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This article is about the song. For other uses, see American Boy (disambiguation).
"American Boy"
Single by Estelle featuring Kanye West
from the album Shine
B-side "Life to Me"
Released 24 March 2008 (2008-03-24)
(See release history)
Format CD single, digital download
Genre Post-disco, dance pop, R&B, hip hop
Length 4:41 (Album Version)
4:02 (Radio Edit)
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Estelle, Kanye West, John Stephens, Keith Harris, will.i.am, Caleb Speir, Josh Lopez, Kweli Washington
Producer will.i.am
Certification 2x Platinum (RIAA)
Estelle UK singles chronology
"Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)"
(2007)		 "American Boy"
(2008)		 "No Substitute Love"
(2008)
Estelle U.S. singles chronology
— "American Boy"
(2008)		 "Come Over (rmx)"
(2008)
Kanye West singles chronology
"Go Hard"
(2008)		 "American Boy"
(2008)		 "Put On"
(2008)
Alternative cover

"American Boy" is the second single from the album Shine by British R&B singer Estelle and features American rapper Kanye West. The song is her first international single. The song won the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards.

The song was listed at #238 on Pitchfork Media's Top 500 songs of the 2000s.[1]

Contents

Background

Speaking in February 2008 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Estelle explained how the track came about: "We were just messing about in the studio, joking around. And John Legend just said to me 'Why don't you write a song about meeting an American boy?'. So I was like 'Well, that's pretty easy' - because I have a lot of male friends out there in New York. And I unwittingly ended up creating a new ladies' anthem! And Kanye basically just brought his own cheeky self to the track, his own sense of humour. At first he was like 'How can you rap over a dance beat?' - and now he's DONE it!"[2]

Song information

Written by Kanye West, Keith Harris, Estelle, will.i.am, John Stephens, Caleb Speir, Josh Lopez, and Kweli Washington[3] and produced by will.i.am, the song uses samples from "Impatient" from will.i.am's 2007 album Songs About Girls as well as "& Down" by Boys Noize.[4] American Boy was released as the second single from Shine. It was released in the UK, as a download, on 21 March 2008 and physically on 24 March 2008.

After quickly dropping in Billboard rankings, on 9 September 2008, Shine reappeared for purchase in the iTunes U.S. store. As a result of accumulated demand during the period of unavailability, "American Boy" quickly re-entered the top 100 songs chart, which prompted the song to jump four spots on the Billboard Hot 100 from #57 to #53.[5]

American Boy reached a spot in the top 6 of iTunes "Top Songs" by 13 September 2008. Those sales levels in iTunes added the 10,000[6] copies of Shine sold in the now-reversed album-only experiment. During that time, the Shine album still generated 5,000[7] sales per week through offline sales, the UK iTunes, and non iTunes digital music channels such as Amazon which agreed to continue album sales while abiding by the publisher's wish to block sales of the single. In addition, a cover version of the song, performed by "Studio All-Stars", shot up the charts while the original was unavailable as a single.[8]

The song was nominated for Song of the Year and won in the category of Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. This song was #7 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.[9] American Boy was the 33rd best selling single of 2008, selling 1,582,000 downloads.[10]

Chart performance

"American Boy" is Estelle's biggest hit charting in 18 different official charts in the world. The single debuted at number 72 in UK Singles Chart. It then dropped out and re-entered at number 1 two weeks later, and stayed four weeks at the summit of the chart. "American Boy" remained in the UK Top 40 for 22 consecutive weeks and became the sixth biggest-selling single of 2008. The single has also charted on the Irish Singles Chart the same week where it entered at number eight on downloads and peaked at number two.

In the U.S, the song debuted at #98, her first appearance in Billboard Hot 100. The single rose to #9 on the chart and #8 on Hot Digital Songs.[11] As previously mentioned above, the single and its parent album were then removed from the U.S iTunes store, prompting the single to plummet from #11 to #37 on the following week's Hot 100.[12] The album and song were then added back to the iTunes store on 9 September 2008. After this, "American Boy" reached a new peak on the Hot 100 of #9, becoming Estelle's first U.S. top ten hit. Also, it debuted at #96[13] and peaked at #9[14] on the Canadian Hot 100. The song has sold over 1,500,000 downloads in the US.[10]

The single debuted at number 7[15] in Australia and so far peaked number 3.[16] "American Boy" is Estelle's highest charting single since "1980", which peaked number 36. In New Zealand the single first appeared on 1 April 2008 on New Zealand Chart debuting at number 25.[17] After a couple of weeks, it cracked the top 5 of the chart peaking number 5.[18] It was also her first appearance in New Zealand RIANZ Chart.

In addition, the song reached top 10 in more than 14 countries including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Brazil, Switzerland and Canada.

Covers and parodies

 This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a specific audience. Please help relocate any relevant information, and remove excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia inclusion policy. (June 2010)

Sam Sparro performed an acoustic version of the song on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge which was then released as a B-Side to his single 21st Century Life. Busta Rhymes also produced a remixed version of the song.[19]

The American band VersaEmerge has covered the song on YouTube, as well as at their live shows. Another American band that has covered the song at their live shows is Fall Out Boy. Shrewsbury citizen Nick Nuthall also famously covered this song, which is available on YouTube.

The song has been parodied internationally, with the eponymous character changed to be an:

In visual media

  • The song is heard on the hit TV show Ghost Whisperer in the season four episode "Save Our Souls".
  • It is in the film Obsessed starring Beyoncé Knowles.
  • The song is played for American ice hockey player Jay Latulippe who plays for the Cardiff Devils.

Music video

The music video for "American Boy" features guest appearances by John Legend, Kardinal Offishall, Taz Arnold of Sa-Ra, Naledge and Double-O of Kidz in the Hall, Danger Mouse, Consequence, Hi-Tek, Ryan Leslie, T.I., Brandon Hines, and Terrence J of 106 & Park, LL Cool J, among others.[29] It was directed by Syndrome. The music video was nominated for Best UK Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. BET placed it at #45 on the Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2008 countdown, while spin-off channel BET J placed it at #10 on the year-end Last Call 2008! Top 50 Countdown.

Track listings and formats

UK CD 1
  1. "American Boy" (clean radio edit)
UK CD 2
  1. "American Boy" (explicit album version)
  2. "Life to You"
  3. "American Boy" (video)
US PROMO
  1. "American Boy" (radio edit)
  2. "American Boy" (instrumental)
Remixes EP
  1. "American Boy" (TS7 Remix)
  2. "American Boy" (TS7 Remix Radio Edit)
  3. "American Boy" (Soul Seekerz Club Remix)
  4. "American Boy" (Soul Seekerz Dub Remix)
  5. "American Boy" (Soul Seekerz Radio Remix)
  6. "American Boy" (Benny Benassi Remix)
  7. "American Boy" (Kill the Noise Remix)
  8. "American Boy" (Danger's Champion Remix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[30] 3
Austrian Singles Chart[31] 7
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[32] 1
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)[32] 4
Canadian Hot 100[33] 9
Danish Singles Chart[34] 3
Dutch Top 40[35] 5
French Singles Chart[34] 3
European Hot 100[33] 1
German Singles Chart[34] 5
Greek Singles Chart[36] 12
Hungarian Airplay Chart[37] 3
Irish Singles Chart[38] 2
Italian Singles Chart[39] 3
Norwegian Singles Chart[40] 10
New Zealand Singles Chart[41] 5
Swedish Singles Chart[34] 14
Swiss Singles Chart[42] 5
Turkey Top 20 Chart[43] 2
UK Singles Chart[44] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[33] 9
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[33] 55
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs[33] 10
U.S. Billboard Adult Pop Songs[33] 26

Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
Canadian Hot 100[45] 25
German Singles Chart[46] 51
Hungarian Singles Chart[47] 125
Irish Singles Chart[48] 9
Swedish Singles Chart[49] 81
UK Singles Chart[50] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[51] 39

End of decade positions

Chart (2000–2009) Position
UK Singles Chart 83

Certifications

Country Certification
Australia Platinum[52]
United States 2× Platinum[53]
Preceded by
"Mercy" by Duffy		 UK number one single
23 March 2008 – 19 April 2008		 Succeeded by
"4 Minutes" by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake
Preceded by
"Better in Time" by Leona Lewis
"Touch My Body" by "Mariah Carey"		 UK R&B Chart number-one single
23 March 2008 – 5 April 2008 (first run)
13 April 2008 – 3 May 2008 (second run)		 Succeeded by
"Touch My Body" by "Mariah Carey"
"Wearing My Rolex" by Wiley
Preceded by
"Mercy" by Duffy		 Eurochart Hot 100 number one single
19–25 July 2008		 Succeeded by
"All Summer Long" by Kid Rock

Release history

Region Date
United Kingdom[citation needed] 24 March 2008
United States[54] 8 April 2008
Europe[citation needed] 25 April 2008
Australia[citation needed] 26 April 2008

References

  1. ^ "Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201". Pitchfork. 17 August 2009. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7685-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-500-201/6/. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  2. ^ "Estelle interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' February 2008". Bluesandsoul.com. http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/255/to_estelle_and_back/. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  3. ^ "Unsupported Browser or Operating System". Musicnotes.com. http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0066972. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  4. ^ "Boys Noize's Sample-Based Music". WhoSampled. http://www.whosampled.com/artist/Boys%20Noize/. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  5. ^ "Billboard.BIZ". Billboard.BIZ. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Singles&f=The+Billboard+Hot+100. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  6. ^ Hilary Lewis (9 September 2008). "Estelle's "Shine" and Hit Single "American Boy" Suddenly Back On iTunes (AAPL, WMG)". Alleyinsider.com. http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/9/estelle-s-shine-and-hit-single-american-boy-suddenly-back-on-itunes-aapl-wmg-. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  7. ^ 10 September 2008  (10 September 2008). "Estelle joins NBC in returning to iTunes | Technology | Los Angeles Times". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/09/itunes-estelle.html. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  8. ^ "Once More, With Loathing: Are Labels Moving To Kill The Single Again? | Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on". Idolator.com. http://idolator.com/400826/once-more-with-loathing-are-labels-moving-to-kill-the-single-again. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  9. ^ No byline (25 December 2008). "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-12-25.[dead link]
  10. ^ a b "Chart Watch Extra: The Year That Songs Overtook Albums - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 31 December 2008. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/25945/chart-watch-extra-the-year-that-songs-overtook-albums/. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  11. ^ Estelle Chart History, Billboard.com, 26 June 2008.
  12. ^ Up for Discussion Jump to Forums (12 May 2007). "T.I. Sets New Record With Hot 100 No. 1 Jump". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003843472. Retrieved 2010-06-20. [dead link]
  13. ^ Canadian Hot 100 14/2008,acharts.us, 1 April 2008.
  14. ^ Canadian Hot 100 26/2008, acharts.us, 24 June 2008.
  15. ^ [1], acharts.us, 13 May 2008.
  16. ^ Australia Singles Top 50 24/2008, acharts.us, 10 June 2008.
  17. ^ New Zealand Top 40 14/2008, acharts.us, 1 April 2008.
  18. ^ New Zealand Top 40 18/2008, acharts.us, 29 April 2008.
  19. ^ "Estelle feat. Busta Rhymes "American Boy" Remix". Mixmatters.com. 27 September 2007. http://mixmatters.com/hot/2008/Estelle_feat_Busta_Rhymes-American_Boy_Remix.html. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  20. ^ “” (16 November 2008). "Arab friend חבר ערבי". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Q_Dx95PsU&feature=related. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  21. ^ 88bar, oneinchpunch. "Cantonese Boy-Parody of American Boy". http://www.oneinchpunch.net/2009/09/08/music-video-cantonese-boy-parody-of-estelles-american-boy. 
  22. ^ “”. "Dave Soul Feat Estelle - Chinese Boy (American Boy Parody)". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4w4Yd7hnBI. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  23. ^ “”. "Hamish & Andy - Armenian Boy". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF6-5w0xmYE. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  24. ^ “”. "Egyptian Boy - American Boy Parody". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7d00LEacEY. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  25. ^ “”. "Chris Moyles - Somerset Boy". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZDx1w3k9Ic. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  26. ^ "Music video for "Fake American Boy" - Peven Everett". Vids.myspace.com. http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=26186258. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  27. ^ “”. "Bost & Bim ft. Brisa roché & Lone Ranger - Jamaican Boy". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMXIZszCWPQ. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  28. ^ “”. "Vice President - Sarah Palin ft. John McCain (Parody of American Boy by Estelle ft. Kanye West)". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4LzHcM_rho. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  29. ^ "Music video for "American Boy" - Estelle feat. Kanye West". Stereogum.com. http://stereogum.com/archives/video/new-estelle-feat-kanye-west---american-boy_008220.html. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  30. ^ "ARIA Singles Chart". Ariacharts.com.au. http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_singles.asp?chart=1U50. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  31. ^ Steffen Hung. "Estelle feat. Kanye West - American Boy". austriancharts.at. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Estelle+feat%2E+Kanye+West&titel=American+Boy&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  32. ^ a b "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/en/weekchart.asp?cat=s&lang=nl. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  33. ^ a b c d e f http://www.billboard.com/#/song/estelle-ft-kayne-west/american-boy/11104798
  34. ^ a b c d "Estelle and Kanye West - American Boy - Music Charts". Acharts.us. http://acharts.us/song/34351. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  35. ^ "Dutch Top 40 (wk 20)". Futuremusiccharts.nl. 15 June 2010. http://www.futuremusiccharts.nl/futuremusiccharts/2008/05/nederlandse-t-1.html. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  36. ^ "Ελληνικό Chart". Ifpi.gr. http://www.ifpi.gr/chart03.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  37. ^ "Archívum - Slágerlisták - MAHASZ - Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". Mahasz.hu. http://mahasz.hu/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum&lista=radios&ev=2008&het=37&submit_=Keres%E9s. Retrieved 2012-01-14. 
  38. ^ "IRMA Chart". Irma.ie. http://www.irma.ie/aucharts.asp. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  39. ^ [2][dead link]
  40. ^ "VG-Lista, Norway". Lista.vg.no. 1 June 2006. http://lista.vg.no/album_info.php?AlbumOp=show&albumId=5273&listId=1&albumtype=song. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  41. ^ Steffen Hung. "New Zealand Charts". Charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Estelle+feat%2E+Kanye+West&titel=American+Boy&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  42. ^ Steffen Hung. "Estelle feat. Kanye West - American Boy". swisscharts.com. http://www.swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Estelle+feat%2E+Kanye+West&titel=American+Boy&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  43. ^ Turkey Top 20 Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2008. Archived June 11, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  44. ^ "UK Singles Chart". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/singles.shtml. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  45. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 Year-End 2008". http://www.billboard.com/features/the-year-in-music-2010-1004133971.story#/charts-year-end/canadian-hot-100?year=2008&begin=21&order=position. Retrieved 2012-03-29. 
  46. ^ [3][dead link]
  47. ^ "Éves összesített listák - MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 (súlyozott)". Mahasz. Mahasz. http://www.mahasz.hu/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=eves_osszesitett_listak&id=radios&ev=2009. 
  48. ^ ">> IRMA << Irish Charts - Best of 2006 >>". Irma.ie. http://irma.ie/best2008.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-14. 
  49. ^ "Årslista Singlar – År 2008" (in Swedish). Swedish Recording Industry Association. http://www.hitlistan.se/netdata/ghl002.mbr/lista?liid=43&dfom=20080001&newi=0&height=420&platform=Win32&browser=MSIE&navi=no&subframe=Mainframe. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  50. ^ http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2008.pdf
  51. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 Year-End 2008". http://www.billboard.com/features/best-of-2009-the-year-in-charts-more-1004052398.story#/charts-year-end/hot-100-songs?year=2008&begin=31&order=position. Retrieved 2012-03-29. 
  52. ^ "ARIA Charts > Accreditations > 2008 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2008Singles.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
  53. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
  54. ^ "CHR Available for Airplay". FMQB. 23 February 2010. http://fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=69239. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 

External links


Estelle
Studio albums
Singles
Featured singles
Promotional singles
  • "Dance with Me" (Remix)
  • "Star"
Other articles
Kanye West singles
The College Dropout
Late Registration
Graduation
808s & Heartbreak
My Beautiful Dark
Twisted Fantasy
Watch the Throne
Cruel Summer
Non-album singles
Featured singles
Other songs

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