"Jack Sparrow" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by The Lonely Island featuring Michael Bolton | ||||
from the album Turtleneck & Chain | ||||
Released | May 7, 2011 | |||
Recorded | 2011 | |||
Length | 3:07 | |||
Label | Universal Republic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Michael Woods | |||
Producer(s) | Michael Woods | |||
The Lonely Island singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Michael Bolton singles chronology | ||||
|
"Jack Sparrow" is a song by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island featuring singer-songwriter Michael Bolton. The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live as an SNL Digital Short on May 7, 2011. The plot follows the troupe inviting Bolton to work on a new hip hop track, in which the members rap about meeting at a club and taking women home. Bolton ruins the group's song by instead singing choruses about the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and its primary protagonist Captain Jack Sparrow, but also with references to Forrest Gump , Erin Brockovich , Scarface and Jerry Maguire .
The track was written by The Lonely Island during the production process of their second album, Turtleneck & Chain , in the summer of 2010. With an initial premise concluded, the members settled on contacting Bolton to make an appearance for the track. The trio relentlessly begged Bolton, who was initially uneasy to commit due to the track's coarse language. After recording the track, the troupe recorded a music video with Bolton as Jack Sparrow, protagonist of the aforementioned film series. The clip, on which Bolton noted the trio intended to go "above and beyond", was recorded over two days. After its initial debut as an SNL Digital Short, the video was uploaded to YouTube and subsequently attained much online popularity, amassing more than 235 million views as of October 2023. [1] In addition to its status as a viral hit, the song has received positive reviews from many media commentators and independent reviewers. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The song and music video open with Michael Bolton entering the studio to meet Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone. He apologizes for being late, as he was "caught up watching the Pirates of the Caribbean marathon". [7] They discuss a song they are working on and Bolton says he wrote "a big, sexy hook" for it. [8] They begin recording, with Samberg and Taccone rapping during the first verse about going to a club and partying with women. When it comes to Bolton's chorus, he begins to sing about Jack Sparrow, much to Lonely Island's chagrin. The subject matter switches back to the club in the second verse, but Bolton interrupts again, singing more about his hero and his "yearn[ing] for adventure."
The musicians' complaints about Bolton's singing are heard in the background, and they tell him they need him to focus on their song. Misunderstanding, he suggests his hook might work better with another film and then sings about being the title character of Forrest Gump , Erin Brockovich , and finally Scarface , with them continuing to complain about his off-subjects. [8] [9] The trio eventually give up by the end of the song and cut off Bolton, with Samberg noting that Bolton is a "major cinephile", and Bolton quoting Jerry Maguire : "You complete me!" [10] Bolton also appears as backing vocals during the club-oriented verses, singing off-topic and unrelated Pirates-themed lines, such as "Keira Knightley", "Johnny Depp!" or "Davy Jones! Giant Squid!" [8] The track parodies Bolton's association with love ballads, with the entire ballad dedicated to Sparrow. [11]
You want to work with guys like this. But at the same time I get invitations to perform at the Vatican! It could be potentially uncomfortable. And in the first few approaches some of the language was just so intense and off-color.
"Jack Sparrow" was written by The Lonely Island during the summer of 2010. The comedy troupe, in the same fashion to the recording process for their debut, Incredibad , rented a house in Los Angeles and created a makeshift studio where they would record songs. The troupe had the premise for the song initially, and while trying to find the perfect person for the guest spot, Schaffer mentioned Michael Bolton, and according to Samberg, "our eyes all widened. We decided, in that moment, that we wouldn't rest until we got him to do it." [12] The trio reached out to Bolton's management, who admitted that he was a fan of the troupe's musical comedy. However, he was concerned regarding the harsh language used in the first few takes of the song. [9] "They were sending me lyrics and I was reading them and I was thinking, 'This is funny.' Then I’d get to another line, [...] and I would say, 'Nope, I don't think I could be intoxicated enough to read this line,'" recalled Bolton. The track's lyrics kept transforming with each version per Bolton's request to tone down the "intense" and "off-color" language but the trio stayed with the singer throughout due to their desire to have him appear in the song. Bolton appreciated their making his requested alterations to the song. [9] The troupe was eventually able to get Bolton to do the song after they "begged him over and over again until he finally cracked," according to Andy Samberg. [13] Bolton's portions of the song still include one use of the words "fuck" and "pussy", both quotes from Scarface.
Bolton recorded his vocals for the track on a night off in Atlanta, with instructions from The Lonely Island through Skype. [9]
Following the shoot, Bolton posted a message to his website: "Working with Andy, Akiva and Jorma on the Jack Sparrow digital short was one of the highlights of my career and most memorable experiences of my life. For the few people on the planet who might not know, these guys are brilliant, funny and beyond super talented. They made me do things I never would have expected to be comfortable with and I'm so glad I did. Truly grateful to be a part of this project and CANNOT WAIT for the chance to work with the guys again. Now Back To The Good Part." [14] (The last sentence is an obvious reference to the phrase sung in the video where Bolton pops into frame wearing a pirate hat, again hijacking the Lonely Island club theme.)
The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live as an SNL Digital Short on May 7, 2011. [7] Bolton's appearance in the song counts as his first Saturday Night Live appearance since 1991. [15] The song was released as a digital single through the iTunes Store shortly afterwards, and the music video uploaded to both The Lonely Island's official website and YouTube. [16] [17] [18] On May 9, less than two full days after the video premiered, the video had attracted nearly 1 million views and was the "number one most discussed" comedy video worldwide according to YouTube statistics. [19]
The song received favorable critical reception from most media commentators. Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times called "Jack Sparrow" the sharpest comedy from Turtleneck & Chain, writing that Bolton's "patented power-soul singing blurs the distinction between the silly and the sublime." [20] Jillian Mapes of Billboard called Bolton's guest appearance in "Jack Sparrow" the best moment of that night's Saturday Night Live. [10]
The song's music video was shot over two days, with what Bolton called a "tremendous amount of energy and focus". [21] The video's filming took place for 16 to 18 hours each day, and crane shots of Bolton on the beach were filmed at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. On his website, Bolton commented that working on the song "was one of the highlights of my career and most memorable experiences of my life". [8] He added that he felt uncomfortable about dressing up in drag as Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich , and that he was "terrified to look in the mirror".
Bolton appears in costume as Jack Sparrow for a great deal of the video, complete with Sparrow's signature red bandanna, heavy eyeliner and goatee. [22] The music video featured models Jenny Albright in the club scene, as well as Kate Bock as Elvira Hancock, Tony Montana's wife, [23] and Danish singer Amalie Bruun as Jenny Curran, Forrest Gump's wife. The opening lyrics from The Lonely Island's song "Trouble on Dookie Island" can be heard at the start of the video.
Another version of the song can be found on Bolton's album Songs of Cinema , based on his take on the lyrics. The song includes new lyrics towards the end to replace the attempts to move on to other movies. During Bolton's 2018 Netflix special Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special , he performed an unplugged version of the song.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Sweden (GLF) [31] | 2× Platinum | 80,000‡ |
Streaming | ||
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [32] | Gold | 450,000† |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Michael Bolotin, known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo albums and those he recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack. His early career also saw him as a successful songwriter, co-writing hits like "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" for Laura Branigan, which he later recorded as a solo single.
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Andy Samberg is an American actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island alongside childhood friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Samberg was also a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012, where he and his fellow group members are credited with popularizing the SNL Digital Shorts.
Incredibad is the debut studio album of the American comedy troupe The Lonely Island, released on February 10, 2009, through Universal Republic Records. Composed of writers and childhood best friends Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, the album consists of hip hop-inspired comedy songs and skits with a satirical slant on traditional hip hop culture.
Jorma Christopher Taccone is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and musician. He is one-third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island, with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. In 2010, Taccone co-wrote and directed the SNL spinoff film MacGruber, which was his directorial debut. He directed his second feature alongside Schaffer, the musical comedy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which he also co-wrote and co-starred in with Schaffer and Samberg.
"Lazy Sunday" is a single and short film by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island. It was released on December 17, 2005, when it premiered on episode nine, season 31 of Saturday Night Live as the troupe's second Digital Short. Primarily performed by Andy Samberg and fellow cast member Chris Parnell, the song and accompanying music video follow the two comedians as they eat cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery, buy snacks at a convenience store, and smuggle the food into a Sunday afternoon matinee of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Akiva Daniel Shebar Schaffer is an American actor, filmmaker, comedian, and musician. He is a member of the comedy group The Lonely Island along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. Schaffer began his career with The Lonely Island making videos for Channel 101. In 2005, Saturday Night Live hired the trio, with Schaffer joining as a writer. In their time at SNL, The Lonely Island pioneered the digital short format, creating some of the most popular sketches of all time, including "Lazy Sunday", "I Just Had Sex", "I'm on a Boat", and "Dick in a Box". After SNL, Schaffer went on to direct movies including Hot Rod, The Watch, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. The Lonely Island has made albums such as Incredibad, Turtleneck & Chain, and The Wack Album. Schaffer also produced a number of TV shows and movies, some of which include MacGruber, PEN15, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, and Palm Springs.
An SNL Digital Short is one in a series of comedic and often musical video shorts created for NBC's Saturday Night Live. The origin of the Digital Short brand is credited to staff writer Adam McKay, who created content for the show in collaboration with SNL hosts, writers, and cast members. The popularity of these segments exploded following the addition of The Lonely Island to the show, and it is to them that credit is given for ushering SNL "into the age of digital online content in a time when it needed to tap into that relevance more than ever." The Lonely Island's digital shorts were originally recorded with consumer grade digital video cameras and edited on personal computers. It is typical for the show's hosts and musical guests to take part in that week's Digital Short, and several shorts have included appearances by celebrities who were not scheduled to appear in any of that episode's live sketches.
Hot Rod is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer and written by Pam Brady. The film stars Andy Samberg as amateur accident-prone stuntman Rod Kimble, whose stepfather, Frank, continuously mocks and disrespects him. When Frank becomes ill, Rod raises money for his heart operation by executing his largest stunt yet. The film also stars Jorma Taccone, Sissy Spacek, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Isla Fisher and Bill Hader.
"Dick in a Box" is a song by the American comedy group The Lonely Island featuring American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. The trio—Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone—co-wrote the song with Timberlake, Katreese Barnes, and Asa Taccone. Barnes and Asa Taccone co-produced it with Jorma Taccone. Saturday Night Live (SNL) creator and producer Lorne Michaels asked Samberg to write a musical sketch for the 2006 Christmas episode with Timberlake, who was returning as both host and musical guest. Samberg developed the concept with other members of the group before working with Timberlake on December 14. They recorded the track around midnight and spent the next day and a half filming the corresponding music video.
"Like a Boss" is a song written and recorded by comedy hip hop troupe The Lonely Island and released on their debut studio album Incredibad. The song is a parody of the song of the same name from Slim Thug's debut album Already Platinum. The song is narrated by a businessman who describes his increasingly outlandish daily activities as "the boss".
"Jizz in My Pants" is a SNL Digital Short which aired on Saturday Night Live on December 6, 2008, and YouTube on the same day. It serves as the music video for the first single from the Lonely Island's debut album, Incredibad. The video stars the Lonely Island members Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and, briefly, Akiva Schaffer, and also features guest appearances by Justin Timberlake, Molly Sims and Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
The discography of American comedy music troupe The Lonely Island consists of three studio albums, two soundtrack albums, twenty-four singles and thirty-six music videos. Group members Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone began creating live skits, comedy shorts and music parodies together in the early 2000s, having met the previous decade, during their high school years. The Lonely Island later caught the attention of television producer Lorne Michaels, who was impressed by their material. Michaels subsequently hired Samberg, Schaffer and Taccone as cast members and writers for his live sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Two musical shorts created by the group for the show, "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick in a Box", gained popularity on the Internet and garnered much media attention.
"Motherlover" is the first sequel to "Dick in a Box" by the Lonely Island, also featuring Justin Timberlake. It debuted on Saturday Night Live as an SNL Digital Short on May 9, 2009. The song finds the two ballad singers singing of their desire to have sex with each other's mothers as the ultimate tribute to Mother's Day. Set five months after the events of "Dick in a Box", the video opens with the balladeers being released from jail, only to be faced with the quandary of what to get their respective mothers for Mother's Day.
"I Just Had Sex" is a song by American comedy hip hop group The Lonely Island featuring American singer Akon and producer DJ Frank E. It was released as the first single from The Lonely Island's second album, Turtleneck & Chain, released in May 2011. The video, featured as a Saturday Night Live digital short, stars Akon and The Lonely Island members Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and briefly, Akiva Schaffer, with guest appearances by Jessica Alba, Blake Lively and John McEnroe.
Turtleneck & Chain is the second studio album by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island. The album was released on 10 May 2011 by Universal Republic Records. Turtleneck & Chain was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Many of the songs on the album were first performed on Saturday Night Live as SNL Digital Shorts. "We're Back!" premiered on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The CD version of the album also includes a DVD featuring some of the digital shorts. Collaborators on the album include Snoop Dogg, Akon, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Michael Bolton, Santigold, John Waters, and Beck.
"3-Way " is a song recorded by American comedy music group the Lonely Island, featuring American singers Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga. The R&B and new jack swing track was written by Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Timberlake, while produced by the Futuristics with further production from Asa Taccone and Ryan & Smitty. It appeared as an SNL Digital Short on May 21, 2011, in the episode of the sketch comedy television series Saturday Night Live, which saw Timberlake and Gaga as the host and musical guest, respectively. She commented that Samberg and Timberlake were nervous about presenting the idea to her. The song was released as a single on May 24, 2011, three days after the broadcast.
Aleric Banks, known professionally as Rick tha Rular, is an American percussionist, composer and producer. He is the founder of St. Louis–based StarStrukk Productions, and is best known for his comedy hip hop collaborations with Andy Samberg. Rick and Monique Hines wrote the music for two Saturday Night Live skits, "Like a Boss" and "Shy Ronnie", which was nominated for a 2010 Emmy Award as part of the "Rihanna and Shy Ronnie" Digital Short.
The Wack Album is the third studio album by American comedy hip hop group The Lonely Island. Recorded in Los Angeles and New York City with producers including TODAY, DJ Nu-Mark and Asa Taccone, it was released on June 7, 2013 by Republic Records. The album reached number ten on the US Billboard 200 and topped the Comedy Albums and Rap Albums charts. "3-Way ", "YOLO", "Spring Break Anthem", "I Fucked My Aunt", "Diaper Money", "Semicolon", "Go Kindergarten" and "Spell It Out" were released as singles.
"Spring Break Anthem" is a song written and recorded by American comedy hip hop group The Lonely Island for their third studio album The Wack Album. The song was released as the second single from the album on May 5, 2013. The song satirizes American spring break culture, which is illustrated as uproarious and irresponsible, juxtaposing it with the concept of same-sex marriage.