVey, Jonathan Sharp
Producer	Booga Bear, Jonny Dollar
Certification	Gold: Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland
Youssou N'Dour chronology "Shaking the Tree" (1989) "7 Seconds" (1994) "So Many Men" (2002) Neneh Cherry chronology "Buddy X" (1993) "7 Seconds" (1994) "Love Can Build a Bridge" (1995)

"7 Seconds" is a song composed by Youssou N'Dour, Neneh Cherry, Cameron McVey and Jonathan Sharp. Released as a single by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry, the song was a huge international hit in 1994. It remained on the charts for nearly half a year and reached the top three in many countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Russia and Poland. The single stayed at #1 for 16 consecutive weeks on the French Singles Chart,^[2] which was the record of the most weeks at the top at the time. The song was a track on N'Dour's album The Guide (Wommat), released shortly after the single. In 1996 it was included on the Neneh Cherry album Man.

The song was featured in the 1998 movie Northern Skirts and 2005 Uwe Boll-directed movie Alone in the Dark. "7 Seconds" was also performed at Live 8 by Dido and Youssou N'Dour.^[3]

Contents 1 Lyrics and music 2 Music video 3 Formats and track listings 4 Charts and sales 4.1 Peak positions 4.2 End of year charts 4.3 Certifications 4.4 Chart successions 5 References

Lyrics and music

The song is trilingual: N'Dour sings Wolof, the Senegalese language, and French (plus singing chorus in English), Cherry sings English.^[4]

“	"7 Seconds" is about the first positive 7 seconds in the life of a child just born not knowing about the problems and violence in our world.	”
—Neneh Cherry, "Neneh Cherry Online - Biography". http://www.nenehcherry.de/neneh_bio.htm. Retrieved 12 July 2009 (2009-07-12).

Music video

The black and white music video is directed by Stéphane Sednaoui.^[5] It features people of different races walking by while the two are singing. When they sing the chorus, different kinds of people's faces appear. The idea was later copied in many different video clips by other artists.

Formats and track listings

• CD maxi

1. "7 Seconds" — 4:10
2. "Mame Bamba" by Youssou N'Dour — 4:57
3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) — 6:24
4. "7 Seconds" (Dub Mix) — 6:07

• CD maxi (June 7, 1994)

1. "7 Seconds" — 4:10
2. "Life (Adouna)" by Youssou N'Dour — 4:57
3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) — 6:24
4. "7 Seconds" — 6:07

• CD maxi (June 7, 1994)

1. "7 Seconds" (radio edit) — 4:06
2. "Life (Adouna)" by Youssou N'Dour — 4:02
3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) — 6:23
4. "7 Seconds" (dub mix) — 6:07

• UK CD single (660508-2)

1. "7 Seconds" (radio edit)
2. "7 Seconds" (LP version)
3. "7 Seconds" (new old mix)
4. "7 Seconds" (dub mix)
5. "7 Seconds" (hip hop mix)

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1994) Peak position Swedish Singles Chart[6] 3 Australian ARIA Singles Chart[7] 3 Austrian Singles Chart[8] 3 Canadian Singles Chart[9] 15 Dutch GfK Singles Chart[10] 2 Dutch Top 40[11] 2 Eurochart Hot 100 8 French SNEP Singles Chart[2] 1 German Singles Chart 3 Irish Singles Chart[12] 3 Italian FIMI Singles Chart[13] 1 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[14] 7 Norwegian Singles Chart[15] 4 Polish Airplay Chart 3 Swiss Singles Chart[16] 1 UK Singles Chart[17] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[18] 98

End of year charts End of year chart (1994) Position Austrian Singles Chart[19] 10 Dutch Top 40[20] 8 French Singles Chart[21] 1 Swiss Singles Chart[22] 2 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Austria (IFPI)[23] Gold December 21, 1994 15,000 France (SNEP)[24] Gold October 28, 1994 250,000 Germany (IFPI)[25] Gold 1994 250,000 Switzerland[26] Gold 2004 25,000

Chart successions

Preceded by "Freude herrscht (ohne Wenn und Aber)" by DJ Igo	Swiss number-one single 17 July 1994 (1994-07-17) – 24 July 1994 (1994-07-24) (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "I Swear" by All-4-One
Preceded by "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Real	French SNEP number-one single 12 August 1994 (1994-08-12) – 26 November 1994 (1994-11-26) (16 weeks)	Succeeded by "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John
Preceded by "No Limit" by 2 Unlimited	French SNEP single of the year 1994	Succeeded by "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" by Céline Dion

References

Neneh Cherry CirKus Studio albums Raw Like Sushi (1988) · Homebrew (1992) · Man (1996) with CirKus Laylow (2006) · Medicine (2009) Remix albums Remixes (1997) with CirKus Laylower (2007) Live albums Neneh Cherry at Glastonbury Festival 1997 (1997) Video albums The Rise of Neneh Cherry (1989) Singles "Looking Good Diving" (1986) · "Slow Train to Dawn" (1987) · "Buffalo Stance" (1988) · "Manchild" (1989) · "Kisses on the Wind" (1989) · "Heart" (1989) · "Inna City Mama" (1989) · "I've Got You Under My Skin" (1990) · "Money Love" (1992) · "Move with Me" (1992) · "Buddy X" (1993) · "7 Seconds" (1994) · "Turn My Back" (1994) · "Love Can Build a Bridge" (1995) · "Trouble Man" (1995) · "Woman" (1996) · "Kootchi" (1996) · "Feel It" (1997) · "Buddy X '99" (1999) · "Long Way Around" (2000) · "Braided Hair" (2003) · "Kids with Guns" (2006) with CirKus Starved (2006) · "Is What It Is" (2006) · "You're Such an..." (2007) · "Wake Up (It's Africa Calling)" (2007) · "Bells" (2011) Related articles Discography