"Desert Rose" is a song by British musician Sting featuring Cheb Mami from his album '' Brand New Day'' (1999). According to Sting, the lyrics have to do with "lost love and longing". Riding a wave of pre-

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

interest in Latin and Arabic cultures, the song peaked at 2 in Canada, No. 3 in Switzerland, No. 4 in Italy, No. 15 in the UK, and No. 17 in the US. The song is noted for Sting's duet performance with

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raï Raï (, ; ar, راي, Latn, ar, rāʾy, ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian traditional music, folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called ''cheb'' (Arabic: شاب) (or ''shabab,'' i.e. young) as opposed ...

singer Mami.

Reception

The song's album ''Brand New Day'' received moderate to positive reviews, with some reviewers stating that it had a "world-beat", or sounded "exotic". However, in the reviews "Desert Rose" was cited as being different than the rest of the album, being one of the highlights of the album. The critics take on Sting's "world music" did not sit well with the singer, stating that he did not do world music, though acknowledging the North African feel to the song.

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 ...

was directed by Paul Boyd, and features Sting taking a trip through the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

in a Jaguar S-Type driven by a masked female chauffeur while recording himself on a

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood corporation. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company is best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for ...

GR-DVX4 video camera, and then going to a nightclub in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

to perform the song with Cheb Mami. Scenes also feature Sting walking alone in the desert holding the camera up. It ends with a shot of Sting with his eyes shut (possibly asleep) in the back seat of the Jaguar, which is then seen driving off into the distance. After shooting the video, Sting's manager

Miles Copeland III Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producin ...

approached a music licensing maven, Lloyd Simon, to work with Jaguar on a collaboration, and the auto company featured the video in their prominent

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s during the year 2000.

Remixes

Also included on the single releases were

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es by

Victor Calderone Victor Calderone (born March 20, 1967 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, United States) is an American electronic music producer, Disc jockey, DJ and remixer. Biography Raised in the Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, C ...

. One remixed version of the song was used in an alternative edit of the video, which included more sexually explicit footage. The song was later re-released on Sting's later album ''

Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episo ...

''.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Desert Rose (radio edit)" – 3:55 # "

If You Love Somebody Set Them Free "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" is the first single released from Sting's solo debut album ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles''. It is also the opening track of the album, and is featured on '' Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994'' ...

" (live at the

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, Los Angeles) – 4:27 # "

Fragile Fragile or The Fragile may refer to: Film and television * ''Fragile'' (film), a 2005 film by Jaume Balagueró * "Fragile" (''Smallville''), a television episode Literature * ''Fragile'' (manga), a 2016 Japanese series by Bin Kusamizu and Sab ...

" (live at the Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles) – 4:10 # "Desert Rose" video (CD-ROM) UK CD2 # "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix radio edit)" – 4:47 # "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix)" – 9:21 # "Desert Rose (Filter Dub Mix)" – 5:21 # "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix)" video (CD-ROM) UK 12-inch # "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix)" # "Desert Rose (Filter Dub Mix)" # "Desert Rose" (original) US CD # "Desert Rose (radio edit)" – 3:54 # "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix radio edit)" – 4:44 # "Brand New Day (Murlyn Extended Mix)" – 5:01 # "Brand New Day (Murlyn Radio Mix)" – 3:54 Europe CD # "Desert Rose (radio edit)" – 3:54 # "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix)" – 9:20 # "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix radio edit)" – 4:44 # "Brand New Day (Murlyn Mix)" – 5:01 # "Brand New Day" video (CD-ROM)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1999 songs 2000 singles A&M Records singles Macaronic songs Music videos directed by Paul Boyd Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Portugal Songs written by Sting (musician) Sting (musician) songs Male vocal duets Jaguar Cars