Ignition (Remix)
| "Ignition (Remix)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by R. Kelly | ||||
| from the album Chocolate Factory and Love Don't Cost a Thing (soundtrack) | ||||
| B-side |
"Apologies of a Thug", "What Do I Do" | |||
| Released | January 22, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2002 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 3:09 | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Writer(s) | R. Kelly | |||
| Producer(s) | R. Kelly | |||
| Certification |
Gold (BPI) Platinum (ARIA) Platinum (RIANZ) | |||
| R. Kelly singles chronology | ||||
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"Ignition (Remix)" is a song written and produced by American R&B singer R. Kelly from his 2003 album Chocolate Factory. The song was also featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 comedy/romance film, Love Don't Cost a Thing. It is viewed as one of his most well-known songs and has been very popular in the United States, Europe and Oceania.
The song was R. Kelly's second number-one single in the United Kingdom, following "I Believe I Can Fly" in 1997. It was later included on the updated version of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs of all time in 2010 at number 494. The song was listed at #19 on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s.
Song structure
The song is sometimes called simply "Ignition" colloquially and for marketing purposes, including as the title of one of its releases as a single and on the Billboard charts. While it shares the song title with the original version of "Ignition," the remix version is most commonly referred to in writing to avoid confusion with the original. The two songs share some instrumental elements (guitars and percussion) but are otherwise completely different.
The original "Ignition" was released first to urban contemporary radio stations although it never officially charted on Billboard in this manner at first. At the end of the song, Kelly gives the listeners "a lil' preview of the remix", which includes only the first verse then fades out. The "remix to Ignition" was released weeks later to urban and top 40 pop stations which gained the most attention. While many stations never played the original but opted for the remix only, others played both "Ignition"(s) merged together at 6 minutes total; it was structured that way on the Chocolate Factory album.
Music video
The music video was shot in a club where Kelly is seen wearing a Celtics jersey. The club is meant to be the inside of a stretch Club Jeep limousine. He is also seen in a different part of the club wearing a white fur coat. Nick Cannon is also featured in the music video as the DJ. David N. Feldman also makes a cameo as the dancing white hipster.
Chart performance
"Ignition (Remix)" was a huge success for Kelly. It peaked at #2 for four consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his most successful song in the United States in the 2000s. It held the #1 spot in the United Kingdom for four weeks, becoming his second number-one hit there. In April 2013, the song re-entered the UK charts at #43. It also reached #1 in Australia and New Zealand.
Legacy
A portion of Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies, a 2003 compilation of home movies which Jackson recorded throughout his life and narrated, showed him dancing to "Ignition (Remix)" in the back of Brett Ratner's car during a 2003 vacation in Miami, Florida.[1] Kelly, who claimed to have been unsuccessfully asked by Jackson to write a song similar to "Ignition (Remix)" for Jackson's use, later stated in 2009 after having seen the clip on the Web that "I cried when I first saw it on YouTube[...]I've written a lot of songs, I've been around the world, and I've won all kinds of awards and everything else, but[...]nothing told me, I didn't know I had made it until I saw Michael Jackson in the back of that car singing and dancing to my song 'Ignition'. That's when it became official. I've been in the business for over 20 years, but that's when it became official to me that Kels is here, baby.[2]"
In March of 2013, a petition was launched on We the People requesting that the US National Anthem be changed from The Star-Spangled Banner to "Ignition (Remix)",[3] stating that "We, the undersigned, would like the Obama administration to recognise the need for a new national anthem, one that even a decade after its creation, is still hot and fresh out the kitchen."[4]
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[ 1] | 1 |
| France (SNEP)[ 1] | 38 |
| Germany (Media Control AG)[ 1] | 36 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 1 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[ 1] | 1 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[ 1] | 46 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company) | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 2 |
Decade-end charts
| Chart (2000–2009) | Rank |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 76[5] |
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 74 |
| Preceded by "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Clay Aiken |
RIANZ (New Zealand) number-one single 6 July – 10 August 2003 |
Succeeded by "Where Is the Love?" by The Black Eyed Peas feat. Justin Timberlake |
| Preceded by "Innocent Eyes" by Delta Goodrem |
ARIA (Australia) number-one single July 13 – 17 August 2003 | |
References
External links | ||
| Preceded by "Loneliness" by Tomcraft |
UK Singles Chart number-one single May 11 – June 7, 2003 |
Succeeded by "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence |
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