The Launch (song)

"The Launch"
United Kingdom cover art
Single by DJ Jean
Released	April 1999 (1999-04)
Genre	Dance
Length	6:46 (original) 3:38 (radio edit)
Label	Mo'Bizz
Songwriters	Koen Groeneveld Addy van der Zwan Jan Voermans Jan Engelaar
Producers	Klubbheads DJ Jean
DJ Jean singles chronology
"U Got My Love" (1998) "The Launch" (1999) "Love Come Home" (2000)
Audio sample
The Launch (1999) file help

"The Launch" is a song by Dutch disc jockey DJ Jean. It was written by Addy van der Zwan, Jan Engelaar, Jan Voermans, and Koen Groeneveld, with production handled by DJ Jean and Klubbheads (Addy van der Zwan and Koen Groeneveld). Vocals are performed by Natasja Morales.^{[ citation needed ] [1]}

The track was released in the Netherlands in April 1999 and reached number one on the Dutch Top 40. In the United Kingdom, the song was released in August 1999, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart the following month.

Development and recording

Recording took place at Digidance Studio 2 in the Netherlands, where the team crafted the song's signature build-up leading to an explosive drop in a trance-infused house style.^{[ citation needed ] [1]}

"The Launch" samples the horn riff from The Don's 1998 track "The Horn Song" ^[2] as the melodic foundation. ^[3]

Impact and legacy

British electronic dance and clubbing magazine Mixmag included "The Launch" in their list of "The Biggest Drops in Dance Music" in 2020, writing, "Get ready for the launch advises a vocal near the start of this track. The sage words follow a sample of NASA comms, which come back around as a space shuttle countdown (5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1..) as the track builds towards its momentous drop. It's extremely cheesy, and extremely fun. When those bouncing trance notes rush in, dancefloors always hit the stratosphere." ^[4]

Track listing

• Dutch CD single ^[5]

1. "The Launch" (radio edit) – 3:38
2. "The Launch" (Rollercoaster's Pumped Up Mix) – 6:10

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1999–2000)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA) [6]	74
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [7]	14
Canada Dance/Urban ( RPM ) [8]	4
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [9]	11
France (SNEP) [10]	28
Germany (GfK) [11]	92
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [12]	30
Ireland (IRMA) [13]	2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [14]	1
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [5]	2
Scotland Singles (OCC) [15]	2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [16]	40
UK Singles (OCC) [17]	2
UK Dance (OCC) [18]	1
US Maxi-Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [19] with "You Got My Love"	12

Year-end charts

Chart (1999)	Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [20]	100
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [21]	93
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [22]	27
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [23]	12
UK Singles (OCC) [24]	43

Chart (2000)	Position
US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard) [25]	44

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [26]	Gold	400,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Netherlands	April 1999	CD	Mo'Bizz	[27]
United Kingdom	30 August 1999	12-inch vinyl CD cassette	AM:PM	[28]

References

1. "DJ Jean – The Launch". Discogs. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
2. "YouTube search". YouTube. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
3. "DJ Jean's 'The Launch' sample of The Don's 'The Horn Song'". whosampled.com. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
4. Seb Wheeler; Dave Turner; Patrick Hinton (17 April 2020). "The Best Drops In Dance Music, According To You". Mixmag . Retrieved 16 October 2024.
5. "DJ Jean – The Launch" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
6. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 84.
7. "DJ Jean – The Launch" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
8. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 9991". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
9. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 16, no. 38. 18 September 1999. p. 13. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
10. "DJ Jean – The Launch" (in French). Le classement de singles.
11. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
12. "Íslenski Listinn Sætin 21 til 40 (28.10 – 4.11 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 29 October 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Launch". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 12, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
15. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 11/9/1999 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
16. "DJ Jean – The Launch". Singles Top 100.
17. "Official Singles Chart on 11/9/1999 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
18. "Official Dance Singles Chart on 11/9/1999 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
19. "Dance Singles Sales" . Billboard . 22 April 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
20. "Jaaroverzichten 1999" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved 6 October 2019.
21. "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1999" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 1. 1 January 2000. p. 11. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
22. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1999". Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
23. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1999" (in Dutch). MegaCharts . Retrieved 6 October 2019.
24. "Best Sellers of 1999: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England. 22 January 2000. p. 27.
25. "The Year in Music 2000: Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 53. 30 December 2000. p. YE-60.
26. "British single certifications – DJ Jean – The Launch". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 10 October 2020.
27. Tilli, Robbert (9 October 1999). "Global Beats: Amsterdam". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 41. pp. 46, 48. Released in April on Digidance's Mo'Bizz imprint, 'The Launch'...
28. "New Releases – For Week Starting 30 August 1999: Singles". Music Week . 28 August 1999. p. 25.