Thong Song

"Thong Song"
Single by Sisqó
from the album Unleash the Dragon
Released	February 15, 2000
Format	CD vinyl download
Recorded	1999
Genre	R&B
Length	4:12
Label	Def Soul
Writer(s)	Mark Andrews Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson Eric Frankenberg David Askew Desmond Child Robi Rosa
Producer(s)	Tim & Bob
Sisqó singles chronology
"Got to Get It" (1999) "Thong Song" (2000) "What These Bitches Want" DMX feat. Sisqó (2000)

"Thong Song" is a song recorded by American R&B artist Sisqó. It was released on February 2000 as the second single from Sisqó's 1999 solo debut studio album Unleash the Dragon. "Thong Song" garnered 4 Grammy nominations and numerous other awards as well. The song peaked at number one on Billboard Rhythmic top 40 chart and number three on the Billboard Hot 100, Sisqó's second highest-peaking hit behind "Incomplete".^[1] It was a major success worldwide as well, reaching the top ten throughout European charts and reached number three in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Denmark. The song also topped the charts in New Zealand.

Production

The song was written and produced by Sisqó, and Tim & Bob, a duo which consists of Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson. Songwriters Desmond Child and Draco Rosa receive songwriting credit because of the interpolation of part of their composition, "Livin' la Vida Loca" (originally recorded by Ricky Martin), in the song's lyrics. The strings heard throughout the song, performed for the record by violinist Bruce Dukov,^[2] are inspired by Wes Montgomery's cover of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" which Tim originally sampled in it's origin.

The alternate version, the official remix to the original version, "Thong Song Uncensored" (which has no explicit adult language), features a guest rap from Foxy Brown in the spot where Sisqó whispers the main verse for the third time, and is included on the soundtrack for Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. A second, more urban-themed, video was shot for the remix by Little X.

Music video

MTV version

The video was released in 2000. Set in Miami, Sisqó goes to the beach from his home to participate in a Spring Break party with a large number of young women who are generally wearing bikinis and thongs, with the exception of one female who wears a g-string. There are also scenes with Sisqo and his backup dancers driving a Bentley Azure down the Florida keys and cameos from the other three members of Sisqó's group Dru Hill, Method Man, Redman, Ja Rule and LL Cool J. Sisqó proceeds to perform acrobatic feats atop the crowd that contradict the laws of physics, culminating in a stage performance lit with blacklights and an orchestra in the background. The whole video, being cuts between Sisqó and barely clad women, drew minor criticism for exploiting women as sex objects, and was credited for starting a new wave of "booty" videos. The director of the video, Joseph Kahn, was quoted as saying, "I listen to 'Thong Song', and I say, 'Well, this song is about asses.' So you can either accept it and do something like I did, or you can go and try and turn the 'Thong Song' into some kind of Chemical Brothers video and make it all pretentious; about some fucking communist upheaval or something. Let's just relax and make a booty video, and let's make a really good one, and make it fun."^[3]

Alternate version with Foxy Brown

After giving a radio interview with Nokio and Jazz of Dru Hill in his home town of Baltimore, Sisqó escapes from a group of fans with the help of Foxy Brown to a fashion show, where models strut in sexy costumes, which (again) all consist of bikinis just as in the original video, this time for the exception of two females who did sport thongs. The video also features a cameo by professional wrestler Big Show. The song was done for the soundtrack of Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. The video was directed by Little X.^[4]

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (2000–01) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 15 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] 5 Canada (RPM)[8] 2 Denmark (Tracklisten)[9] 3 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[10] 8 France (SNEP)[11] 15 Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 15 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 7 Italy (FIMI)[14] 20 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 8 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[18] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 3 US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1

End of year charts End of year chart (2000) Position Australia (ARIA)[20] 23 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[21] 68 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[22] 15 France (SNEP)[23] 55 Germany (Media Control Charts)[24] 108 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 27 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[25] 14

Chart successions

Notes

1. "Sisqó".
2. (1999). Unleash the Dragon [CD booklet]. New York: Dragon/Def Soul/The Island/Def Jam Music Group.
3. Lee, Jimmy (June 2001), The Wrath of Kahn: Joseph Kahn's trek to music video stardom, KoreAm
4. Murphy, Keith (March 2008). "Is the music video dead?". Vibe: 66. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
5. "Australian-charts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
6. "Ultratop.be – Sisqó – Thong Song" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
7. "Ultratop.be – Sisqó – Thong Song" (in French). Ultratop 50.
8. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".
9. "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 06/24/00". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 112 (26): 99. 24 June 2000. ISSN 0006-2510.
10. "Hits of the World: Europe (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 06/24/00". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 112 (26): 99. 24 June 2000. ISSN 0006-2510.
11. "Lescharts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song" (in French). Les classement single.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sisqó – Thong Song". GfK Entertainment Charts.
13. "Chart Track: Week 19, 2000". Irish Singles Chart.
14. "Italiancharts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song". Top Digital Download.
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Sisqó search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
16. "Charts.org.nz – Sisqó – Thong Song". Top 40 Singles.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Sisqó – Thong Song". Swiss Singles Chart.
18. "Archive Chart: 2000-04-22" UK Singles Chart.
19. "Sisqó – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Sisqó.
20. "2000 Australian Singles Chart". Aria. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
21. "2000 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart". Ultratop. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
22. "2000 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart". Ultratop. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
23. "2000 French Singles Chart". Snep. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
24. "INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20". Ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de. 2001-03-05. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
25. "Billboard Top 100 - 2000". Retrieved 2010-08-31.