"American Boy” is a song by British singer and rapper Estelle featuring American rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

from the former's second studio album ''

Shine Shine may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Shine'' (film), a 1996 Australian film based on the life of David Helfgott, a pianist * Shine, a fictional character in the American animated TV series ''Shimmer and Shine'' Lite ...

'' (2008). The song was written by the artists, alongside Ethan Hendrickson,

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

(who provides additional background vocals), Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, and Keith Harris. It was produced by will.i.am, and uses the instrumental from "Impatient" from his own third studio album ''

Songs About Girls ''Songs About Girls'' is the third studio album by American singer will.i.am, known from his work with The Black Eyed Peas. The original title of the album was ''Keep the Beeper''. The album was released on September 19, 2007. The first single re ...

'' (2007). "American Boy" is a breezy R&B and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

song that lyrically describes a romance with an American suitor. The song's conception came after Legend, Estelle's mentor, suggested she write a song about meeting a man from the United States. "American Boy" was released by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

as the album's second single on 31 March 2008. The song received positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who praised its fresh sound and production. The song reached the top five in many European and Oceanic markets, and peaked at number-one in Belgium and Estelle's native United Kingdom. It also achieved success in the United States, peaking at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and becoming Estelle's breakout song in the country. The song earned many nominations, and ultimately won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration The Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance (awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration until 2017, and Best Rap/Sung Performance from 2018 to 2020) is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and original ...

. The music video, featuring a variety of celebrity guests, earned a Video Music Award nomination for Best UK Video. Estelle and West performed the song at the

2008 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2008 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, on 6 November 2008. It was hosted by Katy Perry. This was the second time the awards have taken place in England. Nominations Winne ...

and

2008 Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonie ...

Background and composition

"American Boy" was written by Estelle,

, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir and Keith Harris. It was also produced by will.i.am and recorded over the instrumental of his song "Impatient", from his third studio album ''

'' (2007). The credits of Lopez, Speir, and Harris were the result of this sampling. In a 2008 interview with Pete Lewis of ''

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

'', Estelle explained how the song came to fruition: "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!" She also spoke about West's involvement on the song, commenting "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!" Instrumentation on the track includes drums, keys, synths, and bass; the former were provided by will.i.am while Caleb Speir provided the latter. will.i.am also co-recorded and co-engineered the song with Padriac Kerin at

The Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

as well as Hit Factory Criteria and Circle House Studios in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Serge Tsai mixed the song and recorded West's rap at Platinum Sound Recording Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. "American Boy" is an R&B, disco and funk song with a tempo of 118 beats per minute. Estelle's vocals, which have been described as "sweet" and "flirty", ranges from B₃ to E₅. Timothy Gabriele of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' described Estelle's vocals as those of one connecting "with her inner soul chanteuse". West's rap verse has been described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''s Jon Caramanica as "perfunctory" and idling "cool". Lyrically, the song describes a foreign woman's interest in a male American suitor, listing places such as New York and Los Angeles as sites she wants to visit. Timothy Gabriele of ''

'' found the song's lyrics to be about "the thrill of new experience, the excitement of a being in a fresh, unexplored environment while simultaneously meeting someone new."

Release

"American Boy" was released as the second single from ''Shine'' on 24 March 2008. "American Boy" was released on third CD single formats, as well as a promo single, a maxi single, and 12-inch picture discs. The second CD single contains a radio remix of the song by UK

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and remix group

Soul Seekerz Soul Seekerz (also known under the names Soulseekerz, Soulseekers and The Soul Seekerz) are an English dance music group and remix/production outfit, consisting of DJ/producers Julian Napolitano and Simon Langford. Biography Soul Seekerz are ...

. The third CD single features "Lift to Me", a song recorded by US rapper and producer

Hi-Tek Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek (born May 5, 1976), is an American rapper and record producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, whom Hi- ...

, featuring Estelle, for his fourth studio album '' Hi-Teknology 3'' (2007). It also includes the music video for the single. The maxi single includes several remixes of the song by Soul Seekerz and TS7 as well as the uncensored version, the version excluding West rap segment, and the song's instrument. The promo single features remixes by TS7 and different versions of the single. The 12-inch disc includes the TS7 remix and remixes of the previous single "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" by British

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

duo The Count & Sinden and British disc jockey Aaron Ross. The 12-inch promo features "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" and instrumental versions of both songs.

Reception

Critical reception

Mariel Concepcion of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called "American Boy" "a charming duet with West". Andy Kellman of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Luke Bainbridge of ''

Observer Music Monthly ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' and Sal Cinquemani of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' named the song as a standout on its parent album. Bill Lamb of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

gave the song a four star rating, listing the chemistry between Estelle and West, the song's beat and Estelle's vocals as the song's highlights. Lamb also added "This song is perfection for a slick, summery glide across the dance floor." Alex Fletcher of ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' found "American Boy" to "boasts bags of self-confidence ("Don't like his baggy jeans but I like what's underneath 'em," she purrs at one point), a winning chorus and sultry, super-sleek production from Will.i.am and John Legend" while commenting "it shouldn't have taken a guest spot from the self-proclaimed King of Hip-Hop to make this tune a hit." Timothy Gabriele of ''

'' called the song "an essential piece of ebullient summer musical manna rained down from empyreal heights and granted to us passive listeners as one final gift before the world spirals off into an inescapable vortex of cyclones,

earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

economic collapse Economic collapse, also called economic meltdown, is any of a broad range of bad economic conditions, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment (such as the Great Depression of the 1930s), to a ...

, and a doom-sealing Presidential race." Joshua Love of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' praised the song's hook and will.i.am's production work. while Omar Jenning of '' The Skinny'' was dismissive of West's rap interlude. Ben Hogwood of musicOMH lauded the song as an example of how "Estelle has added a large pinch of soul to take her music to the next level."

Accolades

In 2009, "American Boy" earned Estelle and Kanye West a

for

, while receiving a nomination for Song of the Year. The song received a nomination for

BRIT Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

for Best British Single. The single won Best Song at the 2008

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

. The song was nominated for Best R&B/Urban Dance Track at the 2009 International Dance Music Awards. It received a nomination for Outstanding Duo or Group at the

40th NAACP Image Awards The 40th NAACP Image Awards ceremony, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), honored the best in film, television, music of 2008 and took place on February 12, 2009 at the Shrine Auditorium. The show w ...

. "American Boy" was nominated for Best International Song at the

NRJ Music Awards 2009 ''NRJ Music Awards 2009'' is a 2008 compilation album by NRJ. Track listing Disc 1 # "Womanizer" - Britney Spears — 3:45 # "Hot n Cold" - Katy Perry — 3:42 # "Lovers in Japan" - Coldplay — 6:53 # " So What" - P!nk — 3:36 # "Rain on Your ...

. The song won Best Collaboration at both the 2008 UK

Urban Music Awards The Urban Music Awards (UMA) is a hip-hop, R&B, dance, and soul music awards ceremony which was launched by Jordan Kensington in 2003 and is now held in several countries. The US version of the award ceremony, the Urban Music Awards USA, was ...

, and the 2009 Urabn Music Awards. The music video earned a nomination at the 2009 MTV Australia Awards for Best Collaboration. "American Boy" was listed number 7 on the 100 Best Songs of 2008, published by the music magazine ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''.''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...

'' named it the fourth best song of 2008. The song also ranked the 10th best song of 2008 and 238th on the Top 500 songs of the 2000s, published by ''

''. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

''s

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

annual critics' poll ranked "American Boy" at number 2 to find the best music of 2008, after M.I.A.'s "

Paper Planes A paper plane (also known as a paper airplane in American English or paper aeroplane in British English) is a toy aircraft, usually a glider made out of single folded sheet of paper or paperboard. A simple nose-heavy paper plane, thrown like ...

". ''

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

'' listed the song fourth on its list of "Best Songs of 2008". ''

'' named "American Boy" the best single of 2008. ''

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary ser ...

'' listed "American Boy" at eighty-five on its list of "Top 100 British Songs of the 21st Century". in 2019, ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' included it in its list of the 50 best songs of the 2000s. In 2020, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' named it the eighty-fifth greatest ever UK no. 1.

Chart performance

"American Boy" proved to be an international success, outperforming Estelle's previous singles in the United Kingdom and stands as her most successful single worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 72 on 31 March 2008. It dropped out of the Top 75 the following week and re-entered at number one a week later, where it remained for four consecutive weeks. It lasted thirty two weeks on the singles chart, earning a triple platinum certification for sales exceeding 1,800,000 copies. It landed on the UK year end chart at number six and on the end of the decade chart at number 83. In Ireland, "American Boy" entered the singles chart number eight and rose to peak at number two one week later. In the

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

region of Belgium, "American Boy" entered the chart at number 41 on 26 April 2008. The song advanced to the top twenty in the following week and inside the top ten three weeks later. It reached the chart's summit on 7 June 2008, where it remained for another week. The song charted in the top five for eleven consecutive weeks and lasted a total of twenty four weeks on the chart. "American Boy" reached number four in the Wallonia region of Belgium and lasted twenty five weeks on the chart. The song also reached number one in Slovakia; number three in Denmark, France, Hungary and Italy; and number five in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In Australia, "American Boy" entered the singles chart at number seven, earning the title of the week's "highest debut". The song rose to number three four weeks later, where it stayed for three consecutive weeks. "American Boy" earned a platinum certification by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) for sales exceeding 70,000 units. In New Zealand, the single debuted at number 25 on 31 March 2008 and rose to its peak position of number five four weeks later. The song remained on the chart for thirteen more weeks. "American Boy" experienced great chart success in the United States. The song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 3 May 2008, slowing rising the chart until it reached number 11 almost four months later. It was later removed from iTunes resulting in its fall to number 37 on 6 September 2008. The song was re-added to iTunes, causing a resurgence in downloads that aided its rise to its peak position of number nine on 27 September 2008, selling 91,000 downloads. "American Boy" became Estelle's highest-charting single in the United States, ahead of "

Thank You "''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...

" (2011), which only peaked at number 100. It ended the year at number 39 on the Hot 100 year-end chart and as the thirty-third best selling song of 2008. The song was also her best selling single there, selling 2 million downloads and earning a double platinum certification by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). As of September 2009, "American Boy" was the 25th best-selling downloaded song of all time in the UK, and as of November 2011, it was the 17th best-selling digital song by a British artist in the United States.

Music video

The music video for "American Boy" was directed by Syndrome. It features guest appearances by

Kardinal Offishall Jason Drew Harrow (born May 11, 1976), better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall (), is a Canadian rapper, record producer, DJ, and record executive. Often credited as Canada's " hip hop ambassador", he is regarded as one of the country ...

Sa-Ra Sa-Ra is an American musical group based in Los Angeles, California, also known by its full name, The Sa-Ra Creative Partners. The group is composed of Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold, and Shafiq Husayn. The name translates roughly to "the children of G ...

's Taz Arnold,

Kidz in the Hall Kidz in the Hall is an Americans, American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Chicago, Illinois. History Group members Jabari Evans (Naledge) and Michael Aguilar (Double-0 (Kidz in the Hall), Double-0) met in 2000 during a talent show at the Uni ...

's Naledge and Double-O, Danger Mouse,

Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

Ryan Leslie Anthony Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur from Washington, D.C. He has produced singles for a number of prominent artists in a variety of genres, ranging from R&B, hip hop ...

, T.I., Brandon Hines,

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

, and ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

''s

Terrence J Terrence Jenkins (born April 21, 1982) is an American actor, television presenter, model and entertainment reporter best known as the host of BET's popular music video countdown show '' 106 & Park'' from 2006 until 2012.MacCash, Doug. "Back in t ...

, among others. The music video was nominated for Best UK Video at the

2008 MTV Video Music Awards The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom), honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were a ...

, but lost to

The Ting Tings The Ting Tings are an English indie pop duo from Salford, Greater Manchester formed in 2007. The band consists of Katie White (vocals, guitar, bass drums, bass guitar, cowbells) and Jules De Martino (drums, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, ...

' single "

Shut Up and Let Me Go "Shut Up and Let Me Go" is the fourth single from English musical duo the Ting Tings' debut studio album, ''We Started Nothing'' (2008). The song was released in the United Kingdom on 21 July 2008, and was the follow-up to the number one hit sin ...

" (2008). The video also ranked at number 45 on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

's ''Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2008'' countdown, while its spin-off channel

BET J BET Her (formerly Centric) is an American basic cable television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. The network is a spin-off of BET with a focus on general entertainment targeting African-American women. The channel originally launched ...

listed it at number 10 on the year-end ''Last Call 2008! Top 50 Countdown''.

Live performances

Estelle performed "American Boy" at various awards shows, where the song also earned her nominations for several categories. She first performed it on

The Friday Night Project ''The Sunday Night Project'' is a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title ''The Friday Night Project''. Originally broadcast on Friday nights, the show moved to Sunday n ...

on 21 March 2008. Estelle performed the song with Kanye West at the Fête de la Musique on 21 June 2008. She performed the song at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards with Kanye West singing his rap section, during an image of then newly elected United States president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

appeared on a giant screen. She later performed it at the

2008 World Music Awards The 20th annual World Music Awards was held on 9 November 2008 in Monaco. Awards are given based on worldwide sales figures for that year. The ceremony was hosted by actor Jesse Metcalfe and singer Michelle Williams. Performers *Alicia Keys *Anas ...

, hosted in Monte Carlo, Monaco, with a live band. Estelle performed a mash up of the song with the

Ting Tings The Ting Tings are an English indie pop duo from Salford, Greater Manchester formed in 2007. The band consists of Katie White (vocals, guitar, bass drums, bass guitar, cowbells) and Jules De Martino (drums, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, ...

" and "

That's Not My Name "That's Not My Name" is the debut single of British musical duo the Ting Tings. The song was originally released as a double A-side with "Great DJ" by independent record label Switchflicker Records on 28 May 2007. After heavy promotion from BBC ...

" at the 2009 BRIT Awards. West also performed the track at the Coke Live Music Festival in 2011.

Covers, remixes and parodies

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

produced a remix version of the song with Estelle, talking over Kanye West's rap section. Both

Lost Frequencies Felix De Laet (born 30 November 1993), known by his stage name Lost Frequencies, is a Belgian DJ and record producer. He is best known for his singles "Are You with Me" in 2014, "Reality" in 2015, and " Where Are You Now" with Calum Scott in ...

and Dutch DJ

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also produced remixes of the song in 2019. * The song has also been covered by many artists, including Kid Mac BMK and Casey Donovan,

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

, and

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. Most notably, Sparro's acoustic rendition of the song was performed on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...

appearing on the station's third compilation album and as a B-side to his single " 21st Century Life". * A jazz

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rendition, performed by

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

Afro Blue "Afro Blue" is a jazz standard composed by Mongo Santamaría. Santamaria version Mongo Santamaria recorded his composition "Afro Blue" in 1959 when playing with the Cal Tjader Sextet. The first recorded performance was on April 20, 1959, at th ...

, aired during Season 3 of the NBC show ''

The Sing-Off ''The Sing-Off'' was an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media (for a ...

''. * The song has received international parodies, with the name being changed to the synonymous countries. These parodies include

Hamish & Andy Hamish & Andy are an Australian comedy duo formed in 2003 by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. Best known for their various drive time radio programmes on the Hit Network, which aired in multiple formats until 2017, their shows gained consistently h ...

's "Armenian Boy" and JoePolitics's "Ukrainian Boy". * In a 2009 episode of ''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers st ...

'',

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey''. In the Un ...

and

Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress, singer and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as ''The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), ''Two Pints o ...

performed West's second verse in character as Smithy and Rudi. * In 2014,

Blaine Anderson Blaine Devon Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series ''Glee''. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalt ...

(

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...

) and

Kurt Hummel Kurt Elizabeth Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied a ...

(

Chris Colfer Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical ''Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received crit ...

) covered the song in the ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' season-finale episode "

The Untitled Rachel Berry Project "The Untitled Rachel Berry Project" is the twentieth episode and season finale of the fifth season of the American musical television series '' Glee'', and the 108th episode overall. Written by Matthew Hodgson and directed by co-creator Brad Falc ...

". * In late 2020, a ''

Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: ''Fortnite Battle Royale'', a free-to-p ...

''-themed parody called "Chug Jug With You", made in late 2018 by

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

Leviathan, became popular on the social media app

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

. * In 2022, the beat of "American Boy" was sampled on "Party Time", the debut single from UK comedy rap trio The Northern Boys.

Formats and track listings

* Digital download # "American Boy" – 4:45 * CD single – CD 1 # "American Boy" (radio edit) – 3:57 * CD single – CD 2 # "American Boy" – 4:45 # "American Boy" ( Soulseekerz Radio Remix) – 3:52 * CD single – CD 3 # "American Boy" – 4:47 # "Life To Me" (

featuring Estelle) (non album track) – 5:01 # "American Boy" (video) – 4:05 * Maxi single # "American Boy" (Soul Seekerz Club Mix) – 7:12 # "American Boy" (Soul Seekerz Radio Mix) – 3:55 # "American Boy" (Soul Seekerz Dub Mix) – 7:21 # "American Boy" (TS7 Remix) – 5:43 # "American Boy" (TS7 Radio Edit) – 3:51 # "American Boy" (Dirty) – 4:46 # "American Boy" (No Rap) – 4:10 # "American Boy" (Instrumental) – 5:09 * Digital download – Malpractice Remix # "American Boy" (Malpractice Remix) – 7:36 * Promo single # "American Boy" (TS7 Remix) – 5:43 # "American Boy" (TS7 Radio Edit) – 3:51 # "American Boy" (explicit) – 4:46 # "American Boy" (no rap) – 4:10 # "American Boy" (instrumental) – 5:09 * 12-inch vinyl # "American Boy" (explicit) – 4:46 # "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" ( Count & Sinden Remix) – 5:49 # "American Boy" (TS7 Remix) – 5:43 # "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" (Aaron Ross Remix) – 6:09 * 12-inch promo vinyl # "American Boy" (album version) – 4:45 # "American Boy" (Instrumental) – 5:09 # "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" (album version) – 4:17 # "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" (instrumental) – 4:17

Credits and personnel

Locations * Recorded and engineered at

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, California; Hit Factory Criteria Miami and Circle House Studios in

. * Mixed and recorded (West's vocals) at Platinum Sound Recording Studios in

. Personnel * Songwriting –

, Estelle,

, Ethan Hendrickson, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, Keith Harris * Vocals – Estelle, Kanye West * Additional vocals – John Legend *

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

– will.i.am *

Recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

– will.i.am, Padriac Kerin, Serge Tsai (West's vocals) *

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

– will.i.am, Padriac Kerin *

Drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mus ...

– will.i.am *

Keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

– will.i.am *

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

– will.i.am *

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

– Caleb Speir * Mixing – Serge Tsai Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Shine'', Atlantic Records, HomeSchool Records.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official Music VideoEstelle MySpace Page
{{Authority control 2007 songs 2008 singles Estelle (musician) songs Kanye West songs Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Slovakia Songs about the United States UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Kanye West Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Songs written by John Legend Songs written by Estelle (musician) Sam Sparro songs Black-and-white music videos Songs written by will.i.am Funk songs Disco songs