"Sexy Boy" | ||||
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Single by Air | ||||
from the album Moon Safari | ||||
Released | 9 February 1998 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:57 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | Air | |||
Producer(s) | Air | |||
Air singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Sexy Boy" on YouTube |
"Sexy Boy" is a song by French music duo Air, released in February 1998 by Virgin Records as the first single from the duo's first album, Moon Safari (1998). The song is noted for allowing the band, and French dance music more generally, to break through to British and American markets. [3] It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number 22 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The single was also a top-20 hit in Finland and a top-30 hit in Iceland.
Kevin Courtney from Irish Times named "Sexy Boy" Single of the Week, writing, "How can you not be seduced by that title? The new single from the cool-as French duo is a swooping, moog-driven slice of fromage, filled with polyester passion and gender-bending vocals." [4] A reviewer from Music Week gave it five out of five, noting that the song is "uncharacteristically uptempo with its vocodered lyrics and driving Roxy Music/Bowie/ELO sensibility." [5] John Mulvey of NME praised Air's "sensitive but tenacious grasp of melody, a laid-back disposition and a reckless way with a Vocoder that makes them unafraid of sounding like a digital ELO", while also noting similarities to Garbage. [6] Andy Beevers from Record Mirror Dance Update also rated it five out of five, naming it "by no means the highlight" of the album, and "the least downtempo track and therefore a sensible choice for the French duo's first major label single." He also insulted it as "charmingly kitsch". [7] Sunday Mirror rated the song ten out of ten, writing, "Dotty french duo come up with the best single of the year so far. Sounds like Kraftwerk meeting Daft Punk and going for a picnic with Aqua." [8]
The accompanying music video for "Sexy Boy", directed by American film and music video director Mike Mills, shows the members of Air in New York City. They see a toy monkey on the street and immediately enter a fantasy in which the monkey is a giant and flies off to the Moon. Meanwhile, the members of Air are still in New York and other people see them playing with the toy monkey around the United Nations headquarters and in Central Park. The fantasy scenes are shown in colorful animation and the scenes in real life are shot in black-and-white live action. The music video went into rotation on JBTV. [9]
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [10] | 68 |
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) [11] | 11 |
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [12] | 32 |
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [13] | 20 |
France (SNEP) [14] | 65 |
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [15] | 27 |
Scotland (OCC) [16] | 11 |
UK Singles (OCC) [17] | 13 |
US Dance Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [18] | 22 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [19] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 9 February 1998 |
|
| [20] |
United States | 16 February 1998 | Alternative radio |
| [21] |
The Kinky Boyz (feat. Kia) covered "Sexy Boy" in 1999 [22] and this version was used in the UK TV series Queer as Folk also from 1999. Former Chemlab vocalist Jared Louche covered "Sexy Boy" with The Aliens for his 1999 solo debut Covergirl . [23] The song was later covered by Franz Ferdinand and appears as a B-side to the single "Walk Away". "Sexy Boy" was also covered by German artist Nena on her 2007 cover album Cover Me . It was also covered by the French group Plastiscines on their 2014 album Back to the Start.
A newly scored orchestral version of the track was released in December 2010, under the artist "The Fallen Angels". The orchestra and choir arrangement was created by composer Roger Neill, who has been a long-time collaborator with Air since his extensive work on their 2001 album 10,000 Hz Legend . This version of the track is featured in a television advertising campaign for Lynx in the UK and Axe in the US and Europe.
"Cruel Summer" is a song by English girl group Bananarama. It was written by Bananarama and Steve Jolley, Tony Swain, and produced by Jolley and Swain. Released in 1983, it was initially a stand-alone single but was subsequently included on their self-titled second album a year later. The song reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart in 1983 and the group appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops that summer, and after its inclusion in the 1984 film The Karate Kid, it reached number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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"Da Funk" is an instrumental track by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, initially released as a 12-inch single in May 1995 by Soma and Virgin and later included on their debut album, Homework (1997). Prior to its inclusion on the album, "Da Funk" received little attention and was limited to 2,000 copies. The song and its accompanying music video directed by Spike Jonze are considered classics of 1990s house music. It went on to sell 30,000 copies in 1997. A reversed clip of "Da Funk" was also released on Homework as "Funk Ad", which is the final track on the album.
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"Remember Me" is a 1997 song by British DJ Alexis 'Lex' Blackmore under his pseudonym Blue Boy, released as a single only. Built around samples performed by American singer Marlena Shaw, the song peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1997 and No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. It was a top-10 hit in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the track reached No. 13.
"Dance with Me" is the third and final single released from American R&B group 112's third studio album, Part III (2001). It features Slim on lead vocals. The released version features rap artist Beanie Sigel and is featured on the Bad Boy album We Invented the Remix. The song peaked at number 39 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a platinum-selling hit in Australia and Belgium in 2002, reaching number two in Australia, number one in Flanders, and number nine in Wallonia.
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