"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" () is the debut single by Spanish pop group

Las Ketchup Las Ketchup is a Spanish girl group founded by flamenco record producer Manuel "Queco" Ruiz. The group, which consists of sisters Lucía, Lola, and Pilar Muñoz (later to be joined by a fourth sister Rocío), is best known for the 2002 hit singl ...

, taken from their debut studio album '' Hijas del Tomate'' (2002). The song is about a young man who enters a nightclub while singing and dancing. In addition to the original Spanish version, the song exists in a form with

Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...

verses, although the

nonsensical Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have ...

chorus is identical in both versions. "The Ketchup Song" was released on 10 June 2002 and became an international hit the same year. It reached number one in at least 20 European countries and became the best-selling hit of 2002 in eight of them. It also topped the music charts of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand but stalled at number 54 in the United States. As of 2006, the song had sold over 7 million copies worldwide. The song's dance routine was a popular

novelty dance Novelty and fad dances are dances which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them, like the Twist, Y.M.C.A. and the Hokey Pokey, have shown much longer-lasting lives. They are also called dance fads or dance craze ...

in the early 2000s.

Background

Las Ketchup was first introduced to Columbia Records through Shaketown Music, a small record label in Córdoba, Andalusia, who sent out the group's demo to a number of different record companies. The demo featured the songs "Asereje" and "Kusha Las Payas". When A&R Javier Portugués and Columbia director Raúl López listened to the demo, they stared at each other in delight exclaiming, "Wow, this is fantastic!" At first the intention was to arrange a distribution deal with ShakeTown Music but upon hearing the song they realised its international potential and so negotiated for Las Ketchup to sign with Sony.

Composition

The song is written in the key of

G♭ major G-flat major (or the key of G-flat) is a major scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has six flats. Its relative minor is E-flat minor (or enharmonically D-sharp minor), and its parallel ...

and has a tempo of 94 beats per minute, in

cut time ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C with a vertical line through it), which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning th ...

. It follows the chord progression of E♭m–D♭–C♭–A♭m–B♭7 in the chorus. The pre-chorus uses an

altered chord An altered chord is a chord that replaces one or more notes from the diatonic scale with a neighboring pitch from the chromatic scale. By the broadest definition, any chord with a non-diatonic chord tone is an altered chord. The simplest examp ...

(

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes need ...

), or a

modal interchange A borrowed chord (also called mode mixture,Romeo, Sheila (1999). ''Complete Rock Keyboard Method: Mastering Rock Keyboard'', p. 42. . Bouchard, Joe and Romeo, Sheila (2007). ''The Total Rock Keyboardist'', p. 120. Alfred Music. . modal mixture, ...

, as the

cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...

. According to '' Pandora.com'', the song features "mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, humorous lyrics, and electric guitar riffs".

Content

"The Ketchup Song" is about a young man named Diego who enters a nightclub. The DJ, a friend of Diego's, plays Diego's favorite song, "

Rapper's Delight "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 hip-hop track by the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing hip-hop mus ...

" by

the Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's onl ...

, and Diego dances and sings along to the song, imitating its chorus with Spanish gibberish. "Aserejé" is therefore a meaningless word, with the chorus "" being a somewhat incorrect imitation of the Rapper's Delight's "I said a hip-hop, the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop ..."

Music video

The music video was shot at Palm Beach,

Estepona Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...

in Spain, at Chiringuito bar. Two other music videos were also produced for the song. The main video starts with the female band members laying out a carpet on the ground and putting the bar stools on display to set up their musical show. They then serve people exotic beverages at the beach bar. A male bar attendant enthusiastically pours drink in a glass and juggles a bottle around. Meanwhile, more and more beach-goers are shown drawn in to the bar, to watch the trio's performance. In some shots of the video, the trio would be performing near wooden

window frame A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mate ...

s which are laid individually on the sandy beach. During the song's chorus, the band members perform their signature dance moves, alongside other visitors who also joyously participate. The band are helped up to a table, where they execute their ''Aserejé'' dance in front of a larger, jubilant crowd who gleefully jive in to the dance. By the end of the video, the crowd becomes jam-packed, with the young and old dancing to the song near the beach bar.

Dance routine

For the first dance move, the hands must be held open facing down and continuously waving them over another two times for six beats. The second involves tossing the thumb over the shoulder twice, right before spinning one's arm around each other while raising from the waistline to face level. The last move of the dance involves placing the back of one's hand on the forehead and the palm of the other hand on the back of the head while knocking one's

knees In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

together a couple of times.

Critical reception

Andy Thomas from ''Drowned in Sound'' gave the song a 9 out of 10, stating, "The Ketchup Song is better than the Macarena...", while acknowledging that the song is "not smart, it's not clever, and it's not going to get a single positive review outside of the

teeny bop Teeny can refer to: * A teenager or a "teenybopper" * The state of being very small * Trond Holter, a member of the band Wig Wam Wig Wam is a Norwegian glam metal band formed in Halden in 2001. Wig Wam's lineup—consisting of vocalist Glam ( ...

press." Thomas described the song's band members (Las Ketchup) as "three slightly odd-looking women from Spain who are the proud exponents of this year's

Macarena "Macarena" is a dance song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Originally appearing on the 1993 album '' A mí me gusta'', a subsequent remix by Miami-based producers The Bays ...

. It's got dance moves (wiggle your hands, thumb a lift, raise your arms, knock your knees together) and a sunny video where the trio serve drinks in a beach bar."

Commercial performance

The song reached the top of the charts in virtually every country it charted, except for the '' Billboard'' chart, where it peaked at number 54. In France, the song reached number-one for eleven weeks and eventually sold 1,310,000 copies, making it the best-selling single of 2002, and the second best-selling of the 21st century in the country, behind "

Un Monde parfait "Un Monde parfait" ("A Perfect World" in English) is a 2005 song recorded by French young artist Ilona Mitrecey. Based on a traditional Neapolitan song, it was the first single from her debut album '' Un Monde parfait'' and was released in Febru ...

" by

Ilona Mitrecey Ilona Mitrecey (born 1 September 1993 in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine) (more commonly known as Ilona) is a retired French singer. Biography Ilona always dreamed of becoming a stuntwoman or filmmaker. Her parents knew an Italian music pro ...

. Furthermore, the song was the 50th best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK.

Controversy

Although the band has explained that "aserejé" is a meaningless word derived from the theme of the 1979 hip hop song "

" by

The Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's onl ...

, rumors and

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

spread through e-mail, especially in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, that the gibberish lyrics included hidden demonic references that would lead the listener to Satanism and

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. The phrases from the Spanish lyrics which were claimed to be references to Satanism include: * "", which can be broken down into the Spanish phrase "", meaning "let's be

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

". * "" – "''Ja''" would here be the beginning of the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

referring to Jehova (God). The phrase would therefore be "" ("Jehova (God), let go of your being"). * "" ("where there isn't room for a soul"), supposedly referring to hell. * "" ("the DJ who knows him plays the midnight anthem"), supposedly referring to Satanic rituals which occur at midnight. A Dominican television station banned the song.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Rouge version

"Ragatanga" is a song by the Brazilian girl group pop

Rouge Rouge is the French word for "red" and may refer to: Compounds * Rouge (cosmetics), a cosmetic used to color the cheeks and emphasize the cheekbones * Jeweler's rouge or iron(III) oxide * Rouging, a form of corrosion applicable to stainless ...

. It is an adapted version in Portuguese of the song "The Ketchup Song", of the group

. Columbia Records and

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

released "Ragatanga" on 31 August 2002, only in Brazil and Portugal in the same year as the original, as the second single from the debut single from the band's debut studio album, self-titled ''

'' (2002). It was among the most successful songs of that year in Brazil and is the biggest success of the group, and there were records that the song reached to play more than fifteen times a day on Brazilian radio stations.

Background and composition

In selecting the tracks for the group's first album, Liminha went to a meeting with Sony representatives from around the world and commented that he needed a repertoire for a group that would release in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, receiving from Spain the song "Asereje", sung

. But the song, however, hardly came on the album. "The list of songs was ready when I heard about Ragatanga," said Alexandre Schiavo, vice president of marketing for

Sony Music 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 Entertainme ...

Brasil. Hence, Rick Bonadio made a version and transformed it into Ragatanga, whose refrain, "Aserehe ra de re De hebe tu de hebere seibiunouba mahabi", does not mean anything, according to Schiavo. In Schiavo's explanation, it's the crap that people who do not know English usually sing. "The thing that Las Ketchup teenagers invented," he says. Bonadio says: "the secret of a good version is to have fidelity to the original, not to try to invent". The Brazilian version has a mix of Spanish and Portuguese, since it counts on the participation of Las Ketchup.

Commercial performance

"Ragatanga" became a viral success in Brazil, winning the charts quickly and quickly. The song reached the first position of the radios, remaining for 11 consecutive weeks in the first place.

Legacy

"Ragatanga" was a resounding hit in Brazil, making

not only popular in Brazil, but in some other parts of the world. The single was taken as the song that boosted sales of the band's first album. In two months in the stores, the album reached the mark of 730,000 sold copies and became favorite to the title of commercial champion of 2002. Besides, the song did not leave the top of the charts. The song was also considered as the reason for the tickets for the group's debut on 14 November 2002, at ATL Hall in Rio de Janeiro, to be exhausted. By that time, the album had already reached the mark of 950 thousand copies. '' Billboard'' magazine, which features the biggest names in the music world, brought a photo story of the Rouge in the October 2002 issue. The report showed production details, a crossover of hits on the radio, and talks a little about the first tour they did for Brazil. In addition to talking about the hits "Ragatanga" and "Não Dá pra Resistir", he also spoke about the international career, in which Rouge performed in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

with great success, and the intention to launch the group's CD in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Music video

On 31 August 2002, the music video for "Ragatanga" premiered. The video for "Ragatanga" is simple, counting on the girls dancing the choreography of the song, on a giant stage, while the lyrics of the chorus are displayed in the clip. The participation of the band Las Ketchup in the video clip, is obtained from the original music video. The choreography was also imported from Spain, but according to the girls, "We added a new movement, which is the sign of asking for a ride."

Track listing

CD single # "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Album Version) # "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Radio Edit) # "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Memê's Da Carnival Beat Remix) # "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Cuca Rnb Mix) CD single (Remixes) # "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Memê's Summer Heat Mix) – 4:09 # "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Da Carnival Beat Mix) – 4:09

Charts

Covers and other versions

In 2012, singer

Kelly Key Kelly de Almeida Afonso Freitas (born March 3, 1983), known for her stage name Kelly Key, is a Brazilian pop singer, songwriter and TV hostess. Biography 2001–04: Debut album, ''Do Meu Jeito'' and live album Key released her first, sel ...

made a cover of the song, for the collection ''Festa Kids'' (2012). The re-recording was harshly criticized by Internet users for making the song "bland". In 2013, in a concert held in a nightclub in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, singer

Wanessa Wanessa Godói Camargo Buaiz (born 28 December 1982), known professionally as Wanessa, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Early life Camargo is the daughter of Brazilian sertanejo singer Zezé Di Camargo, from the duo Zezé Di Camargo & Luci ...

summoned Li Martins, to sing some songs, among them "Ragatanga". Still in 2013, the song "Ramón" by girl band

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

(formed and produced by the same producer of Rouge, Rick Bonadio), included in the first studio album of the band, was compared to "Ragatanga" due to its Latin rhythm and the protagonist of the song, which is already being considered the new Diego. The song was also covered in Japanese by the girl group, Soltomatina.

References

Background

Composition

Content

Music video

Dance routine

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Controversy

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Rouge version

Background and composition

Commercial performance

Legacy

Music video

Track listing

Charts

Covers and other versions

See also

References