"Rock Star" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by N.E.R.D. | ||||
from the album In Search of... | ||||
Released | July 29, 2002 | |||
Recorded | 2001 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | The Neptunes | |||
N.E.R.D. singles chronology | ||||
|
"Rock Star" is a song by American rock and hip hop band N.E.R.D. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album In Search of... (2001). The song, the second single off the album, performed better in the United Kingdom than their previous single "Lapdance", peaking at number 15. It also became the group's first single to chart in Australia.
The song acted as a "second first single" of sorts, as it followed the group's debut "Lapdance", but was the first single to be released from the second, more streamlined version of In Search Of... rerecorded courtesy of Spymob rather than The Neptunes' trademark synths and electronic drum programming.
The video features the members of N.E.R.D. as High School students, in gym class, with their militant gym teacher, played by actor Randy Quaid. N.E.R.D., later starts performing "Rock Star", as the gym teacher, and other students dance along to the song. A Capuchin monkey then eventually runs into the gym, and starts havoc. [1]
The song is featured in the films The Guard , Bringing Down the House, Blue Crush, and Piece by Piece
The Jason Nevins remix of the song has been featured in numerous video games such as Burnout Dominator , Burnout Paradise , and Forza Motorsport 2 as well as movie trailers for Shanghai Knights , The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and the 2004 film Taxi , and was featured in an Apple iPod advert. The Jason Nevins Club Blaster Edit has appeared in SSX 3 .
An edited version of it was also used as the theme song for NFL's 2002 game NFL Fever, with Pharrell Williams' vocal part replaced with the title game words. The song also appears in the music video game Band Hero .
The original version appears in the video games Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2 , SX Superstar , and True Crime: Streets of LA .
A portion of "Rock Star" also appears in an episode (season 3, episode 4: "Zoso") of the television series Californication , as well as an episode of Northern Irish comedy Pulling Moves .
It placed at number 46 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2002 in Australia, which is the world's largest annual music poll.
In 2024, the song appeared on Williams' soundtrack album Piece by Piece (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) .
Chart (2002) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [2] | 32 |
Australian Urban (ARIA) [3] | 10 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [4] | 74 |
Scotland (OCC) [5] | 19 |
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC) [6] | 6 |
UK Singles (OCC) [7] | 15 |
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [8] | 36 |
"Boys" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her third album Britney (2001). It was written and produced by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams. A version of the song titled "The Co-Ed Remix" and featuring guest vocals from Williams was released as the fifth single from Britney on June 24, 2002. The new version also served as the second single from the soundtrack of Austin Powers in Goldmember. "Boys" is a R&B and hip hop song, including funk influences. The remix carries a slower tempo than the album version, and both versions were noted by critics to be reminiscent of music by American artist Janet Jackson. Some critics praised Spears and Williams' chemistry, as well as the production on the track, while others did not think the song worked well.
"Drop It Like It's Hot" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg, featuring American singer, rapper and musician Pharrell Williams. It was released on September 27, 2004, as the lead single from Snoop Dogg's seventh studio album, R&G : The Masterpiece (2004). The song was produced by Williams alongside Chad Hugo as the Neptunes. It is regarded as an iconic song, with Snoop performing the chorus and the second and third verses while Pharrell performs the first verse.
"Feels Just Like It Should" is the first single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's sixth studio album, Dynamite (2005). Mike Spencer and Jay Kay produced the song. The track was built on a bass line created by Kay as a human beatbox. This bassline initially formed part of an interlude intended to feature on the band's 2001 album, A Funk Odyssey. Still, it was dropped for the album's final version, only appearing on the test pressing. The song was their fourth number-one on the US Dance Chart and peaked at eight on the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video at the 48th Grammy Awards.
Jason Nevins is an American songwriter, record producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop and dance productions, including his multi-platinum, multi-million selling production of "It's Like That" by American hip hop group Run–D.M.C. and his multi-million selling production of "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly.
"Batter Up" is a song by American hip hop group St. Lunatics, with member Nelly credited as a featured artist. The track was produced by Steve "Blast" Wills and first appeared on Nelly's debut solo album, Country Grammar (2000). It was later included on the group's album Free City (2001) as a bonus track. A remixed version of "Batter Up" appears on Nelly's album Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention (2003).
"Control Myself" is a song by American rapper LL Cool J from his 12th album, Todd Smith (2006). The song was written by Jermaine Dupri, James Phillips, Ryan Toby, John Miller, Afrika Bambaataa, Arthur Baker and John Robie. The song was produced by Dupri, with co-production by LRoc, and features guest vocals from American entertainer Jennifer Lopez. "Control Myself" contains a sample of Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force's 1983 song "Looking for the Perfect Beat", while the vocals interpolate Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel's 1983 song "White Lines " and Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force's 1982 song "Planet Rock".
"I Still..." is a song from American vocal group Backstreet Boys' fifth studio album, Never Gone (2005). It was released as the third and final single from the album outside the United States on January 31, 2006. The single reached the top 40 in Australia, Greece, and Sweden. This was the last single the band released with Kevin Richardson until 2012.
"It's Like That" is the debut single of American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released in 1983 by Profile Records. The song was remixed by house DJ Jason Nevins in 1997. His version was originally released in 1997 on 10-inch vinyl in the United States and became a sleeper hit in 1998. It sold around five million copies worldwide, placing it amongst the biggest selling singles of all time. In 2008, it was ranked number 40 on VH1's "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs".
"Frontin'" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams featuring American rapper Jay-Z. It was written by the artists alongside Chad Hugo, who produced it with Williams as the Neptunes. At the time of its release, Williams insisted the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not an artist in his own right. However, he released his own solo studio album, In My Mind, in 2006.
"Insane in the Brain" is a song by American hip hop group Cypress Hill, released in June 1993 by Ruffhouse and Columbia as the first single from the group's second album, Black Sunday (1993). The song was written by group members Louis Freese, Lawrence Muggerud and Senen Reyes, and produced by Muggerud. In addition to hitting number one on the US rap chart, it also was a mainstream hit, reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993. "Insane in the Brain" earned a 3× platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America and sold 3,000,000 copies domestically. The accompanying music video was directed by Josh Taft, featuring the group performing at a rave.
"Love Me or Hate Me" is the sixth single from English grime artist Lady Sovereign and the fourth from her debut album Public Warning. The single was confirmed for release by her official website and was released in October 2006. The song was produced by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald. The video features Lady Sovereign appearing in Tetris-style blocks, and acting out certain lyrics of the song.
"Nothing in This World" is a song by American media personality and socialite Paris Hilton from her debut studio album Paris (2006). It was released as the second and final single from the album on August 28, 2006, by Warner Bros. Records. The song was written and produced by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, with additional writing by Sheppard Solomon.
"Lapdance" is a song by American rock and hip hop band N.E.R.D. from their debut studio album, In Search of... The song features rappers Lee Harvey and Vita, and was produced by the Neptunes. The song compares politicians to strippers giving a lap dance for free, due to the use of their excessive propaganda without ever taking action.
"Get Low" is a song by American rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, featuring American hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, released as a single in 2003. It first appeared on the 2002 album Kings of Crunk. "Get Low" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. It was number five on the top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs of 2003. Outside of the United States, "Get Low" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom, the top twenty of the charts in Germany and the top forty of the charts in Australia, Austria, and New Zealand. It is also known as a breakthrough song for the crunk genre, as the song's success helped it become mainstream. It is listed number 99 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
"It's Tricky" is the fourth single released from Run-DMC's third album, Raising Hell. It was released early in 1987 through Profile Records and was co-produced by Rick Rubin and the group themselves. The song peaked at No. 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In the UK, the song reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Maybe" is a single from American band N*E*R*D's second studio album, Fly or Die (2004). The song features Lenny Kravitz on guitar and Questlove on drums. It peaked at number 25 in the United Kingdom, number 31 in Ireland, and number 34 in the Netherlands. The song was featured in an iPod commercial that also promoted the song.
"Beep Me 911" is a song recorded by American rapper and singer Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, featuring vocals by R&B trio 702 and rapper Magoo. It was written and composed by Elliott, Melvin Barcliff and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley for her debut album Supa Dupa Fly (1997) and released as the album's third single in 1998.
"Fabulous" is a song from the 2007 Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical 2. The song was sung by Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans and Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans.
"Provider" is a song by American funk rock band N*E*R*D from their debut studio album, In Search Of....
"Lemon" is a song by American band N.E.R.D. from their fifth studio album, No One Ever Really Dies (2017). The song features vocals from Barbadian singer Rihanna, and was released as the album's lead single on November 1, 2017.