"Sextonik" is a 2008 song recorded by French singer
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is ...
. It is the fifth single from her seventh studio album ''
Point de suture'' and was released on 31 August 2009. Despite being less successful than Farmer's previous hit singles from the album, it allowed her to beat her own record for the artist with the most number one hits in France.
Background and release
Since the release of the album ''Point de Suture'', the song has been mentioned in media, and particularly ''Public'', as its deals with a sexual issue.
From May 2008, Farmer sold at her concerts
vibrators, first limited to 1,000 copies, and costing 100 euros. The object was presented in a black box-shaped coffin with the inscription "Sextonik"; however, the song was not performed on stage. Many websites, newspapers and radio broadcasts talked about the vibrator.
Then at the concerts in
Douai
Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...
(Gayant Expo),
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and Moscow, a remix of "Sextonik" by DJ Tomer G was played. The DJ later stated on his own site that his remix was done for a single, thus revealing that "Sextonik" will be the fifth single from the album. On 2 July 2009, the song was officially announced as the next single and it was revealed that it would be released under three formats: CD single, CD maxi, 7" maxi. On 7 July 2009, a promotional digital version was sent to French stations radios. The first promotional CD was sent a few days later, then a second one on 17 July.
It was first announced that the CD single would be released on 24 August, then about one week later, and the other formats were eventually cancelled. The 'Tomer G sextonik radio edit' was available in full on the Internet from 24 July.
As for Farmer's other two singles — "
On est tous des imbéciles
"On est tous des imbéciles" (English: "We Are All Fools") is a 1984 song recorded by French artist Mylène Farmer. It was released in February 1985 as her second single after "Maman a tort" and its English-translated version "My Mum Is Wrong". ...
" and "
L'Histoire d'une fée, c'est..." — there was no music video.
[ Rigal, 2010, p. 184.]
Lyrics and music
This is a very upbeat song talking about the science of sex and rejoice and is tribute to the
sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...
s. It contains several
neologism
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
s, including a noun turned in a verb ("''J'extase''"). During the musical bridge, Farmer is heard
Orgasm, moaning in a sexual manner.
Critical reception
The song was not generally well received by media and critics. "Sextonik" was deemed as a song whose "inspiration seems basic" (''La Meuse''), was ranked "three degrees under "
Désenchantée
"Désenchantée" (; feminine of ''désenchanté'', which is French language, French for "Disenchanted" or "Disappointed") is a 1991 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. The first Single (music), single from her third studio ...
"" (''Télé Moustique''), was considered as "an easy wink to the
tecktonik" (''Cité Gay'').
Chart performance
With 4,533 units sold, the single entered at number-one in France on 5 September 2009, becoming Farmer's ninth number-one hit. Then it began to drop rather quickly, spending only three weeks in the top ten. It remained for 19 weeks in the top 50 and 37 weeks in the top 100.
The song, however, was poorly played on radios in the country.
The single was a top 25 hit in Belgium (Wallonia) and charted in the top 40 for two weeks.
It was unsuccessful in Switzerland where it was ranked in low positions for a sole week.
In Russia, the single went to number 39 on the airplay chart. It even peaked at number twenty on the Saint Petersburgh airplay chart.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of single releases of "Sextonik":
* CD single
* CD single – Promo
* CD single – Promo – Remix
Credits and personnel
These are the credits and the personnel as they appear on the back of the single:
* Mylène Farmer – lyrics
* Laurent Boutonnat – music
* Henry Neu – design
* Isiaka – editions
* Made in the E.U.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Sales
Release history
References
*
*
*
Notes
External links
Mylène Farmer — "Sextonik"All about the song, on ''Mylene.net''
{{Authority control
2008 songs
2009 singles
Mylène Farmer songs
Songs with lyrics by Mylène Farmer
Songs with music by Laurent Boutonnat
SNEP Top Singles number-one singles
Polydor Records singles