"They" is the first single released by Welsh singer Jem from her debut album, '' Finally Woken'' (2004). It includes a sample of the

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' 1963 adaptation of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's Prelude in F minor (BWV 881) from Book II of ''

Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of in ...

'' from their album ''

Jazz Sebastian Bach ''Jazz Sebastian Bach'' is a compilation album/re-issue of music by the Paris-based Swingle Singers. It combines the tracks from two previous releases: * Tracks 1–13 from the 1963 album ''Bach's Greatest Hits'', also known as ''Jazz Sébastien ...

''. Jem recorded the song's vocals in her mother's spare bedroom. "They" was released in the United States in February 2004 and was issued worldwide the following year. The song became Jem's most successful single, reaching number six 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 ...

, number one in Hungary, and the top 20 in Austria, Ireland, and Greece.

Music videos

Jem released two music videos for "They". The UK version, directed by Laurent Briet, features Jem

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ping herself in a spaceship in the style of

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

in the opening scene of '' Barbarella'' (although she remains covered by strategically placed light based

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of planetary orbital paths); this is actually a boy dreaming about her as he constructs a model of the same spaceship back on Earth. The US version features Jem walking at a park while being accompanied by a number of children. She then encounters several signs and decides to violate them. Some intercut scenes show her at a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

being spun by children.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "They" # "

Maybe I'm Amazed "Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by English musician Paul McCartney that was first released on his 1970 debut solo album ''McCartney''. Although the original recording has never been released as a single, a live performance by McCartney's l ...

" (

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

) UK CD2 and Australian CD single # "They" (original version) # "They" (Cut Chemist remix) # "They" (MDK & Ayesha Mix) (Eye in the Sky mix) # "They" (video)

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the '' Finally Woken'' album booklet. Locations * Vocals recorded in Jem's mother's spare bedroom * Mixed and mastered at Sanctuary Townhouse Studios (London, England) Personnel * Jem – writing (as Jem Griffiths), production, arrangement * Gerard Young – writing *

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– instruments, production, arrangement, mixing, mastering * Ge-ology – production * Andy Saunders – mixing assistance * Dan Porter – mixing assistance

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:They (Song) 2003 songs 2004 debut singles 2005 singles Arrangements of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach ATO Records singles Number-one singles in Hungary Jem (singer) songs Songs written by Jem (singer) Sony BMG singles Popular songs based on classical music