"Black and Gold" is the lead single from Australian singer
Sam Sparro's eponymous debut album. The song was written by Sparro (Sam Falson) and Jesse Rogg. It has been remixed by Max Sanna and Steve Pitron,
Paul Epworth
Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member o ...
, Al Usher, Kings of the Universe,
Kromatik
Nikhil Seetharam is a multi-platinum Grammy winning Canadian composer and record producer from Toronto, Ontario. He has worked with several notable artists such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, and DJ Khaled. Nikhil composes film and televis ...
and
Russ Chimes
Russ Chimes is an English producer, remixer and DJ based in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands o ...
. The original version of the single was made available online on 23 March 2008, with the entire album available from 31 March. On 7 April, the CD, 12-inch, and limited edition 7-inch singles were released.
"Black and Gold" explores the relationship between reason, spirituality and love. It was a commercial success upon release, reaching number two in the United Kingdom, number four in Australia, and number five in Ireland and Turkey. It was also a top 20 hit in Flemish Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and New Zealand. The song was nominated for
Best Dance Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...
at the
2009 Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...
. It was also included on the soundtrack of
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
football video game ''
FIFA 09'' & ''
FIFA 23
''FIFA 23'' is a football video game published by Electronic Arts. It is the 30th installment in the '' FIFA'' series that is developed by EA Sports, and the final installment under the ''FIFA'' banner, and released worldwide on 30 September 20 ...
''.
Information
"Black and Gold" originally appeared on the ''Modus Vivendi Music Vol.2''
compilation album, released in 2007, along with an alternate mix of the song "Sally" and Sparro's remix of "Young Lovers", by another Modus Vivendi artist, Love Grenades. Modus Vivendi Music released an EP entitled ''
Black + Gold'', featuring the song, in the autumn of 2007, which garnered the attention that led to the deal with Island UK. All songs from that EP, excluding "Miss Rexi", appear in new revisions on Sparro's debut
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
ous
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, released with Island UK in May 2008.
"Black and Gold" was made available as a digital download (via the
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
Store) on 23 March 2008 as the lead single from ''
Sam Sparro
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional c ...
''. The song was released by
Island UK Records through a licensing deal with independent Los Angeles based label, Modus Vivendi Music, owned and operated by Jesse Rogg, who also produced and co-wrote the song with Sparro.
[Modus Vivendi Music]
/ref>
British singer Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
performed an acoustic cover of the song for her appearance on a 2008 ''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 ...
'' episode.
The song was nominated for the 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 Dance Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...
". It received three nominations for the 2008 ARIA Awards in the categories for "Breakthrough Artist – Single", " Best Pop Release" and " Single of the Year". The song has been certified gold
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
in both Australia and the UK.
In a video interview, Sparro confirmed that the song's subject is his religious faith, saying "It is about God, yeah. ..I do like to have faith in something that is bigger than me."
The song was used in the 2009 films '' Obsessed'' and '' Fame'', and appears on their official soundtrack releases. The song appears on the soundtrack of the video game, '' FIFA 09'', as well as appearing in the 2010 video game DJ Hero 2
''DJ Hero 2'' is a rhythm video game and a sequel to ''DJ Hero'', a spinoff of the ''Guitar Hero'' series. ''DJ Hero 2'' uses a special turntable-controller, the same as introduced in ''DJ Hero'', to simulate turntablism, the act of creating a n ...
, where it was mixed with David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
's "Love Is Gone
"Love Is Gone" is a song by French house music, house disc jockey, DJ David Guetta and American singer Chris Willis. It is the second single from Guetta's third studio album, ''Pop Life (David Guetta album), Pop Life''. The single was released ...
". On January 10, 2010, the song played over an action scene in Season 3, Episode 1 of ''Chuck
Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer
* C ...
'', "Chuck Versus the Pink Slip
"Chuck Versus the Pink Slip" is the third-season premiere episode of the television series ''Chuck''. It aired on January 10, 2010 in a special two-episode block. After failing "spy school", Chuck must find his way back onto the team, and in the ...
".
The song was later sampled by British rock band Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
on " People of the Pride", a track from their 2021 album ''Music of the Spheres''.
Music video
There were two music videos produced for "Black and Gold".
The first was directed by Mariah Garnett. Sparro appears dressed in black, white, and gold clothing, singing alone, cut between city views, shots of urban streets filmed from moving cars, and reverse action shots of gold colored drinking glasses shattering against a black back drop. The video had a significantly low budget, and was later scrapped after Sparro's deal with Island Records.
The second music video was directed by AlexandLiane, funded through Sparro's new contract. The music video depicts Sparro emerging from a Limousine with many copies of himself in an underground garage. The garage, illuminated by chains of lights, pulsating as Sparro and his copies dance, donning tuxedos decorated with lights. The video has a color theme of black and gold after the title, a theme reminiscent of the first video. It was released in February 2008.
The second video, directed by AlexandLiane, received a nomination for "Best Dance Video" at the 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
MTV Australia Awards
The MTV Australia Awards (previously known as the MTV Australia Video Music Awards or AVMA's) started in 2005 and were Australia's first awards show to celebrate both local and international acts. The last edition happened in 2009.
History
The M ...
.
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
ARIA Awards History 2008
.Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 10 June 2012
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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 ...
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Best Dance Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...
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MTV Australia Awards
The MTV Australia Awards (previously known as the MTV Australia Video Music Awards or AVMA's) started in 2005 and were Australia's first awards show to celebrate both local and international acts. The last edition happened in 2009.
History
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Track listings
UK CD single
# "Black and Gold" (radio edit) – 3:30
# "S.A.M.S.P.A.R.R.O." – 2:32
German CD single
# "Black and Gold" (radio edit) – 3:30
# "Black and Gold" (Phones Hard as Diamond) – 5:02
# "Black and Gold" (Al Usher mix) – 4:35
# "Black and Gold" (video) – 3:39
12-inch single
# "Black and Gold" (Max Sanna & Steve Pitron mix) – 8:33
# "Black and Gold" (Al Usher remix) – 8:15
# "Black and Gold" (Phones Hard as Diamond mix – dub) – 6:32
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''
Sam Sparro
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional c ...
''.
* Richard Edgeler – assistance
* Jesse Rogg – writing, mixing, production
*
Sam Sparro
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional c ...
– vocals, keyboards, writing, production
* Mark Rankin – drum programming
* Brio Taliaferro – additional programming
* Jeremy Wheatley – mixing
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black And Gold (Song)
2008 singles
2008 songs
Island Records singles
Neo soul songs
Number-one singles in Scotland
Sam Sparro songs
Songs written by Jesse Rogg
Songs written by Sam Sparro