Mr. Vain

"Mr. Vain"
Single by Culture Beat
from the album Serenity
B-side Remix
Released 16 April 1993
Format CD single, CD maxi
Recorded 1992
Genre Eurodance[1]
Length 5:37
Label Dance Pool (BMG)
Writer(s) Steven Lewis, Nosie Katzmann and Jay Supreme
Producer(s) Torsten Fenslau
Certification see below
Culture Beat singles chronology
"No Deeper Meaning"
(1991)		 "Mr. Vain"
(1993)		 "Got to Get It"
(1993)
Audio sample
file info · help
Alternative cover
CD maxi - Remixes

"Mr. Vain" is a song by German Eurodance group Culture Beat. It was released in April 1993 as the lead single from the album Serenity. The song achieved huge success worldwide, reaching number-one in Australia, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It also spent ten weeks at number one on the RPM Dance chart in Canada.

Background and chart performances

Written by Steven Levis, Nosie Katzmann and Jay Supreme and produced by Torsten Fenslau and Peter Zweier, Mr. Vain was 1993's best-selling single across Europe. Typical of the Eurodance style of the time, the song first broke in Germany before breaking more widely through the summer, eventually topping the chart in twelve countries. It reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a gold disc. Mr. Vain also peaked at number two for two weeks on the American dance charts.[2] Tania Evans is the female singer in Mr. Vain, and the rapper is Jay Supreme.

It first entered the charts in the United Kingdom in late July 1993 at number 24 climbing to number one for the week ending 28 August 1993, at times it was selling twice as much its nearest challenger It Keeps Rainin' by Bitty McLean during its 4 week reign at the top.[3] It spent a total of 15 weeks on the chart and was the tenth biggest selling single in Britain in 1993.

It is notable in the United Kingdom as it was the first number one single not to be available as a 7" since the 1950s and heralded the demise of the 7" single as a mass market medium.

Covers and samples

Track listings

  • CD maxi-single (Germany, 1993)
  1. "Mr. Vain" (Vain Mix) – 6:35
  2. "Mr. Vain" (Decent Mix) – 7:06
  3. "Mr. Vain" (Special Radio Edit) – 4:17
  • CD maxi-single – Remix (Germany, 1993)
  1. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. House) – 6:18
    • Remixed By: Doug Laurent
  2. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Rave) – 6:42
    • Remixed By: Doug Laurent
  3. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Trance) – 6:20
    • Remixed By: Doug Laurent
  4. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Hardcore) – 6:37
    • Remixed By: Doug Laurent
  • CD maxi-single (USA, 1993)
  1. "Mr. Vain" (Radio Edit) – 4:17
  2. "Mr. Vain" (Intense Radio Edit) – 3:52
  3. "Mr. Vain" (Vain Mix) – 6:35
  4. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Intense) – 5:28
  5. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Hardcore) – 6:38
    • Remixed By: Doug Laurent
  • Vinyl 12" (USA, 1993)
  1. "Mr. Vain" (Vain Mix) – 6:35
  2. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Club) – 6:39
  3. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Intense) – 5:28
  4. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Liebrand) – 5:40
  5. "Mr. Vain" (Mr. Hardcore) – 6:38
  • CD single – Promo (USA, 1993)
  1. "Mr. Vain" (Lone Star Edit) – 3:30
  • CD maxi-single – Remix (Japan, 1996)
  1. "Mr. Vain" (FM 802 Rock Kids 802 Mix) – 4:25
  2. "Mr. Vain" (Hyper Rave Mix) – 5:32
  3. "Mr. Vain" (Tribal Mix) – 4:47
  4. "Anything" – 6:26
  5. "Mr. Vain" (Album Version) – 5:39
  6. "Culture Beat Mega Mix" – 6:38
  • CD maxi-single – (UK, 1993)
  1. "Mr. Vain" (Special Radio Edit) – 4:17
  2. "Mr. Vain" (Vain Mix) – 6:35
  3. "(Cherry Lips) Der Erdbeermund" (Single Version) – 4:05
  4. "I Like You" (Single Version) – 3:58

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Original version

Chart (1993–1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[6] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 1
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[9] 1
Canada (RPM 100 Hit Tracks)[10] 40
Canada (RPM Dance)[11] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 1
France (SNEP)[14] 3
Germany (Media Control Charts)[15] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 1
Italy (FIMI)[17] 1
Japan (Oricon)[18] 10
Japan (Oricon)[18] 1 6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 10
Norway (VG-lista)[22] 1
Spain (AFYVE)[23] 3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 2 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[27] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[28] 17
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[28] 2
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[28] 5
US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[28] 20
US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[28] 11
US Cash Box[29] 15

1 Mr. Vain Remix! (Japanese mini album)

2 Remix

"Mr. Vain Recall" version

Chart (2003) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 8
Denmark (Tracklisten)[31] 46
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] 20
Germany (Media Control Charts)[33] 7
Hungary (Dance Top 40)[34] 7
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[35] 66
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[36] 40
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 30
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 46
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[39] 51

Year-end charts

Chart (1993) Position
Australia (ARIA)[40] 16
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[41] 10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[42] 5
Canada (RPM Top 50 Dance Tracks)[43] 1
Italy (FIMI)[44] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[45] 6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[46] 13
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 11
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[48] 10
Chart (1994) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[49] 76

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[50] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[51] Gold 25,000x
France (SNEP)[52] Silver 142,000[53]
Germany (BVMI)[54] 3× Gold 750,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[55] Platinum 10,000*
Sweden (GLF)[56] Gold 25,000x
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[57] Gold 25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[58] Gold 400,000^
United States (RIAA)[59] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Order of precedence
Preceded by
"What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes		 Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
28 August 1993 – 25 September 1993 (5 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Life" by Haddaway
Preceded by
"All That She Wants" by Ace of Base		 Italian number-one single
18 September 1993 – 25 September 1993 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Living on My Own" by Freddie Mercury
Preceded by
"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf		 Australian number-one single
31 October 1993 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"All That She Wants" by Ace of Base
Preceded by
"Tribal Dance" by 2 Unlimited		 Canadian RPM Dance number-one single
28 August 1993 – 30 October 1993 (10 weeks)
Preceded by
"What Is Love" by Haddaway		 Austrian number-one single
11 July 1993 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You" by UB40
Norwegian number-one single
30/1993 – 31/1993 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes
Swiss number-one single
18 July 1993 – 8 August 1993 (4 weeks)
Preceded by
"(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You" by UB40		 Belgian Ultratop 50 Flanders number-one single
14 August 1993 – 4 September 1993 (4 weeks)
Belgian VRT Top 30 Flanders number-one single
14 August 1993 – 4 September 1993 (4 weeks)
Dutch Top 40 number-one single
31 July 1993 (1 week)
Single Top 100 number-one single
24 July 1993 – 31 July 1993 (2 weeks)
Preceded by
"Informer" by Snow		 German number-one single
21 June 1993 – 16 August 1993 (9 weeks)
Preceded by
"Living on My Own" by Freddie Mercury		 Irish Singles Chart number-one single
27 August 1993 – 24 September 1993 (5 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Go West" by Pet Shop Boys
UK Singles Chart number-one single
28 August 1993 – 18 September 1993 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

References

  1. ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "Culture Beat – Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 67.
  3. ↑ Music Week, 4 September
  4. ↑ Various – Best of Techno Power at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 July 2011). Music-db.org. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Pet shop boys sing CULTURE BEAT". YouTube. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Mr. Vain – CULTURE BEAT" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 23 January 2014. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
  10. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 58, No. 19, November 20, 1993". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Dance/Urban – Volume 58, No. 7, August 28, 1993". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Hits of the World". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 105 (36): 49. 4 September 1993. ISSN 0006-2510.
  13. ↑ (Finnish) Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-9-5112-1053-5.
  14. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  16. ↑ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "SINGOLI – I NUMERI UNO (1959-2006) (parte 4: 1990-1996)" (in Italian). It-charts.150m.com. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 カルチャー・ビートのヒストリー (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  19. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Culture Beat - Mr. Vain search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain". VG-lista. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  23. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "hitparade.ch – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain (Remix)". Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  27. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1993-08-28" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 "Culture Beat – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  29. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Pop Singles – Week ending JANUARY 22, 1994 at the Wayback Machine (archived 10 October 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  30. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain Recall" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  31. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain Recall". Tracklisten. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  32. ↑ "Culture Beat: Mr Vain Recall" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  33. ↑ "Single – Culture Beat, Mr. Vain Recall" (in German). Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  34. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  35. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain Recall" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  36. ↑ (Romanian) Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 34, saptamina 1.09-7.09, 2003 at the Wayback Machine (archived 9 January 2005). Romanian Top 100. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  37. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain Recall". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  38. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain Recall". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  39. ↑ "Culture Beat: Artist Chart History" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  40. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Singles 1993". ARIA Charts. ARIA. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  41. ↑ "Jahreshitparade 1993" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  42. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1993" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  43. ↑ "Dance/Urban – Volume 58, No. 23, December 18, 1993". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  44. ↑ "I singoli più venduti del 1993" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  45. ↑ "Single Top 100 over 1993" (PDF) (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  46. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  47. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1993" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  48. ↑ "Chart Archive – 1990s Singles". everyHit.com. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  49. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1994". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  50. ↑ "Australian Fun Countdowns – Accreditation Awards". Australian Fun Countdowns. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  51. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Culture Beat in the field Interpret. Enter Mr. Vain in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
  52. ↑ "French single certifications – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain" (in French). InfoDisc. Select CULTURE BEAT and click OK
  53. ↑ "Les Singles en Argent" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  54. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Culture Beat; 'Mr. Vain')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  55. ↑ IFPI Norsk platebransje at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 November 2012). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  56. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  57. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Culture Beat; 'Mr. Vain')". Hung Medien.
  58. ↑ "British single certifications – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Mr. Vain in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  59. ↑ "American single certifications – Culture Beat – Mr. Vain". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links