"Uptown Funk" is a song by British record producer
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...
from his fourth studio album, ''
Uptown Special
''Uptown Special'' is the fourth studio album by English record producer Mark Ronson. The album was released on 13 January 2015 in the US and 19 January 2015 in the UK. It is his first album in nearly five years, following '' Record Collection'' ...
'' (2015), featuring American singer and songwriter
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...
. It was released as the album's lead single on 10 November 2014 via download in several countries. "Uptown Funk" was written by Ronson, Mars,
Jeff Bhasker
Jeff Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He was awarded the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and nominated in 2013.
An accomplished producer, he ...
, and
Philip Lawrence, and produced by the former three; its composition began during a freestyle studio session when they worked on a jam Mars and his band played on tour.
Copyright controversies arose after the song's release resulting in multiple lawsuits and amendments to its songwriting credits.
The song is a
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
-
pop,
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
,
boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie mus ...
,
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
-
pop and
Minneapolis sound
The Minneapolis sound is a subgenre of funk rock with elements of New wave music, new wave and synth-pop, that was pioneered by Minneapolis, Minnesota-based musician Prince (musician), Prince in the late 1970s. Its popularity was given a boost th ...
track. It has a spirit akin to the 1980s-era funk music. Its lyrics address fashion, self-love and "traditional masculine bravado", performed in a
sing-rapping style filled with metaphors, arrogance, charisma, and fun. Upon its release, the single received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the instrumental, style and influences of the track. Others criticised it for not being innovative as it tried to emulate 1980s funk music.
Commercially, the song topped the charts of 19 countries and reached the top 10 of 15 others, making it the most successful single of Ronson and Mars to date. In the United States, "Uptown Funk" topped the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 14 weeks and spent seven weeks on the top of 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 ...
. It was certified 11 times platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) and six times platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
(BPI). "Uptown Funk" peaked at number one 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 ...
, and topped the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
, taking the
Christmas number one
In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...
spot. The song also reached the top spot on France's
Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...
(SNEP) number one in both Australia for a total of six weeks and in New Zealand for nine consecutive weeks. It also broke its own streaming record three times in the United Kingdom, while breaking the streaming record in the United States and Worldwide at that time.
Director
Cameron Duddy
Cameron Duddy (born December 6, 1985) is an American music video director and musician. As a director, he is known for his work with Bruno Mars, OneRepublic, and Fifth Harmony. He is also the bass guitarist in the country music band Midland.
Ca ...
and Mars shot the song's
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 ...
depicting Ronson, Mars and The Hooligans singing, walking and dancing in a city street. As of October 2022, the official music video for "Uptown Funk" is the
eighth most viewed YouTube video of all-time, having received over 4.7 billion views. "Uptown Funk" was performed on television shows such as ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
'' and the
Super Bowl 50 halftime show
The Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show took place on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California as part of Super Bowl 50. It was headlined by the British rock group Coldplay with special guest performers Beyoncé and Bruno Mars, who p ...
. It received several awards and nominations, winning
British Single of the Year
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
at the
2015 Brit Awards
Brit Awards 2015 was held on 25 February 2015. This was the 35th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London, presented by Ant & Dec. This was their second time ...
, International Work of the Year at the
APRA Music Awards of 2016
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2016 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2016 was the 3 ...
and
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
at the
2016 Grammy Awards
The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...
. The television show soundtrack of ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'', and commercials for
L'Oreal's
Garnier
Garnier () is a mass market cosmetics brand of French cosmetics company L'Oréal. It produces hair care and skin care products.
Launch
''Laboratoires Garnier'' was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier. The company's first produc ...
line and
Skippy peanut butter
Skippy is an American brand of peanut butter spread manufactured in the United States and China. First sold in 1932, Skippy is currently manufactured by Hormel, Hormel Foods, which bought the brand from Unilever in 2013. It is the best selling bra ...
, have used the song. It has been parodied several times and became a worldwide phenomenon with a major impact on
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
.
Background
![Mark Ronson at NH7 Weekender (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Mark_Ronson_at_NH7_Weekender_%28cropped%29.jpg)
After producing three songs for
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...
's second studio album ''
Unorthodox Jukebox
''Unorthodox Jukebox'' is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released on December 7, 2012, by Atlantic Records and was made available to listen to in its entirety for a week before its release. It serves ...
'' (2012),
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...
said in June 2014, that he and Mars planned on working together again.
Ronson ended up working on "Uptown Funk" for seven months, recording it in various locations, in a number of grueling, stressful sessions.
Its earliest version was a jam that Mars and his band played on tour.
When Ronson joined
Jeff Bhasker
Jeff Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He was awarded the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and nominated in 2013.
An accomplished producer, he ...
and Mars for a jam session at the latter's studio, he wanted to finish leftover demos from ''Unorthodox Jukebox'', however, Mars wanted to do something different. He started playing on a drum kit in the studio, while Bhasker and Ronson played keyboard and guitar, respectively. They decided to work on the tour jam and thought it would be "cool" to fit in the
Trinidad James
Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper. In 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. The label d ...
song, "Don't believe me, just watch. Don't believe me, just watch", played during the tour's soundcheck. At this point, they found the opening line: "This hit, that ice cold/
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and ...
, that white gold", which led them to believe they had an "exciting idea". However, both Ronson and Mars had busy schedules and could not complete the single. They spent the next several months working on the song,
fighting over which sections of the track would fit better. Mars was not a fan of early versions of the song.
The trio recorded the song in Los Angeles, London, Memphis, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver.
The horn parts were recorded at
Daptone Records
Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, T ...
in Brooklyn with the horn sections of
The Dap-Kings
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They were part of a revival movement of mid-1960s to mid-1970s style funk and soul music. They released their debut album ''Dap Dippin in 2002, the fir ...
,
Antibalas
Antibalas (Spanish for "bulletproof") is an American, Brooklyn-based afrobeat band that is modeled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra. Although their music generally follows the musical architectu ...
and The Hooligans playing the final version of the track.
The drum section was first recorded at a studio owned by Mars in Los Angeles, and later rearranged in Memphis. The track took over 100 takes before it was finished at Ronson's studio in London.
There were a number of drastic changes made to the track.
One iteration featured a
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
breakdown in the middle and a chorus in which Mars shouted, "Burn this motherfucker down!" At one point, the song was nearly scrapped entirely. They spent months working on a chorus, only to decide not to use it.
Ronson affirmed the compositions of American band
Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...
influenced them to only use a "horn line" as the chorus. After a show on the
Moonshine Jungle Tour
The Moonshine Jungle Tour was the third concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. The tour supported his second studio album, ''Unorthodox Jukebox'' (2012), from June 2013 to October 2014. After an official announcement on Februar ...
(2013–14), American songwriter
Philip Lawrence suggested using an opening bassline; however, as he did not play bass himself, Canadian recording engineer
Charles Moniz
Charles Moniz is a Canadian recording engineer who worked on Bruno Mars's studio albums ''Unorthodox Jukebox'' and ''24K Magic (album), 24k Magic''. Alternatively, he recorded "All I Ask (Adele song), All I Ask" for Adele's 2015 studio album ''25 ( ...
asked him to sing it. The "doh" vocal bassline ended up on the album. Some of the most progressive parts of the track were done in improvised studios set up by Moniz.
The stress over "Uptown Funk" was so high that Ronson passed out during one session trying to perfect the guitar part. Two days later in Toronto they figured out the guitar part when Ronson was playing it in front of The Hooligans after 82 takes.
Ronson explained on NPR's ''Fresh Air'' why he was so determined to make the song perfect: "When you're doing something that doesn't sound like anything else on the radio at the time, you almost need to like, iron-clad it, to make sure it gets through. You have to put these hooks in it. You've got to make sure you've got all that ear candy in it to get it through the gate."
The record label was hesitant to release the song under the title "Uptown Funk" suggesting the alternative "Just Watch". In October 2014, Mike Mullaney, an assistant program director at
CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
/
WBMX
WBMX (104.3 FM, 104.3 Jams) is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a classic hip hop radio format.
WBMX's studios and offic ...
, listened to the song after it was sent for testing and called it "the greatest song of all time". He added, "The Ronson/Bruno tune is like JamesBrown/RickJames/TheTime jamming w/ badass brass band", describing it as "Filthy, funky" and added, "Bruno simply wails". Ronson feels that the song belongs more to Mars than himself.
Production and release
"Uptown Funk" was initially written by Ronson, Mars, Lawrence, and Bhasker. Since the song embodies some of "
All Gold Everything
"All Gold Everything" is the debut single by American rapper Trinidad James. It was released on December 20, 2012, as the first single from his debut mixtape ''Don't Be S.A.F.E.'' (2012). The single has sold over 1,000,000 copies and was certified ...
" (2012),
Trinidad James
Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper. In 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. The label d ...
and Devon Gallaspy were credited as a songwriters. In May 2015, the track was re-registered as it also contains portions of "
Oops Up Side Your Head
"I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)" (re-titled "Oops Up Side Your Head" on the single as well as being known by other titles such as "Oops Upside Your Head") is a 1979 song recorded by the R&B group the Gap Band. Released off the ...
" (1979). Additional writing credit was given to
Charlie Wilson, Robert Wilson, Ronnie Wilson, Rudy Taylor, and
Lonnie Simmons
Lonnie Simmons (December 12, 1944 - February 6, 2019) was an American record producer from Los Angeles, California. He was founder and president of the now-defunct Total Experience Records. As a composer, he co-wrote several #1 R&B songs for his ...
.
The single was produced by Ronson, Bhasker, and Mars. Ronson was in charge of the guitars,
LinnDrum
The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold.
Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far mo ...
and programming, while the keyboards and talk box were handled by Bhasker. Mars sang the vocals and played drums. Ronson and several others engineered the song. The track was recorded at six studios.
Serban Ghenea
Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer.
Early life and education
Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...
and John Hanes, who served as the mix engineer, mixed "Uptown Funk" at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach. It was mastered by
Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to:
* Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor
* Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter
* Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer
* Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...
at Sterling Sound, NYC.
"Uptown Funk"s release was first announced by Mark Ronson on 30 October 2014, via Twitter. The date 10 November 2014 appeared on the poster image Ronson included in the tweet.
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
and
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
released the single on 10 November 2014 for
digital download in various countries.
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
sent the track to be added to US
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 ...
the following day, while Sony released it to Italian contemporary hit radio stations on 14 November 2014.
In the United Kingdom, "Uptown Funk" was released before its scheduled date, 11 January 2015, because it had been performed earlier on ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' as a cover by
Fleur East
Fleur East (born 29 October 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and radio presenter on Hits Radio. She competed on the second series of the televised singing competition ''The X Factor'' in 2005 as a member of the girl group Addicti ...
.
On 8 December 2014 the song released on the UK via digital download and radio stations began adding the track to their playlists.
On 9 January 2015, a CD Single was released in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It included the album version of "Uptown Funk", as well as the Ronson and
Mystikal
Michael Lawrence Tyler (born September 22, 1970), better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American rapper.
Early life and education
Tyler grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana's 12th Ward. His father, who ran a small neighborhood store, d ...
single, "
Feel Right".
On 16 and 24 February 2015, the recording and one of its remixes, the BB Disco Dub Mix remixed by
Benji B
Benjamin Benstead, known professionally as Benji B, is a British DJ, radio presenter, and record producer. A longtime BBC Radio producer and presenter, he has presented a weekly show on BBC Radio 1 since 2010 that highlights an eclectic mix of h ...
, were released on vinyl in the UK and the US.
An EP of four different remixes of the original version of the song was released via digital download on 13 April 2015.
On 29 June 2015, a remix featuring
Trinidad James
Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper. In 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. The label d ...
was made available for purchase on iTunes.
On 18 July 2018 the radio edition of the track was available for sale.
Composition and influences
"Uptown Funk" is a
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
-
pop,
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
,
boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie mus ...
,
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
-
pop,
Minneapolis sound
The Minneapolis sound is a subgenre of funk rock with elements of New wave music, new wave and synth-pop, that was pioneered by Minneapolis, Minnesota-based musician Prince (musician), Prince in the late 1970s. Its popularity was given a boost th ...
track, with a light
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
influence. It is composed in the key of
D minor
D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major.
The D natural minor scale is:
Changes needed for t ...
at a
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
of 115
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
. Mars's
vocal range
Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...
spans from the low note of B
2 to the high note of D
6. It has been described as a "joyous, energetic and feel-good" song.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s music critic noted influences of
Cameo,
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...
,
Chaka Khan
Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...
,
New Edition
New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 198 ...
,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
,
Sugarhill Gang Sugar Hill may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Sugar Hill, Georgia, a city
* Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, a town
* Sugar Hill, Manhattan, New York, a section of Harlem
* Sugar Hill (New York), a mountain in Schuyler County
* Sugar Hill, P ...
and
The Gap Band
The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, an ...
on the track.
''
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 ...
'' music critic compared the song to
George Kranz
George Kranz is a German dance music singer and percussionist. He is best known for his song "Trommeltanz", otherwise known as "Din Daa Daa". The song hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1984 and then returned to the chart in a n ...
's "
Trommeltanz (Din Daa Daa)" (1983), Earth, Wind & Fire's "
Getaway" (1976),
One Way
One-way or one way may refer to:
* One-way traffic, a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction
*One-way travel, a trip that does not return to its origin
Music
*One Way (American ba ...
's "
Cutie Pie
"Cutie Pie" is a song performed by One Way, issued as the second single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block ...
" (1982), Sugarhill Gang's "
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
" (1981), The Gap Band's "
Oops Up Side Your Head
"I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)" (re-titled "Oops Up Side Your Head" on the single as well as being known by other titles such as "Oops Upside Your Head") is a 1979 song recorded by the R&B group the Gap Band. Released off the ...
" (1979) and "
Early in the Morning" (1982),
The Sequence
The Sequence was an American female hip–hop trio from Columbia, South Carolina, who formed in 1979. The Sequence is noted as the first female hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill Records label in the late–1970s and early–1980s. The group ...
's "
Funk You Up
"Funk You Up" is a 1979 old school hip hop song recorded by the Sequence for Sugar Hill Records. It is significant as the first hip-hop song to be released by a female rap group (and by a rap group from the Southern United States, as all three mem ...
" (1979),
Morris Day & The Time
The Time, also known as Morris Day and the Time and The Original 7ven, is an American musical group founded in Minneapolis in 1981. Their work has been a part of the formation of the Minneapolis sound, featuring a mix of soul music and dance mu ...
's "
Cool
Cool commonly refers to:
* Cool, a moderately low temperature
* Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style
Cool or COOL may also refer to:
Economics
* Country of origin labelling
* mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...
" (1981) and "
Jungle Love" (1984), as well as,
Zapp's "
More Bounce to the Ounce
"More Bounce to the Ounce" is the debut single by American funk band Zapp. It is the opening track on their eponymous debut album and serves as the album's first single. The song was written, arranged, composed and produced by Roger Troutman; ...
" (1980).
Matt James of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' felt Morris Day & The Time's "
The Bird" (1984),
Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...
's "
Get Down on It
"Get Down on It" is a 1981 song by American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their '' Something Special'' album in 1981. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Track listing
Charts
The song hit the top 10 of the US ...
" (1981) and
Was (Not Was)
Was (Not Was) is an American pop rock group founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often fea ...
' "
Walk the Dinosaur
"Walk the Dinosaur" is a song by Was (Not Was), released in 1987, from their album ''What Up, Dog?''
Song info
The tune features a tight, funky sound, punctuated by horns and a cowbell.
When released in the UK in 1987, the song reached No. 10 on ...
" (1987) to have influenced "Uptown Funk".
Various critics noticed the
pastiche
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
on "Uptown Funk", from the "electric purple texture of the synths and the loose slap of the rhythms" to the "Prince-backed 80's funkateers Morris Day & The Time".
Jamieson Cox of ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'', Chris Molanphy of ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' and Stuart Berman of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' found the song heavily influenced by 1980s funk.
Neil McCormick writing for ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' called it an "evocation of the kind of Eighties funk that was already ripe with nostalgia".
Robbie Daw of
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
found the single closer to the "70's groove", filling "the hearts of Stax- and
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
music fans".
Likewise, ''
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 ...
'' dubbed it a "70's jam", a mash-up of "the best of Morris Day & The Time, James Brown, and
The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
".
AXS's Lucas Villa compared the funk sound of the recording to
George Clinton's "
Atomic Dog
"Atomic Dog" is a song by George Clinton from his 1982 album '' Computer Games''. The track was released as a single in December 1982 and became the P-Funk collective's last to reach #1 on the U.S. R&B Chart. The single failed to chart on the ...
" (1982).
Andy Kellman's
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 the recording "aimed for early Time", but it sounded more like
One Way
One-way or one way may refer to:
* One-way traffic, a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction
*One-way travel, a trip that does not return to its origin
Music
*One Way (American ba ...
's "Let's Talk"(1985). Annie Galvin of ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' found Mars "channeling
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
's raspier inflections."
Critics noticed the influence of Cameo on the horns, Morris Day & The Time on the keyboards, and "
Party Train
"Party Train" is a 1983 song by The Gap Band, released on their seventh album, '' Gap Band V: Jammin. It peaked at #3 on the R&B charts. The original release had "I'm Ready (If You're Ready)" on the A-side and "Party Train" on the B-side. Late ...
" (1983) by The Gap Band on the drums.
The song is performed in a more arrogant and charismatic way than previous tracks by Mars.
The lyrics have "well-placed references to Michelle Pfeiffer and
Trinidad James
Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper. In 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. The label d ...
", as the hook samples portions of James's "
All Gold Everything
"All Gold Everything" is the debut single by American rapper Trinidad James. It was released on December 20, 2012, as the first single from his debut mixtape ''Don't Be S.A.F.E.'' (2012). The single has sold over 1,000,000 copies and was certified ...
" (2012).
On the song, Mars shows not only "soul and swagger" in the
sing-rapping verses, "I'm too hot / Call the police and the fireman", but he also jokes around, "Got Chucks on / With Saint Laurent / Gotta kiss myself / I'm so pretty".
The lyrics make fun of "traditional masculine bravado" using "silly metaphors", "I’m too hot, hot damn / Make a dragon wanna retire man".
Reception
"Uptown Funk" received positive reviews from most
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Nick Murray of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' gave the song a rating of four out of five stars, praising the "George Kranz scatting and
Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...
guitar riff." He noted that Mars, Ronson and The Hooligans "channel the days when brags weren't humble and disco wasn't retro." ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' Brennan Carley noticed the resemblance between Mars's sing-rapping style and
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
's vocals. He praised the former's voice for keeping things "light and bubbly". Carley compared the bass line to something that
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
would use. He felt "Uptown Funk" would be all over the radio in a short time.
Danielle Janota writing for ''
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' praised the single calling it the "crown jewel" of the album.
Lucas Villa of AXS dubbed Ronson's latest approach to Funk "his freakiest, freshest and most fun release yet".
''Pop Matters'' Matt James called the track a "deftly daft, delirious and incessant, booty-shaking blast of brass 'n' bravado", finding it a standout on the album.
John Parker from ''
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
'' called the recording "inescapable, a bona fide modern day mega hit".
Neil McCormick from ''The Telegraph'' enjoyed the track because he "liked all the records it was built out of, by James Brown, Earth Wind & Fire and The Gap Band".
''
Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
'' Tom Breihan wrote, "It's the best American #1 we’ve had in more than a year, easily, and maybe much more". However, he noticed it copied the work of Morris Day & The Time and "takes these old sounds, but it presents them with energy and inventiveness and charm and balls".
Robbie Daw of Idolator called the single "a straight-up ass-kicker" and not a "half-hearted stab" at recreating the "70's groove". He also praised the song's lyrics like "Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold" and "gotta kiss myself, so pretty".
Jim Farber of the ''
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' said the recording "isn't even a song", adding "
's a vamp, a rush of 'hit me' rhythms of the style patented by James Brown". Farber added that the vocals have "zip", but they "lack soul, not to mention an ounce of individuality". He called "Uptown Funk" the only "lazy track" on the album.
The song made the cut on several lists of best songs. In June 2015, ''Spin'' compiled a list of The 63 Best Songs of 2015 So Far with "Uptown Funk" at number 51. Andrew Unterberger wrote, the song enters "the canon of "
September
September is the ninth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the fourth of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. September in the Northern H ...
", "
Celebration", and "
I Gotta Feeling
"I Gotta Feeling" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fifth studio album ''The E.N.D.'' (2009). It was written by the group members with the song's producers David Guetta and Frédéric Riesterer. The song was rel ...
", jams to be played at every wedding from now until the end of time". On the list of the 101 best songs of 2015 compiled by ''Spin'', Dan Weiss ranked the song at number 87 saying it emulates "Morris Day-esque funk ditty" and each one of us contributed to its success. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Uptown Funk" at number 25 on its 100 Greatest Songs of the Century – So Far in 2018. The magazine's writers described it as a "perfect Eighties funk-pop nostalgia bomb", praising the singer's "sparkling showmanship", and dubbing it "one of a kind".
''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''s annual year-end
Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
critics' poll selected it as the 23rd best song of 2014, tied with
Meghan Trainor
Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...
's "
All About That Bass
"All About That Bass" is the debut single of American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor, released on June 30, 2014, through Epic Records. The song was included on Trainor's debut extended play (EP) ''Title (EP), Title'' (2014) and her debut Title ( ...
". The same critics selected "Uptown Funk" as the eighth best track of 2015. NPR included it on their list of favorite songs Of 2015. Stephen Thompson wrote, "If you're going to hear a song on the radio 15,000 times in a single summer, it might as well be this one". On 26 January 2015, the song was voted number six on radio station
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
's
Hottest 100 of 2014. ''Billboard'' included it on "The 50 Best Song Interpolations of the 21st Century" as it uses "
All Gold Everything
"All Gold Everything" is the debut single by American rapper Trinidad James. It was released on December 20, 2012, as the first single from his debut mixtape ''Don't Be S.A.F.E.'' (2012). The single has sold over 1,000,000 copies and was certified ...
" (2012) by
Trinidad James
Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper. In 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. The label d ...
. Christine Werthman wrote that Mars "turned it into a jubilant call to shout from the rooftops and kick off a dance-funk break".
Accolades
"Uptown Funk" has received various awards and nominations following its commercial success. In 2015, the song won
British Single of the Year
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
at the
Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
, Best Pop at
MelOn Music Awards and was one of the Top 10 Gold International Gold Songs at RTHK International Pop Poll Awards. The track also won BMI Pop Song of the Year at the
BMI Awards, Song of the Year at
Telehit Awards
Telehit Awards (Spanish: ''Premios Telehit'') is a Mexican award that recognizes the greatest music events in Mexico, and broadcast by Telehit channel.
2008
List of winners:
*Most Important Latin Artist in the World: Shakira
*Best Mexican Perfor ...
and
Song of the Year at
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of ''Soul Train'', the pro ...
.
It also received Soul Train nominations for
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award and
Best Collaboration.
The single was nominated for
Single of the Year and
Collaboration of the Year at the
2015 American Music Awards, International Hit of the Year at the Danish GAFFA Awards and
Best International Song at the
Los Premios 40 Principales
LOS40 Music Awards, formerly known as ''Premios 40 Principales'', is an award show by the musical radio station LOS40. It was created in 2006 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the worldwide station.
History
LOS40 is the ...
. It was also nominated for
Best Collaboration and
Centric Award at the
BET Awards
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
,
Best Song and Best Collaboration at the
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...
and Dancefloor Filler at the
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of ...
.
In 2016, "Uptown Funk" received Grammy awards for
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
and
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this category ...
at the
58th Grammy Awards. It also won International Work of the Year at the
APRA Music Awards, Best Collaboration at the
iHeartRadio Music Awards
The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a music awards show that celebrates music heard throughout the year across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platform. Founded by iHeartRadio in 2014, the eve ...
, while it was nominated for Song of the Year. The song was also nominated for
Top Radio Song and
Top Streaming Song (Video) at the
Billboard Music Awards
The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by '' Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...
. "Uptown Funk " was inducted to the 2017 edition of the
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for achieving the most weeks at number one on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart. In 2017, the track was one of the winners of Most Performed Songs at the
ASCAP Pop Music Awards
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
. This record was later broken by "
Despacito
"Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album ''Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi, ...
" (2017). "Uptown Funk" is the fifth biggest song of all-time to have charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Controversies and lawsuits
"Uptown Funk" was the subject of several lawsuits over copyright infringement. In 2015, similarities with "
Oops Up Side Your Head
"I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)" (re-titled "Oops Up Side Your Head" on the single as well as being known by other titles such as "Oops Upside Your Head") is a 1979 song recorded by the R&B group the Gap Band. Released off the ...
" (1979) by
The Gap Band
The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, an ...
led them, along with keyboardist Rudolph Taylor, and producer
Lonnie Simmons
Lonnie Simmons (December 12, 1944 - February 6, 2019) was an American record producer from Los Angeles, California. He was founder and president of the now-defunct Total Experience Records. As a composer, he co-wrote several #1 R&B songs for his ...
to be added as co-writers of "Uptown Funk" receiving 17% of the publishing royalties.
In the same year, Serbian artist
Viktorija argued that "Uptown Funk" infringed on her track "Ulice mračne nisu za devojke". She decided not to sue Mars and Ronson. In 2016, electro-funk band
Collage
Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...
sued Ronson and Mars for copying their single, "Young Girls" (1983), while
The Sequence
The Sequence was an American female hip–hop trio from Columbia, South Carolina, who formed in 1979. The Sequence is noted as the first female hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill Records label in the late–1970s and early–1980s. The group ...
, a rap group, claimed it infringed their single "
Funk You Up
"Funk You Up" is a 1979 old school hip hop song recorded by the Sequence for Sugar Hill Records. It is significant as the first hip-hop song to be released by a female rap group (and by a rap group from the Southern United States, as all three mem ...
" (1979) and sued a year later. In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment filed a lawsuit citing similarities with "
More Bounce to the Ounce
"More Bounce to the Ounce" is the debut single by American funk band Zapp. It is the opening track on their eponymous debut album and serves as the album's first single. The song was written, arranged, composed and produced by Roger Troutman; ...
" (1980) by
Zapp. In 2018, the Collage and Zapp lawsuit were dropped, with no word if there was a financial settlement. The track drew comparisons with the theme song of ''
The Really Wild Show
''The Really Wild Show'' is a long-running British television show about wildlife, broadcast by the BBC as part of their CBBC service to children. It also runs on Animal Planet in the US.
The show was broadcast each year from 21 January 1986. In ...
'', a BBC children's nature program. When Ronson was asked if he heard similarities between "Uptown Funk" and the theme he said "Oh, then the horns, I understand what they're saying, yeah, we owe a little bit ... all equally influenced by
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
". In 2021, Ronnie and Robert Wilson of The Gap Band filed another lawsuit due to the similarities between "Uptown Funk" and "Oops Up Side Your Head" as Ronnie Wilson and Robert Wilson's heirs "have yet to received any publishing rights income".
Commercial performance
United States
The single debuted at number 65 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on 21 November 2014 due to digital sales, making it Ronson's first entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Due to the release of the official video and a performance on ''Saturday Night Live'', it subsequently sold 110,000 digital copies. The song became the ''Billboard'' Hot 100's top Digital Gainer of the week and peaked at number 18 on 28 November 2014. In its third week, the track rose to number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, after the video's first full tracking week. It became Ronson's first top 10 as an artist. It debuted on the component charts of
Streaming Songs
The Streaming Songs chart is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists each week's top streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services in the United States. The chart represents one of the three component ...
and
Radio Songs at number 26 and 46, respectively. On the week of 10 December 2014, "Uptown Funk" ascended to number five, with sales of 152,000 copies. It marked the eleventh top five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for Mars. In its fourth week, the single peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 170,000 copies and achieving a 49 million airplay audience, thus receiving Airplay Gainer honors. The following week after ''The Voice'' performance, the recording stayed at number three for the second consecutive week. It was the biggest gainer in Digital Songs (244,000), Streaming (7.9 million), Airplay Audience (63 million), becoming the fifth song to top all three "categories". Ronson became the second lead male artist to top Digital Songs with a debut single, since
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
's "
Stay with Me" (2014). On 31 December 2014, the track rose to number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with 432,000 copies sold, 8.8 million streams and reached the top ten on
Radio Songs with a 68 million audience. In its seventh week, "Uptown Funk" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with 382,000 downloads sold, 10 million U.S. streams and a 76 million airplay audience. The song is Ronson's only number-one single in the country and Mars's sixth. It became one of the longest running number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the third longest-running number-one single of the 2010s decade topping the chart for 14 consecutive weeks until it was replaced by
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...
's "
See You Again
"See You Again" is a song by American rapper and singer Wiz Khalifa featuring fellow American singer Charlie Puth. It was commissioned for the soundtrack of the 2015 film ''Furious 7'' as a tribute to actor Paul Walker, who died in a single-ve ...
" featuring
Charlie Puth
Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth initially signed with the record label eleveneleven after pe ...
.
It topped not only the ''Billboard'' Hot 100-year-end chart, but also the Decade End ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
In its thirteenth week at number one, "Uptown Funk" became the first song to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and its three main component charts for nine non-consecutive weeks. The recording spent 31 weeks in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and 21 weeks on the top three of the aforementioned chart, a record previously held by
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
Boats
* Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
featuring
Rob Thomas's "
Smooth
Smooth may refer to:
Mathematics
* Smooth function, a function that is infinitely differentiable; used in calculus and topology
* Smooth manifold, a differentiable manifold for which all the transition maps are smooth functions
* Smooth algebraic ...
" (1999), with 19 weeks. After spending 25 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100's top five, it matched the record set by
LeAnn Rimes
Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...
' "
How Do I Live
"How Do I Live" is a song written by Diane Warren. It was performed by American singer, songwriter and actress LeAnn Rimes and the extended version of the song was later featured on her second studio album, '' You Light Up My Life: Inspiratio ...
" (1997). This record was broken by
The Chainsmokers
The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...
"
Closer" (2016) featuring
Halsey which spent 26 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100's top five. "Uptown Funk" sold at least 300,000 copies for eight consecutive weeks. Only "
Blurred Lines
"Blurred Lines" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke featuring American rappers T.I. and Pharrell Williams from the former's sixth studio album of the same name (2013). Solely produced by Williams, it was released as the album's lead si ...
" (2013) by
Robin Thicke
Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...
featuring
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
and
T.I. surpassed it by selling the same number ten weeks in a row.
"Uptown Funk" tied the record for most weeks spent at the top of the Digital Song Sales chart (13 weeks) with
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 ...
's "
Low
Low or LOW or lows, may refer to:
People
* Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low
Places
* Low, Quebec, Canada
* Low, Utah, United States
* Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station
* Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...
" (2007) featuring
T-Pain. This record was broken two years after by
Luis Fonsi
Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being "Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee.
Fonsi received his first ...
and
Daddy Yankee
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...
's "
Despacito
"Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album ''Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi, ...
" featuring
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
, with 17 weeks. The recording reached its highest peak on Streaming Songs with 24.5 million streams and 5.7 million on subscription-services in one week. "Uptown Funk" spent 12 weeks on the top position of
Streaming Songs
The Streaming Songs chart is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists each week's top streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services in the United States. The chart represents one of the three component ...
, it was the second best run at the time, only surpassed by the thirteen weeks of
Iggy Azalea
Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea (), is an Australian rapper. At the age of 16, Azalea moved from Australia to the United States in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognitio ...
featuring
Charli XCX
Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...
's "
Fancy
Fancy may refer to:
Places
* Fancy, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a settlement
* Fancy River, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Music Albums
* ''Fancy'' (Bobbie Gentry album), 1970
* ''Fancy'' (Idiot Flesh album), 1997
* ''Fancy'' (video ...
" (2014). It spent 12 weeks at number one on the Radio Songs chart, reaching a peak of 181 million in all-format audience.
It was Ronson's first single to reach number one in the radio songs charts and the sixth for Mars. "Uptown Funk" topped several component charts in the United States, such as
Adult Pop Songs
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen B ...
,
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 ...
,
Dance/Mix Show Airplay
Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine.
History
The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...
,
Pop Songs
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...
and
Rhythmic Songs
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine.
The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...
.
It topped the year-end chart Mainstream Top 40. In the United States, the single sold 7.8 million downloads as of 28 September 2017. It was certified eleven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) on 18 October 2016, for track-equivalent sales of 11 million units.
International
On 29 November 2014, "Uptown Funk" debuted at number 63 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 following week it reached the top ten, in the third week entered the top five peaking at number two in the fourth week. On the issue date of 10 January 2015, the song reached number one, a position it held for fifteen consecutive weeks. It became the second longest-running number-one single 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 ...
, behind 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 ...
' "I Gotta Feeling
"I Gotta Feeling" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fifth studio album ''The E.N.D.'' (2009). It was written by the group members with the song's producers David Guetta and Frédéric Riesterer. The song was rel ...
" (2009), which spent sixteen weeks at number one. On the issue date of 25 April 2015, the song was replaced by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You Again" (2015). It was certified diamond by Music Canada
Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...
(MC) for track-equivalent sales of 800,000 units. It finished at number one on the Canada Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, "Uptown Funk" was covered by Fleur East
Fleur East (born 29 October 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and radio presenter on Hits Radio. She competed on the second series of the televised singing competition ''The X Factor'' in 2005 as a member of the girl group Addicti ...
on ''The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' before its official release date, the cover reached number one on iTunes. This led the original version being released five weeks earlier than originally planned. Nevertheless, it debuted at number one 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 ...
on 14 December 2014, giving Ronson his first UK number one as a producer and artist and also giving Mars his fifth UK number one. The following week, the song was replaced in the top spot by the ''X Factor'' winner Ben Haenow
Benjamin Bernard Haenow (born 6 January 1985) is a British singer-songwriter and former van driver. In 2014, he was crowned as the winner of the eleventh series of ''The X Factor'' UK after beating Fleur East. Following his win, his debut singl ...
's single, "Something I Need
"Something I Need" is a song recorded by American pop rock band OneRepublic. It was released on August 25, 2013, through Mosley Music and Interscope Records as the third single from their third studio album, ''Native'' (2013). The song was wri ...
" (2014), making it the Christmas number one
In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...
. It then returned to number one for a further six consecutive weeks spending seven non-consecutive weeks at number one in total, before finally being knocked off from the top on 8 February 2015 by Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...
's " Love Me Like You Do" (2015). The track was certified six times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
(BPI), for track-equivalent sales of 3,600,000 units. "Uptown Funk" was the best-selling song of 2015 in the UK, with combined sales of 1.76 million during the year (total 2.25 million). As of September 2017, the song had 2,723,470 combining units, making the list of best-selling singles of the 21st century in the United Kingdom as the fourth best-selling single based on paid-for sales and the second best-selling song based on combined sales. It made the year-end charts in 2014 and 2015, topping the latter. "Uptown Funk" debuted at number two on 12 December 2014, and the following week peaked at the top of the Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
, taking the Christmas number one
In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...
spot. It became the first song not released by ''The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' winner to reach this position in nine years. It spent seven weeks at number one on the Irish Charts, before being knocked off the top by Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" (2015).
It reached the top spot on France's Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...
(SNEP) its sixth week, 27 December 2014, spending 11 weeks in the number one position. It charted for a total of 117 weeks, never leaving it from 2014 to 2017. It was certified diamond by the SNEP for sales of 250,000 copies. "Uptown Funk" reached number one on both Belgium charts, Ultratop 50
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...
Wallonia and Flanders, spending six and three weeks on the top of the respective charts. The song was certified three times platinum by the Belgian Entertainment Association
The Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) is the organization that represents the interests of the music, video and video game industries in Belgium. It was founded in February 2008, when three organizations merged, namely IFPI Belgium, the loc ...
(BEA), for sales of 90,000 copies. In Italy, the song was certified five times platinum, for track-equivalent sales of 250,000 units, despite only peaking at number three on the FIMI Singles Chart. The single debuted at number 11 in Australia on 30 November 2014, jumping to number two the following week. In its third week, it topped the charts, where it stayed for a total of six weeks. It is the best-selling single in Australia of all time and has been certified 22 times platinum for track-equivalent sales of 1,540,000. The single made the Australian year-end charts in 2014, 2015 and 2016, peaking at number one in 2015. In New Zealand, the song debuted in the top ten on 1 December 2014, at number seven. In its fourth week on the chart, it peaked at number one, staying there for nine consecutive weeks. The track not only topped the year-end chart, but it was certified five times platinum by Recorded Music NZ
Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...
(RMNZ) for 75,000 copies sold. "Uptown Funk" set a record, achieved by four other songs, as it topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the Official UK Singles chart for at least seven weeks each. The song is reported to earn $100,000 for the label and composers per week streaming on Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
alone. It had sold over twenty million equivalent units as of 2015.
Impact
The success of "Uptown Funk" made it a worldwide phenomenon with a major impact on pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
. At one point, the song broke its own streaming record three times in the United Kingdom, with 2.34, 2.49 and 2.56 million streams. It also broke the record for most streamed track in the United States and worldwide in one week, with 4.8 and 15 million streams, respectively. Tom Breihan writing for ''Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
'' felt the recording had "transcend dhit status" and become "omnipresent". It is "some sort of cultural event", that will be heard at weddings in the next couple of years. Danielle Janota of ''Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' believed the single had a cultural impact. It is "more than infectious: It’s instinctual", as everyone "stampedes furiously to the closest dance floor the second it comes on". Matt James of ''PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' said the recording "incite mass euphoric dancing wherever it is unleashed". It also demonstrates its "global domination", seeming to be "the only song on planet earth right now".
In an interview with ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'', Mark Ronson said the recording was being played in Morocco, Puerto Rico and Nigeria, countries his music had never reached before. He also confessed the track led to people starting to recognise him. ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' Jed Gottlieb explained the reason "Uptown Funk" is an immortal track is because "the song is an increasingly rare phenomenon", since dancing allows us to connect "divergent demographics". " e song creates an ephemeral flash where disparate groups get along because they’ve been spiked with the same euphoria". He believed "for the next quarter-century, it will persist as a choice wedding spin." ''NME'' Barry Nicolson dubbed the single "an insta-phenomenon". Jeremy Allen of BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
said that "the biggest hits of the past few years", such as Ronson's "Uptown Funk" and Daft Punk
Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
's " Get Lucky" (2013) drew inspiration from the 80s funk/soul works by Prince, Michael Jackson, Nile Rodgers and others, leading the "80s to dominates modern culture". Nevertheless, when Angus Harrison of ''Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
'' asked musicologist Dr. John Burgoyne if it would be remembered in twenty years he explained that despite "the melody being sung, the hook is not" and he is unsure if it will be remembered as "the hook is that trumpet drop, whereas the words "Uptown Funk" just sort of disappear."
In November 2019, ''Consequence of Sound'' compiled a list of the "Top 100 Songs of the 2010s" with "Uptown Funk" at number 77. Ali Szubiak wrote, the song became "so embedded in our cultural core that it proved inescapable". Szubiak added, "not since "Uptown Funk" has the world felt so united." A month later, ''Rolling Stone'' also compiled a list of the "Top 100 Songs of the 2010s" with "Uptown Funk" at number 66. Jon Dolan affirmed the song "kick-starting a 2010s funk revival that Mars himself and Lizzo would blow wide open". The staff from ''NME'' dubbed "Uptown Funk" as one of The 100 Best Songs of the 2010s, ranking at number 56, Rhian Daly classified it as "a gigantic, joy-giving earworm". On the same month, Jay Cridlin writing for ''Tampa Bay Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...
'' compiled a list of the 50 "The best pop songs of the 2010s", placing "Uptown Funk" at the top of it. Cridlin felt the track "it is timeless, and somehow, it still sounds fresh." Nerisha Penrose from ''Elle
''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
'' dubbed the track as one of the 52 Best Songs That Defined the 2010s, ranking at number 25, saying it "had the whole world smiling and dancing for weeks." ''Stereogum'' complied a list of The 200 Best Songs Of The 2010s, ranking "Uptown Funk" at number 19, Margaret Farrell affirmed the record "was a monstrously successful, inescapable single, the soundtrack for 2014 and well into 2015." According to ''Billboard'', the single was one of the "Songs That Defined the Decade". Taylor Weatherby described it as "Four and a half minutes of pure fun, with hooks galore and memorable lines like "This hit, that ice cold/ Michelle Pfeiffer that white gold"." In 2021, ''Rolling Stone'' placed "Uptown Funk" at number 417 on their "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Music video
Development and synopsis
The song's official music video was filmed at 20th Century Fox Studios' "New York Street" backlot in Los Angeles. Mars and his frequent collaborator Cameron Duddy
Cameron Duddy (born December 6, 1985) is an American music video director and musician. As a director, he is known for his work with Bruno Mars, OneRepublic, and Fifth Harmony. He is also the bass guitarist in the country music band Midland.
Ca ...
directed the video released on 17 November 2014. In it Ronson and Mars are wearing clothing from the late 1970s and 1980s. Mars wears a "salmon-colored blazer
A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons ...
" and both put on sun glasses. Throughout most of the "retro" video, Ronson, Mars and The Hooligans are singing, walking and dancing in the middle of the streets. Ronson is seen mostly lingering in the background, while Mars takes the spotlight. At one point, during the video, Ronson and Mars get their hair put in perm curlers at a hair salon and their shoes shined. As Mars sings "Fill my cup, put some liquor in it", one of his bandmates does so. The singer also yells at his chauffeur to get the limousine as he, Ronson and the band "jive" next to it. Towards the end of the video, Ronson, Mars, The Hooligans and Jeff Bhasker perform the song in a closed set to several people.
Reception
Joe Lynch of ''Billboard'' praised the video, finding it to be as "ebullient" as the song, calling Ronson and Mars "impossibly cool". ''Rap-Up'' praised the dance moves performed by Mars and The Hooligans. Tom Breihan of ''Stereogum'' said, "I had no idea ars
Ars or ARS may refer to:
Places
* Ars, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* ''Ars'', various communes in France:
** Ars, Charente, in the Charente ''département''
** Ars, Creuse, in the Creuse ''département''
** Ars-en-Ré, in ...
had "ersatz Morris Day
Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.
Music career
Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...
" in his arsenal." Ryan Reed from ''Rolling Stone'' called the video "goofy". The clip made the cut on several lists of best music videos of the year. Lyndsey Parker
Lyndsey Parker is an American entertainment journalist and author. The managing editor of ''Yahoo! Music'', she focuses on music and pop culture. She is the author of ''Reality Rocks,'' a column that covers television shows such as ''The Voice'' ...
, also writing in ''Rolling Stone'' felt Ronson and Mars complement Morris Day and The Time
The Time, also known as Morris Day and the Time and The Original 7ven, is an American musical group founded in Minneapolis in 1981. Their work has been a part of the formation of the Minneapolis sound, featuring a mix of soul music and dance mu ...
's "funky-fresh-to-death tradition well", ranking it number six on the list of 20 videos. On its list of the 20 Best Music Videos of 2014 compiled by ''Paste'', Dacey Orr ranked the video at number 11 saying it "has all of the fun and embellishment and color and choreography to be a real classic". On the ''Stereogum'' 40 Best Music Videos of 2014, Breihan placed it at number 25. He wrote, "imagine a world in which circa-1986 Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film ''Caged Heat'', before ...
had directed a movie about Morris Day & The Time". Harriet Gibsone writing for ''The Guardian'' found the video has "super-slick, Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Q ...
-like group choreography, glossy production and retro styling". On the ''Stereogum'' 20 Best Music Videos of 2010s, Breihan placed the music video at number four.
The video received multiple awards and nominations. In 2015, it was nominated for British Video of the Year
The Brit Award for British Video of the Year was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annua ...
at the BRIT Awards. At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015. The 32nd installment of the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Miley Cyrus. Taylor Swift led the nominations with a total of ten, followe ...
, it received nominations for Video of the Year, Best Pop Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop was first given out in under the name of Best Pop Video, as MTV began to put several teen pop acts in heavy rotation. Nominations, however, were not just limited to pop acts, as dance, R&B, pop/rock, and reg ...
, Best Collaboration and Best Direction and an award for Best Male Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...
. In the same year, the UK Music Video Awards
The UK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music video and moving image for music. The awards began in 2008. There is a wide range of opportunities for UK individuals and companies to ...
awarded it Best Pop Video-UK and it was nominated for Best Male Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...
at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards Japan. It received an award for Video of the Year and a nomination for Best Dance Performance at the 2015 Soul Train Music Awards
The 2015 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Centric and BET on November 29, 2015. Jill Scott was honored with Soul Train Awards' first ever Lady of Soul Award. The ceremony, hosted by Erykah Badu, honore ...
. The video has over 4.7 billion views on 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 ...
as of October 2022, making it the eighth most viewed YouTube video of all time.
Live performances
"Uptown Funk" was first performed live by Ronson and Mars on ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' on 22 November 2014. Mars wore shades and a salmon-coloured blazer. Their performance was well received by critics. Colin Joyce of ''Spin'' magazine praised Ronson's "electric guitar performance" describing it as something "that Prince ... could have been proud of". Joyce also commended the effortless singing and rapping skills of Mars. The ''Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'' Hillary Hugues praised the vocals by Mars, dance moves and the "taut line between cheeky confidence and charm" that he was able to walk. Iyana Robertson of ''Vibe'' complimented the "groove" of the song, as well as, the reenactment of "the retro swag" music video. The track was also performed live during the North American version of ''The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
'' final on 16 December 2014. During the show, Mars and his band, The Hooligans, performed a rehearsed choreography, while the singer wore gold rollers in his hair. Critics found the use of rollers by Mars in his hair hilarious.
Ronson and Mars performed "Uptown Funk" live on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
'' on 13 January 2015. The performance began with Ronson demonstrating some of his DJ skills by scratching and doing hypeman work. Then Mars, dressed in a red blazer, snap back and black shades, and some of his band-mates, led the "audience through some choreography", before making their way to the stage, where Ellen also showed "her little two-step". Chris DeVille from ''Stereogum'' characterised the performance as a "blast", while ''NME'' Nadia Khomami dubbed it "energetic". In the same vein, Shenequa Golding from ''Vibe'', called the show "dope". In 2016, this performance earned them a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
at the 43rd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
After Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
were announced as the lead performers for the Super Bowl 50 halftime show
The Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show took place on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California as part of Super Bowl 50. It was headlined by the British rock group Coldplay with special guest performers Beyoncé and Bruno Mars, who p ...
, Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...
asked Mars to join them, but he declined. Martin explained he wanted Mars to perform "Uptown Funk" with Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
. Mars still did not think it was a good idea, but Beyoncé was receptive to the idea. On 7 February 2016, the trio took the stage during the halftime show. Mark Ronson appeared handling DJ duties, while Mars and his dancers performed "Uptown Funk", wearing an all-black Versace outfit with gold chains. During the show, Beyoncé, in a Michael Jackson-inspired outfit appeared with a set of backing dancers dressed as Black Panthers. She performed her single "Formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
" (2016) in choreography before being challenged by Mars to a dance-off, while singing the track. At this point, Martin joined Beyoncé and Mars singing the song. Jon Caramanica of ''The New York Times'' explained that Beyoncé and Mars brought "soul and funk" to the show, while ''The Guardian''s Alex Needham and Caroline Framke of '' Vox'' praised Beyonce´s performance and criticised Mars and Coldplay's performance. During The Late Late Show with James Corden
James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey''. In the Un ...
on 13 December 2016, Mars included "Uptown Funk" on the popular segment Carpool Karaoke
Carpool Karaoke is a recurring segment on ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'', in which host James Corden invites famous musical guests to sing along to their songs with him whilst traveling in a car driven by Corden on a planned route usual ...
. Mars performed the song as the closing act at the Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...
alongside the majority of the ''24K Magic'' (2016) album for his CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
prime time special titled '' Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo'', which aired on November 29, 2017. On the 24K Magic World Tour
The 24K Magic World Tour was the fourth concert tour of American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars that was performed in support of his third studio album '' 24K Magic'' (2016) from March 2017 to December 2018. Anderson .Paak was the opening act f ...
(2017–18), Mars performed "Uptown Funk" as the last track of the setlist, sung as an encore.
Use in other media and covers
The song was also featured in commercials for L'Oreal's Garnier
Garnier () is a mass market cosmetics brand of French cosmetics company L'Oréal. It produces hair care and skin care products.
Launch
''Laboratoires Garnier'' was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier. The company's first produc ...
line, Skippy peanut butter
Skippy is an American brand of peanut butter spread manufactured in the United States and China. First sold in 1932, Skippy is currently manufactured by Hormel, Hormel Foods, which bought the brand from Unilever in 2013. It is the best selling bra ...
and the Cadillac XT4
The Cadillac XT4 is a subcompact luxury crossover SUV manufactured by General Motors since 2018 under the luxury Cadillac marque.
Overview
The XT4 (short for "Crossover Touring 4") is Cadillac's second crossover SUV, slotting below the mid-size ...
. It is also featured in the films ''Zootopia
''Zootopia'' (titled ''Zootropolis'' in various regions) is a 2016 American computer-animated buddy cop action comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 55th Disney animated feature film, ...
'' (2016), ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2
is a 1992 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute (STI) for the Sega Genesis. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic as he attempts to stop Doctor Eggman from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space stationnamed T ...
'' (2022) and on the episode " Child Star" of the sixth season of Glee.
The song has been parodied several times. Scot Pankey, a teacher at A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School
New Tech High School at B. F. Darrell, formerly A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School, is a four-year public high school serving grades 9- 12 in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas ( USA). It is part of the Dallas Independent School District. It is ...
in Dallas, gave his students a video project using the track. His students came up with an idea and once Pankey heard it, he wanted to join them. After seeing the video, Mars admitted he cried. Mikey Bolts, who is known for his impressions and parodies, recreated the "Uptown Funk" singing in the voices of ''Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'' characters. The voices of Peter Griffin
Peter Löwenbräu Griffin, born Justin Peter Griffin, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, alon ...
and Stewie Griffin
Stewart "Stewie" Gilligan Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy''. He was born in 1998 and is voiced by the series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Gr ...
are the most prominent on the track. In September 2015, YouTube channel What's The Mashup? used 100 dance scenes from various films synchronizing them to the rhythm of "Uptown Funk". Later, the single was mashed up with dance moves of different actors, such as Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
, Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
and Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
in films from the Golden Age of Hollywood
Golden means made of, or relating to gold.
Golden may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall
*Golden Cap, Dorset
*Golden Square, Soho, London
*Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...
. The speed of the scenes was unchanged. The YouTube channel known as Baracksdubs created the illusion of President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
singing "Uptown Funk", using snippets of his speeches.
Ronson recorded a new version of the song with six unknown musicians for YouTube at the Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
. Initially, the group thought they were covering the track for a documentary about Ronson. On 12 February 2015, Ronson premiered the first official remix of "Uptown Funk", a radio-exclusive, during his interview on Hot 97
WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...
. It includes a new intro verse by rapper Action Bronson
Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper, songwriter, chef, wrestler, exotic olive oil taster, and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, New York, he embarked on his musical ...
; the final version includes a verse by rapper Bodega Bamz. The song has been used by Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
club Paris Saint Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
to celebrate home goals.
Track listing
*Digital download
#"Uptown Funk" – 4:30
*CD single
#"Uptown Funk" – 4:30
#"Feel Right" – 3:42
*12" vinyl
:A. "Uptown Funk" – 4:30
:B. "Uptown Funk" (BB Disco Dub Mix) (Benji B
Benjamin Benstead, known professionally as Benji B, is a British DJ, radio presenter, and record producer. A longtime BBC Radio producer and presenter, he has presented a weekly show on BBC Radio 1 since 2010 that highlights an eclectic mix of h ...
Remix) – 6:19
*Remixes – EP
#"Uptown Funk" – 4:30
#"Uptown Funk" (Dave Audé
Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American Disc jockey, DJ, Record producer, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club S ...
Remix) – 3:57
#"Uptown Funk" (Wideboys
The Wideboys are an English electronic music duo known for club remixes and for their own song "Sambuca", featuring Dennis G on vocals, which reached number 15 in the UK in October 2001. Another top 40 single, "Daddy-O" featuring Shaznay Lewis, ...
VIP Remix) – 3:16
#"Uptown Funk" (Will Sparks
William James "Will" Sparks (born 15 March 1993) is an Australian producer and DJ from Melbourne, Australia, who is best known for his 2013 single " Bring It Back" with Joel Fletcher and his 2014 single " Ah Yeah So What!" featuring Wiley and E ...
Remix) – 4:37
*Trinidad James Remix
#"Uptown Funk" (Trinidad James
Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper. In 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. The label d ...
Remix) – 4:22
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Uptown Special'' and ''Billboard''.
* Mark Ronson – songwriting
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
, 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 ...
, guitars, linn drum
The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold.
Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far mo ...
, programming, engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
* Jeff Bhasker
Jeff Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He was awarded the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and nominated in 2013.
An accomplished producer, he ...
– songwriting, production, keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
, talkbox
A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the so ...
* Bruno Mars – lead vocals, songwriting, production, drums
* Philip Lawrence – songwriting
* Nicholas Williams Nicholas, Neco, Nico or Nick Williams may refer to:
Sportsmen
*Nick Williams (fullback) (born 1977), American NFL football player, a/k/a Nick Luchey
*Nick Williams (rugby union) (born 1983), New Zealand rugby league and rugby union player
*Nick Wil ...
– songwriting
* Devon Gallaspy – songwriting
* Charlie Wilson – songwriting
* Robert Wilson – songwriting
* Ronnie Wilson – songwriting
* Rudolph Taylor – songwriting
* Lonnie Simmons
Lonnie Simmons (December 12, 1944 - February 6, 2019) was an American record producer from Los Angeles, California. He was founder and president of the now-defunct Total Experience Records. As a composer, he co-wrote several #1 R&B songs for his ...
– songwriting
* Jamareo Artis
Jamareo "Jam" Artis is an American bass guitarist. He is known for his work as bass guitarist for pop star Bruno Mars and for winning Sean Combs, P. Diddy's MTV Making His Band in 2009.
In 2014, Jamareo recorded with Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars on ...
– bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
* Phredley Brown – additional keyboards
* David Guy – trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
* Michael Leonhart
Michael Leonhart (born April 21, 1974) is an American jazz trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist.
Solo career
In 1992 Leonhart was honored with the first Grammy Award for outstanding high school musician in the US (he attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia ...
– trumpet
* Jimmy King – trumpet
* Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
* Dwayne Dagger – tenor saxophone
* Ian Hendrickson-Smith
Ian Hendrickson-Smith is an American jazz saxophonist. He is best known for being a former member of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings from 2004 to 2010 and playing with The Roots on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon''.
Early life
Hendrickson-S ...
– baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
* Ray Mason – trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
* Kameron Whalum – trombone
* Boo Mitchell – engineer
* Charles Moniz
Charles Moniz is a Canadian recording engineer who worked on Bruno Mars's studio albums ''Unorthodox Jukebox'' and ''24K Magic (album), 24k Magic''. Alternatively, he recorded "All I Ask (Adele song), All I Ask" for Adele's 2015 studio album ''25 ( ...
– engineer
* Wayne Gordon – engineer
* Josh Blair – engineer
* Inaam Haq – engineer
* Ken Lewis – additional engineering
* Devin Nakao – additional engineering
* Matthew Stevens – additional engineering
* Riccardo Damian – engineer
* Serban Ghenea
Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer.
Early life and education
Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...
– mixing
* John Hanes – mix engineering
* Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to:
* Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor
* Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter
* Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer
* Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...
– mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
* List of best-selling singles in Australia
This is a list of highest-certified singles in Australia according to the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Since 1983, ARIA certifies a single Platinum for shipment of 70,000 copies across Australia. Single figures can include "qu ...
* List of best-selling singles in the United Kingdom
For the purposes of calculating sales, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than ...
* List of best-selling singles in the United States
This is a list of best-selling singles in the United States, some of which have been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In music, a single is a song considered commercially viable enough by the artist and record co ...
* List of number-one singles of 2014 (Australia)
The ARIA Singles Chart ranks the best-performing singles in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales. In 2014, fourteen singles ...
* List of number-one singles of 2015 (Australia)
The ARIA Singles Chart ranks the best-performing singles in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales. In 2015, nineteen singles cla ...
* List of number-one digital tracks of 2015 (Australia)
The ARIA Digital Track Chart is a chart that ranks the best-performing digital tracks single (music), singles of Australia. It is published by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an organisation who collect music data for the week ...
* List of number-one streaming tracks of 2015 (Australia)
The ARIA Streaming Chart ranks the best-performing streaming tracks of Australia. It is published by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an organisation who collects music data for the weekly ARIA Charts.
Chart history
Numb ...
* List of number-one urban singles of 2014 (Australia)
The ARIA Urban Chart is a chart that ranks the best-performing Urban tracks singles of Australia. It is published by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an organisation who collect music data for the weekly ARIA Charts. To be eli ...
* List of number-one urban singles of 2015 (Australia)
The ARIA Urban Chart is a chart that ranks the best-performing Urban tracks singles of Australia. It is published by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an organisation who collect music data for the weekly ARIA Charts. To be ...
* List of Ultratop 50 Flanders number-one singles of 2015
* List of Ultratop 50 Wallonia number-one singles of 2015
* List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2015
This is a list of the Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2015. The Canadian Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of Canada. Its data, published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and compiled by Nielsen Sou ...
* List of number-one digital songs of 2015 (Canada)
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
* List of number-one hits of 2014 (France)
* List of number-one hits of 2015 (France)
* Lists of number-one singles of the 2010s (Hungary)
* List of number-one singles of 2015 (Ireland)
The Irish Singles Chart ranks the best-performing singles in Ireland, as compiled by Chart-Track on behalf of the Irish Recorded Music Association.
Number-one artists
See also
* List of number-one albums of 2015 (Ireland)
References
{ ...
* List of number-one songs of 2015 (Mexico)
This is a list of the number-one songs of 2015 in Mexico. The airplay chart rankings are published by Monitor Latino, based on airplay across radio stations in Mexico using the Radio Tracking Data, LLC in real time. Charts are ranked from Monday t ...
* List of Mexico Airplay number-one singles from the 2010s
* List of Mexico Ingles Airplay singles of the 2010s
* Lists of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand)
* List of Romandie Charts number-one singles of 2015
* List of Scottish number-one singles of 2015
* List of number-one international songs of 2015 (South Korea)
The international Gaon Digital Chart is a chart that ranks the best-performing international songs in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, ...
* List of number-one singles of 2015 (South Africa)
* List of number-one singles of 2015 (Spain)
This lists the singles that reached number one on the Spanish Promusicae sales and airplay charts in 2015. Total sales correspond to the data sent by regular contributors to sales volumes and by digital distributors. Beginning in January 2015, the ...
* List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2010s
The UK Singles Chart is a weekly record chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. As of 10 July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday with the chart-date given as the following Thu ...
* List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2015
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Its data, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine, is based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digi ...
* Lists of Adult Top 40 number-one songs of the 2010s
* List of ''Billboard'' Dance/Mix Show Airplay number-one singles of 2015
* List of Hot 100 Airplay number-one singles of the 2010s
This is a list of songs which received the most airplay per week on radio stations in the United States as ranked and published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine on the Radio Songs (chart), Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 10 ...
* List of number-one dance singles of 2015 (U.S.)
This is a list of the United States ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs number-one hits of 2015.
References
{{US Dance Chart
United States Dance
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembranc ...
* List of number-one digital songs of 2015 (U.S.)
*
* List of Billboard Rhythmic number-one songs of the 2010s
The Rhythmic chart (concurrently referred to as Rhythmic Songs since June 2009) debuted in ''Billboard'' Magazine in the issue dated October 3, 1992, as the Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart. Weekly rankings are "compiled from a national sample of air ...
* List of most liked YouTube videos
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
* List of most streamed songs on Spotify
The following list contains the top 100 songs with the most streams on the audio streaming platform Spotify. As of , only two songs have reached 3 billion streams - Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" and The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights", and a total o ...
* List of most streamed songs in the United Kingdom
In June 2014, the Official Charts Company (OCC) started including streaming media, audio streams in the official UK Singles Chart, recognising their importance as an indicator of current popular trends and tastes in music. From this point onward, ...
* List of most-viewed YouTube videos
YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. Although the most-viewed videos were initially viral videos, such as "Evolution of Dance" and "Charlie Bit My Finger", the most-viewed videos were increasin ...
* List of best-selling singles
This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, news ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2014 songs
2014 singles
Mark Ronson songs
Bruno Mars songs
APRA Award winners
British disco songs
British soul songs
British funk songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Brit Award for British Single
Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in Hungary
Number-one singles in Israel
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Number-one singles in Scotland
Songs involved in plagiarism controversies
Songs written by Jeff Bhasker
Songs written by Philip Lawrence (songwriter)
Songs written by Bruno Mars
Songs written by Mark Ronson
Sony Music singles
Sony Music UK singles
Columbia Records singles
RCA Records singles
South African Airplay Chart number-one singles
Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Songs written by Lonnie Simmons
Music videos directed by Cameron Duddy
Internet memes
Internet memes introduced in 2014