Budapest (song)

"Budapest"
Single by George Ezra
from the album Wanted on Voyage
B-side "Angry Hill"
Released 13 December 2013
Format
Recorded 2013
Length 3:21
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Cam Blackwood
George Ezra singles chronology
"Did You Hear the Rain?"
(2013)		 "Budapest"
(2013)		 "Cassy O'"
(2014)

"Did You Hear the Rain?"
(2013)		 "Budapest"
(2013)		 "Cassy O'"
(2014)
Alternate cover

"Budapest" is a song by English singer-songwriter George Ezra, from his debut studio album, Wanted on Voyage (2014). It was released as the album's second single on 13 December 2013 in Italy, and on 13 June 2014 in the United Kingdom. The song was co-written by Ezra with Joel Pott and produced by Cam Blackwood.

The single was released on Columbia Records, and distributed by Sony Music, and peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. "Budapest" has also been a major hit for Ezra in Austria and New Zealand, topping the charts in both countries, while reaching the top ten in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Switzerland. It was the 13th-best-selling single of 2014 in the UK.[1] The song was released in the U.S. in 2015 and has peaked at number 32.[2]

Background

Ezra told The Daily Telegraph that "Budapest" was "[his] first attempt to write a love song, and it uses the first three guitar chords [he] ever learned. There's a lot to be said for that simplicity."[3] Ezra has also insisted that, despite its title, the lyrics of "Budapest" do not have anything to do with the city in Hungary and that he had never even been there before. He said, "I was in Malmö in Sweden and the Eurovision Song Contest was being held in Malmö on that night, and I didn't have a clue about it but everyone there seemed to be really excited about it and having parties. But I didn't know you couldn't buy alcohol after 10 o'clock at night. So I ended up buying a bottle of like, rum, or something like that from a guy in a park so I could have something to drink at this party. Anyway, I was meant to be getting a train to Budapest the next day, and I never got it because I was too hungover and didn't fancy it. So I wrote the song about being miles from Budapest."[4]

"Budapest" was originally released as part of Ezra's EP Did You Hear the Rain?, which contains the song of the same name. When asked about how the song became popular, Ezra revealed, "At first we gave it away as a free track off the my EP for like a month, and then in Italy it just kicked off for some reason. I've never even been over there, but [the song] was just huge on the radio. It kind of happened overnight. Then it went over [to] Germany and when we released it in the UK, it took off there as well."[5]

Composition

With a tempo of 128 bpm, the song "Budapest" is composed in the key of F major.[6]

Critical reception

Chris Willman of Billboard called it an "acoustically inclined, eminently hummable single".[7]

Chart performance

In 2015, "Budapest" became a sleeper hit in the United States, peaking at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May.

Music video

An official music video for "Budapest" was first released onto YouTube on 21 April 2014. The deceptively simple video demonstrates the link between inaction and inactivity. It consists of a large crowd of people all with different styles and accessories all standing motionless together in a tight-knit crowd, occasionally being intercut with footage of one of them doing something minor like shifting slightly where they stand, one of them sneezing gaining the attention of everyone around and George playing his guitar and singing to the camera with a smile. As the video goes on, the people start to move and interact by passing their accessories around, a group of three young men having one of them bite into a very spicy chilli pepper, a hen party attendee in a sash and tiara talking on the phone to someone, the crowd looking up together and putting on 3-D glasses, all intercut with George crowd-surfing them and playing and singing to the camera again.

As the video starts to come to an end, George begins to crowd-surf standing up instead, taking off his guitar and passing it down to join all the other accessories being passed around, this time with people interacting more and dancing together. The video ending with George singing with his guitar standing in the crowd which is now motionless again, when the song ends he simply stops and becomes motionless too. In a small epilogue, some members of the crowd are all on the floor silently cheering, laughing and clapping together.[8]

Formats and track listings

  1. "Budapest" – 3:20
  1. "Budapest" – 3:23
  2. "Angry Hill" – 4:11

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013–15) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 7
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] 19
Brazil (Hot 100 Airplay)[15] 64
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 24
Canada Rock (Billboard)[17] 9
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[18] 1
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[19] 11
Denmark (Tracklisten)[20] 12
France (SNEP)[21] 4
Germany (Official German Charts)[22] 3
Hungary (Single Top 40)[23] 19
Iceland (RÚV)[24] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[25] 4
Israel (Media Forest)[26] 3
Italy (FIMI)[27] 6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 1
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[31] 39
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[32] 3
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[33] 3
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[34] 17
Slovenia (SloTop50)[35] 1
South Africa (EMA)[36] 2
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[37] 50
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 25
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[40] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[41] 32
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[42] 14
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[43] 6
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[44] 2
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[45] 19
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[46] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
Australia (ARIA)[47] 19
Germany (Official German Charts)[48] 15
Italy (FIMI)[49] 20
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[50] 16
Slovenia (SloTop50)[51] 3
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[1] 10
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[52] 76
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[53] 47
Chart (2015) Position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[54] 49
Slovenia (SloTop50)[55] 30
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[56] 55
US Billboard Hot 100[57] 89
Chart (2016) Position
Slovenia (SloTop50)[58] 32

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[59] 4× Platinum 280,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[60] Gold 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[61] Platinum 30,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[62] 3× Platinum 240,000^
Germany (BVMI)[63] Platinum 300,000^
Italy (FIMI)[64] 3× Platinum 90,000double-dagger
New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] 2× Platinum 30,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[66] Platinum 10,000*
Sweden (GLF)[67] Platinum 40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68] Platinum 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[69] 2× Platinum 1,200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[70] Platinum 1,000,000^
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[71] Platinum 2,600,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Italy[72] 13 December 2013 Contemporary hit radio Sony
Germany[10] 18 April 2014 CD single
United Kingdom[9] 13 June 2014 Digital download
United States[73][74][75] 25 August 2014 Adult album alternative radio Columbia
23 September 2014 Modern rock radio
27 October 2014 Hot adult contemporary radio

References

  1. 1 2 Copsey, Rob (31 December 2014). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Chris Martins (April 24, 2015). "George Ezra on 'SNL' Ignorance, Why Relationships Are a 'Distraction,' and Being an Old Soul at 21". Billboard. (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ McCormick, Neil (23 December 2014). "George Ezra: Old, new, borrowed and blue". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  4. ↑ Pritchard, Jon (16 June 2014). "Interview: George Ezra". Brum Notes. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  5. ↑ LeDonne, Rob (1 October 2014). "Q&A: George Ezra on his hit song "Budapest" and burgeoning fame". American Songwriter. ForASong Media. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  6. ↑ George Ezra "Budapest" Sheet Music musicnotes.com
  7. ↑ Willman, Chris (27 January 2015). "The Bellowing, British Blues of 'Budapest' Singer George Ezra". Billboard. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "George Ezra – Budapest (Official Video)". YouTube. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Budapest – Single by George Ezra". iTunes Store. United Kingdom: Apple. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Budapest" (in German). Amazon.de. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – George Ezra – Budapest". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – George Ezra – Budapest" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – George Ezra – Budapest" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – George Ezra – Budapest" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Brasil Hot 100 Airplay for George Ezra. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for George Ezra. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Billboard Canada Rock for George Ezra. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201426 into search. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201433 into search. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  20. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – George Ezra – Budapest". Tracklisten. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  21. ↑ "Lescharts.com – George Ezra – Budapest" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  22. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – George Ezra – Budapest". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  23. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  24. ↑ "George Ezra Chart History". RÚV. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  25. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 33, 2014". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  26. ↑ "George Ezra – Budapest Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  27. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – George Ezra – Budapest". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  28. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – George Ezra search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  29. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – George Ezra – Budapest" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  30. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – George Ezra – Budapest". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  31. ↑ "Airplay 100" (in Romanian). Kiss FM. 2 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  32. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2014-07-12". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  33. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201427 into search. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  34. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201434 into search. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  35. ↑ "SloTop50: Slovenian official singles weekly chart". SloTop50. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  36. ↑ "EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2014-09-16". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  37. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – George Ezra – Budapest" Canciones Top 50.
  38. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – George Ezra – Budapest". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  39. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – George Ezra – Budapest". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  40. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2014-07-12" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  41. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for George Ezra. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  42. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for George Ezra. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  43. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for George Ezra. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  44. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for George Ezra. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  45. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for George Ezra. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  46. ↑ "George Ezra – Chart history" Billboard Rock Airplay for George Ezra. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  47. ↑ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Singles 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  48. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  49. ↑ "FIMI - Classifiche Annuali 2014 "TOP OF THE MUSIC" FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  50. ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 2014". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  51. ↑ "SloTop50: Slovenian official year end singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  52. ↑ "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  53. ↑ "Adult Alternative Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  54. ↑ "Canadian Hot 100 Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  55. ↑ "SloTop50: Slovenian official year end singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  56. ↑ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  57. ↑ "Hot 100: Year End 2015". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  58. ↑ "SloTop50: Slovenian official year end singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  59. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2017 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  60. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – George Ezra – Budapest" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 5 July 2014. Enter George Ezra in the field Interpret. Enter Budapest in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
  61. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2015". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  62. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – George Ezra – Budapest". Music Canada. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  63. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (George Ezra; 'Budapest')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  64. ↑ "Italian single certifications – George Ezra – Budapest" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  65. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – George Ezra – Budapest". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  66. ↑ "Norwegian single certifications – George Ezra – Budapest" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  67. ↑ "George Ezra – Budapest" (in Swedish). Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  68. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (George Ezra; 'Budapest')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  69. ↑ "British single certifications – George Ezra – Budapest". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 October 2014. Enter Budapest in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  70. ↑ "American single certifications – George Ezra – Budapest". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 18 October 2014. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  71. ↑ "Certificeringer – George Ezra – Budapest". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  72. ↑ Corradini, Paola (11 December 2013). "George Ezra – Budapest (Radio Date)". Earone. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  73. ↑ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  74. ↑ "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  75. ↑ "Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
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