"Shut Up" is a song recorded by American hip-hop 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 Hil ...

for their third studio album '' Elephunk'' (2003). Lyrically, it's about a disastrous courtship with the chorus consisting of the lines "Shut up, just shut up, shut up". The song was released as the second single from ''Elephunk'' on September 8, 2003, by A&M Records 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 ...

. "Shut Up" was not commercially successful in the United States but became a hit internationally, topping the charts in Australia, New Zealand, and 12 European countries. It was Europe's second biggest hit single of 2004.

Background and release

Group member

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. ...

needed a female singer for the song, so he brought in Fergie. She assisted the group on most of the songs on ''Elephunk'' and became the group's fourth member in 2003. While 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 A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

were working on the song, their girlfriends' phone calls would interrupt the session. Will said "The vibe was blown" and Taboo said "So we turned the negative into positive", by adding the problems they were having into the song they were making. "Shut Up" was recorded at The Stewchia in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, from December 30, 2001, to February 19, 2002. The song's "Knee Deep Remix" includes a rerecorded version of will.i.am's verse and the bridge. It also includes a new verse with apl.de.ap. An edited version of this remix appears on the deluxe version of the group's fifth studio album, ''

The E.N.D ''The E.N.D.'' (an abbreviation of, and subtitled ''The Energy Never Dies'') is the fifth studio album by American group Black Eyed Peas, released on June 3, 2009. Critics described the album as containing more anthemic and inspirational song ...

'', titled "Shut the Phunk Up". The remix samples the song "

(Not Just) Knee Deep "(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a funk song, with a running time of 15 minutes, 21 seconds, on Side 1 of Funkadelic's 1979 album ''Uncle Jam Wants You''. Song information An edited version of the song, appearing as Side A on the single release, reache ...

" by Funkadelic. In December 2010, Funkadelic leader George Clinton filed a

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

lawsuit against will.i.am, Fergie, and Universal Music. Clinton stated that he did not give his permission for the sample and that his signature was forged on the release form.

Chart performance

"Shut Up" became an international success, reaching number one in Australia, Austria, Belgium (

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, ...

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 ...

), the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland. The single also reached number two in Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom and peaked at number five in Hungary. At the end of 2004, it was ranked as Europe's second-highest-selling single according to the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, on which the song peaked at number one. As of August 2014, it was the 47th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 400,000 units sold. In Germany, it is the second-best-selling single of the band behind " I Gotta Feeling", selling 300,000 copies to reach platinum status. The song peaked at number one on the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

and stayed there for five weeks, becoming the band's longest run at the pole position. In the United States, the song never charted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

despite appearing at number 30 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

in November 2003.

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 The Malloys and features an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

themed around a battle of the sexes. In it, will.i.am and Taboo play Fergie's suitors, and apl.de.ap is the conductor. The music video has several

Andre the Giant Has a Posse Andre the Giant Has a Posse is a street art campaign based on a design by Shepard Fairey created in 1989 while Shepard attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. Distributed by the :wikt:skater, skater community and ...

-style posters near the stage man. Two posters from the song " Where Is the Love?" are also shown.

Kimberly Wyatt Kimberly Kaye Wyatt (born February 4, 1982) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She is a former member of the pop/ R&B girl group and dance ensemble The Pussycat Dolls. She is also a member of the ...

and

Carmit Bachar Carmit Maile Bachar ( he, כרמית בכר; born September 4, 1974), known professionally as Carmit, is an American singer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. She is a member of the Pussycat Dolls. She is married to longtime partner Kevin Whita ...

from the Pussycat Dolls both make cameos in the video.

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

from Blink 182,

Shifty Shellshock Seth Brooks Binzer (born August 23, 1974), better known by his stage name Shifty Shellshock, is an American musician, best known for being a co-founder and front man of the rap rock band Crazy Town, known for their hit song "Butterfly". He has als ...

from Crazy Town and French singer Afida Turner also have a cameo in the video.

Track listings

US 12-inch vinyl :A1. "Shut Up" (LP) – 5:10 :A2. "Shut Up" (radio edit) – 3:46 :A3. "Shut Up" (instrumental) – 5:09 :A4. "Shut Up" (acapella) – 4:55 :B1. "Shut Up" (Knee Deep Remix) – 4:23 :B2. "Shut Up" (Knee Deep Remix instrumental) – 4:21 :B3. "Shut Up" (Knee Deep Remix acapella) – 4:20 European CD single # "Shut Up" – 5:12 # "Tell Your Mama Come" (live from House of Blues, Chicago) – 2:51 UK and Australian CD single # "Shut Up" – 5:12 # "Tell Your Mama Come" (live from the House of Blues, Chicago) – 2:52 # "Karma" (live from the House of Blues, Chicago) – 3:05 # "Shut Up" (video) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Shut Up" :B1. "Tell Your Mama Come" (live from the House of Blues, Chicago) :B2. "Karma" (live from the House of Blues, Chicago)

Personnel

The Black Eyed Peas *

– vocals,

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

, executive production,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Fergie – vocals *

– vocals *

– vocals (Knee Deep/E.N.D. remix only) Additional musicians * George Pajon, Jr. – guitar * J. Curtis – guitar * Ray Brady – guitar Production personnel * Ron Fair – executive production, additional vocal production * Dylan Dresdow –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Christine Sirois – engineering assistance * Tony Maserati – mixing * Brian Gardner – mastering * Tal Herzberg – additional engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References