"Fill Me In" is the debut solo single of British singer
Craig David
Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has re ...
. It was released on 3 April 2000 as the lead single from his debut studio album, ''
Born to Do It'' (2000). The song debuted at number one 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 9 April 2000. "Fill Me In" was then released in the United States on 22 May 2001 and peaked at number 15 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. 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 in ...
, it was the 10th-best-selling single of 2000 in the UK, having sold 573,000 copies.
The track contains a sample from an
Artful Dodger
Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket, so called for his skill and cunning in that occupation. He is the leader of the gang of child criminal ...
bootleg remix of
BBMak
BBMak are an English band consisting of Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally. Formed in Liverpool in 1996, they sold over three million albums worldwide between 1999 and 2003. The band first achieved success when their single "Back H ...
's "
Still on Your Side". There is a second part of the song which features on the US edition of ''Born to Do It''.
Content
The narrator tells a story of trying to spend time with the girl next door, but her parents remain suspicious about what she is doing.
The song is a commentary on the "
helicopter parenting
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter) is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. Helicopter parents are so named ...
" that was becoming more prominent in the early 2000s. In the hook, the parents ask if their daughter can fill them in on what is going on in her life.
Chart performance
After his success with
Artful Dodger
Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket, so called for his skill and cunning in that occupation. He is the leader of the gang of child criminal ...
, David's first solo hit debuted at number one in the UK top 40 on the week of 15 April 2000. "Fill Me In" topped the charts during a week in which all of the top six positions were new entries. After one week atop the chart, "Fill Me In" dropped to number two for two weeks, replaced at number one by
Fragma
Fragma are a German vocal trance music group, originally comprising three producers. The group was successful in the early 2000s when they released several singles that charted successfully across Europe, especially the United Kingdom and Irel ...
's "
Toca's Miracle
"Toca's Miracle" is a release by German vocal trance group Fragma featuring vocals from British singer Coco (also known as Coco Star). Taken as the second single off Fragma's debut studio album, ''Toca'' (2001), the song is a mashup of Coco's "I ...
". The single logged 10 weeks inside the top 40. On 28 December 2009, when
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, ...
presenter Nihal revealed "The Official Top 100 Songs of the Decade", "Fill Me In" was at number 93.
The single was released in the United States on 22 May 2001.
On 30 June, "Fill Me In" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 40 at number 28. The song climbed into the top 20 the following week, remaining there until October and peaking at number 15 on 1 September. In total, David remained 23 weeks inside the US top 40 before leaving on 8 December.
Music video
There are different versions of the music video released in the UK and in the US. The UK music video, directed by Max & Dania, has David telling a story about how he tried many times to romance his girlfriend who lived next door to him but each of his attempts to be alone with his girlfriend failed as his girlfriend's parents always interrupted and he had to hide before they left again. According to an interview on his first ''
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' album, the girl in the UK music video is a South African woman whose identity has never been known. The US version, 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, ...
, has a different picturisation and this time David's girlfriend is mixed race.
Track listings
UK CD1
# "Fill Me In" (radio edit) – 3:52
# "Apartment 543" – 4:21
# "Fill Me In" (Artful Dodger Bootleg mix) – 3:59
# "Fill Me In" (video CD-ROM) – 3:52
UK CD2
# "Fill Me In" (radio edit) – 3:52
# "Fill Me In" (Artful Dodger remix) – 5:53
# "Fill Me In" (
Sunship remix) – 5:38
# "Fill Me In" (Full Crew remix) – 4:18
UK cassette single
# "Fill Me In" (radio edit) – 3:52
# "Apartment 543" – 4:21
# "Fill Me In" (Artful Dodger Bootleg mix) – 3:59
Australian CD single
# "Fill Me In" (radio edit) – 3:52
# "Fill Me In" (Artful Dodger's Bootleg mix) – 3:59
# "Apartment 543" – 4:21
# "Fill Me In" (Sunship remix) – 5:38
# "Fill Me In" (Full Crew remix) – 4:18
# "Fill Me In" (Artful Dodger mix) – 5:53
# "Fill Me In" (video CD-ROM)
US CD single
# "Fill Me In" (radio edit) – 3:50
# "Fill Me In" (Full Crew remix) – 4:12
# Snippets ("
Rendezvous" / "
7 Days Seven Days or 7 Days may refer to:
* Week, an amount of time
Film
* ''7 Days'' (2010 film) (''Les 7 jours du talion''), Canadian thriller film
* ''7 Days'' (2021 film), American romantic comedy film
* ''Seven Days'' (1925 film), American silent ...
" / "
Walking Away")
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Cover versions and remixes
Loud Luxury remix
In 2017,
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
house music production and DJ duo
Loud Luxury
Loud Luxury are a Canadian music production and DJ duo consisting of Andrew Fedyk and Joe Depace and currently based in Los Angeles. In 2017, they released a remix of the Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa single "Scared to Be Lonely", which gained them ...
released a remix of the song which featured Ryan Shepherd.
In 2022, the song was certified Gold in Canada.
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2000 debut singles
2000 songs
Atlantic Records singles
Craig David songs
Music videos directed by Darren Grant
Songs written by Craig David
Songs written by Mark Hill (musician)
UK garage songs
UK Singles Chart number-one singles