"Bug a Boo" is a song recorded by American group

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited s ...

for their second studio album ''

The Writing's on the Wall ''The Writing's on the Wall'' is the second studio album by American girl group Destiny's Child, released in Japan on July 14, 1999, and in the US on July 27, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album was produced by Missy Elliott, Kevin "She'kspere ...

'' (1999). It was written by band members

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson and

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the g ...

along with

Kandi Burruss Kandi Lenice Burruss Tucker (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American producer, television personality, singer, songwriter and actress. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the female vocal group X ...

and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, featuring production by the latter. The song uses interpolations of the 1978 song " Child's Anthem" by Toto. "Bug a Boo" was released as the second single from ''The Writing's on the Wall'' on July 7, 1999 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. It peaked at number 33 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and within the top ten in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In Australia, the song was released as the album's fourth and final single in 2000, and the song reached #26 there.

Background

"Bug a Boo" is the another song that

and She'kspere worked with Destiny's Child with for their second album. When Burruss and Briggs were brainstorming song ideas to the group, "Bug a Boo" was one of the first songs to be discussed and created. The group initially did not like it as Burruss stated that they were unsure on how they could sing over the track as it seemed like an instrumental that you would rap over.

Commercial performance

"Bug a Boo" debuted at number 87 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on September 25, 1999, and ascended to number 33 before descending down the chart. It spent a total of 20 weeks on the chart. Following the huge success of "

Bills, Bills, Bills "Bills, Bills, Bills" is a song by American group Destiny's Child from their second studio album, ''The Writing's on the Wall'' (1999). It was written by Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, Kelly Rowland, Kandi Burruss of Xscape, and Kevin "She' ...

", "Bug a Boo" was a commercial disappointment. It performed better on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, reaching number 15, but remains one of only three Destiny's Child's singles not to reach the top ten on the chart. The Refugee Camp Remix version of the song refers to its commercial failure, with the opening lyrics saying the group was doing "it right the second time". Internationally, "Bug a Boo" peaked at number 26 in Australia. In the Netherlands, the song peaked at number six on the

Dutch Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dut ...

, spending 15 weeks on the chart.

Music video

Despite not being a big chart hit, the song's

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was very popular, receiving much airplay from both

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 ...

and BET music networks. It was also Destiny's Child first to chart on the popular '' TRL'' Top 10 countdown and the last music video to feature former members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. The video was directed by

Darren Grant Darren Grant is an American television, film and music video director. He has directed over eighty music videos for mostly R&B and hip hop artists. In 2005, Grant directed his debut film Tyler Perry's ''Diary of a Mad Black Woman''. In 2008, he ...

in July 1999. In the video the group are walking down a shopping boulevard. Four men driving a red car who seem to be trying to attract their attention then approach them but the girls of Destiny's Child don't seem very interested as the men are "bugging" them. In another shot the girls trying to escape the men accidentally run into a men's locker room where they see basketball star

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

getting ready for a game. In the next shot the group are wearing cheerleader outfits doing a routine cheer with

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

as bandleader. The marching band in the video were actual members of the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Marching Band. Wyclef Jean is also seen clearly wearing the UCLA Drum Major uniform. The final shot shows the group back on the boulevard and fed up with hiding from the unwanted attention from the men in the car they give in and jump in the car and all drive off. The music video for "Bug a Boo" premiered on BET the week ending September 12, 1999. It later made its debut on

the following week ending September 19, 1999. In the remix version of the video all the sequences are the same except in the shot where Wyclef is seen as the band leader. The remix then starts to play as the band, the cheerleaders, and even the players start to dance. The next shot shows the girls at a party salsa dancing with male partners while Wyclef raps. The video then finishes with the group back on the boulevard and fed up with hiding from the unwanted attention from the men in the car they give in and jump in the car and all drive off. The original music video is featured on the video compilation '' The Platinum's on the Wall'', whereas the video for the "Refugee Camp Remix" was never released to any disc, but could be later found on YouTube in low quality. Beyoncé's gold two piece outfit from the shoot is on display at the

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ...

restaurant in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California.

Track listings

European Maxi CD # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 # "Bug a Boo" (Refugee Camp Remix) (featuring

)¹ – 4:02 # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's Xclusive "Bug A Boo" Dub Mix)² – 8:08 # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's Bug A Dub Mix)² – 7:14 US promo 12" vinyl
''Side A'' # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's Xclusive "Bug a Boo" Club Mix)² – 8:08 # "Bug a Boo" (Refugee Camp Remix) (featuring Wyclef Jean)¹ – 4:02 ''Side B'' # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's "Bug a Boo" Dub Mix)² – 7:14 # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's Xclusive "Bug a Boo" Club Mix a cappella)² – 5:58 UK promo single # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 UK Maxi CD Part 1 CA 668188 2 # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 # "So Good" (album version) – 3:14 # "Bills, Bills, Bills" (album version) – 4:16 # "Bills, Bills, Bills" (music video) UK Maxi CD Part 2 with Poster CA 668188 5 # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 # "Bug a Boo" (Refugee Camp Remix) (featuring Wyclef Jean)¹ – 4:02 # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's Xclusive "Bug A Boo" Club Mix)² – 6:59 European Maxi CD COL 667779 5 # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's Xclusive "Bug a Boo" Club Mix)² – 8:08 # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's "Bug a Boo" Dub Mix)² – 7:14 # "Bug a Boo" (Gentleman's Revenge) (featuring Gentleman) – 3:55 European 2-track single
German promo SAMPCS 1510 # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 # "Bug a Boo" (Refugee Camp Remix) (featuring Wyclef Jean)¹ – 4:02 Australian Maxi CD Part 1 # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's Xclusive "Bug a Boo" Club Mix)² – 8:09 # "Bug a Boo" (Maurice's "Bug a Boo" Dub Mix)² – 7:14 # "Bug a Boo" (a cappella) – 3:13 Australian Maxi CD Part 2 # "Bug a Boo" (album version) – 3:31 # " Jumpin', Jumpin'" (So So Def Remix) (featuring

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album '' Funkd ...

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

, & Lil' Bow Wow) - 3:45 # "Jumpin', Jumpin'" (Azza's Radio Mix) - 4:10 # "Jumpin', Jumpin'" (Maurice's Radio Mix) - 4:05 Notes *¹ The "Refugee Camp Remix" is a re-recorded hip-hop version of the single. *² The "Maurice" Remixes contain additional re-recorded vocals (

ad-libs In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The ...

) by Beyoncé, arranged by Maurice Joshua.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bug A Boo 1999 singles 1998 songs Columbia Records singles Destiny's Child songs Music videos directed by Darren Grant Songs written by Beyoncé Songs written by Kandi Burruss Songs written by Kelly Rowland Songs written by Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs Songs written by LaTavia Roberson Songs written by LeToya Luckett Toto (band) Songs about stalking