"Sugar" is a song by American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

, featuring American singer-songwriter

Wynter Gordon Diana Gordon, previously known by her stage name Wynter Gordon, is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career writing music for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she started to work on her own album. Her deb ...

. The song's chorus samples the song " Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Italian

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

group

Eiffel 65 Eiffel 65 is an Italian music group that was formed in 1997 in the studios of the Turin record company Bliss Corporation, consisting of Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte. They gained global popularity with their singles " Blue (Da Ba ...

. The song was written by Flo Rida,

The Jackie Boyz The Jackie Boyz was an American multi-platinum singer-songwriter duo that consisted of two brothers, Carlos Battey and Steven Battey. The Jackie Boyz were acquired by Universal Music Publishing as songwriters in 2009. History The Jackie Boyz w ...

Jeffrey Jey Gianfranco Randone (; born 5 January 1970), known by his stage name Jeffrey Jey, is an Italian musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the group Eiffel 65 (1997–2005, 2010–present). He was also the lead singer of ...

Maurizio Lobina Maurizio Lobina (born 30 October 1973 in Asti) is an Italian musician and singer, most known as a member of the band Eiffel 65, an Italian group who hit big in 1999 with the international success " Blue (Da Ba Dee)." Lobina created the melody fo ...

, and Massimo Gabutti, and was produced by DJ Montay for Flo Rida's second album, ''

R.O.O.T.S. ''R.O.O.T.S.'' (short for ''Route of Overcoming the Struggle'') is the second studio album by American rapper Flo Rida. It was released on March 24, 2009, by Poe Boy Entertainment and Atlantic Records.digital download. The single became the second top 10 single from ''R.O.O.T.S.'', debuting at #25, and peaking at #5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100,

Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Flo Rida ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

/ref> fueled by high sales from digital downloads. The single has also been successful in other countries, reaching the top ten in Canada, and on other ''Billboard'' subcharts. Following the song's success in the U.S., the song was released May 25, 2009, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Background

Speaking to

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

, Flo Rida said, "Wynter is a brand-new artist coming off of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. She has a beautiful voice. She matched the song very well, so we went along with it." Wynter was originally hired by the song's writers as a female vocalist to reference the song for them. "It sounded really good when I did it," she told ''

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 ...

''. "They said, 'We'll keep you on it. This could be good for you.'"

Critical reception

On reviews for the album, the song received a mixed reception, due to criticism on the use of the sample of " Blue (Da Ba Dee)". ''

'' magazine reviewed the single positively, said "'Sugar', rides an unlikely interpolation of ' Blue (Da Ba Dee)' by

", but consider it one of the highlights of the album. However,

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 ...

said that the song is "shameless enough to incorporate elements of Eiffel 65's Euro-trash earworm 'Blue (Da Ba Dee)'", but chose it as a track pick. ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' said, "Hate him or love him, you gotta hand it to Flo Rida for mastering the hit-making formula. His second single off R.O.O.T.S., “Sugar,” samples Eiffel 65's “Blue (Da Ba Dee).” Flo's Atlantic Records labelmate Wynter Gordon gets her first major feature singing the hook. This has top 10 written all over it." Meanwhile, in the UK, noted urban writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning ''

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

'' stated "Flo Rida finally proves once-and-for-all that he's no one-trick-pony, with the melodic uptempo single 'Sugar' effectively relying on a familiar Euro-dance sample to bring the party".

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by

Shane Drake Shane C. Drake is an American music video director and producer originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for many artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! a ...

and was filmed on April 10, 2009 in

South Beach, Florida South Beach is a census-designated place (CDP) on North Hutchinson Island in Indian River County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,501 at the 2010 census. It is ranked tenth in Florida locations by per capita income as of 2010. South ...

. It opens with a female doctor followed by

walking into an operation room with a quick shot of Wynter then Wynter and Flo Rida standing beside one another. It then cuts to Wynter performing set choreography interspersed with female dancers then her dancing solo with flashes of Flo Rida in the operation room with the same female doctor spotted earlier in the music video. The next primary scene showcases Flo Rida in front of other men each seated in a hut on the beach as they spot the doctor in a white

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...

walking out from the water. Flo Rida moves out of his seat and progresses forward to greet the doctor but then confusingly realises that she is not actually there. Next Flo Rida and the doctor are seen to be next to each other on the same beach, she following with her arms on him as he raps. They walk to a store in the shape of another hut where Flo Rida purchases ice cream for the both of them. He turns around, confused again as the doctor doesn't appear anywhere in sight. The next scene displays the pair with the doctor seducing Flo Rida then comforting him with food. He then turns her way and once again, she doesn't appear. The final vision incorporates Flo Rida woken up by the doctor in the operation room & being escorted out, yet she then raises her arm and directs him to follow her back into the room by seductively holding up a bunch of

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago ...

. Flo Rida looks at the camera, smiles and closes the door as the video comes to a close. The music video was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on May 16, 2019 as part of the 10 year anniversary of Flo Rida's album

R.O.O.T.S. ''R.O.O.T.S.'' (short for ''Route of Overcoming the Struggle'') is the second studio album by American rapper Flo Rida. It was released on March 24, 2009, by Poe Boy Entertainment and Atlantic Records.''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it Flo Rida's highest debut on the chart. The song made a jump to number seven in its sixth week on the chart, selling 127,000 downloads, a 61% increase from the previous week and eventually reached a peak position of #5. In Canada it made a "''Hot Shot Debut''" at #8 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

. The song debuted 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 ...

at number 35 from album downloads alone and has so far peaked at number eighteen. This marked "Sugar" Flo Rida's then-third highest charting single in the UK, and with 18 weeks inside the top 100 UK singles chart, it is his fourth longest chart runner behind only " Low" (75 weeks), "

Right Round "Right Round" is a single performed by American rapper Flo Rida featuring guest vocals from American singer Kesha. It was released as the lead single from his second studio album, '' R.O.O.T.S.'' (2009). It was released to radio on January ...

" (24 weeks) and "

Elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

" (20 weeks).Official Charts Company – Flo Rida – Sugar
/ref> It has so far peaked at number 20 in Australia.

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2009 singles Flo Rida songs Wynter Gordon songs Music videos directed by Shane Drake Songs written by Flo Rida 2009 songs Songs written by Maurizio Lobina Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Carlos Battey Songs written by Steven Battey Electropop songs