"The Child (Inside)" is a song by South African trio

Qkumba Zoo Qkumba Zoo is a South African dance music duo from Johannesburg, South Africa, consisting of vocalist Levannah and musician/producer Owl. The band was originally formed by Owl and Levannah as a duo called Ocean Road. In 1996 the band was a tr ...

, released in August 1995 as their first single from the international debut album, ''Wake Up and Dream'' (1996). The song shot straight to the top of the charts in South Africa, earning them the Best New Band award at the 1996

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

. Same year, it was a hit in the US, reaching number 69 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as well as peaking at number-one on the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. The trio was the first South African group to top the Hot 100 in over 17 years. The track also peaked at number 34 on the ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

chart on October 18, 1996. A

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 also produced to promote the single. The 1996 release of "The Child (Inside)" featured several mixes by DJ

Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern, August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...

, that became the standard for the song in American clubs. In recent years, the original mix has been used in several US television commercials, the most popular being from

Seaworld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...

parks and

Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue color scheme. This ...

Critical reception

In ''

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 ...

'' magazine's review of the single,

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

wrote, "The

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

- NRG sound that has propelled

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

back into

pop radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

prominence has been in need of a little variation and development. This intriguing new act successfully accomplishes the task without tampering too much with the genre's tried-and-true formula. Typically bright and springy beats underline a contagious melody that is executed with whooping tribal chants and quirky female vocals." In his Dance Trax column, Flick praised it as "an intriguing ditty that combines shiny hi-NRG elements with tribal chants and female warbling that land somewhere between Bjork and

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

. ..We're betting that this cutie will enjoy the same success as multiformat home runs by

Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies. History The phr ...

and

Robert Miles Roberto Concina (3 November 1969 – 9 May 2017), known professionally as Robert Miles, was an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ. His 1995 composition "Children (composition), Children" sold more than 5 million copies and topp ...

." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' noted that South African trio QKumba Zoo "have already made more impression on the U.S. market with this single than any of their compatriots have since the heady days of Clout's Substitute. Signed to Arista by

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

, their sound straddles the ethnic and CHR camps in persuasive style, landing somewhere between

Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and anti-apartheid activist, some of whose work was in musicology focused on the music of indigenous South African people ...

and current European

synth pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

, reflecting female lead singer Levannah's upbringing in the Zulu homeland of Natal." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song four out of five, adding, "Imagine

Gina G Gina G (born Gina Mary Gardiner, 3 August 1970) is an Australian singer who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, with the song " Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. The ...

embracing African rhythms and you have some idea of Qkumba Zoo. A hypnotically catchy debut single."

Music video

The accompanying

for "The Child (Inside)" was directed by Ruven Afanador. It takes place in a large, sepia-coloured room, where singer Levannah and musician Owl are performing. She wears a burgundy dress and dark lipstick, and has a punk hairstyle. Owl, with tribal bodypaint, plays several instruments such as a drum. In some scenes, Levannah performs while standing in a corner of the room, on a tall glass column. In other scenes, she dances or acts while looking through what appears to be a large framed magnifying glass. She also occasionally wears body paint or stands behind various light tubes, that are shaped like a spiral or heart rates.

Track listing

* CD maxi, South Africa (1995) #"The Child (Inside)" (Radio Zoo Mix) – 3:48 #"The Child (Inside)" (Qcumba Dance Edit) – 4:54 #"The Child (Inside)" (Kalahari Trance Magick Mix) – 7:43 #"The Child (Inside)" (The Ostrich & The Eland Mix) – 3:55 #"The Child (Inside)" (Lizards-Love-A-Hot-Rock Mix) – 3:37 #"The Child (Inside)" (Mantis Mantra) (Instrumental Mix) – 4:10 * CD single, Europe (1996) #"The Child (Inside)" (Radio Mix) – 3:58 #"The Child (Inside)" ( Berman Brothers Remix Edit) – 3:58 #Wake Up & Dream (Album Snippets) – 4:40 * CD maxi, Scandinavia (1996) #"The Child (Inside)" (Radio Mix) – 3:58 #"The Child (Inside)" (Extended Album Mix) – 4:54 #"The Child (Inside)" (Junior's Club Mix) – 8:48 #"The Child (Inside)" (Berman Brothers Club Mix) – 6:39 #"The Child (Inside)" (

Anthony Acid Anthony Acid (born Anthony Caputo; April 2, 1965) is an American Disc Jockey, DJ, Music Producer, producer and remixer. He has worked with the likes of Nast Nova, DJ Skribble, Brutal Bill, and Richie Santana. Discography Mixed compilations *''Div ...

's Up-Lift Mix) – 8:40

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Child Inside 1995 songs 1996 debut singles Electronic songs House music songs Number-one singles in South Africa Arista Records singles Mega Records singles