| "Toy Soldiers" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Martika | ||||||||||
| from the album Martika | ||||||||||
| Released | January 27, 1989 | |||||||||
| Genre | Pop, soft-rock, New Wave | |||||||||
| Length | 4:52 | |||||||||
| Label | Sony | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Martika/Michael Jay | |||||||||
| Producer | Michael Jay | |||||||||
| Martika singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Toy Soldiers" is a song by Martika appearing on her eponymous debut album in 1989 as a ballad. The single was a number-one hit in the United States. It was sampled by Eminem in his 2004 single, "Like Toy Soldiers". The song's subject matter concerns drug abuse and how it can devastate the lives of the user and those who care about them.
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Martika is the only one who sings throughout the song, although she is joined on the chorus by some of her former castmates from Kids Incorporated, including the Black Eyed Peas's Stacy Ferguson, Rahsaan Patterson, Renee Sands, as well as later cast members Jennifer Love Hewitt and Devyn Puett, as backup vocalists.
The song spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and New Zealand while reaching number five in both the United Kingdom and Australia. When it spent its first week at number one, it had leapt over Madonna's "Express Yourself" and kept that song from reaching the top spot. On Billboard's year-end chart for 1989, "Toy Soldiers" placed number 29. It was Martika's only number-one single in the U.S., and her highest-ranking single in the United Kingdom. The single was certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA.
In March and April 2009, VH1 ran a countdown of the 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s. "Toy Soldiers" placed at #67 on the countdown despite the fact that Martika had three other Top 40 hits: "More Than You Know" (#18); "I Feel the Earth Move" (#25); and "Love ... Thy Will Be Done" (#10).
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart (ARIA)[1] | 5 | 20 |
| Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart[2] | 9 | 2 |
| Canadian Top 30 Retail Sales Chart[3] | 3 | 13 |
| Canadian Singles Chart[4] | 4 | 17 |
| Dutch Singles Chart (Mega Single Top 100)[5] | 22 | 11 |
| German Singles Chart[6] | 5 | 20 |
| Irish Singles Chart[7] | 3 | 6 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart (RIANZ) | 1 | 14 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart (VG-lista)[8] | 2 | 13 |
| Swedish Singles Chart (Sverigetopplistan)[9] | 4 | 6 |
| Swiss Singles Chart (Media Control AG)[10] | 3 | 17 |
| UK Singles Chart (The Official Charts Company}[11] | 5 | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[12] | 1 | 20 |
In The Simpsons 18th season episode "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)" the music playing during the assault course is "Toy Soldiers".
The song was also featured in an episode of Cold Case 2nd season episode "The Sleepover" the chorus of the song is played during the episode and at the end of the episode.
| Preceded by "If You Don't Know Me by Now" by Simply Red |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single July 22, 1989 – August 5, 1989 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Batdance" by Prince |
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