Get the Party Started

"Get the Party Started"
Single by Pink
from the album Missundaztood
Released	October 9, 2001 (United States) January 14, 2002 (UK)
Format	CD single, maxi single
Recorded	2001
Genre	Dance-punk, R&B
Length	3:11 (Album & Single Version) 3:22 (Video Mix)
Label	Arista
Writer(s)	Linda Perry
Producer	Linda Perry
Certification	Platinum (Norway,Australia) Gold (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland)
Pink singles chronology
"Lady Marmalade" (2001) "Get the Party Started" (2002) "Don't Let Me Get Me" (2002)

"Get the Party Started" is a song by Pink, and was the first single from her second album, Missundaztood (2001). It became an international hit and reached the top ten in many countries.

Writing

The song was written by former 4 Non Blondes frontwoman Linda Perry. She said that the process of making the song was "so unlike me"; according to her, she was going through a "weird phase" during which she wanted to learn how to program drums.^[1] She programmed her first beat, picked up a bass guitar and, in her words, "did what the beat was asking me to do." She decided to put "every wrong instrument" in the song, and consequently acquired a horn sample. "I was doing the music, the melody was already coming to me in what I wanted the song to be", she said.^[1] She finished the song by including in the song "every catch phrase you possibly could imagine", before laughing at the realisation that she had written a potential hit single and her first dance song. "You create something in your bedroom or your house, and it's just a fun thing that you're doing", she said. "Then all of a sudden, you hear that song that you started in your house, and it's on the radio. And people are now acknowledging it. It's just trippy."^[1]

Reception

It reached number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on December 29, 2001, becoming Pink's second biggest solo hit in the U.S. with "Most Girls" also reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000 and "So What" reaching number one in 2008. It peaked at number two in the UK, where it was narrowly denied the top spot by the posthumous release of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". It reached number-one in Australia and number-two in many European countries most notably Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, being held off from the top position by Shakira's smash hit "Whenever, Wherever".

"Get the Party Started" was certified gold in Australia, Austria, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, and in Norway it received a platinum certification.

The song was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003 in the category of "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance", which it lost to Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why". It won the award for "Favourite Song" at the Kids' Choice Awards of 2002, and at the MTV Europe Music Awards of 2002 it won the award for "Best Song". "Get the Party Started" is often considered one of Pink's signature songs as she tends to finish her shows with this song in her encore section along with a ballad song such as Nobody Knows and Gliter In The Air.

Music video

The music video was shot by director Dave Meyers in Los Angeles in late September 2001. In the video Pink is showering and getting ready to go out, trying on different outfits. One of her friends picks her up, and they drive in a car bobbing their heads to the music. However, the car breaks down. They get out of the car and steal two skateboards from two boys, after which Pink falls off her skateboard because men in a car are whistling at her. The women arrive at the club but are refused entry by the bodyguard, so to get in they use a scaffold to reach the top of the building. Inside the club the bartender is played by Linda Perry. Pink changes her clothes and starts to party, and at the end Pink dances with two other dancers. She takes off her earrings and necklace and gives it to a person. One of the dancers in the video is Kevin Federline, who subsequently became a back-up dancer for Britney Spears and was married to her. Also Georvohn Lambert dance in video he became a dancer for many other R&B artist like Brandy.

The video was nominated at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Pop Video" and won the awards for "Best Female Video" and "Best Dance Video".

Remixes

Pink teamed up with Redman and Rockwilder for a remix of "Get the Party Started", using elements of the Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". The remix was released as a single only in France, where it reached number four and was certified gold. Pink performed the remix during her I'm Not Dead Tour in 2006 and 2007. The remix was also featured on the 9th installment of the U.S. version of the Now That's What I Call Music! series.

Track listings and formats

Charts

Certifications

"Get the Party Started"
Single by Dame Shirley Bassey
from the album Get The Party Started
Released	23rd July 2007
Format	CD single, Digital download
Recorded	2006
Genre	Dance-pop, Pop
Length	3.44
Label	Lock Stock and Barrel Records
Writer(s)	Linda Perry
Producer	Catherine Feeney, Nikki Lamborn Chuck Norman and Bob Kraushaar
Dame Shirley Bassey singles chronology
"The Living Tree" (2007) "Get the Party Started" (2007) "Big Spender" (2007)
Get The Party Started - Chris Cox remixes US digital single

Cover versions

• A cover by Stretch Arm Strong was recorded for the 2002 compilation album Punk Goes Pop.
• Irish artist Damien Rice recorded a cover version with Lisa Hannigan for the 2003 compilation Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 1.
• German singer Sascha Schmitz covered the song (as Dick Brave & The Backbeats) for his 2003 album Dick This.
• Dame Shirley Bassey recorded a cover for a spy-themed 2006 Marks & Spencer Christmas television advertising campaign.^[6] Her version became a cult hit^[7] and was included on her 2007 album, also titled Get the Party Started. The Guardian wrote, "Bassey is the only singer alive who could take the bouncing, enthusiastic R&B of the original Get the Party Started and turn it into a grand, imperious swoop worthy of a Bond theme; it's a terrific cover version, even if it perhaps didn't quite merit the album attached to it."^[7] On 13 January 2008, Bassey's version was used in the opening sequence to the ITV1 series "Dancing on Ice". It was also used in the promo for Cycle 4 of Australia's Next Top Model, and Bassey's version ended at the Billboard Year-End Charts at number forty-three in the Hot Dance Club Plays Tracks of the year^[8].
• A recent cover version of this song was produced by Dan Winter, a German Hard dance producer.
• The Chinese pop singer Jolin Tsai recorded a cover for her English album Love Exercise.
• David Cassidy performed the song as fictional Vegas performer Boone Vincent in the "Vegas" episode of the TV series Malcolm in the Middle.^[9]
• Zebrahead covered the song on their all-covers album Panty Raid.

Appearances in other media

• In early 2002, Pink teamed up with Bally Total Fitness to promote Bally Total Fitness memberships. The title of the advertising campaign was "Get This Body Started", and in early 2002 there were several Bally Total Fitness commercials in the United States that used the Pink song.
• The track was used extensively by the NBA during the 2002–2003 season. For the Finals, ABC used the song as the introduction music in 2003.
• Use on The Ellen Degeneres Show when Paris Hilton appeared on Ellen's show once.
• Used in Pump it Up:the PREX 3, a dancing rhythm game.

References

External links

• "Get the Party Started" music video at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)