"Alane" is a song recorded by

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian artist Wes. It was released in May 1997 as the debut single from his album, ''

Welenga ''Welenga'' is the debut album by Wes Madiko and Michel Sanchez (musician), Michel Sanchez, released in 1996 through Saint George Records. The album reached the top 10 in Portugal. Track listing #"Awa Awa" – 4:28 #"Alane (song), Alane" – 3:3 ...

'' (1996). It became a hit across Europe, topping the charts in Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. It is sung in the

Duala language Duala (''ɓwambo ba duālā in douala)'' (also spelt Douala, Diwala, Dwela, Dualla and Dwala) is a dialect cluster spoken by the Duala and Mungo peoples of Cameroon. Douala belongs to the Bantu language family, in a subgroup called Sawabantu. ...

of Cameroon though the

Tony Moran Anthony "Tony" Moran is a DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart twice with " Walk Away" featuring Kristine W and "Kee ...

remix includes English lyrics ("Alane flows like a fountain, running gently to your heart. Alane dances inside me, like a flame in to your arms").

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote that "African chants meet state-of-the-art dance beats on this sizzling hot dance track, which has already been firmly entrenched atop the French charts for a couple of weeks. The host of

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crossed ...

remixes made available range from fairly straightforward to plain adventurous, something that ensures the track appeals to a broad range of formats." A reviewer from ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'' rated it seven out of ten, adding, "This Euro-stomper with lots of wailing and chanting Afro-vocals is sure to be a huge hit in the nightclubs - and on the

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...

show."

Chart performance

In France, the song was sponsored by

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is par ...

, Fun Radio, RTL and the Malongo Coffees. The single spent ten weeks at number-one and remained in the top 50 for 25 weeks, ten of them at the top (and a further 9 weeks in the Top 10.) The song also reached number-one in Belgium (9 weeks at number-one and a further 8 weeks in the top 10), Austria (8 weeks at number-one and a further 9 weeks in the top 10) and The Netherlands (8 weeks at number-one and a further 8 weeks in the top 10) as well as reaching the top 10 in Germany (where it spent 18 weeks in the Top 10), Hungary, Ireland, Israel and Switzerland (10 weeks in the top 10) and number 11 in the UK.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Alane" was directed by Philippe Gautier. The choreography was created by American-French singer

Mia Frye Mia Frye (born 12 February 1965) is an American actress, singer, professional dancer and dance choreographer who lives and works in France. Frye is best known for choreographing the dance routine in the music video for the hit songs " Alane" by ...

Track listings

* 12" single # "Alane" (trouser enthusiasts orgasmic apparition mix) – 10:43 # "Alane" (Trouser enthusiasts spectrophiliac dub) – 6:51 * CD single # "Alane" (radio mix) – 3:40 # "Alane" (club remix – short version) – 3:37 * 12" maxi # "Alane" (trouser enthusiasts orgasmic apparition mix) – 10:43 # "Alane" (trouser enthusiasts spectrophiliac mix) – 6:51 # "Alane" (

's club remix) – 8:04 # "Alane" (

's club mix) – 4:40 # "Alane" (radio mix) – 3:40 * CD maxi - Todd Terry Remixes # "Alane" (radio mix) – 3:40 # "Alane" (club mix – full version) – 8:06 # "Alane" (drop mix – full version) – 8:07 # "Alane" (club remix – short version) – 3:38 # "Alane" (a capella) – 3:36 * CD maxi - Tony Moran Remixes # "Alane" (Tony Moran Main Pass Mix) - 4:39 # "Alane" (Tony Moran Instrumental Mix) - 4:40 # "Alane" (Tony Moran A Capella) - 4:40 # "Alane" (Philcat Fishing Widow Mix) - 6:39

Credits

* Written by Wes * Composed, arranged and produced by Michel Sanchez * Artwork by Design, Bronx (Paris) * Photography (photo remix) by Laurent Edeline * Photography (photo) by Yan Leuvrey * Trouser enthusiasts orgasmic apparition mix: programmed by Torsten Gascoigne, produced by Trouser Enthusiasts * Trouser enthusiasts spectrophiliac mix: remixed and produced by Trouser Enthusiasts * Todd Terry's club remix: remixed by Todd Terry * Tony Moran's club mix: remixed by Tony Moran

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Robin Schulz and Wes version

German DJ and record producer

Robin Schulz Robin Alexander Schulz (; born 28 April 1987) is a German musician, DJ and record producer. On 4 February 2014, he released the first single from his debut album, a remix of "Waves" by Dutch hip hop artist Mr. Probz. This remix later received ...

released a remake of the song on 19 June 2020 which is included on the album '' IIII'' (2021). Schulz had been a fan of the original 1997 song since he was 10 years old and got in touch with Wes via

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. The two musicians met in Paris and then re-recorded the track in a studio in Germany. Its music video was directed by Robert Wunsch and features appearances by Schulz and Wes, along with footage of 30 dancers in 12 countries across the world, including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, South Korea, Turkey, Tunisia, Vietnam, and the United States.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alane (Song) 1997 debut singles 1997 songs 2020 singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Austria Robin Schulz songs Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Wes Madiko songs World music songs Sony Music singles Epic Records singles Warner Music Group singles Songs about dancing