"Don't Phunk with My Heart" (censored as "Don't Mess with My Heart") is a song recorded by American group

the Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...

for their fourth studio album '' Monkey Business'' (2005). It was written by band members

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. ...

and Fergie with

Printz Board Priese Prince Lamont "Printz" Board (born September 11, 1982) is an American record producer, songwriter, and singer best known for his work with Black Eyed Peas and being a member of the production group Bucky Johnson. In addition, Board has ...

, George Pajon, Jr. and

Full Force Full Force is an American music group of hip hop and R&B singers and producers from Brooklyn, New York. Members *B-Fine (Brian George) - drums and drum programming, backing vocals *Shy Shy (Hugh Junior Clark) - bass guitar, backing vocal ...

; will.i.am also produced and engineered the song. The song is a hip hop song in which the lyrics, according to will.i.am, tell of a situation between a couple when one tries to end the relationship and the other is in disbelief. It features compositional samples of songs derived from two Bollywood films of the 1970s, ''

Apradh ''Apradh'' () is a 1972 action thriller romance Hindi film produced and directed by Feroz Khan. It was Feroz Khan's debut as a producer and a director. The film stars Feroz Khan, Mumtaz, Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, Helen, Faryal and Madan Puri. ...

'' (1972) and ''

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

'' (1978), as well as interpolations of

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were an urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa (born Lisa Valez), guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, ...

's 1985 single " I Wonder If I Take You Home" and

Gucci Crew II The Gucci Crew II was a Miami bass group popular between 1986 and 1994. The group was made up of MC V and TFS (aka 240 Shorty), along with Disco Rick, who was their DJ early on. Debut single: "Gucci Bass" Their first song, "Gucci Bass", was insp ...

's 1988 single "Sally (That Girl)", which effectively credited

Kalyanji–Anandji Kalyanji–Anandji are an Indian composer duo: Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) and his brother Anandji Virji Shah (born 2 March 1933). The duo are known for their work on Hindi film soundtracks, with many evergreen songs ...

Indeewar Shyamalal Babu Rai, known professionally as Indeevar, (also credited as Indiwar and Indeewar) (1 January 1924 – 27 February 1997) was one of the leading Hindi film lyricists in the 1960s. Early life He was born in Barua Sagar of Jhansi d ...

and

as songwriters. The song was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from ''Monkey Business'' on April 5, 2005, by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. "Don't Phunk with My Heart" was received positively by most contemporary

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 ...

, with many of them naming it one of the album's highlights. It was also met with a positive commercial response, peaking at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100–becoming the group's highest-peaking single on the chart at the time–and at number one in Australia, the Czech Republic, Finland, and New Zealand. At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards (2006), it won

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontin ...

, while receiving a nomination for

Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...

. The song's accompanying

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 ...

is a parody of game shows, most notably ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

'', ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it ...

'', and ''

Love Connection ''Love Connection'' is an American television dating game show in which singles attempt to connect with a compatible partner. Originally hosted by Chuck Woolery, the show debuted in syndication on September 19, 1983, and ended on July 1, 1994, a ...

''.

Background

"Don't Phunk with My Heart" is one of two songs on '' Monkey Business'' that was written by

and Fergie of

. Additional writers include George Pajon, Jr. and Printz Board. The song contains samples of several songs: "I Wonder If I Take You Home", written and composed by Full Force, and "Ae Naujawan Sab Kuchh Yahan" and "Yeh Mera Dil Pyaar Ka Diwana", both recorded by

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

, composed by

Kalyanji Anandji Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, f ...

, and with lyrics written by

. The former of the latter two was featured in the Hindi film ''

'' (1972) while the latter was featured in the Hindi film ''

'' (1978). Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am, in addition to co-writing the song, produced the track on his own while working with Neil Tucker and Tal Herzberg on engineering it. Co-writer Pajon, Jr. contributed guitars while Keith Harris played the drums. "Don't Phunk with My Heart" features a prominent use of several string instruments, which include the

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

and Mellotron strings, played by Charlie Baccarat and song co-writer Board. It was then mixed by

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed She ...

and programmed by Herzberg using Pro Tools technology. The song was recorded at

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor and Karin Clayton.Donald Brackett It is located in the Powerhouse, a Grade II listed building, at 70 Chiswick High Ro ...

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

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 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. "Don't Phunk with My Heart" serves as the first single taken from ''Monkey Business'' (2005).

solicited the song to mainstream radios on April 11, 2005, in the United States.

Composition

"Don't Phunk with My Heart" is a hip-hop

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 ...

song that runs for 4 minutes and 4 seconds. According to the digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...

, it is written in a key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

. The song is set in common time and runs through a freely moving tempo of 132 beats per minute. will.i.am described the song to be the lyrical sequel to the band's 2003 single "

Shut Up Shut may refer to: *Yana Shut (born 1997), Belarusian snooker and pool player. * ''Shut'' (1988 film), directed by Andrei Andreyevich Eshpai. * ''Shut'' (2009 film), starring Lee Baxter. * ''Shut'' or ''šwt'', "shadow", an Ancient Egyptian conce ...

" (''

Elephunk ''Elephunk'' is the third studio album by the American musical group Black Eyed Peas. It was released on June 24, 2003, by the will.i.am Music Group and A&M Records. The album charted at number 14 on the American ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart an ...

'', 2003). He explained: "When you're on bad terms with a significant other, you don't want to break up. You tell her things and at the time you really mean them. But she's saying, stop f****ing with me." Jason King of ''

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 ...

'' called the song a "sassy gender duel" between will.i.am and Fergie, while commenting that it is reminiscent of "Shut Up".

Critical reception

Nicholas Taylor 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 ...

'' called "Don't Phunk with My Heart" a "standout" in regard to "complex and engaging hip-hop music, a mix of rap, soul, jazz, and funk that will constantly surprise and delight." However, he stated that "Pump It" would have been a better choice for the first single, writing that it "continually impresses and grooves and better melds raps with beats", while noting "Don't Phunk with My Heart" to get repetitive and clunky. Taylor further explains the song's cons, writing that it suffers from "unimpressive rapping" and "a distinct lack of substance". John Bush 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 ...

'' listed it as one of the album's best tracks. Nathan Rabin of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' calls it a continuation of the "summertime vibe of dumb fun". Robert Christgau listed the song as a track pick. Azeem Ahmad of ''

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

'' predicted the album Monkey Business to be a success if "Don't Phunk with My Heart" was an indication of its sound. The staff at Boston.com felt the song was "OK" compared to "My Style", a different album track.

Kelefa Sanneh Kelefa T. Sanneh (born 1976) is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', covering the rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes. Since 2008 he has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorke ...

of ''

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 ...

'' called it "a much more wholesome hip-hop hit", comparing it to Ying Yang Twins' 2005 single "

Wait (The Whisper Song) "Wait (The Whisper Song)" is a 2005 snap song released by Atlanta crunk rap duo Ying Yang Twins off their album ''U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)''. The song consists of a minimal bass pulse, a few finger-snaps, and whispered, sexually explici ...

". The Black Eyed Peas were nominated for two 2006

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 ...

s for the song and won for "

Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontinu ...

". The song also won the BMI Award, which was awarded to the

brothers, for their compositions of "Ye Mera Dil" and "Ae Nujawan" used as a basis for the song. The award was collected by

Anandji Virji Shah Anandji Virji Shah (born 2 March 1933) is an Indian music director. Together with his brother he formed the Kalyanji-Anandji duo, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, for ''Kora Kagaz''. In 1992, Anandji Shah received t ...

, the surviving member of the duo.

Chart performance

In the United States, "Don't Phunk with My Heart" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number ninety-seven following its release. The song then jumped sixty-six places to number thirty-one in the following week due to digital sales. It continued to rise up the chart until June 25, 2005, when it peaked at number three due to an increase in digital sales, becoming the week's "greatest digital gainer". "Don't Phunk with My Heart" also reached the top ten on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Top 40. The song sold over 500,000 digital copies in the United States, earning a gold 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). In the United Kingdom, "Don't Phunk with My Heart" entered and debuted at number three on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on May 22, 2005 (for the week ending May 28, 2005). It lasted four weeks inside the top ten and sixteen weeks total on the chart. According to the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

, the song sold 210,000 copies there. The song fared similarly in Ireland, where it debuted and peaked at number four on the singles chart. On May 23, 2005, "Don't Phunk with My Heart" debuted and peaked at number one on the Australian Singles Chart. It lost the position the following week but retook the position on June 12 and maintained the top spot for two more weeks. The song has shipped over 70,000 copies in Australia, earning 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). In New Zealand, the song entered the singles chart at number thirty-six on May 16, 2005. The following week, it rose to number one, where it stayed for three consecutive weeks. The song shipped 15,000 copies in New Zealand, earning a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). "Don't Phunk with My Heart" appeared on the

Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide chart ...

on May 24, 2005, at number five. It maintained that position for three weeks before rising to number four on June 14, 2005, where it continued to stay for three more weeks. The song remained on the chart for six more weeks and shipped over 5,000 copies, earning a gold certification by IFPI Norway. Across the rest of Europe, "Don't Phunk with My Heart" achieved top-five positions in Austria, Denmark, Finland,

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, ...

, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland and reached the top ten in France, Germany, Sweden, and

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

Music video

The video for the song is a parody of game shows, most notably ''

'', ''

'', and ''

''. will.i.am,

apl.de.ap Allan Pineda Lindo (born November 28, 1974), known professionally as apl.de.ap (), is a Filipino-American rapper, singer and record producer. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Black Eyed Peas. Early life Allan Pineda Lindo was born ...

and Taboo attempt to win the heart of Fergie, a beautiful girl, by being chosen to go on a date with her by spinning a wheel to decide where they will go, then being teleported to the site. will.i.am takes Fergie on a horse-ride, apl takes her dancing and Taboo takes her to a restaurant, but each date ends badly with Voodoo Thursday sabotaging the boys' attempts. He makes will.i.am's horse buck him off, he makes apl twitch when Fergie tries to kiss him, and he programs Taboo to grab another girl's butt. In the end, Fergie has to choose whom to end up with. Voodoo then spins the wheel, it comes up "knock boots". When the time comes for Fergie to choose, Voodoo whispers something to Fergie, and they are teleported away. The members of The Black Eyed Peas all appear in the video, some in multiple roles. will.i.am plays himself, the host Voodoo Thursday, and the drummer in the live band. apl plays himself, the guitarist, and the announcer, Fergie plays herself and Taboo plays himself and the pianist/keyboardist in the live band. A brief instrumental clip of the song can be heard on various episodes of '' The Hills'' as their cue for possible drama coming up.

Track listings

US promotional CD (AMRR-11406-2 1N02) UK CD single (9882330) European CD single (988 232-9) European enhanced maxi-single (988 232-8)

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Monkey Business'',

will.i.am Music Group will.i.am Music Group is a vanity label founded by music artist will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas. Popular artists that were signed to the label other than will.i.am or Black Eyed Peas include Fergie, Macy Gray, Cheryl, and Sérgio Mendes. Initial ...

. Recording and sample * Recorded at

and

. * Contains elements of " I Wonder If I Take You Home", written by

under Careers-BMG Music (BMI) * Contains elements of "Ae Naujawan Sab Kuchh Yahan", written by

and Indeewar under Saregma India Ltd. (IRPS) * Contains elements of "Yeh Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana", written by

and Indeewar under Saregma India Ltd. (IRPS) Personnel * Songwriting – William Adams,

Stacy Ferguson Stacy Ann Ferguson (born March 27, 1975), better known by her stage name Fergie (), is an American singer and rapper. She first achieved chart success as part of the hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. Her debut solo album, ''The Dutchess'' ( ...

George Pajon George Pajon Jr. (born April 10, 1969) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. Early life George Pajon Jr. "attended private St. Matthias Elementary School, a Catholic K-8 school, in Huntington Park. Growing up in conservative ...

, Jr., Full Force, Kalyanji Anandji, Indeewar * Vocals – will.i.am, Fergie and Taboo * Production –

* Drums – Keith Harris * Guitar –

, Jr. *

Keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

–

* String arrangement – Ron Fair *

Electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

– Charlie Baccarat * Pro Tools programming – Tal Herzberg * Engineering – will.i.am, Neil Tucker, Tal Herzberg * Mixing –

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

Russian metalcore band

Amatory Amatory (commonly stylized as MATORY'', to fit their logo) is a Russian metal band from Saint Petersburg, formed in 1998 by Denis ''DENVERZhivotovsky and Daniil ''STEWARTSvetlov. Later in 1998, they were joined by Evgenyy PJ Potekhin but the ...

released a cover version of the song, as "Don't Fuck with My Heart". It appears on their covers EP ''Discovery''.

References

External links

"Don't Phunk with My Heart" lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Don'T Phunk With My Heart 2005 singles 2005 songs A&M Records singles Black Eyed Peas songs Interscope Records singles Music videos directed by The Malloys Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in the Czech Republic Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs written by Fergie (singer) Songs written by George Pajon Songs written by will.i.am